Toby and I are usually hanging out in St Pete this time of year....

So I didn’t get to fly to Florida earlier this week after all. The Icelandic volcanic erruptions ensured of that … I am able to fly (I hope) on Monday, which means that I miss racing in St Anthony’s  this w/e. I am dissapointed of course, but it is out of my control, and I am glad at least I can make it over in time to race St Croix the w/e afterwards. Control the controllables I say.

Training is going well, I’m happy with that, and I have another few days here to round it all off. Hopefully avoid snow during those days ….

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!

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)

I reckon Toby must've auditioned for the Zoolander film. Surely?

I was pretty tired and rushed during my last couple of days in California last week: I was recovering from the Wildflower race experience, organising all my gear (some was shipped home via the post) and packing up to arrive in Florida, all whilst trying to maintain a modicum of training volume. So when I arrived here in St Pete I was just looking forward to getting on with some training for a few days …. hence being so keen to get up early doors and join in with my hometays Tim+Carolyn for a swim/bike combo. I kinda wish I had stayed in bed last Saturday morning! – It really was a strange day, I just couldn’t figure out how on earth I could lose a bike in such a way. I mean I guess I must just be naive, but I know I would hand a bike in if I found it lying on the road in the middle of the night. Obviously not everyone thinks in a similar fashion.

Monday was a big relief though, as I was able to speak to Felt, and Pete (my contact) was superb; he straight away asked if I was ok, wondering if I has been involved in an accident. Then he assured me that it was simply a bike, and they could get me a replacement later in the summer, when I return to the States.

A really, really cool sponsor!

Nikola created this nice little graphic linking my site, Felt and twitter

For the remainder of the week I have been training nicely here in St Pete along with Toby. We are both racing in the Florida Ironman 70.3 on Sunday, which takes place on the Disney World property. I say property, as it sounds like you don’t see a single Mickey, Goofy or Donald Duck character during the race… pity.

It’s going to be a tough race without question. The heat and humidity combined will make it a completely different racing experience for me. I may not fare too well, I just have to give and go and see. It was a ‘let’s give it a go and see’ mentality that Gordon and I ended up following. Since I was still in the US it made some sense to try another event, (especially after the lack of results so far due to my injury problems) providing there were some sort of positives to derive from it. – Given that most of my sponsors are US based, and TYR are an event sponsor, it is nice to be able to race here in Florida. Once again I have to give a huge thankyou to Carolyn and Tim for being so accomodating – both Toby and I have been staying here and are made to feel as if we are at home and more!

The good news is that I have a whole month still to the UK 70.3 in Wimbleball, and I have now been running for a month, which is starting to mean I feel like I know what I am doing again! With another month under my belt, plus a couple tune up races back at home, I am finally confident that I can be on the start line to defend my title in the best shape possible.

Fingers crossed!

The swim was VERY choppy – in fact so choppy that the entire age group swim was cancelled with the race becoming a straight draft fest, i mean bike run. Poor folks, I mean having to do a duathlon?!

I got smashed around (i am making a habit of that lately unfortunately) and ended up in a big group of guys who were at least a minute down on the leaders by the time we got into T1.

Onto the bike and I got going really well to begin with. By 10 miles I had started to drop off that pace and ended up watching Terenzo ride off (he did end up with the fastest bike split however) and I settled with a few others til around the 18 mile mark, when well, I did a stupid thing – I cut the course. Its difficult to explain but essentially I got confused as to exactly WHERE I was supposed to do a dead turn. I did it too soon! The race ref was right there on his motorbike ready to dish out a red card! Thankfully I did the right thing and re-did the turn! Idiot.

The run was fine, in that it was pain free. I got passed by a few guys and ended up outside the top 10… but I am confident I am finally, after 9 frustrating – and expensive - weeks of physio getting back to where i need to be.

Next stop Wildflower  – looking forward to it!

the 'Brit's' chat - Rich Allen, myself and Toby Jameson

Tim, my homestay and long distance swimmer guru (he swam AROUND Manhattan Island last summer – all 28 miles of it or thereabouts) decided to try and steal my bike whilst i went swimming – dream on Tim ….

and last but not least, Wilma decided that my bike bag was the way forward in feline relaxation… fair enough!

It’s been a busy day!

Just a few things ...

4.50am: Get up. 6.30: arrive at San Diego Airport (nice n early!), 9.30: fly to Houston Airport (90mins people watching session), 4.30: (2hr time difference by now) fly to Tampa Airport, 7.30 (yet another hour time zone change – bloomin’ big country this) … read my book for an hour or so and got picked up by the race organisors and dropped off at my homestay by 10 ish. Phew!

About to unpack this morning and head off to the pool with my T.R.I team mate Toby Jameson. Tobes has been in town for a few days already, getting his sweat on – it’s a fair bit warmer here than home at this time of year …. but amazingly, cooler than where I have just come from – it was hot in California the past week.

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: