Entering the last 3 days of a course of antibiotics I decided it should now be fine to not just race but do the first bit of exercise for three weeks and I'm glad I did as I love the course down at Box End and it always suits me well. It was a cold, sunny day and ridiculously windy as well. The Box End course consists of a long flat loop around the edge of the water ski lake and then a series of small hills which should make things harder but as it was, with a very string Northerly wind blowing down the country it meant that the ride and run up the lake was like climbing a mountain after which, coming back, you barely had to try.
It was really good to have talented young triathlete Tom Stead up there with me on the first run and it was a shame that he managed to trip on the grassy course and lose time as its always good to really push each other. After that, as I got on the bike, I really got into my stride and all the benefits of my Trek Superfly 29er became immediately apparent as it just rolls so fast over that kind of terrain. That's exactly why I sought out the best 29er for next years inaugural Cross Duathlon nationals and it more than proved its worth on Saturday feeling effortless compared to my old 26 inch race bike.
As a coach I would never have recommended any of my athletes to race after 3 weeks off ill but sometimes it can be worth the risk and thankfully I now feel 'back at it' again and hopefully ready to have some fun these next few weeks as I start the Quadmire Duathlon series and then build to the Essex Duathlon and the start of the Human Race series. On the downside, my lovely wife, the gorgeous Leda Jane has now come down with a really heavy cold so get well soon Leda!xx
Have you had it yet?
I'm back on the dreaded Anitibiotics again after 2 weeks of doing nothing except tending my billowing nose and emptying my Ectoplasmic lungs. I literally haven't had the energy at all to run or ride now for over two weeks going right back to the first race of my cross season, the Xtreme Terrain Du.
Sometimes that's how it goes though so instead I've been buying myself in my spare time doing up my bikes (oklay, I admit, tinkering with them and then taking them to Tony in Bike and Run to undo my ills) and fixing niggles that I've been carrying. I've actually had a knot in my calf since my last early morning run in Nancy where I was with the GB Duathlon team back in September. Now, I'm a big believer in treating like with like and so a Knot should be treated with a little help from a Knott! Graeme Knott to be precise, a good friend of mine and by coincidence, this year's GB team mechanic.
Graeme Imports 'The Stick', an ingenious self massage stick described as 'the tooth brush for muscles' and so I put it to work on my calf and then went to town on my back and quads too and have been using it ever since as you can really feel the difference. I'm trying not to sound like this is a blatant plug as it isn't, its just one of those things that works so well it would be rude not top recommend it. Have a look here for more about them: www.the-stick.co.uk
Well, my cross Duathlon season got off to a reasonable start even though I rode pretty poorly on my brand new 29er Trek Superfly. The bike was brilliant. I was... hmm.... I bit hopeless. There we go. Sometimes you're the statue and sometimes you're the pigeon and today I was all statue on the bike and just went through the motions on the run. That's not to take anything away from the guys that beat me though as they were simply far better on the day and that's that. It was great to see Daffed Hollis win too because he really is a talented off roader with all the right attributes that make a great cross Duathlete.
It's taken me all week to write this and that's mostly because I came down with a cold the next day after the race and am only just now able to think clearly without being distracted every two seconds by sneezing, coughing or wiping my snout. I've actually done really well avoiding all sorts of illnesses these last few months and I put a lot of that down to the Maxifuel Immunesupport capsules I've been taking. That's not just a plug by the way, I genuinely mean it. I catch colds so easily and since the Maxifuel guys got me taking them I've been pretty cold free until now.
Anyway - Toby Jenkins and his allabouttriathlons team put on a really good show and here are some of the high quality pics from Sussex Sport Photo:
I'm right at the beginning of this winter's Cross Duathlon season and the first thing I am delighted to say is that through a deal with Trek UK in Milton Keynes and in conjunction with my team Bike and Run London, I will be racing on a Trek Superfly 29er. When ever I was beaten last winter on the Cross Du scene it was almost always by guys on 29ers and so this year, at least I can't user that as an excuse. I took delivery of the Superfly 4 days ago and I have the first race on it this Saturday and I am pleased to report that it feels really stable and incredibly fast, particularly once you are up to speed.
Lets see how it goes on the gravelly trails of Hawley lake this Saturday at the XTD and I'll report back. In the mean time. Here she is:
As a coach I would never have recommended any of my athletes to race after 3 weeks off ill but sometimes it can be worth the risk and thankfully I now feel 'back at it' again and hopefully ready to have some fun these next few weeks as I start the Quadmire Duathlon series and then build to the Essex Duathlon and the start of the Human Race series. On the downside, my lovely wife, the gorgeous Leda Jane has now come down with a really heavy cold so get well soon Leda!xx
