DGtri Athlete - Simona Carena

Antwerp 70.3

For 2012 I decided to make my A race a challenge on a new longer distance. As Bill and Dermot were going to do Antwerp 70.3 and “not wanting to miss out” I signed on.

The ever helpful Pam arranged the train trip to Belgium at a very low price and steered us from train to train totally hassle free! At St Pancreas Luke and Steffy joined us and we crossed The Channel to mainland Europe like a really jolly trip.

At the Ibis Hotel in the centre we found Bill and Sophie who got there just before us in the car with the luggage and bikes. We also greeted Dermot and Barry that had flown in from Malta the previous day and kindly helped unloading. I thought this was a very relaxed and privileged way to get to a race, I doubt even the pro get the same treatment! Thanks Pam and Bill!

The following day we checked the swim and T1 areas in the morning by bike to shake the legs; later we had a lush pizza in the city main square where the race finish line was being put up. Then walked to registration and strolled back for the last finishing touches to the kit. Most notably the northern Europe Monsoon gave way to summer at about 2 pm as we were gorging on the pizzas. What a good omen!

On race morning I felt good and relaxed. We got to the start and racked our bikes early as T1 was to be closed at 10 am, Luke and Barry were the first to go at 11.20 followed 10 minutes later by Dermot, then myself at 11.30 and 20 minutes later by Bill.

It was a bit of a long wait for all competitors, I tried to keep chilled in the shade of trees in the good company of my friends and soaked the atmosphere in.

All was good till I said “bye and good luck to Bill” as his presence, and Dermot’s had a calming an inspiring effect on me. But there were only 15 minutes with a little bit of race nerves until had to join my starting pen and finish to put on the wetsuit.

The sun was already up and quite hot and I was a bit unsure if it would have a negative influence on my race, however it kept me in a good mood.

In my mind I was ready, looking forward to discover what this 70.3 was all about and if I could pull a good race together.

My only certainty was that I could not have prepared better as Dermot’s coaching is second to none and that my bike, the most critical bit of kit, was the best I could have as Bill went to great lengths to source the best component I could afford and built it to perfection! A truly fitting and comfortable ride.

And now was up to me to make a good job of it, or not to make any silly mistakes.

The start gun went off as I was still standing on the access steps to the lake, no problem I was planning to let the crowd go anyway so I plunged in, moved a bit on the outside and got going.

The water was so pleasant after standing in the sun and within 200 mt I was in a good rhythm with clear water around. By half way I felt so good! My stroke was at is best and I was literally gliding and overtaking a few bodies and having a good time. I felt confidence swelling inside. I looked out for good feet to draft from but did not find any.

I did not push too hard as I thought it would be a long day, but still managed a 32:42, which with the delay in getting going and the slightly wider start line was very good for the effort! At the time I did not look at the watch because my aim was to go well all the way not go after a fast swim time.

Transition was good, 3:30, most of it was running to and with the bike: number belt clipped on, gloves on, helmet and glasses and go!

The first few pedal stroke were to get settled, slip the shoes on, stretch the back slowly on to the TT bars and allow my heart rate to go down.

The course went in the tunnel under river and then outside town towards the port for a 3 lap repetition and then back in town. My plan work smart to HR effort, stay aero as much as possible take in a little of solids and drink plenty. Simple.

I really enjoyed the course: not great views but mostly flat with a few chances to stand up on pedals to stretch out on the little uphill, the tram lines were not an issue even for a less skilled rider like me. A bit of wind that seemed to swirl around but did not stop me from feeling good and loving the sun.

I thought a few times may be I was making a too hard effort and risking to affect the following run, but my HR was ok so I had to stay with the plan; in the second half I pushed a bit more especially on the small steady inclines of the fly over bridges, but the average speed seem to stay the same with same HR, so I was possibly trying a bit. It was great to see the guys passing by at full speed, as I did remark at the breakfast table they all were looking very fast!

I cut food intake on the last lap (not that a few pieces of power-bar and half banana was much to cut from) and eventually also stopped drinking on my way back off the loop to avoid any slushing in the stomach at the start of the run.

Rattling around on the pave’ section by the river I could see the runners lapping around town in the heat and it look a bit grim. Would my back seize coming off the bike? Did I push too hard? Was the sun going to sabotage the last leg? My average speed dropped a bit more on the last mile leading to T2 and I started to be a bit worried about the run, but was determinate to perform well no matter what.

