10km Garmin Bugibba Road Race

In the last few weeks I have been concentrating on my running in the hope of doing the Malta Marthon at the end of February. Most, if not all of my runs so far have been just steady long runs, with the exception of the Zurrieq Half Marathon which I did in 1hr 24mins. The race started quite fast with an Italian running and Jason Martin (Mellieha) setting the pace. I planned to be conservative in the opening kilometers but I was feeling quite good and I tried a faster pace. I went through 5km in 17.58 which was quite good. In the end I finished in 36.25 in 5th place. Training has been going well but I am feeling very light and this thanks to Johanna's Nutrition advice in the last few weeks. It made the difference....... so no more elephant running!!!

Next race on your calendar should be 13th December - Birkirkara St. Joseph 5km Series in Mtafa.

Yours in sport

Dermot

A tale of 10 Championships

National Triathlon Championships - Malta 2/10/2011

It took me an eternity to get this blog update together. It has been quite a busy time in the last month and I had never had time to sit down and think through what to write in this blog and right now am not too sure but will have a go and try and explain what goes through my mind when I am preparing and achieving a championship.

The triathlon championship is a race I love, a race which brings out the best of me. I sometimes wish I was the same in other important races, where I always wanted to achieve more then I actually got. Somehow in October I always feel ready, even when on paper I'm not. This October turned out to be no different.

My approach to this race was one of the best I ever had in the last 6 years. Thanks to the help of Bill and Pam I had a really good September in the UK after I have been very 'politely' told to get my ass out of my room by my landlord. All year I had been dreaming of this race, and how it would feel going back after my absence in 2010. I managed to put together a good block of training, and although I did have some issues with my knee which didnt let me do the running sessions I wished to, I was feeling confident.

Race day arrived and the transition area was packed. Yes packed with 100 triathletes, Maltese, British, French and Japanese. The most exciting thing was that there were around 70 Maltese triathletes - a big record. By then I wasn't just confident, I was happy to be part of such a big event and probably a milestone for triathlon in Malta. How exciting would that be winning this event, today, with all these people? - I thought.

Swim started with a beach start. I had my best ever start, so good I thought I went the wrong way as I had opened a gap of 6m by the first 50m. I think I was really desperate to win!! :) Mark over took me after 300m into the swim, and so I was leading a pack of around 5 more swimmers with Keith, Carl, Mark Sykes and Michelle Scott on my feet. I was feeling strong, and everything was going accord to plan. I was out of the water in around 23.30 with Keith and Carl just behind1, and after a quick transition I was straight on the bike in a few seconds.

Looking at the boys results in the BSJ Sprint Triathlons I felt that this was going to be a bike race, and me playing catch up. I worked a lot on my cycling during the summer months as the times they were doing on the bike were just phenomenal. To my surprice and now I can clearly say it, from the first second on the bike I was feeling S@$t! I had not pace, no strength and it all felt a struggle. Looking back I think that changing my cycling shoe the last 2 weeks was not such a smart idea. Although I trained quite a bit with it, I didn't race so I could not realise that my saddle was 5mm lower than it should have been (the new cycling shoe is much higher then my older one). Keith, Carl and Mark Sykes were cycling really well so I had to try and hang in there and avoid getting dropped off the pace. I only kind of figured it out in the last 2 laps but by then there was not point in attacking, or doing any silly moves. I decided that it had to be a running race.

Straight into T2 and I do a beginners mistake, go past my rack position and losing important seconds. First out of transition was Carl, followed by Mark Sykes and then it was me and Keith. Keith pushed the pace and caught up with Carl in about 400m, and both were running like mad. I caught up with Mark Sykes and after a quick word I tried to push the pace hoping not to lose much to my younger competition.

Although both Keith and Carl were really running well I wasn't losing so much time, and as we were approaching the end of the first lap I was closing down. Once I closed the gap the race was once again open to any of us three. Lets face it now, many before that moment thought, 'Dermot is done!' he can't win this one! Surprise, I thought the same thing! :) The only difference to any other race in the same situation was that this was October and this was the National Championship, and dont ask me why and how but I just have that extra gear on the day. So after the turn around point I started pushing the pace and once I was in the last 3k I thought that now it was time to go for it. That was the winning move.

I must say though that it was a very hard championship race. Both Carl and Keith gave me a hell of a race, and they have both improved a lot, but maybe on the day experience was on my side and keeping cool when possibly others would have paniced made the difference. Probably after 15 years in the sport I tend to enjoy these moments rather then dreading them so it helps to keep me focused and determined.

Winning is such a great feeling, but winning a national championship is something beyond happiness. My 10th championship was such a great experience and running the last kilometer in front was emotional. Carl and Keith made it unique.

A big thank-you goes to the people who supported me, my parents, Johanna (who did a great race coming in second overall with a stress fructure in her foot), Bill & Pam for their support, and my club, Birkirkara St. Joseph. Also I would like to thank LINEBREAK for their sponsorship help during this season! Thanks Mark.

Last but not least I would like to dedicate my 10th Championship to a person who in the last 12 years worked like mad for Triathlon in Malta - Manuel, our MTA president! He's the person who introduced me to the sport, and gave me this opportunity.

Yours in Triathlon,

Dermot

DGTri Athlete Report - Bill Livingstone

Malta National Championships : Blog Report

You could feel the nervous tension in the transition area, athletes going through their OCD rituals of continually checking their kit and layout, and checking again, then re-checking again!
Plenty of room to lay all the bikes and kit out for the biggest field Malta has seen for a Triathlon

Maltese, British, French and Japanese athletes were in transition and the noise of the different languages chatting away was good (?)

Stomach rumbling and a quick exit to portaloo 1!
I could hear the race brief taking place, but having raced on the course for the last 3 seasons, was not too worried about the briefing.

Exit portaloo 1 and make a hurried stride down to the swim start. Athletes had already lined up and some were finishing their warm ups.
Goggles on and my line of attack fixed.

Countdown started, and one cheeky swimmer headed out before the start gun trying to gain an extra 2 seconds start.

Round the first buoy, then trying to sight the next buoy in direct bright sunlight proved a challenge. Eventually the buoy was sighted, then back to the start buoy for the second lap. Lap 2 proved a bit of a challenge as there were some jellyfish floating about and several athletes got stung including myself. Heading towards the swim exit, I followed the safety canoe and exited the water in 26 minutes dead, which was an excellent swim for me.

Then it all went wrong. I was told I had missed the last buoy and needed to go back and swim round the buoy. Did I take a 2 minute penalty or swim back to the buoy? Back to the buoy it was and by the time I had exited the water for a second time, my race head had gone.

I ambled up the exit ramp into transition fighting the demons who wanted me to stop. My realistic chances of beating last years time had gone.
Out on the bike, the laps ticked off and the pace just would not kick in. Today the legs were dead.

6 laps later and off the bike slower than the previous year by 2 minutes and through transition.

Out on the run, it soon became very apparent that it was HOT!

At the run turnaround, the expected drink station was missing, so the only fluid to drink was out of the sponges being given out (several athletes doing the same) before the turnaround.

Trying to pick up the run pace and again the legs were dead.
Finally the finish line came into view and across the line in my slowest time yet.
A quick exit from the finish area and into the sea to cool down and analyse what went wrong.

It seemed a combination of factors were set against me, the unfortunate exit to portaloo 1 and missing the race briefing, including the part about NOT following the safety canoe to the exit!

However, you are not an athlete until you have had a shocker of a race and learn from it.

Malta 2012 is already booked in!

Bill

DGTri Athlete Report - Johanna Calleja

National Triathlon Championships

“Will I be in too much pain to finish the 10 km run?” Not quite the worry I thought I’d have the night before the National Championships.

About ten months before we had finally figured out how to completely eliminate the problem of chronic fatigue caused by artificial sweeteners. I had been training consistently in Chester, still under Dermot’s guidance, but also swimming with Chester Academy, doing some sessions with Chester Tri Club and going out cycling with friends from the club. I had some good results in triathlons and also across all three disciplines, so I started to become confident that on a good day, I could be one of the challengers for the championship title.

So I thought that the night before I would worry about whether or not I could perform well enough to be a serious contender for the title, rather than whether or not it would be possible for me to finish the 10 km run, usually my favourite part of a triathlon and where I often make up time over other competitors.

But an injury which developed around my ankle meant that I could only run twice in the three weeks leading up to the big day, and both times in significant pain both during and after the run. I supplemented the missed running sessions with aqua-jogging sessions in the pool or sea. Although I had believed in the effectiveness of aqua-jogging for some time, I was convinced that I would lose quite a lot of my running fitness, and slowly doubts started creeping in and I began to think there was no chance I could be one of the contenders, but consoled myself in the fact that at least if I was second Maltese female, I would qualify for the National Team.

But Dermot was having none of that! He has believed in me since before I even started doing triathlon and kept telling me that I shouldn’t give up when I had come so far and that I could still do it. A few days later I did my last hard brick session before the race (usually cycling followed by running – but in my case cycling followed by aqua-jogging!) and during this session, Dermot’s words of encouragement kept popping into my head and I thought “No, I won’t give up when I’ve come so far and trained so hard!!” I remembered the words of professional triathlete Mac Brown, who wrote in a blog that the finish line does not care about injuries and excuses and that as soon as you start making excuses with yourself for your performance, that is when you are defeated.
So a week later, after words of encouragements from my parents and sister, Dermot and other fellow athletes, I was on the swim start line and trying to remain as positive as I had felt in that last hard session. Off we went and after all the hits, kicks and being swum over at the start, I managed to get into a reasonable rhythm. A good swim for me, but not good enough to be close to the three leading girls!

Onto my bike amidst very welcome cheers from family and friends and I kept trying to work hard and convince myself that although I used to be quite a weak cyclist, I could now make up for lost time on the bike. Sure enough, towards the end of the cycle segment, I could clearly see that the gap between me and the girl in front of me was decreasing.
As I exited transition, I could see her running ahead of me and held on to the hope that I could move up into third place if my ankle did not play up too much. The first few kilometres were relatively pain-free, apart from a background pain which I could ignore enough to run at a reasonable pace, so I started feeling optimistic: “Maybe my ankle will be ok after all. Maybe I haven’t lost my running fitness. Maybe it’s true that the race isn’t over until the finish line.”

But after about 3 or 4 km, this all changed. Suddenly, every step I took became painful and I had to slow down just to be able to keep running. The gap between me and the girls in front was growing and the only thing I could think about now was to trying to get to the finish line and wondering whether I could make it. William ran past me and shouted encouragement and also told me that the gap between me and the girl behind me was quite big. Good reason to try to keep running – finish the race second Maltese and qualify for the national team!

The next big motivator came when Barry told me that Dermot had won his tenth title! We had spoken about this so many times and if he had fought to win so hard and succeeded, I could fight to finish the race!!
So as I ran slowly, feeling pain with each step I took, I thought about being on the national team, I thought about my swimming coach in Chester, Barry, telling me and Ide to be tough, I thought about Ide telling me all about her first Ironman and breaking through the pain barrier to get to the finish, I thought about Maria and Marica reminding me that pain is only temporary, and of course I looked forward to celebrating Dermot’s tenth win!!
I focused on getting to the finish line and just hoped no one would overtake me because no matter how badly I wanted to finish second, I just knew that the pain wouldn’t allow me to run any faster than I was running. And finally I could hear Dermot’s mother cheering me on and knew I was approaching the finish line. Then she was running next to me, forgetting her own tiredness and just supporting me. By this point, I knew I could make it. My parents and sister were cheering me on by the finish line, and I approached it smiling and laughing.
Crossing the finish line felt amazing, even more so when I realised that notwithstanding the fact that my run was about seven minutes slower than I would have expected on a good injury-free day, my time was still a pb by about three minutes! And it was amazing to run into Dermot’s arms to congratulate him on such a great win and to thank him for always supporting me and believing in me, even when I had stopped believing myself.
I would like to thank Dermot once again for being such a great coach and boyfriend. I would not have achieved so much without his support – I probably wouldn’t even have discovered triathlon without him – and even if sometimes the simplicity of running is appealing, the beauty of triathlon is now unbeatable in my books! I’d also like to thank my family for all their support, Barry and all at Chester Academy, my friends in the Chester Tri Club, Bill and Pam for their constant support, Giuseppe at Starbene shop, Joseph St. John and everyone who believed in me and supported me before and during the race. And thank you to all involved in organising such an enjoyable race!

DGTri Athlete Report - Barry Farrugia

Last sprint triathlon of the season

There it was awaiting me the 18th of September, the last chance I had to reach my goal this year. A sub 1.10.

I didn’t manage to have “the perfect race” till today, it was either due to my performance after being ill or the weather. So, I had high hopes on this one!!

As usual the nerves got to me, but I still managed to stay focused and as I got in the water I felt at ease and prepared. Race started, sea was calm and I soon got in to tempo. I aimed to stay close to someone slightly faster then I was, as instructed by my coach, this helped me get out of the sea in a good time, a few seconds better then the previous race.

I had quite a fast transition and was on my bike in a jiffy!! I was feeling very confident on the bike and overtook quite a lot of participants.

Official time showed 50.22 as I got in T2. This helped me believe that with a strong and steady run 5km run my goal and a P.B was very promising.

I must admit that the support I had gave me the boost I needed to give my best performance. I ran like crazy in this “do or die” situation and although I didn’t do a sub 1.10, I did a P.B. of 1.10.33, which was 55 sec less than my previous P.B.

I am very pleased with my result and glad that I did not let down my coach, family and myself.

In two weeks time I will be competing in my first Olympic Distance in Malta and looking forward to close the season with a good result!

Barry

DGTri Athlete Report - James Harman

Full Boar Middle Distance Triathlon

The Full Boar middle distance race was the last Triathlon for me of the 2011 season. I had intended to have a good race but take it a little easier and just generally use the event more as a social outing to catch up with everybody at my local club 1485 and in the DGtri training camp and to be honest i had been a little fatigued with all the previous months training and finishing IM uk.

We got to the lake for around 8am which left us plenty of time to sort out the kit and transition area as the race didn't start untill 9:30am. I always like full boar start times as i get a lie in.

The previous few days had been really quite cold and wet with the weather report giving much the same forecast for Sunday so i opted to wear my compression leggings, Compression top and t shirt as i thought by the time i exit the cold water and got on the bike it would be difficult for me to get warm. How wrong was i!, Robbo signalled the start of the race and we were off to complete two laps of Bosworth lake. The water was quite cold so it took a while to get the lungs arms and shoulders warm and for the first 400 meters or so it was a bit of a struggle. I got around the first buoy and and received a kick in the face knocking my goggles off so i had to re-adjust but hey no drama's and it cost me very little time. The rest of the swim was pretty standard and i exited the water in 33mins.

T1 went ok but i had a little trouble getting wet socks on. I did use talc but it didn't seem to make that much difference and i thought i may as well struggle with the socks now instead of after coming in from the bike plus i didn't want to get cold feet with all that terrible weather that had been forecast.

The bike leg was Four laps of the Thirteen mile loop and i had been training on the bike course so i knew what to expect. There are not many hills on the bike course but the wind can cause problems as its pretty open in places. Especially along the A444 which can really grind you down however the conditions were as good as i had ever seen with little or no wind and still no sign of any rain. I decided to spin up on the few hills the first lap taking my time and then to push a little the second, Third and fourth lap. I really felt quite strong on the bike from start to finish and was really getting some good speed in places. Every time i looked at the speedo it was showing 19,20 or 22mph and even faster in places so i knew my average speed would be quite good and 18.5mph avg speed is pretty good for me. Hopefully the bike will start to come now as i had really been struggling through the summer months to see any if little progress. I finished the bike leg in 2hours and 50mins and was really quite chuffed with myself.

T2 went ok and after getting my trainers on and having a gel i was out of the gate to start the run leg. Short steps were all that i could manage for the first ten minutes or so but soon found my stride and settled in quite nicely. By this time the sun was really burning through and the weather and done completely the opposite of what had been forecast and i was still over dressed for the occasion lol. I was sweating that much and hadn't taken many electrolytes on so at the start of the second lap i was getting cramps in my hamstrings. I had to slow down a little on the run and try to stretch out a little but it didn't really help and i had to slow down a little. I came around the corner and on to the finish straight where my son was waiting for me and started to race me to the finish lol. I tried to sprint but my hamstrings were in bits and felt like they were going to just snap ouch!, So yes my 5 year old son beat me to the line and he is not letting me forget it. Mind you his little legs were going like butterflies wings lol. I finished the run in 1hour 43 mins
giving me a total event time of 5hrs and 12 mins. Happy days!

I am now looking forward to making even more progress with Dermots help next year. Enjoy your racing, Stay strong and keep pushing!

