Well 2010 was such a superb year for me and I need to say a big thank you to everyone who has helped me achieve it all …especially all my family, Gordo and the fantastic folks over at K Swiss and Trek. Couldn’t have done it without you!

Looking forward to racing again this year….

On Friday I will be heading back out to my favourite training location; Stellenbosch, for some serious training with Abu Dhabi my main focus for the beginning of the season this year (amongst others….) Can’t wait, and as my good buddy Tim Don tells me, the ‘winter miles equal summer smiles’.

I’ll keep you updated this time, promise

A run with the boys – Tim, myself, Gavin and Toby – on Sunday morning

I am down to the last 2 sleeps in Stellenbosch before flying home, which makes for mixed feelings – obviously I am really looking forward to getting home and seeing everyone, I can’t wait, BUT watching the tv describe the cold weather that is returning to Scotland doesn’t excite me!

To counter the cold weather I have been focussing on my bike riding, since I doubt I will be riding the bike outside when I am home next week. So last week I basically rode everyday other than Sunday, where I ran longer with the boys (see above pic)

Monday – 100ks, Tuesday – 135ks, Wednesday – 150ks, Thursday – 45ks easy, Friday – 100ks, Saturday – 135ks

This week has been the same format – 100ks and 135ks already, but today might only be 100 (slacking!). On Monday we had a ‘team’ dinner – myself, Gavin, Dan, Conrad and Nikola, who builds and maintains our sites. Thankyou! Toby also came along too – he has been my superb training buddy these past few weeks out here, which has really helped the training along.

I like this photo – we had a nice night.

I decided to be good to myself – mojito AND marshmallows (there was even a fire to melt them on!) A strange mix, but one I enjoyed

See you all soon, Frase

I am I think. I’m back at the ‘grindstone’ (it’s a hard life in the Southern Hemisphere sun!) and it’s going fine. 4 days of the week gone, 500ks to the good with a smattering of solid swim and run work thrown in. A couple of massages for good measure and the odd cafe stop for lunch to keep the body guessing.

I’ll update you on the week that was on Sunday …..

Breaking the tape ….

Sunday was a long time in coming around for me. I didn’t really have that much of a ‘time off’ period after Clearwater. I was unhappy with how I raced there, and certainly didn’t feel that my 20th place was justification for the training I had been putting away. So we re grouped in the Shire and formed a plan; win SA 70.3. It wouldn’t be easy, but I felt I could stay in Stirling till Xmas whilst working on the swim/run combo and then top up the bike miles with a solid 2 week hit out once here in Stellenbosch.

I feel that it went to plan. – Easy to say that now after I have won isn’t it! I have had the best part of 6 weeks really solid, consistent and enjoyable training and so I started to believe that I was able to win. Also, I’m really lucky to have had such lovely support at home in Stirling from Blair, Gordo and Ali in particular, but also from so many of the Stirling Tri Club too … so often I had folk giving me reason to believe. It’s not something I am good at – a Scottish charachteristic perhaps? – but I am endeavouring to make 2010 a year where I become just that – good at believing at in myself. – Mum, dad and my best friends have been doing it years, but I seem to have struggled with the concept at times.

Race morning came, and it was a beautiful day to race. Clear skies, sunshine, loud and excitable crowds and a tough, challenging race course to get stuck into. Perfect. The swim had a decent swell to it – the Indian Ocean wasn’t calm by any stretch, and so I was happy. I am no expert in the surf, but the harder the swim is for me, its always going to harder for the weaker swimmers. I exited the water in 5th place, having missed the ‘wave’ taking us back into shore – just like that I was 25sec down to Anton Storm whom I had just been swimming alongside. I guess he grew up playing in the waves! I didn’t.

Once onto the bike I did my best to execute my race plan. – Ride away from the 3 guys I had grouped with. 10ks, 20ks and 30ks rolled by and still I was out front with the 3 of them strung out behind me. – Never once coming to front to help me push the pace and fend off the guys riding from behind. – Including home favourite James Cunnama, whom I was certianly wary of. However, as we made the turn at 45ks it became apparent why I hadn’t been able to ride the guys off my wheel … there had been a helluva a tailwind. And now there was a even more brutal headwind to negotiate. Myself and Brad Storm set to work and quickly opened up a sizable gap. By T2 we had built minutes on the couple we dropped at the turn, and I was nearly a clean 5 minutes clear of James. I reckoned it was going to be a reasonably safe bet I could control the run from the front from there on in.

Not so. As has been the case in a number of my 70.3 this past year, I just couldn’t get going during the first 6-7ks of the run. Brad, to his credit, and way outside any previous run form that I had witnessed, steadily put 30 seconds into me. By this point I had seen James running in the opposite direction, and I could see he was moving very well. None of this was in the outline I had for the run half an hour before whilst finishing my ride, and so after a well timed talking to myself, a few extra cups of coke and a gel, I started to ease into a good pace.