The bike time was 3:05:22, this was a good result and below what I thought it would take me so I was very pleased, confident to go under 6 hours if avoided pacing or other mistakes. I was not putting myself under pressure, just thinking to control urges of rushing too much the pace in the first half, keep hydrated and keep good form and finish strong.

T2 was also satisfactory at 3:06 inclusive of a pit stop, so hydration levels where good. I have to say that I can understand now why people pay lots for this branded events as the organization is very smooth and racing on closed roads with large crowds is very exciting. Though I am generally in favour of the small quirky and more personalized events it is easy to see why these massive races can be addictive!

On to the run course and within 500 mt I had to check my speed as I was below my 10k pace… whoops!... that would have been an expensive rookie mistake! On to the first of four times on the riverfront under the sun: although I was still adapting to the run mode and on uneven footing things were not looking bad. Any uncertainty on my ability was swept away as to be frank I had far harder sessions in training where I had to deal with being really tired compared to this and still managed!

At the first drink station I doused myself with water and drank a bit and had the relief of long shaded stretches and I started to feel really, really good. By half way of first lap I was floating 10 cm from the ground! I would have not been able to tell you that I was running on cobbles at times! I was so happy, confident of being able to execute a good half and as proud as Punch!

The course brought you 3 times around the city centre and in the main square, by the finish line, under a seating area packed with spectators. Here also jammed by the barriers on street level our own cheering crowd of Sophie, Steffy and the tour photographer Pam were screaming their heads off and giving high fives! What and uplift. All around the town there were pockets of crowd clapping and cheering, and some live music or pubs with loud speakers making the town almost as lively as a carnival. I was having a whale of a time! I only started to suffer a bit on the last lap, the cobbles all of the sudden where no so much fun, then a bit of queasiness and a wet shoe insole getting bunched up under my foot, but I was not going to take any notice. I did slow down a bit in this lap but with 2 km to go I managed to rally and pick up the pace and finish the run in 1:57:51; this is less than 5 minutes from my stand alone half PB! That shows what a good preparation Dermot has prescribed in his wicked plan!

And so I crossed the line feeling awesome, happy, still elated, not even checking my time as right then I could not care less…

Dermot told me it was 5:42:34! One more bonus as I was gunning for anything below 6 hours as top prize! Bill got me some water and also Luke and Barry where there looking just as fast as in the morning.

Antwerp has been one of my most satisfactory sporting event ever, as per A-Team’s Hannibal motto “I love when a good plan comes together”. I was not sure what this race distance would be like and if I would enjoy it, but did all the training that Dermot sent and hoped for the best. My next race will be the “Wild Boar” middle distance and I am really looking forward to it!

Thanks to Dermot for his support and careful planning, to Bill and Pam for their constant availability to help and making travelling to a race abroad such a relaxed trip!

DGtri Athlete - Jamie Harman

Race report for Cowman Middle Distance Championships 8th July 2012

The cowman was my first A-Race of 2012 and i had been really looking forward to the event. It was my first middle distance race since last year and with training and my adaption going so well i was really excited.
Also with the absolutely positive result of a second place under my belt at the Full Boar Super Sprint race in May and an excellent new pb at Northampton olympic distance in June my confidence had really hit the roof!

Training went as planned up to the final week of the event when nerves were getting the better of me and i still felt a little fatigued. Thinking nothing of it i carried on as planned and was hoping i would shed any lasting fatigue by the morning of the race.
I do get a little nervous coming up to an event but never like this and it really did have quite a drastic affect on me mentally.

On the morning of the race i got up at 3am had my breakfast and set off having packed all my gear the night before. I arrived at the venue at around 5.30am and made my way to registration wading through the mud. It was awful due to the rain we had suffered and the transition area was an absolute bog.
After racking my bike and setting my transition area out i made my way to the swim start for the race briefing. After a swift 5min briefing it was into the water for a warm a quick warm up and then we were off! I had planned to start the swim steady and then build speed as without a proper warm up knew i would hit the wall and have to back off. I got around the first buoy and started to pick the pace up. The swim was quite bad with people cutting in all over the place and slower swimmers getting in the way but i guess that's what happens when you take your time at the start!. After maybe 5 or 10 minutes into the swim i started to suffer some digestion problems and the energy bar i had eaten in transition before the off was repeating on me terribly!. I really struggled in the swim leg like never before and had an awful time that really put me down mentally. I ended up doing a 34min 1900meter swim in the end which isn't bad but by the way i had been performing was really quite a lot down on my pace. Nerves!

