Fraser Cartmell finished in overall 10th position at Foster Grant Ironman 70.3 World Championship!

swim: 22:09

total: 3:46:37

Top ten men’s Ironman 70.3 World Champs results:

1 Terenzo Bozzone 3:40:10
2 Andreas Raelert 3:40:42
3 Richie Cunningham 3:41:47
4 Oscar Galindez 3:42:29
5 Reinaldo Colucci 3:43:24
6 Andy Potts 3:44:30
7 Luke McKenzie 3:45:13
8 Brent McMahon 3:45:44
9 Joe Gambles 3:46:28
10 Fraser Cartmell 3:46:37

Full Foster Grant Ironman 70.3 World Champs results here.

I am pleased to say that I will be racing here in Clearwater on my new Felt DA. I’ve been training on the bike for a couple weeks now, but I only just got the wheels in time for race day, so I thought I would get a picture up of the complete set up.

Toby got caught in the moment with his camera - finding all the angles! And looking at this pic makes me think maybe I should get myself some new shoes that don’t appear to be made for the kids market – velcro and all!

Meanwhile, i’ll leave you with a nice shot of Pier 60 on the beach, which we will swim out alongside tomorrow morning.

Oh, and another funny shot we got trying to speak to George (his name we’re told) outside our room early this morning! He appears pretty laid back, I think he’s seen it all before to be honest.

We arrived in Clearwater this afternoon. Finally, its nearly race time! We got registered, and I did some tv stuff for a programme channel 4 will run in December time at home, which is nice. This 70.3 thing is catchin on…..!

Always surprises me the that people are interested in a camera crew, no matter where you are!

Camera work by the pier…. with finger on the lense!

Tobes and Julie

Carolyn, myself, Toby and Julie in April

I’m all packed and I’m yet again on the move; to St Petersburg, Florida. There is just one week left till the Foster Grant Ironman World Championship 70.3 in Clearwater, and I am heading over to the same great homestay I enjoyed last time with Carolyn, and also Julie Dibens. We were there in Arpil this year too – on that occasion for the St Anthonys race held in St Pete itself, and my new T.R.I team mate Toby Jameson was there then also. Phew, it’s a big reunion! This time round Toby and his brother Joel have travelled, and the 3 of them have been training away over there for the last few days. I’m looking forward to joining in.

Although I am really looking forward to getting over there, I am also quite sad to be leaving Escondido and California. I have really come to enjoy my training (albiet all on my own) out here and I have found more than enough good rides and trails for running. The weather is also just ridiculously ideal for triathlon training. You just don’t get anything other than sunshine and clear, windless days. I have become really quite spoilt, given what the weather is doing at home just now. – Blair sent me a text message during the week which said ‘I can see me breath all the time now – bet you can’t see yours?!’ I think that sums it up perfectly for me at this time of year!

Anyway, I need to get to bed; another lengthly day of travel awaits tomorrow as I cross this huge country from West to East. Dad is coing over to watch the race and he happens to arrive in Tampa airport just before me, so that’ll be a good end to the journey for me.

Oh – and given it is such a huge deal over here – Happy Halloween! Here are some pictures I took whilst out on my bike last week; a sight I have never seen before, and one which led me to realise I had never considered where pumpkins actually come from. Well now I now – they ALL come from this big field in North County, San Diego. All of them.

Here are a few shots that Iain from www.imacimages.co.uk took of us a couple weeks back. From right to left; Alun Woodward, myself, Toby Jameson and Graeme Stewart. All except Graeme are racing in Clearwater at the World Championship Ironman 70.3 in just under 3 weeks time.

Other pictures (of me I’m afraid) include:

view past where i live to the hills where i ride

Sorry it’s been a few days, but I am now more or less settled back into life as a San Diegan for the third time this year, albiet just for another couple weeks. I go in late on Monday and have been easing into the training which is very much needed in order to go and toe the line in Clearwater, for the World Championship 70.3.

The jet lag didn’t seem to be such a problem this time, I have slept like a log, and if anything have only had to go to bed an hour or so earlier at night, and 4 days in now, I am into a familiar daily routine; swim, bike, run. Although the devil in me went all left-field and mixed it up. Now I am running, swimming, biking! Wow my life gets wild out here.

I would post some more pictures, but i broke the lead for my camera, and I haven’t had the time, or inclination, to go into town to find a new one. I will next week I guess. Everything looks the same; luckily the sky is still remarkably blue, there are only friendly, fluffy white clouds in it rather than menacing grey/black ones and the air is warm.