Jamie (aka Buzz)

DGTri Athlete Report - Joe Brooks

Valencia Standard Distance Triathlon

For my penultimate race of the season I had decided (been instructed) to combine an Olympic Distance Triathlon with a weeks holiday in Valencia. This would be my first Olympic distance since Malta in 2009 and only my second of this distance.

The race setting was fantastic, a one lap swim in the Americas Cup port, 4 laps of the F1 circuit and 3 laps around the Valencia Marina.

Having arrive the Wednesday before the race I had some time to aclimatise to the 30 degree + temperatures and complete a few steady sessions given to me by Dermot to lead me into race day. After a couple of steady sea swims I regained my confidence in swimming in the sea that had been somewhat lost due to a bad swim at the Marazion middle distance earlier in the year.

The racing in Valencia was arranged over two days, with the Super Sprint and novice races on the Saturday and the Sprint and Olympic races held on the Sunday.

I registered collected my goodie bag and racked my bike on the Saturday evening after watching the tail end of the novice races. The days before had been typically calm and still in the mornings with the breeze picking up in the afternoon, so I was hoping for the same on the Sunday.

The alarm went off on the Sunday morning and we arose (well I did, the othe half of Team Brooks stayed in bed, deciding to make an appearance at the end of the swim) to perfect still conditions and a temperature of about 27 degrees. After a breakfast of toast and cereal I made my way down to the race start. We had booked a hotel at the port area so a five minute walk and I was there.

The Olympic race was in 4 waves of approx 250 people. I was in wave 3 so I had change to have a chat with my fellow competitors before the start. There was a good mix of competitors and a good mix of countries represented.

The swim was a deep water start so there was time for a warm up swim to starting point which was just under the F1 circuit bridge within the Marina.

The start gun sounded and we were away. I settled into a steady pace, and had positioned myself to the right at the start to avoid the usual bun fight. The swim was a one lap circuit with only 2 Bouys to negotiate. Sighting was easy with a harbour wall to the left for the first 700 meters which suited my 4BS pattern. At the start the fast Chaps sped off and i was left in relatively free water with only a few people to avoid during the first half. After rounding the first Bouy it go a little more congested and I got caught up behind a couple of swimmers who had a sprint front crawl for 20 strokes then breast stroke for 20 strategy. My pace felt good and i was swimming comfortably, having rounded the second Bouy and just being able to sight the finish I felt though that I had been swimming for quite some time. The last 400 meters was a straight swim down the oppostie side of the Marina to the start. Exiting the water onto the finish pontoon and up the steps I looked at my watch , 30 minutes!!! slower than expected but I felt comfortable.

Into transition and i located the bike straight away, socks on, shoes on helmet on gels and GU Blocks in back pocket and I was off. Then I was stopped, no number belt (still hanging off the front of the bike Doh!!. Number belt on and out of transition. 4 laps of 10K was the advertise bike distance. I decided to try and just average 20 MPH and see how it went. The race circuit was in most parts perfect (if is good enough for the F1 boys it is good enough for me), flat smooth tarmac with no climbs. Some twists and turns. One section goes through the centre for arts and sciences the section was quite technical with approx 1 mile of cobble type surface and some tight bends. One lap complete and my speed average was about spot on. A steady second lap and I still felt comfortable. On each lap I took 2 GU blocks at the same point to keep up the energy. Lap 3 came and went with reasonable ease although the time seemed to be really slow? Coming into transition after lap 4 I flicked my watch to distance 47.5K for the bike (still it is the same for everyone).

Bike racked and Hat on I settled into a steady pace for the run, by this time it was 29 degrees so I took on water at every feed station and also ensured I also poured water over my head to keep me cool. I tried to concentrate on people who were in my wave and use these people as my targets on the run for the 3 laps around the Marina. My previous record of running in Triathlons is not good, generally my head wins the battle with the body. I was determined to put in a reasonable effort. 2 steady laps then up the pace on the last lap was the plan. With Nicky now shouting encouragement at me I started the last lap. A runner from my wave came past me with about 3/4 of the last lap to go so I gave myself the goal of staying with them I kept on their shoulder for about 1 mile then nudged ahead. I could now see the finishing area so I sped up the pace a little more knowing there was not long to go. I finished the run in 46.01 which I was reasonably pleased with.

My overall time of 2:48:06 was some way off my 2:30:00 goal although a 40K bike and I would have been somewhere near.

I would encourage anyone to do this race, fantastic venue, well organised and a great city.

Thanks to Dermot for the continued expert coaching and Bill for the wheels and the bike box.

Apologies to the 300+ people on the Ryan Air flight back home whom we kept waiting as the Police investigated the contents of my Bike Box before letting me on the plane. The Police were some what miffed when all they could find was a bike (No Shit Sherlock)a pair of Newton running shoes that smell of used cat litter and a sports Bra (Nicky's honest!!).

Full Boar Middle Distance next Sunday, last Tri of the season (or is it????)

Joe.B.

DGTri Athlete Report - Luke Bonnici

Derby Sprint Triathlon

The prospect of returning to triathlon after a break of almost two years was both exciting and daunting. Last Sunday morning I was asking myself whether I wanted to do this, and if I was prepared for the race ahead of me.

Preparation for the Derby Sprint was far from ideal. Unfortunately for the past two years training was not my number one priority, and putting down my name for the Derby Sprint was brief moment of insanity. My preparation for this race was ad hoc, and comprised mostly of a few unstructured sessions. Cycling was the least of my worries as every day I cycle to work on my little fold-up bike. However, as race day approached I started feeling a little bit apprehensive with my running and swimming. So I asked Dermot for a few training tips, to help with my preparation for the forthcoming race.

The race was a slightly shorter sprint, with an indoor 400m swim instead of the usual 750m swim. I wasn’t expecting anything special from it; finishing it was only target. On race day morning I was feeling pretty nervous and excited, and I was asking myself whether I was doing the right thing. A few words of encouragement from the coach were enough, and a few minutes later I was poolside waiting for my turn to start the swim.

The swim was relatively uneventful, and I was glad when it was over, as I was getting a little out of breath and couldn’t find any rhythm at all! Out of the pool into the windy (very windy) outside, we had to run across a field and get for transition. Transition was good, and I decided to put on my shoes while in transition, rather than the “pro” way.

The bike segment was perhaps the worst bit of the race. The race organisers and friends who know the area quite well said the bike course is relatively flat. Big fat lie! It was everything but flat, and coupled with the wind’s strength the bike promised to be very difficult. After a few minutes cycling I slowly settled down into a rhythm. Half way through the segment I felt a sharp pain down my side. Great, I had a stitch ... and I haven’t even started running!! I eased off a wee bit, drank a little, and hoped that by the end of the bike the stitch will be gone.

Finishing the bike was a very happy moment, yet I wasn’t too keen on the run. I was still worried about the stitch. Off the bike and oh no ... I’ve got jelly legs! Need to focus on bike-run sessions now. Anyway, I started the run really slowly and hoped that by my legs would not blow up mid-way. I wasn’t too impressed with the start. The run started with a short sharp hill followed by a long (less steep) downhill. Halfway through the run I felt really comfortable, and decided to up the pace a little bit, and finished strongly in a time of 1 hour 6 minutes.

Although a far cry from my personal best and the time other (better prepared) athletes were doing I feel with the result. I’m even happier the triathlon “bug” is back! From now on I’m hoping to be a little bit more structured with my training, and go for longer / more competitive races, all with Dermot’s guidance and support!

Luke

DGTri Athlete Report - Pam Batchelor

Derby Sprint Triathlon

I entered my 1st Triathlon, Derby Sprint, a " flat" course, well it did say it was flat on the website, so thought why not have a go!

Arriving there with all my "gear" in a box, and pushing my bike, it was apparent that they stretched the truth a bit about it being a "flat" course. The leisure centre was in a slight valley.

After laying all my kit out with the help of Linda Whitelegg (a seasoned Ironman Athlete), I went to the poolside to await my slot. Butterflies in the stomach, but they felt more like Pterodactyls!

Once in the pool my stomach churned even more, then count down and I was off!
I had caught a very large built man within 30 seconds, I swam past him to touch the wall, then pushed off. But this man didn't seemed to like the thought of me overtaking, so proceeded to speed up and swim all over the backs of my legs. So a few swift strong kicks got rid of him, until I caught another slow swimmer, and this man proceeded to speed up and be hammering me on my back, so I repeated the swift kick manoeuvre! This lasted for only 4 lengths, then I could back into my rhythm.
16 lengths over in a flash, and out to T1. A quick rub of the towel on the feet, and all the gear on and off to bike mount to the shouting crowd of "Come on Pamie". A bit of a wobbly clip in and I was off.

