Myself with Wattie in LA back in May

For someone who would ride, ride and ride some more, you have to take your hat off to him for his decision to jump headlong into entering an Ironman … not having done much (if any i think?!) tri before! - Why not give it a go huh?

He tells me that what with all this swimming and running he’s had to do in the Californian summer, “the weight is melting off me” – not really been the case for me here in the Shire Wattie!

A big good luck from me for this weekend. Enjoy

Me and our gear after one our many ‘on the road’ sessions this past week. All good fun

We did stop to stay suitably re-fuled along the way aswell … gotta get the calories in – Abu Dhabi in 2 weeks time. Did i say eeeeek? Yeah …  sure did.

More to come later over the w/e …. i’ll get my camera out I promise.

www.lesleydoestri.org – check it out!

I’ve known ‘lesbo’ for years and years it seems: I watched in awe as she ripped past me on the run in my first ever triathlon (“HOW amazing was she?” I remember asking dad on the drive home!) in 1997, I watched and raced alongside as she narrowly missed out on Commonwealth Games selection for the Scottish 2002 team in Manchester, Blair and I rented an amazing flat from her dad for years when I first arrived in Stirling and most recently I have trained with her in North County San Diego when I have been living out there. I happened to have breaky with her dad the other morning here in the cafe by the pool as I recovered from my first post crash swim session, and caught up on all her news from him. – I thought I should post on her and her wicked new site.

She just posted a great post/interview on her website with our even newer  member – Lisa Norden which you can read all about here.

I’m gearing up for my major goal race

of the first half of the racing season this w/e.

It’s been an up and down first few months of 2009 racing for me, but I am finally feeling confident about my prospects of being able to race to my potential on Sunday morning. I’m very motivated and generally excited about heading back to Wimbleball Lake in Exmoor to try and defend my title and win for the third successive year. – It’s a big task but one I am keen to try and make happen!

It couldn't have been much closer last year - Stephen pushed me hard to the line

It is a small field, as has been the case each of the previous years I have raced the event. However, it is a small but strong field, and I am expecting a tough race without question. The race has been described as one of the toughest, if not the toughest race on the 70.3 circuit. I can certainly confirm it is up there as one of the toughest I have raced and I think that is what I like the most about it. – A normal swim (don’t be fooled!) A very tough bike. Maybe even a tougher run. – Hills, off road trails and yet more grassy hills all add up to make it a great test.

It is just a tremendously good effort in simply getting round, and I think that is one of the main reasons such a considerable numbers of folk don’t even end up racking their bikes on the Saturday – the reality suddenly dawns that the entry they submitted (and paid for!) way back in the winter time hasn’t been backed up with sufficient training volume. – Hopefully the majority of people who entered will be bursting with confidence come Sunday this year!

I am looking forward to catching up with Julie (Dibs) for the first time this year … we usually spend a week hanging out in April for the St Anthony’s Triathlon in Florida, however she went a cracked a rib around then… and also to see how my occasional San Diegan/Scottish training partner from my Californian trip is going to do. – It is Lesley Paterson’s first attempt at the 70.s distance after making a great start to the US Xterra series so far this year.

I have to make a note about the men’s race too. The big name that stands out on the men’s list is Björn Andersson. I have said it before – and after regular racing against him over the past 2 years can difinatively confirm – he is a monster on the bike. I raced him twice earlier this year in the States, and his riding didn’t seen to have quite the same impact as it has in the past, but I am not going to let that fool me. I believe he will be on the start line ready to create bike havoc, and being a very competent swimmer, he will be creating it very early on. My aim is to go with whatever he throws down! He has won a major Half Ironman distance event each of the past two season through crushing bike splits and hanging on during the run, so I can see where his intentions lie! – The lighter wheels have been added and the cassette has been changed.

There are a number of other guys on the start list ready to give it a good shot as well, and I am more than aware of all of them… I always do my research!

It’s going to be a busy w/e of racing all over the place to – what with there being not just one but three other Ironman 70.3 events being held all over the US, plus the world famous Alcatraz triathlon in addition to the racing that other online team members are up to in France and the US.

Oh, and it had snowed up there!!

Lesley is from Stirling – she actually grew up there, and now she lives in San Diego and is training full bore for the Xterra season which is just around the corner. So she wanted to get a hard group ride done this weekend and asked me along. We left from Escondido, where I live here in California, not long after 7.30 this morning. The group included Lesley and one of her training buddies, myself, and other 70.3 athletes Kate Major, Joe Gambles and his girlfriend Mary. We had a support car carrying our spare warm clothes and food for when we finally arrived at the summit. We needed it, believe me, since it was cooooolllld.

Joe and I wondering where the sun went

I won’t lie. The ride up was fine, although ever increasingly misty. However the ride down was a whole different kettle of fish.

Being in Southern California I didn’t think to pack my warm hat and long fingered gloves (Joe mind you, did) and failed to add my toe warmers to my shoes this morning. Could’ve done with those. I think we stopped 3 times minimum going downhill to try and re-introduce bloodflow to our extremities, and eventually made it to the cafe at the bottom, where we realised we were no longer able to feel our legs since we hadn’t pedalled at all during the 25 minute descent.

2 large coffees, 1 seriously big burrito and about an hour later we were ready to head back. Cheers Lesley!

I was luck enough to head along to the Competitor studio whilst in town in August, and you can listen to it at www.competitorradio.com/details.php?show=258

But i wasn’t the first Scottish multi sport athlete to hang out with Babbit and Huddle . . . . . .

. . . .  Catriona Morroison beat me to it whilst she was over for the Oceanside 70.3 in March, and just last week Lesley Paterson was on the show, which is a blast from the past in Scottish triathlon terms! – Lesley was at the very first triathon i ever did, and yes, i did get ‘chicked’ (she beat me) on that occasion. I remember thinking she must’ve been amazingly rapid be to racing for GBR! Lesley now lives in San Diego with her husband who teachs at San Deigo State University, and has started to do very well in the local Californian races and the Xterra US series. She is heading up to the US Championships in Tahoe next week, so good luck to her! You can listen to her interview on the competitor homepage.