Wading through the mud in T1 to my bike i got my wetsuit off pretty quick had a gel, Put my helmet on and i was making my way towards T1 exit. I had banded my shoes ready to make a quick getaway but the amount of mud on my feet meant that i couldn't get my cycling shoes on correctly and had to wipe off the mud from between my toe's.
I set off on the bike leg and settled in quite nicely. The bike leg included 2 large laps and 1 small lap with my plan being to get the hammer down after the first big lap. The bike leg included a few rolling hills and one hill that was quite steep but not too long. I really felt quite strong on the bike and my nutrition plan went quite well apart from when i started to push my gut played up.
There were no fuel stops during any part of the event so my nutrition plan had to be spot on. I had allowed for how much fuel i would need plus a little extra just in case but think i may of mixed my energy drink a little rich which was causing me problems. Luckily i had taken extra gels and plain water on board so i could water it down after swallowing it. The bike leg went ok but i had been counting on doing that section of the race a little quicker but with the swim going wrong it may of been playing on my mind a little. My bike split was 2hrs 48mins for the 56miles which was a new pb for me!...........What was i complaining about!

Into T2 wading through the even worse mud again and on with my running shoes. The part of the race i was looking forward too!. The run course had been changed due to the adverse weather we had had and now included a run up and down the hill around the park and past transition to start another lap approximately 4.23 miles per lap with a total of 3 laps and not 4.. I took it easy the first lap holding 7-8min mile pace and started to pick up the pace on the second lap. By this time i had started on the caffeine gels and found plenty of extra energy. By the time i hit the third lap it was all out balls out as i just wanted to get it done and have a beer lol. My run splint was again another fantastic pb with a time of 1hr 28mins for 12.7miles. Not bad after all the previous work!.

My total event time was 4hrs 54mins and 39secs. I had been a little disappointed with my result but after a swift talking to from the boss's (Dermot and Bill) i soon cheered up. How can somebody with so little experience in Triathlon do a sub 5hr so soon!. Absolutely fantastic result which i am hugely proud of.

Again i would like to thank everybody for there help and support. Especially Bill Livingstone who spanks my arse when i get mardy. My coach Dermot Galea for creating a triathlon monster lol and Johanna Calleja for sorting out my fantastic nutrition plan. And not forgetting my family for putting up with my moody mardy ways especially when things are not going to plan. Without any of the named above this would not be possible. Thank you

DGtri Athlete - Jamie Harman

Grendon Triathlon Report

Northampton olympic distance was my second race of 2012 and hadn't i really been planned until the last minute but as the Barton marina triathlon had been cancelled due to lack of entrants i needed to race.

Training without some form of competition for me is mentally challenging so i needed to get another event in the bag before the Big cow middle distance. After my second place in the Full Boar super sprint i wanted to make sure that it wasn't luck and that i had actually found some racing consistency and strength paying off after the hours of training. I was not to be disappointed!.

I was up at 5am and porridge with honey was on the menu for brekky. Then a quick shower and off to Northampton. It had been raining all night and i had not held much hope of it stopping in time for the race but it did.
On arrival at the venue the field was an absolute bog and i did worry that i may not get the car back off i but thought to myself i will worry about that after the race. I got my kit ready and went off to registration then to set my transition area up. It was a little wet but not as boggy as the car park and there was plenty of room.

The race starts were in waves and my wave was at 08:40. I planned to take it a little easier at the start of the swim as in the super sprint in may i went off to quick and blew up then ended up having to do breast stroke for a few meters to get myself together. The water was a little choppy and and at 08:40 the horn sounded. The swim down to the first buoy was not bad as we were swimming with the wind and current, I did expect it to be hard going coming back up the lake but to my surprise it was quite easy and i was holding a good manageable comfortable swim pace. My sighting was going well and i was going from marker buoy to marker buoy in straight lines with no issues. Coming back across the lake towards the pylon before the last turn all the other bar a few swimmers seemed to go offline and i wondered if i had missed a buoy. I stopped and had a look and my sighting was correct, A lot of swimmers had gone offline and maybe added perhaps one hundred to two hundred meters to there swim leg. I made the last turn and passed a few people who had made mistakes and seemed to be really struggling with the conditions. I was really cruising quite nicely and exited the water in a comfortable state in 23mins. Happy days.