All I kept thinking was look for the yellow and black BIG arrow signs! The "flat" course big fat lie became apparent in the 1st 5 minutes of the bike! And the wind was terrible, at one point I was only doing 13 MPH! Half way round we came to a village called Sutton on the Hill (clue in the name) that sapped my legs. Also a dice with death along a dual carriage way, that had the usual BMW drivers (male), white van man, and Sunday drivers!

Then back to the leisure centre, battered by the wind and the usual abuse off the Sunday drivers, dis mounted to a chorus of come on "Flossie",(name on bike) and tried to run with the bike. The legs where not mine at this point!
T2 was a battle as a girl was sitting right in front of where I needed to rack my bike! After I clonked her a couple of times with my bike,she moved out of the way! Bike gear off, run gear on, and started to run out of T2!

The run out was up a sharp muddy grass bank, that proceeded up another muddy grass bank, up a gravel car park out into Etwell village. My stomach was like the fast spin on a washing machine, and I wanted to be sick!

The run consisted of a down then a up, then a down, then a muddy undulating pathway. (Flat apparently) Turnaround, then back the way we came.

On the top of a very long hill was the drink station, the marshal asked if I wanted a drink.

Drink?? I couldn't barely breath let alone drink after shuffling up that hill! Then a nice run through Etwell back to leisure centre, then a uphill to gravel car park, then a skiddy run down the grass banks to the finish line to the chorus of "come on Pamie!"

Finish time 1 hr 30 min 28 secs! I was over the moon with my time considering the wind and the "flat" course.

I loved becoming a Triathlete and I wouldn't have been able to achieve this result if it wasn't for Dermot's coaching and guidance.

Bring on the next race!

Pam

DGTri Athlete Report - Simona Carena

Bala Standard Distance Triathlon 11-09-2011

My last race for this season was the Bala Standard Distance in Wales. This is a very well organized race from Wrexham Triathlon club and had a 500 strong field or European qualifier hopeful, young and old age groupers and a few newbies. The race atmosphere is great and it is a due to the organizing club, and the locals good will to stage a race on close roads, good course and a stunning location in a triathlon friendly town.

My preparation was good and Dermot prescribed a very good taper that left me quite fresh and rearing to go. I stayed one of the near camp sites, about 15 minutes from the start line and on the day before the race I joined the 750 charity swim to rec the venue.

On race morning I woke in the comfort of my campervan with a headache, but after some strong coffee I was ready to go.

The sport centre became race HQ for the day, with superb facilities, and the lake front is transformed in a large transition area. It all seemed to work well, though a few queues and some unhappy competitors that had to swap wheels as due to windy conditions the discs were outlawed.

The lake, as I found out the day before on the charity swim, was a bit on the cold side and on Sunday quite choppy too. I normally look forward to difficult swim condition but on Sunday I was feeling cold even before getting in the lake and not so positive. Once all kit was sorted and had a warm up run around it was time to walk to the swim entry.

The first wave of younger male competitor was first off, so it was a bit off putting seeing that, as the ladies were entering the water form a small pear, quite a few of the lads were being pulled out by the safety kayaks. It took an age to get started from when in the water and I was shivering and not feeling focused on the task ahead. When the hooter went off I started swim but soon found myself very uncomfortable and unable to swim with head in the water and panicking a bit about being amongst splashing swimmers. This carried on for the first 750 meters until we got turn around buoy. After that I was able to keep my head in the water and got going, but I did not feel I was having being effective at all.

The last 50 mt of the swim are to be crawled on the bottom of the lake, as it is very shallow but due to slippery pebbles is not possible to run. It is quite comical to watch and I was glad that I had a trial the day before. It took nearly 34 minutes to swim 1.5K

I then executed my worst transition to the day: 4 minutes of shivering trying to take the wetty off, feeling very dazed and fumbling for extra layers packed in my transition bag. A marshal took pity and sorted out my number belt before letting me out of transition. At this stage I felt very deflated and not bright as I really wanted to do well but wasted so much time. I did not look at the watch as it would have been an excuse to jack it in and I would have regretted not finishing, or giving it a good try, but in my motivation was not at its highest. First lesson of the day: I need to be mentally stronger and keep positive; I was not throwing the teddy out of the pram but equally I am not happy with myself unless I feel I am giving it my best.

As I climbed a small ramp out of transition on to the main road, still shivering, the cheering of spectator was a balm to the soul; as I got out of the saddle I felt that my legs, who were refusing to do any kicking in the water, were actually feeling ok. It took a while to get going, even with a base layer and a light jacket and head warmer I was still cold; all I could do was pushing down on the pedals in the hope to perk up. After seeing Dermot ploughing up the tarmac at the Club Relays I have been so inspired that in every ride and turbo session I have pushed that little harder, so I really wanted to have a perform on the bike. The course is a “there and back” route, the first half has more of a upward profile but still fast even against the wind, the second half is awesome, I soon realized from the manic grin on some of the competitors from the previous wave coming back. Is a road you can work hard down on the bars, with exciting bends and some downward sloping to keep momentum or accelerate.

On the return leg I was able to bend on the tri bars with comfort as my back eventually got loose after the frozen lake and I started to enjoy the race as the sun came up. I then realized it also had rained but as I was in my own personal black cloud I did not take much notice. It was late to salvage the bike split to do justice to the good training that Dermot has set me, but I gave it a go.

The last 3 miles of the bike overlap the run course, also a there and back run, so I could see the faster competitors already out and some coming back towards the finish line. I really started to feel good, and I was keen to get stuck in the run. T2 was a bit fumbled as my feet and hand were still not co-operating and I had a few layers to shed, but the start of the run felt immediately good, thanks to the permanent brick sessions on my scheduled devised by the coach. In fact it felt so good that I did not realize that the road was gradually going up until I came down on it on the way back! I just thought, looking at my Garmin, that I was having a slow run, but I was enjoying myself and keeping an eye out to check Sam Anderson, another athlete coached by Dermot but in few leagues above my standards, and let her know her standing in the lady’s race. I had seen her running out at the 1st mile marker as I was getting back in to Bala, so knew she was close to finishing.

As the road evened out and then descended to the turn round point in a camp site I started to feel really good and so thought to push faster and even overtook a few people on the way back. I did not think I was going to run a PB, so perhaps I did not try as hard as I could. In hindsight this is lesson n.2 of the day: never give up! I did put a spur on at the end and wind up to a sprint finish at 53’59.

I then found out that race is advertised at 10.25K, so officially I call it a PB and I am still kicking myself for not having had a more positive mental attitude.

So the season is over and I have to give the BIGGEST THANKS to the very inspirational coach Dermot, it has been tough to keep to discipline to follow the plan but very rewarding in seeing the results, challenging to always aim at doing better and fun. The best asset to my training and racing is to have Dermot’s help and support.

Simona

DGTri Athlete Report - Samantha Anderson

British Club Relay Championships

Racing last week with the Linebreak Team was a fantastic experience! I was so excited from start to finish; I couldn’t stop smiling or jumping up and down. I couldn’t wait to race! Following coach’s plans had gone to a T and I was feeling stronger and stronger all the time. It was excited being tagged in the swim in such a high position after Mark and Katie swam so well. I wasn’t used to having so much space being out with the leaders! I of course dropped a few places with the swim being my weakest discipline but tried to hold my own and I knew Dermot would regain the places I had lost on the last leg. The bike course was brilliant.....for once Boss let me put it in a big ring so I was really pleased with my split which was over 2 minutes faster than last year. My legs stiffened up before the run and I was a bit disappointed with my time for that but it was definitely a long 5k and myself and the rest of the team had done enough to earn a top ten position in a field of quality athletes. I loved this event, there’s a real buzz about it......but above all I loved racing with such great athletes and being looked after by Bill & Pam who managed to get me to where I needed to be on time and with the correct kit (miracle workers!). A big thank you of course to Coach for his motivational speeches on the day (“Don’t hope......just do!”) and Linebreak our sponsors for supporting us throughout the season.

Sam

British Club Relay Triathlon Championships

Last weekend I took part in the British club relay Triathlon championships. The LINEBREAK team consisted of Mark Sykes, Katie Silke, Samantha Anderson and myself, and we races in this order. The distances were 500m swim - 15km bike - 5km Run. The format is very particular, each member has got to do each discipline first before proceeding to the next. This was a big race for us as it was very important to perform at our best for our sponsor who supported us during this year.

