It's not my bike, Just a random bike photo that I had. that I wanted to share with you all

Yesterday (Sunday) as the World Duathlon Championships started at 3pm, I was not on the start line, I was in the pool doing a few km’s, looking up at the clock at 3.10 thinking of what could have been. The could have, should have, would have, but in the end I didn’t race and it’s gone it’s over and I know I made the right decision in not racing.

The head cold I have had moved down into my chest and if I’m not 100% it’s stupid to put myself on the line and jeopardise the last two world cup races of the season. I have to look at the bigger picture, and the big picture is the Olympic points list. That was Scotland. Now it’s time to get back to the program and a good months work for the last 3 races of the year in October.

Tomorrow 3pm it all kicks off, World Duathlon Champs, the head cold is slowing going, will it gone enough in time for the race, we will have to wait and see. The course is great, really hard bike course that is just made to break the race up completely, lets hope I have the legs for it. The past few days have been spent watching bad movies and eating, Michael Thinks Sex in the City is not a bad movie, he says” it works on so many levels,” emotionally, spiritually, it caters for all. hum i’ll not respond in public that one.

I’ll save the energy for the race,

Computer club nerds, in Edinburgh, president and chairman, missing from photo, the coffee boy

Almere has been and gone, I have had a week in Dublin in-between and had some time to catch up with Friends, Gavin Noble and my swim squad. This weekend it’s the 3^rd weekend racing in a row and possible cracks starting to show. I have some how managed to pick up a head cold and sore throat, but its Thursday/friday and who knows I might be right come Sunday. Fingers crossed, say a prayer and all that jazz. The training is all done, so a few days in bed might get me back on my feet. Its about being right on the day and I have a few days to get myself rested before Sunday. I got a mention on the ITU press release for the race, which is always nice

I would have liked to have better-run form going to the race, but right now in the season my run form is what it is. Its good but not really good. I haven’t altered my training for the race, its just a race that earlier on in the season we had targeted, but with the change of coach and country that has in turn changed my race priority and this weekend is not so high up there on the list, that is not to say I’m dismissing it before I even get to the start line, not at all, when I put yourself on the start line of any race, I am there to compete and you ill give everything I have in me for the race, its just that some races you have better form, your training has been tailored specifically for that race and this is not one of them.

Its another day in the office, it’s a world Champs office day, so who knows, there is a pretty great opportunity to get something big out of the race if it goes my way, The bike course being hard should help getting the most out it. ill tell you more in the coming days!

Its almost been a week since the race, so a delayed report! I took a bit of a break from all things cyber space after the race while I enjoyed being back in Dublin for the first time in over a month. The Almere race was a good one for me. I have some good form right now and its always good to take full advantage of that, make hay while the sun shines. And so we did.

Almere it’s self, well not much to report as a place, non descript dutch town, that seems to roll into another and another and eventually you have 14million people and how ever many hundred thousand towns which is Holland.

Finding the race site was a bit like where’s Wally, you look at the map. Know where you are trying to get to, but have no idea where you really are on the map. Its just a bloody maze of roads, paths, bike paths and canals over there.

Race day finally brought me what I wanted, loads of rain and driving gale force winds, perfect conditions. The bike course was up and down a dyke,8 lap 2.5km out and back. Perfect conditions for me with the head cross wind that was blowing. The had changed the swim course as they said the swell was to big outside the harbor to bring us out side of it. The result was carnage, the most violent swim I have ever done, Kick, hit, grabbed, pulled on, etc etc, it was brutal but we got through it in ok shape.

The bike on the other had was great, there were guys bring shelled from every group, it just went to bits and pieces. Bodies all over the road in small groups. I jumped from group to group, I was enjoying it quite a bit. Eventually 5 of us formed the 2^nd pack, 30 sec behind the front group of 10, we got pretty organised and worked well together, myself, Latin, Leckie, and The man who piped me Buchholz

In the end the race came down to the 2 of us. On the run we cough and went through the front group of 5, Buchholz had sat on me for most of the run, but I was happy to do the work, it was my pace he was running to, so with about 1500m to go I attacked. Eventually taking about 5meter on him, with 200m to go, he came past me and I just wasn’t able to kick hard enough for the final corner,with 20meter to the line at that point he got first into it and in turn took the win. A little disappointed but he did get 6^th the previous weekend in the world sprint champs so he had just piped me there as well.

It was a good hard race, made all the more interesting by the weather conditions. There was 22 non finishers. I got what I wanted out of the race, some cash and good points. In turn my world ranking moved up to 56^th place which is a nice step in the right direction. Next up is the world Duathlon Champs this coming weekend in Edinburgh.