I am now off to ride my bike (guess where in my daily routine I am if you can huh?!?) to work on that tan as Lucia (who’s house I live at) remarked when i arrived ‘you’re SO white!’ I guess every other time I pitched up I had been in warmer climates within the previous couple weeks. It made me laugh though. I think if Lucia ever visited Scotland she would think everybody was so ill they were knocking on deaths door.

….for a chuckle.

I’m sitting in Houston Intercontinental Airport. Tired, bored, and fed up with the prospect of yet another flight onwards to San Diego. It’s been a long 20hours or so since I got out of bed this morning (or yesterday?) – Stirling. Edinburgh Airport. New York Newark Airport – where the Customs and Border official gleefully (and with a substantial hint of menace i might add) told me ’your going downstairs, have you ever been downstairs?‘. No i hadn’t. – Having pondered it during the flight out of NY I am confident the problem was with my delivery. – When asked what I was doing with my stay in the US, I stuttered, ever so slightly – and he went straight in for the ’so you’re working here’ line of questioning.

Anyway, there is enough there for a whole other post. I have a reasonable feeling the note punched into the computer might jump up and bite me on my next entry into the country. Although I will say ‘downstairs’ was a lot less of an issue than I was building up in my mind. ‘You’re racing in Clearwater? Cool. My buddy is training for that one too.’ Fantastic I almost yelled! Passport stamped. Good to go. For now.

But I digress. As I said, many a time have the posts of Gavin brought a smile to my face. Check out the pics and report of the Relentless 24 mountain bike adventure Blair, Gav, Coach Volley and ‘Daddy’ Coull tackled over the weekend at GavinNoble.com. – Between live Hawaii coverage and the sporadic texts and phonecall updates I was almost as tired as them on Sunday morning! Almost.

Now, which gate to San Diego?

Alhough it is nearing the end of the season for many folk, i’m still looking further down the road. The 2008 Foster Grant Ironman World Championship 70.3 in Clearwater, Florida is a mere 8 weeks away, and it is a big goal or mine.

So that goes a long way to explaining why I unfortunately didn’t finish the Ironman UK last Sunday in Sherboune, Dorset. I was really looking forward to the challenge of my first Ironman, and yet, it was a huge stab in the dark. An Experiment really. - One which didn’t qutie work out. Not this time…..

I fully understand that finishing an Ironman – particularly your first one – is a fantastic box to tick. And the lengths that many people will go to in order to ensure they do just that (and quite rightly so) are amazing. However I decided long ago that if I began to unravel badly I would have to step aside and not join the struggle onwards to the finish chute. Pity, as it was a good finish chute!

In preparation for the Ironman UK 2008 I got a great period of base training done – I spent much of July in Spain and then the whole of August in California. Most of that time i had the Ironman UK 2008 in the back of my mind, but ultimately my training prgramme was simply a 70.3 plan supplemented with some extra IM specific sessions. Not enough sessions it turns out! I’ll happily admit to never having ridden 112 miles before last Sunday.

In fact I think it is at least 2 years since I rode over 95 miles….. so I am pretty pleased with my effort of leading the race through most of the 112! I didnt have a clue how easy (or hard) I should go, next time i’ll be able to ride harder; i’ll have the confidence. I didn’t on Sunday – crucially, i didnt have the legs! From the outside that might/must sound stupid. Perhaps. But i had 8 weeks really (not long before your 1st IM), and i had other goals (i was racing Timberman 70.3 in mid August) which i didnt want to harm too much. I felt the long long bike rides would do that – i struggle over 80 miles usually. So i’m real happy with time trialling 112 from the get-go! 

The run, well, I was much more confident of that. I had done some great long runs – over 30ks in 2hours, and a few of them, but again, I didn’t run long, not race distance long. So that was the other gamble. And so, when I got to half way of the marathon, I just knew there wasn’t anything left to give.

I am still a little disappointed, but I know I did a pretty good job. I aspired to win the race. I led the swim, and a large portion of the bike, and still, despite never getting into any sort of groove I was only 2.50 behind Stephen at mile 9. I can take quite a lot out of that, as he is very much world class at Ironman. He was a great gauge throughout the race for me, and I hope he hits it hard in Kona next month.

So, onwards to Clearwater. I’ll start training properly again next week here at home in Stirling – the legs feel ready to get going again!

In the meantime – have a look at this little Clearwater video from last year – apart from the Computrainer plug its pretty good! (see if you can spot me)