We all had a great performance. I was particulary pleased with my swim and bike, a little bit less with my running since my back decided to go in spasm after 2k but this did not stop me from pushing till the line. In the end we managed to place 10th overall out of 15o teams. It was great fun racing in that atmosphere!

A big thank-you goes to our sponsor LINEBREAK, team manager Bill Livingstone and official photographer Pam Batchelor. Also a big well done goes to my team mates who really gave their best on the day.

Dermot

DGTri Athlete Report - James Harman

Ironman Uk Bolton.

We arrived in Bolton early Saturday morning as i wanted to get a swim bike and run in before the big day. We got there a little to early and registration wasn't even open. After signing on we went across to the lake and did a small session before taking the bike and bike kit to t1 which was at the lake. After that we then had to go to t2 which was about 10-12miles away if i'm correct and drop the run kit off. A little bit of messing around and not much advice on hand but we got it sorted in the end and parked the van at the reebok stadium which is where we slept as there were no hotel rooms available. The airbed in the van was quite comfortable though. I managed to get 3-4hrs sleep before the alarm went off at 0400 and i got up got dressed and prepared my drinks for the bike. I then made my way to the bus which took us to the lake. On the bus i realised i had left my timing chip and race number in the van!, Gutted and panic stricken i had been that worried and nervous i had forgotten the most important piece of kit. I got to the lake and went to see race control where they sorted me another chip out and i had just finished getting ready for the swim at 05:55 lol. Race started at 06:00 so i was at the back going into the water. Once in the water i was surprisingly calm and once we got out to the starting markers the race started almost immediately so there was no waiting around in the cool water. I was surprised to find my swim pace quite quickly!, Maybe after only three or four hundred meters and managed to pass a few people. At the the start of the second lap i had passed a few yellow caps and that gave me even more of a boost. Infact there were a lot of yellow caps behind me. I exited the water on 63mins and was quite happy even though i did want to do the swim under an hour but too many people swimming across my line caused delays.

I then ran to t1 changing in to my bike kit and eating an energy bar exiting t1 after about 5mins. I didn't want to rush as i needed to make sure i got everything spot on. The bike started quite well but on the start of the first lap after biking up there about 14miles i started to feel really quite poor. Infact i could of thrown the towel in. I was really quite upset and low but didnt understand why. I had a gel and kept up with the fluids but still felt crap coming to the end of the first 30mile lap. I was quite poor again and though maybe i wasn't taking enough food on. I took a chance and ate two powerbars and within about 5mins felt excellent. That was it not enough calories so i upped the cals and was quite strong until the last 20miles as a headwind had kicked up on the way into t2. I did the bike section in about 7hrs 15mins so a little more bike practice needed.

I again spent around 5mins in t2. Had some water and an energy bar and set out on the run leg stretching my calfs as i went. My calfs and feet were quite painful at the start of the run but i soon ran it off then the reality of the 26mile run sank in. By this time i had just found my pace switched off and kept going. The first 12-14miles were steady running all the way but after this it became very difficult and i did have to walk some of the way. Especially up that small hill out of bolton town centre which by now had turned into a mountain. I had made the turn onto my last lap of the run and as i got to the top of the road to collect my third and final lap band i suddenly came alive!, You know the feeling if you have done Ironman. It was yes i am there!. 3 miles and its all over. I started to pick the pace up running quite fast celebrating with a huge smile. I remember coming around to get onto the red carpet with the crowd going mad. I crossed the Ironman finish line in 12hrs 48mins with a Marathon time of 4hrs 17mins. What a result for a big boy like me. I am very happy with my result. It was a tough challenge. I would again like to thank Dermot Galea for helping me to complete what seemed like an impossible goal and Alfonso Jiminez who ran the whole marathon with me taking pics and getting very excited lol. Also thanks to everybody else for your support. There are too many to mention but you know who you are.

What's next for me?. Lose some more weight and try and get a little faster. Concentrating on Olympic distance the rest of this season and next season then an Ironman distance race in 2013.

Enjoy your racing!, Jamie.

DGTri Athlete Report - Simona Carena

Blithfield Olympic Triathlon

The Blithfield Olympic is a very well organized race from Punishing Event and hosts at the same time a Sprint distance. The race location is very rural, HQ is on the edge of the large reservoir that gives the event its name; the swim is held in a corner of the lake and the run course winds itself on its shores; the surrounding tortuous, quiet and undulating country lanes offer an interesting bike section.

Although I was looking forward all season to return to this location to race the Olympic distance, the last two weeks previous to the race I was not firing on all cylinders so I was a bit unsure on how well or bad the day was going to pan out.

It was great to meet a few friends and team mates and in particular have a quick reassuring chat with Dermot and Bill. It is always a bonus to be rubbing shoulders with good athletes and it certainly gave me that extra bit of confidence and anticipation to get racing.


I found the waters of the lake reasonably warm and although quite murky not an issue.
I placed myself just behind the fast people a bit to the outside of the direct path to the first buoy as I thought at this distance there would be a higher number of competent swimmers. I then spent the length to the first buoy scrambling over trashing arms and feet realizing how wrong my assumption was.

The plan was to settle down quickly, pace the first lap not too fast and increase the speed on the second lap. It all went fine and I was feeling efficient, but was not prepared for the good news as exiting the water the race commentator shouted that I did a 26:25. This included also a short run where I was faffing with my wetsuit zip, therefore I was delighted as I must have paced it right. So the first PB of the day was in my tri-suite pocket… may be that was what was impeding the zip from opening? ;-)

Transition was fine, may be a bit slow, but in my defence the filed was uphill!

The bike section consisted of two loops, with a very thrilling descent followed by crossing the bridge in the middle of the reservoir. The course keeps winding along small lanes with constant small hills and required to concentrate to maintain efficient cadence and momentum. On the first lap I tried to keep a steady tempo and keep in touch as much as possible with bikes overtaking me to ensure I was not relaxing. On the second lap I felt really good and did a bit of overtaking on the hills without overdoing it. By the end of lap two I had to concentrate more to remain efficient.

This section was completed in 1:19, a supersonic average speed of 19 mph for my standards. The recent hard work paid off! Just as well that I have a second pocket in my tri-suite as this was PB n.2 of the day!

I soon arrived to the second transition and was feeling fine and keen to try for another PB. A bit of a greedy attitude but as I have not had a 10k race or a fast Olympic tri in a long time, ever hopeful with the great improvements in my running form thanks to Dermot’s coaching, I thought it achievable.


My legs felt great coming off the bike and I got going on the off road run path at my 5k pace… then thought better of it and reined it in a bit. The run too was a two loops affair and I thought to follow the trend in holing back a fraction on the first half and then give it all I had left in the second section. The plan was good but the execution was limited by my ability and so I found myself slowing ever so slightly all the way through. The sun was warm where the breeze was not blowing, but the condition were not bad on the day, I think I simply must have misjudged the pace and or run out of steam. Never the less I was able to grab a 51:30 for the 10K and not only have the fastest race at this distance either stand alone or in a tri but also finish the race placed 2nd in my age group in an overall PB time of 2:40:02!

I am ever thankful for all the advice, support and perfectly tailored training plan from Dermot, work is required from my part… but the correct guidance makes every effort yield consistent results!

Simona

DGTri Athlete Report - Marica Micallef

Agones FC Series Overall Winner

This year witnessed the launch of the Agones Series. The series consisted of four different events, based around the outskirts of the village of Gudja, in the beautiful, arid village of Ħas Saptan. The events consisted of a 5km trail run around Gudja’s valley, a 20km bike time trial along the runway cycling lane, a unique 10km night cross country bike race and last but not least a cross country duathlon.

Everyone could take part in this series: an individual could participate in one specific event or step up the challenge and take part in the whole series. Winners and prizes were given out after each event, although the most prestigious award in the Agones Series was the male and female champion. This title was awarded at the end of the series, based on a point system accumulated during the whole series. I decided to stand up for this challenge and take part in each event. None was easy as the competition is always there. The scenic Chapel of Ta Loreto and the valleys situated on the outskirts of Gudja served as a perfect background for the first event of the Agones Series, a 5km trail run. Over 60 runners took part in this event.. I remember that even though it was in the beginning of April, it was quite hot, and in such an arid valley, the heat was worse. But I took the lead in the first few metres, pushing hard until the end, thus finishing and crossing the finishing line in 21minutes 35 seconds. The second of the four events consisted of a 20km time trial, held in a hot and humid Sunday morning in the month of May. I placed in the top three of the female category, and this made me open a good lead over my rivals. The third event was new for me since I had never raced a mountain bike race, and to make it worse, at night! It was a 20km pure adrenaline rush circuit! I knew that once the sun was down, it was going to be a different story. Racing in pitch dark is more risky and tactics might come in handy as much as power in the legs. It also meant that in the dark my concentration levels had to stay as high as possible. It was also hard for me to grab the water bottle and take a sip, so, afraid of risking it too much, I did not drink in the last lap when it was that pitch dark. I was overtaken in the first lap by Corrina Mocking but determined to take it further, I pushed for the rest of the route. I was getting stronger and stronger with each few metres, so much so that I reached Corrina in the last lap and winning the race with a final sprint! With my win I once again stretched my lead in the overall standing. All I had to do to win the overall series was do the last race and place in the top three. But I was determined to win the last race, the offroad Duathlon! Duathlon is my favourite race. I simply love it and love the transitions from run to bike, bike to run! Even though I was drop dead tired, since I had successfully finished the Maratona dles Dolomites in 7hrs 50minutes Sunday before, I remained positive and focused.