By 12ks I was leading the race and feeling strong again – Brad having appeared to implode badly. Good news for me at least! However James was serious eating time into me, and by the final turnaournd with 3ks left I was starting to wonder if he could close the gap. It was a daft way to think, as in reality he was still nearly 2 minutes behind me, and there is no way someone is pulling 2mins out me in 3ks when the win is at stake! I had one further talking to myself and started to enjoy the support of the crowd into the final mile. – The South Africans clearly love their sport, and they are without question very knowledgable multisport fans. It all helps to get you across the line I can confess.

A massive well done to my good friend Mari Rabie who stormed to the win with a seriously fleet footed run in her first ever 70.3 race! – And it was just ‘for fun and training’ she tells me? Watch out when she actually focuses on these things thats for sure. And lastly, but not at all least, my roomy out here for the last 2 weeks, Toby Jameson. He pulled out 6h place in a race that he really probably shouldn’t have started, let alone finished … he had been battling ‘tummy’ issues all week leading in, but he hung tough.

It was a great w/e – one I will remember for a long time. Still got the smile on my face now. Thanks so much for all the many many messages, txts and emails over the past few days. It’s been a bit overwhelming!

Faustus, as always was there to greet me.

I am returning to East London for the 3rd time, having begun with the race in it’s debut year; 2008. I was 3rd that time around with the fastest swim and runs book ending a very below par bike ride, where I lost 12 minutes plus to the mighty Raynard Tissink. Last year, 2009, I finished 2nd, having led for much of the swim and bike, but yet again, had to succumb to the defending champion.

There is certainly a progression here; and I feel ready to step up and go for the win on Sunday. I believe I can succeed, but I have been racing long enough to know all I can do is give my best on the day and remember I have put in a fantastic block of training over the past 8 weeks both in Stirling and here in South Africa.

We have had a daily quote board on the go here in the house, each rotating our favourites. Yesterday was down to Toby, who is also racing this w/e … it was a good ‘un. Come race day we must be:

“Norwegian in the legs and Jamaican in the mind”

One night last week we watched a stunning sunset in front of Table Mountain (the flat bit, top left) and the new World Cup stadium in Cape Town (the shiny bit, mid right). It was a fun evening.

on this Tuesday morning in Stellenbosch I got up, ran 10 cracking Ks along the trails behind the University and town, came home, ate a breaky that was far too colourful for my own good before wandering down to the pool for a leisurely 3ks in the wet stuff.

Gottalovetaperweek

07.30: Needing to change a tire (there was a hefty hole in it mid way through our ride yesterday!)

07.45 (ish): Still grappling with said tire. But getting there.

10.15 (ish): Toby has his turn to grapple with his rig (saddles issues …..)

10.30: Finally finished our session of 8*4mins TT work with 2mins recovery

10.32: Approaching Stellenbosch (having swapped camera about)

Myself and Christoph Sauser (swiss mountain biking guru) borrowed some funky head gear for meal time!

Face painting was a given …. I look a little apprehensive for some reason?

Myself and the new happy couple – it’s been such a good week hanging out with all their celebrations and I can’t thank them enough for all the fun times.

As the eyes became droopy and midnight approached Tim’s mum, myself, Izzy (Kelly’s adorable 5yr old niece) and Nick retired to the super comfy outdoor sofa’s avec super soft blanky’s!

Yesterday Tim and Kelly were married at a beautiful wine estate called the Grande Provence just outside of Franschoek, which is a stones throw from Stellenbosch here in South Africa. It was a fantastic day, set in a stunning venue and thankfully the weather was just ‘one of those days’ you couldn’t wish to change. I had a superb day, evening and early hours(!), which I will certainly remember for many many years down the line. Thankyou to you both for inviting me along to your special day; good times. – Just some of my favourite pics are here below. Enjoy!

Me and my partner in crime (Pieter) for the day on departure from the guest house for the wedding….

Tim and his very good friend (and fellow triathlete) Nick Saunders before the wedding.  – It really was an incredible shirt!

Tim with some of the boys (me included) prior to the wedding ceremony….

… and Kelly with some of the girls after the ceremony.

And finally, our boy Gav and Bobby ‘Double B’ Behan with the bride – there is never a quiet moment with these two let me tell you!

and he emailed me this picture!

Very cool – my second magazine front cover, after a mountain biking shot taken at Xterra UK (which became a duathlon!) back in September 2006. This shot was taken in South Africa whilst I was training in Stellenbosch.

I rode along this section of road a number of times for this shot!! Worth it though.