A bit of a steady run to T1 and on with the bike kit. I had a jacket waiting in T1 but when i got there opted not to wear it as it was quite warm and not raining. My bike split is what i was really looking forward to as i am still getting used to the Scott and new i could put a new Olympic pb bike split in. My previous was 1hr 20mins.

Out on the course and it was really really windy. I was getting blown all over the place with the deep section rims but never the less still holding good speed. I seemed to be endlessly passing people and with ease. I was even singing to myself at one point lol. What did the other competitors think?

It was obvious a lot of people were struggling with the windy conditions and had opted just to get to the finish but thanks to Dermot's super hard turbo workouts and some hill sessions i was strong and my legs felt good, I don't really remember ever blowing hard and i felt like i was riding really consistent and clever, Using the gears without thought as soon as they were needed. That's one thing i have learnt!, The bike has gears and if your thinking maybe i should change up then chances are you should of already done it!. On the few downhill sections i was holding a big gear and hitting 30+mph. On the uphills spinning up to clear the legs of lactic acid. With some tail winds also it was a good idea to back off on power and spin up to clear the legs. The plan worked and i romped home with a big smile on my face to T2 in 67minutes knocking 13+mins of my previous olympic bike split.

T2 and on with the socks and out in 1min 16secs. The run course after all that rain was quite muddy, That terrain is right up my street as i had been doing lots of mixed terrain long runs across fields and up and down hills.

My run plan was to go steady for the first half a lap then pick up the pace for the remainder however i did not find my run legs until around the end of the second lap but was still holding 7min to 7:30 pace. The third lap things started to come together and i was running hard without any issues holding around 6:50 to 7:00min pace. I decided to get it over with on the last lap and started running hard, I was looking at my pace on my watch and holding around 6min miles. That for me is really moving!. I expected to blow up but to be honest i think i could of held that pace for a little longer had i only tried it earlier in the run and just pushed through. My run split was 43mins avg 7:16 pace. I finished the event in 2hrs 17mins knocking around 20mins of my previous Olympic distance time.
I finished 6th in my category and 24th place overall. I am very happy with my result and my plans are to just keep on improving my splits and to be consistent. All is good in my camp at the moment and things are coming together. The next race is The Big Cow middle distance in July. I just need to keep it together now but to be honest if i am clever and cautious during the next Two weeks then we'll be good!

Enjoy the rest of your season and race hard but smart!

Jamie

DGtri Athlete: Richard Kitts

This was my first ever triathlon and it was a cracker. Firstly the swim in open water was a little slow i.e. 16 mins but i started at the back and ended up stopping due to amount of people who decided to slow down. Next the transition which took me 4 mins as i could not get my wet suit off and looking at some of the better triathletes they only took 2 mins-what a novice. Mind you some poor folks fell over whilst trying to take theirs off. I really enjoyed the bike section as it was run on closed roads. I am used to doing time trials and getting shouted out by drivers being daft. I managed to make up time and passed quite a few other poeple who had clearly swam better than me. Then 2nd transition was quick, followed by a nifty 23 mins for the 5k run which felt hard. It was a funny feeling to run on dead legs. My lungs were telling me to run harder but my legs would not move quicker. Great feeling when finished 1.27 2nd in my age group. What a bonus. So plenty to think about, but i do love doing these events. So more interesting then plain running or biking on their own.

Next one liverpool tri in 2 weeks. Bring it on i reckon

 

Richard

DGtri Athlete - Bill Livingstone

European Powerman Championships : Horst, Holland.

Someone had the bright idea of entering the Powerman Duathlon as a good guage of how the winter training had progressed our athletic abilities.

Race Day Minus 2.

On a bright and blustery morning, it was a quick drive to the airport to collect Dermot, then another trip around the M25 to collect Luke, then off to Dover we headed.

Once at Dover, we were told (without any apologies!) that our ferry was cancelled and we were booked on the next one, 3 hours later. Dont you just love British customer services!!

After an uneventful channel crossing ( I was hoping for big waves) we arrived at Dunkirk and headed off for Horst Holland. Luke had worked out that Dermot had actually travelled in 5 countries that day, Malta, England, France, Belgium and finally Holland. I think the journey was starting to take its toll on us!

After our ferry delay we arrived at the hotel late and after the restaurant had closed. As we booked into the hotel, we asked if there was anywhere we could get any food. The chef had already finished for the evening, but willingly went back into the kitchen and prepared food for us, brilliant!

Race Day Minus 1.

A quick test of the bikes in the morning confirmed that everything was running well and no mechanical issues. However the run was a little different, with a certain 2 athletes afraid of some barking dogs. Well, they were BIG barking dogs, but they failed to notice the barbed wire on top of the fence, so the dogs could not get out!!

We arrived in Horst for registration and decided food was required first. A quick bite to eat then back to registration, which was very efficient. An excellent goodie bag was provided by the organiser and a few photos were taken of Luke and Dermot with the Maltese flag!

Race Day.

An easy 5km ride into Horst and we were right into the heart of Powerman! Straight into transition to lay out your kit, a quick warm up, then off to the start line.

Being a European Championship, we knew that the level of athlete would be high, but we were not prepared for just how high. The elite/pro men were running the first 15km as if they were running a 5km race! As the first run was 15km and 6 laps, you could follow what was happening in the race and track how well (or not ) you were doing.

6 laps done and onto the bike ahead of target time, although it was easy to find my bike in T1 as there were not many left! Even running 6:45 pace for 10 miles made no difference, back of the pack it was!

The bike was a flat but technical course, completely closed to traffic and very well supported. 3 laps of 20km soon went quick, especially for the elite/pros. I could hear the carbon rumble in the distance and soon the leaders overtook me at the end of lap 2 as if I was going backwards.

Lap 3 done and back into T2 which was not as full as I expected. I had a decent bike and was ahead of target but had actually overtaken quite a few athletes on the bike.

The second run was torture trying to run at pace without blowing. 3 laps around Horst and it was over. I dropped a few places in the last kilometre as the legs had finally blown!

Finally across the finish greeted by a huge crowd, cheering every single athlete that finished.

Out of the finish area and heading back to transition to collect my kit, I finally caught up with Dermot and Luke. We collected our kit, had a chat with other athletes then cycled back to the hotel as the slowest pace we had done all weekend.

Sitting in the restaurant that evening and analysing our performances, we all agreed that it had been a particularly hard race and it had certainly highlighted the differences between triathletes and duathletes. Even though we had all done extremely well and were way out in front of our target times, we certainly got our butts kicked bigstyle and recognised that!

The post race day analysis took place as we drove back towards England (with Dermot on his 5 country trip again), discussing and analysing the race. It was definitely a hard race but on reflection, an excellent race, and one which will certainly be done again.

Thanks to my 2 biggest supporters, Pam and Sophie, who had a quiet and tidy house for the weekend!

Thanks to Dermot for getting me in good shape for the race despite works best efforts to wreck his plans.

And thanks to Luke and Dermot for the company and laughs over the weekend.

Dont think you will be laughing so much at Antwerp 70.3 in July!!

Bill

113k Malta Middle Distance Triathlon

After a not so happy ending to my European Duathlon long distance Championships in Holland I was looking forward to have good race back in Malta at the 113k Middle distance triathlon organised at Birzebbugia.  3 weeks of solid training followed my disappointing result in Holland.  I went into the race with very realistic expectation on the final result.  In long distance you cannot achieve top form in 3 weeks and knowing that my main rivals were much more advanced with their training timing I wasn't putting too much pressure on myself. I wanted to use this race mostly as preparation for the coming races so my main target was to execute a good performance, test my race nutrition and race gear. 

The conditions on the day were not fantastic.  The wind was blowing hard and the sea was rough which usually plays in my favour but then again in Holland I suffered big time on quite a nice day.  I started with a strong swim coming out of the water in 29mins together with club team mates Roberto Demicoli and Andrew Grech who were both part of relay teams.  After a quick transition I jumped on the bike and tried to find a good tempo which could take me through the 90k ride without digging too deep into my reserves.  Fabio was quickly gaining time on me but I tried not to panic to much and just concentrating on my race.  In longer races if you push hard early in the race you usually pay for it in the run, and I wanted to have a good run so I stuck to my pace. 