I took the lead in the first 2km run but with the second female a few seconds behind me, I knew I had to push it on the bike. And I did, leaving me at first place for the whole race. The 5km run was quite hard since it was now around 10 am in a hot July Sunday morning, making it worse for my wobbly feet to perform better! But I kept focused and increased my pace, making me cross the finish line in a superb time of 1hr 05 mins and being the overall Female Champion. This was not only a wonderful experience but it also showed how much I am seeing improvement from one training session to the next, one race to the next. All this thanks to the excellent coaching and support of Dermot Galea.

Marica

DGTri Athlete Report - Samantha Anderson

MK Standard Distance Triathlon

Today I raced the MK Olympic today which was also the English Age Group Championships. With a nice early start time, I set my alarm for 4am this morning to give it a go: The swim was fine; I actually enjoyed it for a change! It was a funny M shape with a bit of a loop on the end. My friend Emily, who was racing, is slightly better than me at swimming so I managed to draft off her feet for most of the second half of the swim. Quite an uneventful T1 and off out onto the bike.

As soon as I got on the bike I felt really weird (I can’t think of any other way to describe it??). I had little black spots in my vision, I felt like I was going to be sick and couldn’t really focus on the race. Rather than overtaking people on the bike like usual I was going backwards. I had no energy whatsoever and everything felt impossible. I usually love the bike but I was relieved when it was over. I was disappointed with the 1:11:03 time I got, I was hoping for much quicker than that.

In T2 I couldn’t get my trainers on!! Every time I put my right foot in my shoe I got cramp in my calf and had to take my foot out again. I have never had cramp in a race before; I really wasn’t feeling good but was hoping for my usual run time of 40-42 mins to give me an OK overall time.
On the run I fell further and further behind. It was so disheartening. I stopped to take some fluids on but I felt so weak, I just didn’t get it. Training has been going so well and other races have been fantastic. I have never wanted to drop out of a race more! In the end all my times went out the window and it was more a case of character building....just get myself round! I had an awful run and felt really disappointed because I’ve felt so strong in training, I guess it was just one of those days.

Despite my disappointing times I finished 2nd in my age group, which I was really surprised at as it was the English Championships but I suppose you’ve gotta be in it to win it! I got a lovely glass trophy to add to the collection and then won a prize on the raffle!! I topped up my tan and made a few new friends so although it was a pretty bad race for me; it was a good result and a great day out.

Back to the training programme this week and a real focus on getting ready for the National Relays. As they say an athlete is only as good as their last performance I’ve got some work to do!!!

Sam

Blithfield Sprint Triathlon - Blue Seventy Series

An early start to the day meant waking up at 5am in the morning to make it in time for an 8am race start. Weather was brilliant today, warm but not too hot and what I call perfect race conditions.

I was really looking forward to do a good performance today. After last weekend's minor disaster in the run section I wanted to pull out a good race. The race started with a fast sprint for the first bouy. The first 100m were rather amusing jumping from on person to the other trying to find some clear water. I must admit that I wasn't feeling that fast today in the water yet I managed to come out of the water in around 10.52. After a very quick transition were I over took not less than 4 people I set out on the BOARDMAN to tackle the undulating bike course.

Note for the future, when the race course description says undulating don't be fooled, there might be some very short steep hills, and today was no different. Having said that I was feeling reasonably good, possibly better than in the swim and I overtook a couple of guy! For most of the ride I was on my own trying to keep a high tempo as possible. Towards the end I was overtaken by an athlete and I decided to just keep a distance and come in transition with him. Total ride time: 33mins 30sec (approx).

Out of the run I started having visions of last weekend but I tried not to think too much about it. The run was not that easy as the first 1.5km and the last 1.5km (it was an out and back course) were on very rough surface. I tried to keep a strong pace for as long as possible for after the turn around I started to suffer. I was in 4th place at the time but with only 100m to go I got over take to come home in 5th position with a time of 1hr 04mins 38sec, losing 4th place by 4sec.

In general am quite happy and I can give myself a score of 7.5 for the whole race. Am a bit less worried about the run although I wasn't running amazing but I know what I need to do now to come at the level I want to be within the next 3 months. In the end I also came 1st in my age group.

The next two weeks will be quite difficult as I need to submit my dissertation but am at a good stage, which reminds me I'd better do some work on it now.

A big thank-you goes to Bill for his help today, and a big well done goes to Simona Carena (DGtri athlete) who did a fantastic job in the Standard Distance posting a great time of 2hrs 40mins (approx 10mins PB)!!!!!!!!!

Dermot

RESULTS: http://www.stuweb.co.uk/swp/default.asp?a=2&e=689

British University Triathlon Championships

After a couple of weeks trying to recover from a knee injury I kind of managed to put in 2 weeks of good training before the British University Triathlon Championships held at Dearne Valley. I was really looking forward to this race since in the last two BUCS championship races my performance was not what you call exceptional. Once again I was racing with Johanna and we both were looking forward to do a good performance.

The swim course consisted of two 800m laps for a total of 1600m. I had quite a good start and managed to stay with the second group of swimmers. I came out of the water in 23mins 38sec and quickly took off my wetsuit for a fast transition. I managed to over take a couple athletes in the transition area and came out of transition in 15th position. I tried to pick up a strong pace from the start on the bike. The course suited very much my characteristics and I was looking forward to a good bike split. Unfortunately on the first lap I wasn't feeling too good and at one point I was considering of stopping as I was feeling sick. Luckily once the fist lap was over, I found my strength and started moving again up the field. I finished the hilly technical course in 1hr 05mins which was bang on target. Looking back, if it wasn't for that first lap I could have gone much faster but probably the lack of consistant training was a major issue as I would find out on the run.

After another good quick transition I set out on the running course which consisted of 2 laps round the lake, off road and with a few sharp hills which by the second lap felt like mountains. The run unfortunately turned out the be quite hard and eventually I finished the whole triathlon in 2hrs 15mins, in 15th position. Its a respecatable position is such a high standard race but once again I know I could have done better.

Johanna had a very strong performance coming in 9th Overall in a new PB at the Standard Distance Triathlon...... and surely that was not a course for PB's.

Dermot

DGTri Athlete Report - Johanna Calleja

British Universities Standard Distance Triathlon Championships

Having looked forward to the BUCS Olympic Triathlon Championships for a while (in between working on assignments and my dissertation!), the nerves only started to set in slightly the night before. This was when I realised that I hadn’t taken part in such a long race for over two years! Of course speaking to Dermot about it, who has completed five Ironmans, it seemed a bit silly to be worrying and I knew that I was well-prepared for the race thanks to Dermot’s programme and the swim sessions with Barry.

As we made our way to the race venue in the morning, I was really pleased that it had turned into a nice, warm day and that the wind had died down. At least I could stop worrying about having frozen feet throughout the race, as had happened at the Full Boar race in May!

As I finished my run warm-up, Ide (my training partner and the only other triathlete from Chester Uni in the race) came running to tell me that my back wheel was flat. I started to think that this must be the end of my race, as there wasn’t too much time left before the briefing and race start. But as soon as I saw Dermot and told him what had happened, he grabbed his bike and headed back to the hotel to get a new tyre (he had been considering changing the back tyre as it wasn’t in the best shape, but didn’t wish to do it so soon before the race). Big thanks to Dermot for racing back to the hotel and quickly changing the tyre for me and thanks to Ide for remaining calm and preparing the wheel while Dermot was gone (while I just panicked!!).