I said good bye to Davos on last week, As most peoples seasons are drawing to a close, I still have at least 4 races left and another 2 months of racing.I was sad saying good bye to the Davos, saying good bye,

To the big house, the last one on the hill. Good bye to swiss chocolate, fondue,  Rice milk for dinner. The best looking cows in the world, the best house mates in the world, the nicest post swims treats in the world, Good bye to the Fluelapass, good bye to 30km mountain runs, Post swim naps in my bunk bed, dinners with 10 people to feed, good bye to 1700m, Good bye to my commuter bike with the granny chain ring, The most unpredictable schizophrenic weather of all. To best and nicest bread selection in the world, Good bye to the 2000m climb, smoooooooth roads.And all the guys and girls in my training group, see you all in Davos next June!

Tasty views here in Holland

Tomorrow we race, Almere ITU Triathlon Premium European Cup. Been hanging her with a nice group of Aussies and Irish. This part of Holland is a bit like Where’s Wally, you look at the map, you know the objective, get from A-B (or find Wally as is the case in the game), but  you just can’t seem to find where A is. Its a strange place. I had a bit of bike issues and had to change a tub yesterday, a 12 hour glue settle which isn’t the best, but I’m sure it will be fine as the bike course is an out-and-back lap, 2.5km of which is on a bloody bike path, 2 metres wide, which should make for very interesting racing. Throw in a heap of bad weather and we are ready to race, Can’t wait.

A broken valve on my race wheels

changing tubs, don't get glue on the bed sheets

The rainy view from the hotel room

Exiting T2 in 2nd place

I finally got a good result this season, 7th at the ITU world sprint Championships in Lausanne last Saturday. Click on the highlighted bit for the ITU’s take on the race and a little video that shows my face. (It’s been hard chasing camera this season, joking)

It’s a result that I was waiting for, 7 ITU races this season and only 3 decent results. It’s a very satisfying feeling running out of T2 in 2nd place, not so happy with getting passed and dropping back to about 12th, but I raced hard and finished strong, I was actually 8th across the line, but Fred Belaubre who finished 5th got disqualified. Good for me = bad for Fred. The ITU guys have been very strict on penalties this season and his DSQ is a result of that.

The race went decent enough for me in all 3 disciplines. My swim was better but I got trashed at the first turn boy, it was carnage, there were bodies everywhere, it was like human soup. Out on the bike it all came together pretty quickly. My bike legs were there, but I had a plan and that was to sit and get a good position into T2. Since I have been working with my new coach we have approached races in a different mind set. It’s working well for me and getting into T2 in the top 5 was part of that.

I got out of T2 in 2nd place, but found it hard to find my running legs. I just didn’t have the legs to go with the first 5 guys, which was frustrating. I have quite a bit more work to be done on my run so I can go with that 2.45km pace out of T2. It’s all part of the process. I ran a solid 5km and came in 35sec behind 1st. Not much else to report from the race. I’m racing this weekend in Almere In Holland, another ITU race, trying to find flights right now at the last minute and its is proving difficult. Night train perhaps, Like in 1999 when Steveo and I made night trains our home for a summer.

The mo was had its purpose

This weekend the World Sprint Championships are taking place in Lausanne, I leave tomorrow on my road trip with Kate Roberts as my co-driver. Over the last 2 weeks I have had some good consistent training here in Davos, the weather has been pretty poor, cold and wet bike spins make it feel just like winter, but it will make me stronger. Just like the climb up to my house, which hasn’t got any easier by the way. It’s been helped by fantastic house mates who produce amazing culinary delights night after night,  fondue evenings, milk-rice for dinner! ( I told Heidi it’s a desert, she said it’s dinner, I kept eating) chocolate cakes, etc, etc.

dinner time at my place

I’m getting excited about the race, it’s a good field and I love the fact that the swim is only 750m. After this race I still have another 5 possible races, the World Duathlon at the start of September and 2 World Cup races in October, are the bigger races that are left. This is like my half way point in the season really, as most athletes are bringing their seasons to a close. I had Beautiful 5km lake swim last Saturday morning at 8am, the lake was just a giant swimming pool. A bit chilly but worth falling out of bed for the experience,  training here in the Alps is a real treat. Like any new location it’s stimulating and interesting, 30km long run up a glacier, now that was a real visual treat. I’m really enjoying the company of others in training right now, there are 12 of us in the group – mostly girls (I can’t complain) but having Dave and Andi on the bike and run is great. It’s nice not having to go to the track by yourself. In saying that I do miss the bike racing back home, it’s a great way to keep your bike fitness and strength right up there.