Back to the second transition I noticed that I was going a quite a good pace.  I had kept around 36.3k/hr average on the bike which was quite motivating in those conditions so I started the run in good spirits.... that until I saw Brian closing fast on me and eating all the advantage I had with every kilometer.  In the first lap of the run I wasn't feeling too good but I was running quite well but in the second and third lap I felt much better. In the end I won with a new PB of 4hrs 24mins by just 50sec on Brian and 4mins on Fabio.  All three of us managed to break the 4hrs 30mins barrier which is a very good result.

A big thank-you goes to Johanna for really sorting my race nutrition which worked perfectly on the day.  Next race is 70.3 Italy in Pescara next Sunday 10th June.

DGtri Athlete - Jamie Harman

Race Report for Full Boar Super Sprint Triathlon 20th May 2012
The bosworth super sprint was the first multi sport event in 2012 for me and i was looking forward to getting with like minded people and also trying out my new bike. I arrived in plenty of time at around 07:30 and had a natter with a few friends generally soaking up the exciting atmosphere and taking the mickey!. I don't like to pile the pressure on myself so just intended to use the race as a test run for all my kit and get my transitions spot on.That's how i get through race nerves. Basically i just lie to myself!

We entered the water at around 09:00 and it was cold!, Very cold. And especially now i had lost so much weight i was really feeling it. Infact my fingers, toes and tongue were numb. I chose to start quite close to the bank so as i could just stand up but still had good view of the buoy. Just before race start i decided to tread water and when the race start horn went i just took off!, I looked over my left shoulder and could see people behind me but no one in front!, This made me panic even more and i struggled to get my breath, I managed maybe 80 to 100 meters and then my arms locked with the cold, It felt like i had hit a wall. I managed to get them moving again after a few meters breast stroke then settled in quite nicely but i still couldn't wait to exit the cold water. I think i exited the water in around 4th position in or around 9 minutes just over a minute behind the leader.

Into T1 and off with the wetsuit and out on the bike in under a minute. I knew i was up there with the front runners but had no idea where i was until Robbo told me i was in third!, So excited the park road and in a panic i hammered the bike up the road. I could see the guy in second place in front of me just going up the hill towards the A444 and passed him before he got to the top!, Again i was so excited and carried away i nearly came off my bike, I thought to myself i just got to calm down a bit here and push. I settled in on the bike and got the legs really moving. My new bike is so easy to ride fast and after getting it set up by the shop it was awsome!. Totally comfortable it felt like i could ride in the aero position all day. I think this may also be due to me not having a large belly to get in the way anymore. I pushed through the lanes never letting up, Just pushing and pushing and got back to T2 in around 25:53. When i got back to T2 there was just one bike in the transition area!. That feels weird!.

Just under 2 mins down on the leader exiting T2 with Pam shouting there's a pig here with your name on it Jamie! i took off on the run and with only one lap there was no holding back. I saw the leader coming back around the top of the lake and with only one lap knew i could not catch him, I still pushed though as you never know what can happen in a race but my legs by now had started locking up with the lactic acid and i had to ease off a little to get the blood moving again so i could once again find my pace.

Considering i do not train for Sprint tri's or Super sprint races this turned out to be a great result. I finished the race in 47mins 26secs, 5mins behind a seasoned regular podium finisher!. No shame in that!.

So what was supposed to be a steady race to get back into the swing of things has turned out to be one of if not the most important confidence boosting races so far!.

So i ask myself the question what now? and the answer, To continue to improve during training and my race performances at the current rate throughout the rest of the season will be a dream come true.

Training just got more interesting!!!.........Anything is possible!

Thanks to Dermot for coaching me without him i would be nowhere. Thanks to Johanna for my nutrition plan. Thanks to Bill Livingstone, Pam Batchelor, Steve the belly Robinson for your support and advice. Thanks to Paul Smart for the flattering photo's. No moobs lol Thanks to my partner Louise for putting up with my obsession and giving me 100% support. If i have missed anybody sorry but Thankyou! Oh and thank you to my Two great kids!

Onwards and upwards!........2012 just got more interesting ;-)

Jamie