So my bike was sorted with a really nice new pink tyre (thanks Bill and Pam!!) and luckily the race started a bit late, so we had time to recover from the stress and hear the briefing. Into the cold water (well at least cold for someone used to warm water in Malta) and without too much time to think about what lay ahead, we were off. There were some very fast swimmers in the race and quite a lot of chaos in the water in the beginning. I was swallowing a lot of water and getting into a bit of a panic, but I eventually got into quite a good rhythm.

I finished the swim in 12th place, got onto the bike and started to worry again as my feet were so cold that they were really painful! But thankfully as I got moving on the bike, they soon recovered. The bike segment consisted of four laps, which included two steep hills, one very long one and one a bit shorter and several sharp turns. Since the roads were open to traffic, it was difficult to get into a steady rhythm without having to slow down because of cars, the hills or another sharp turn!

I passed one girl on the bike and started the run in 11th place. I was quite tired and the run was far from being easy. It was two laps and also included two steep hills. But I managed to get into a decent pace and passed two girls on the second lap to finish in 9th place overall in a new p.b. of 2h 33min 31s.

I was really pleased with the result, especially since the bike course wasn’t fast at all and I was told that both the swim and run were longer than they were supposed to be. It was really nice to beat the time of my first Olympic distance triathlon, which I thought for so long would never happen. Big thanks to Dermot for his coaching and constant support and for helping me to keep going, even when I was so close to giving up (at least now we know why ). Big thanks also to Barry for the great swim sessions and for all his support, encouragement and enthusiasm, even at 6 in the morning when most of us are still half asleep!!

Johanna

DGTri Athlete Report - Barry Farrugia

B’KARA ST. JOSEPH RUNNING SERIES MTARFA 5K – RACE 1

A year on my first Mtarfa 5k, a steady track which I enjoy racing mainly because it is held in the evening.

The weather was perfect, warm with a slight cool breeze. I was well prepared and had high hopes on this one!

Last year, I did this same track in 19:36, finished 19th overall (which wasn’t bad being the first 5k I ever competed in.)

The race started at 19:30 sharp, I had a very strong and constant pace throughout. Finishing the race with my final ‘signature move’ the sprint J where I overtook another athlete in the end, coming through the finish line at 9th place with my new PB 18:24.

Whilst looking forward for the next Mtarfa 5k on the 26th of July, I dedicate my PB’s and success to my coach Dermot, “ thanks coach!!”

Barry

DGTri Athlete Report - Dave Grant

My Austrian Ironman Challenge

I felt my preparation for this event was really good and with the aid of Dermot I built up my fitness levels gradually and to my good fortune I didn’t encounter any major injuries along the way.

We arrived in Austria on the Wednesday prior to the race with bags and bikes in order (unfortunately some athletes who arrived on the Thursday and Friday arrived either without suitcases or even their bikes).

By arriving early, we had time to relax before the race, check in early, build bikes, have a few swims in the lake and take in the atmosphere of the event. The day before the race we had a tour of the bike course which took almost 2 hours in a coach, even though it was good to see the views of Austria it wasn’t much help for preparation so it’s not something I would recommend.

On the Saturday afternoon before the race I checked my bike into transition along with my bags for the bike and run, sighting where my bike and bags where in the racks. Also taking time to see where the bike exit was so I had no unexpected surprises on the day of the race.

Surprisingly I wasn’t nervous on race day, I woke up at 4 in the morning, having slept quite well that night and had breakfast. We got picked up at 5.15 and got dropped off at the bike transition at about 5.40. This gave me time to put my drink bottles and food on my bike, pump tyres up to pressure and just check every thing was in my bags. I put my wetsuit on & had a walk down to the lake, dropping my day bag at the athletes tent then had a slow walk to the start line.

The swim was the part I was most concerned about, When the gun went off about 2500 people went off in the water leaving myself and a load of others standing on the beach, I waited for 1 minute then made my way into the water. I got straight into my stride, people where stopping, doing breaststroke, trying to catch their breath and I just picked my way through them. I worked my way to the right side of the pack and swam wide of the buoys, I may have swum further but didn’t get into any of the scrum and that really helped my swim. It wasn’t until I got to the entrance of the canal and it started to bottle neck that I had to slow down, again I found a bit of space, then managed to pick my way through the last 900m. I managed to complete the swim in 1h 12mins which was about 8 mins faster than I thought I could do on a good swim.

T1 was a 400m from the swim exit, found my bag straight away, wetsuit off, gear on, bag swim stuff up, find my bike and we’re off. T1 took 7min 9 sec.

The bike ride was brilliant, felt really good on the 1st lap, the hills didn’t bother me, down hills were great, wanted to try and keep a good average of 21mph on the bike so I could do 5h30. On the bike I carried my relentless energy drinks, home made flap jacks, jelly babies and water, I also took 2 energy gels but didn’t need them. Ate and drank at regular intervals making sure I kept my energy levels up. After the 1st lap I was on course for a good bike time, however the 2nd lap, the hills took a lot more out of me than I was hoping. At the 100 mile mark I was starting to struggle and felt I was slowing down to much, however the ride back into T2 was down hill and I managed to save my legs a bit before I started the marathon. Even though I struggled with the end of the bike I really enjoyed the ride. The course was great, roads were good, crowds were supportive, weather was a bit to hot. I managed to complete the bike in 5h 27mins which again was faster than I had hoped for.

T2 was fine, racked bike back up, found my bag straight away, changed socks, trainers on, loo break and off we go, luckily a volunteer put my stuff away for me. T2 took 5.58

The run I had always thought was my strongest section, I wanted to start with a steady pace and then speed up once I got into my stride. Unfortunately this didn’t seem to happen, my legs just got heavier. I refused to let myself start walking so I made sure I just kept around the same pace. Running into Klagenfurt, there was the charity bell, I managed to jump up and hit the bell twice on the 1st loop but on the 2nd loop I had no energy left to jump and hit it again. I got through the marathon using 8 energy gels, water from the aid station and a bit of water melon for a change of taste. Turning off for the finish line was a fantastic feeling, the thought of running any further would have been horrendous. As I ran through the crowds towards the finish line I cheered the crowds for their support and ran through the finish. I completed the run in 3h 55mins.

I completed my 1st Ironman in 10h48m33s.

A big thank you to Dermot for helping me prepare for this event and a huge thank you to my friends and family for supporting me and an extra thank you to my wife for putting up with all my training and hardly seeing me whilst I prepared for this event. Thank you to all my training partners for pushing me when I could of quite easily of taken the easy way out. Thanks to everyone who sponsored me. I have managed to raise almost £2000 for the Warwickshire Air Ambulance.

Dave Grant

DGTri Athlete Report - Barry Farrugia

Full Boar Standard distance Triathlon

It was my first International race and my first olympic. Although I was well prepared, I was still nervous due to a few factors that in my opinion, were against me.

The first one was being in weather colder then I'm used to, and I was a bit concerned that taking off the wetsuit would take a while since it was my first experience racing with a wetsuit too!

9.30am and off I went in the chilly lake, the first 500m were a bit of a struggle, till my heartbeat became steady. But once I got used to the temperature I was quite consistant and managed to get out of the water in 00:31:31. T1 swim to bike took me 00:01:08 (which wasn’t that bad being paranoid about having the wetsuit.) Then off on the bike, which was kindly lent to me by Bill Livingstone. The bike segment consisted of two laps round Market Bosworth 42k , it was quite a straight track, but the wind had an important factor and there were many moments I found myself struggling against it! 1:21:01 I was very pleased with this time, being my first Olympic distance and on a bike that wasn’t my own! Off to T2 and my strongest part of the race, the running segment.

Feeling stronger then ever I flew out of T2, the sun had come out and the scenery was just beautiful, I quickly got on track and over took quite a few other athletes. It was perfect and I felt strong till the end, having the fastest finish of the day, with a sub 13 second 100m sprint finish!! Total running time 00:39:02. Which was also my PB.

Placed 29th overall with a total time of 2:33:31.

My first Olympic race wouldn’t have been a success if it weren’t for Dermot who is not only my coach but also my friend, who believes in me and gives me an intense training program . A big thanks also to our friends Pam Batchelor and Bill Livingstone, for their hospitality and for a very well organized race, Jamie Harman, who gave us a lift to the race. And a special thank you goes to my partner Nicoletta and daughter Valentina for being my No. 1 supporters and being by my side all the way!

Barry

DGTri Athlete Report - Simona Carena

Terrapin Sprint Triathlon

The second triathlon of the season soon came around after a couple of weeks from the previous race and I saw this as an opportunity to improve at the sprint distance.