I found a new roller as well. I guess most people who train would have come across the foam rollers. Great for loosening up tight muscles, legs, back etc. Well I have come across the ultimate roller here, It’s solid aluminum, not good on the back, but great for the legs, it’s foam v Alu right now.

The rest of the Irish guys (Aileen, Gavin, Kerry) are in St Moritz right now on a training camp. I’ll be paying those guys a visit after the race which I’m very much looking forward to. I spent a month there last year and it does beat Davos as a location to train in, i’m sorry to say. Not that Davos isn’t a superb place in which to train and live.

Rollers

The nicest chocolate I have ever tasted, don't worry I didn't eat all that at once, that was only for starters

wash day, I have a lot of Wheelworx socks, there are more of them

Three desperate and lonely guys in a race, we missed the pack so much

Normally I just write what comes into my head when writing on this blog, some of you might think I’m stating the obvious in saying that, some won’t. As for this post, well, nobody likes telling the story of a crap race so i’ll save you that much, I guess i’ll write nothing about today and say no more.

Ah Jesus I couldn’t do that, there is a process that is happening right now and it started 12 days ago. The deconstruction and rebuild of my swim stroke. It’s not actually a quick process but it’s coming along, got planning permission for some stuff, put in a little foundation, we are tipping away at it. I have gone on about swimming before and how I need to get it, swim faster, because if I don’t get it down, there is no point is racing ITU.  Well that is why I have moved to Davos in Switzerland and moved coach also. To let a triathlon specific coach make me a triathlon specific swimmer. It’s not pretty, but it is efficient and fast for what we need to do.

It is also beginning to work, I had my best swim of the year today and missed out on the pack by only five seconds. five little ones and the complexion of a race changes. I wish I could be here telling you about a top 10 finish, how the bike packs came together. How the crowd cheered and screamed, how they shouted Keano Keano but these dreams are for another day. It was only at the 1200m mark where I lost contact with the pack and from then on I guess the race was over for me.

The type of racer that I am, means I’ll never give up in a race, you just don’t know what will happen so you keep fighting and fighting, Some times things go your way and you get a lucky break some times lady luck doesn’t show and it’s no longer a race, it’s just you out there trying to salvage something. A good run session, some points for the World Ranking, pride. What I can salvage from today is that in the space of 10 days I have begun to turn my swim around. We will soon be up. We will soon be part of the pack and when that happens instead of running a top 10 or top 2o run split but finishing in the 50’s we will be up, and when we are up, we are up. Things are looking up right now and the plan is slowly coming together.

Oh, as for the result today in Tiszaujvaros World Cup, it was a shockingly bad 56th. The dark days are over, I see the light, praise the Lord.

I have been up in the Swiss Alps for the past week-and-a-bit.  New coach, new approach and a new environment. It’s all about sorting out my swim once and for all. Things have kinda worked in the past, but nothing has stuck. Australian Coach Darren Smith has now taken over the task. It was something Chris Jones really wanted me to do and Darren, Chris believes is the man for the job.

It’s a bit of a bold move mid-season from a base that you really love, one that has so many things that work for you and take a new approach with a new coach, but these are the things that need to be done if I want to salvage some good results from this season. It’s all about swimming and that is what it always has been about for me and ITU racing.

Me new gaff

I have the best house right now. It’s a bit above the town, a 2km climb above the town, which is both bad and good. Extra biking each day which can only make me stronger, the last 400m of the climb after the cobbled section is off-road, as you make your way into the enchanted forest and to my front door. I have some great house-mates and get this, I have one house mate called Heidi and she is from the mountains. So besides great house mates and a great location. It’s all about the training.

The view from my house

It’s only been a week and a bit, so I’m still sussing it all out. It’s great to be back cycling in the alps. I just cant get enough of that. I did the Albulapass the other day, which is one of my favorite climbs and descents in the world. It’s all good,

The bike collection

I found out on Tuesday that I have to race this weekend, something I was not planning. So it’s a trip to Hungary and the Tiszaujvaros ITU World Cup. I’m part of the ITU Development Team so it will be nice to have company out there. As for the race, I have no expectations right now. I have had two weeks of technical swimming with much intensity so we will see what happens.

sewing machine Heidi in action

Barbara, Lisa, Kate and Vicky cycling home in their wetsuits on a very wet Thursday