The training that Dermot gave me has been going well, kept me in good shape and motivated to complete each set. It seems that time flies and the sessions are never monotonous and I find myself pushing hard in training and enjoying it.

In particular I wanted to nail the swim and execute good transitions, as I felt in the last race I could have done better.

Of course I also wanted to have a good bike time, on a well known course to me; and last but not list I wanted to see if my improving run has got any better.

The week leading in to the race was very stressful for me and it left me a bit flat and not so relaxed, but nothing is better than a race to blow the cobwebs away and put a smile on your face, so I was still keen to compete.

The race venue, Bosworth Water Trust Park, is very familiar to me having competed in two duathlons and a few aquathlons and generally I see it as my home training ground. The race organization was not one of the best, in my humble opinion, and the goody bag consisted of 1 banana. Good job I got there early as it took 3 visits to registrations to get all sorted, not a good sign, especially on the first trip where I almost have had to wrestle the volunteer for a race swim cap!

The race started a few minutes before the “official time”, and I did not ear any warning, just the hoot but I soon got stuck in it.

My ambition of a sub 13’ swim was crush by a mild panic attack in the first 200 mt. I was gutted as I was well positioned in a small group of faster swimmers and comfortably pulling ahead when the engine room alarm went off and I could hardly breathe. I was sucking air in but not able to blow it out. I had to have a talk to myself and calm down, a few breast strokes and then start again. I think I lost about one minute and eventually I could see the group I missed exiting the water some 100 mt ahead.

It is a shame not to have had the good swim I wanted, and the benefit of drafting off some good swimmers, but no time to dwell on it.

Out of the water and to a quick transition, this time with no crowd entertaining somersaults to get the wetsuit off.

For some reason the bike course starts on a grass field, parallel to a very nice tarmac road, with the odd digged out shallow trench to dodge. Then you are on the park entrance road and soon after on the bike course proper. On the first section of the bike, where last time I felt efficient I thought I was suffering a bit, but unlike my last race here I finished strong on the last up hill before the village of Market Bosworth and felt really confident.

My target was to beat the time from the duathlon and, on equal distance I was about one and half minute faster, I would say on similar weather conditions.

This does not count for the second foray in to off roading across the back of the park camp site... on finishing the bike route competitors were directed, more or less clearly, at the back of the park amongst the tents and caravans for some more gravel beds and grass adventures.

I am very pleased with the bike section result and hope that Dermot’s plan will keep helping me get faster on the bike. I have really enjoyed the sessions that he has prescribed both on the road and on the trubo as I have seen that the hard work has been paying off. It was very satisfying to do some overtaking, both of ladies in my wave and in the previous wave, and only being overtaken on this section from the male winner that started 10 minutes behind. This is a very new experience for me!

T2 also was a happy place that only took 37 seconds to visit. I am pleased that I kept concentrated and made an effort not to waist time here.

The run had the added bonus of being also a “mystery tour”, possibly to compensate for the low value of the goody bags; luckily as I am familiar with the venue it did not affect me, but I did see some lost souls looking around for signage or tape! I started the run feeling good and able to set off at pace. Had to ask for directions but got on the correct course. The route was 2 loops of “there and back” around the outskirts of the park, partially on cinder gravel and partially on very well manicured springy grass. Some more instruction sought by a very ambiguous marshal at the second turn round point (is not a good thing to indicate opposite direction with both hands when asked for the way, right?) and I was back on track.

The second lap I felt even more at ease and able to stretch out my stride on the grass sections. I think with the amount of strides that Dermot has included in my training this year we are getting somewhere! Soon I was back from the second lap and in search of the finish line... that was missing.... you just went over a mat and had to figure out that it was the finish. A bit of an anticlimax really.

The run, yet again, is the fastest paced run I have done in a triathlon! Hurray! The course was about 4.5 km so a time of 21.35 is my new run PB! This is not world record time, but to put it in prospective, after 18 months of coaching I can now run 4 minute faster on a 5 Km course, and I was already training regularly and competing before.

Also I have to thank Dermot for his patience and ability to mould the training plan around a dodgy knee lately and still be able to me faster and keep me motivated to train hard!

Simona

DGTri Athlete Report - Samantha Anderson

European Triathlon Championships
Pontevedra, Spain
25th June 2011


Pontevedra is a lovely city in the North of Spain. It was to host the 2011 European Triathlon Championships and had an extra little heatwave to welcome us Brits to the country! The swim was along a river to a bridge, round a couple of buoys and back to land again. I practised the swim a few days before race day and the water was boiling! Wetsuits were optional but I needed mine to keep me afloat. The swim felt long and after talking to some other athletes they told me it was 2-3 minutes longer than the correct distance. This did not bode well for me as the swim is my weakest discipline!! I also had the chance to practice the bike course which was a long climb of 9k, around a turnaround point and back again. I love climbing hills so I was excited about the bike course. The run was 2 laps around the Old Town. It was undulating and slightly over 5k but looked like a good course.

The lead up to the race was fantastic. The opening ceremony saw musicians, actors, people with fire, lots of spanish dancers to entertain us etc. I met lots of old friends from the Worlds at Budapest. I saw the Belgian Boys who I made friends with in Ireland too and the whole city had a great buzz about it. I was nervous about the race, but more excited to be a part of it all.

On race day I got up at 6am and ate cornflakes out of a glass as we had forgotten to bring a bowl! We walked through the city to the start of the race. It was still pretty dark and we were greeted by party-goers on their way home from a fun night out shouting "buenos nochos" to us! I had racked my bike the night before so all that was left to do was set up the rest of transition. Everyone was provided with a box and your stuff had to be in the box or you were penalised. As quite a messy person this rule was stressing me out! So I stood in transition for a while and tried to visualise what I was going to do in the race. I spoke to the other girls in my age group for a bit. I´ve met most of them before but it reminded me how competitive my age group is. I was to be racing the national champion and the silver and bronze medallists from the 2010 Worlds. The current European Champion was back to defend her title and the silver and bronze medallists from last year´s Europeans were there too. I tried to remind myself that it wasn´t about them and I just had to do my own thing.

There were about 70 women in the wave I was going off in. It was so crowded on the pontoon, there were about 2 women per box on the start. We were asked to get into the water and then the hooter went. We were off! No more time to be nervous! As we all started swimming I instantly got hit, punched and kicked. I tried to get my arm out of the water but there was no room to even do that. I did some breaststroke and then got going. A bit of open water.....a couple of strokes and then another hit and punch. Now someone was grabbing my ankles. More breastroke. A bit of a panic. Then back into some open water, a couple of strokes.....then someone was swimming over me. A cough and a splutter. Bit more breaststroke. Then off again. Needless to say I hated the swim. On the way back I got a bit more room but I knew I had lost a lot of ground. I was out of the water 12th in my age group, 2 minutes 58 seconds behind the lead girl in my age group.

Transition was a long run in, I tried to use this time to make up ground. Wetsuit off and thrown into the box. Helmet and bike shoes on and then I was off. The ride out was brilliant. The climb was great and I was overtaking a lot of people. Nobody went past me. I don´t ride with a watch or speedometer but I felt like I was going well. I overtook 4 girls in my age group, turned round at the top and I was on the way down. The descent was so steep that when I pushed my hardest gear it didn´t make any difference. I felt like I had run out of gears and couldn´t go any faster whether I pedalled or not. I felt really frustrated by this because I had a lot of energy and power in my legs but it was just going to waste. The bike is my main strength but I felt like it went to waste a bit because of the course.

Back into transition and I could see a girl in my age group just starting the run. Running trainers on and I was off. I caught the girl ahead within the first couple of minutes. The run was brilliant. Through a massive stadium, around 2 laps of an undulating 5k and back into the stadium. As it was laps I could see where the other athletes were. I knew I couldn´t catch the girls ahead as there was nearly a 2 minute difference and I knew I was stronger than the girls behind. I ran in my comfort zone and enjoyed taking in the atmosphere, the crowds, the flags, the cheering. In hindsight I wished I had pushed a bit harder, just to get the best time that I could have got, but I will remember that for next time.

I crossed the line finishing 7th. It was a solid performance but I have learnt a lot from it, my approach to the race, my attitude during the race and more importantly my goals and next steps for what I have to do next. I am somewhat frustrated with myself as I think I have a lot more in me than 7th place and in many ways I matched the medallists for bike and run speed but I know if I persevere and keep trying I will get there. Dermot´s coaching has really given me a lot of confidence and I´d like to thank him for his continuous support (and patience!) with me. It was a real honour to race for GB and a great experience that I will always be proud of.

Sam