World Triathlon Champs & Season Sum Up

Living in a flat above Bargain Booze as a kid with Mum, our summer holidays used to consist of trips to Blackpool and Rhyll (which I thought were absolutely brilliant! If you have never been, I would recommend both!) My favourite races at school were out-running the boys when playing Kick Chase (a Scouse version of Kiss Chase!) and so you can imagine how thrilled I was to finally get the opportunity to travel to the other side of the world to compete in the World Triathlon Champs.  The race and the venue was a world away from my childhood, but the mental characteristics I learnt as a kid came into full fruition namely; resilience, determination and mental toughness.

Most of you will know by now that the race was a complete disaster. It's not suprisng really given my health this season (argh, I hate making excuses!) but I thought it was best to go and be disappointed than to never know at all. Despite everything I was stood on that pontoon feeling like an absolute winner. I had the most confident mindset and approach to a race that I have ever had.  It was just a shame I didn't have the physical prowess on the day to match!

Completely ready mentally, just not physically!

To put my performance into perspective, I swam 90 seconds slower on race day than I did in the swim recce a few days before. I lost 3 places in the run up to T1 alone and on the bike it took me everything I had to turn the pedals....and that was in the granny ring! I absolutely felt like I was racing on empty. After just a lap of the bike I seriously considered dropping out.  I just kept going through the motions and used everything I had to cross the line. I just about held it together after the finish to hurry through the recovery tent before bursting into tears when I saw Chris.

One day I'll be a World Champ - but today was not that day!

I hate being upset after races. It makes me feel like a spoilt child that didn't get what I wanted, and that's just not me. Chris knew I didn't look right at all when I was racing, but it was difficult for me to explain how I felt.  Later on I managed to come up with 3 analogies: The first is perhaps not eating for a week and then running a marathon - I literally felt during the race how this person would feel at mile 20! The second is perhaps what it would feel like to do the bike and run in your wetsuit. You can still go through the motions but everything feels heavier and harder and aches more than it should. And the third, for my non-sporty friends, is how Jordan Belfort (aka Leo Di Caprio in the Wolf of Wall Street) feels when he's just got high as a kit on 'lemons' and needs to drive home from the Golf Club. His body quite simply, will not do what his mind tells it!

When your body just won't do what your mind tells it!

I felt a world away from the athletes around me who chatted excitedly about their races and it was a huge shame to not enjoy it or soak in the atmosphere. After another little cry back at the hotel I decided to stop looking at the results as it was a form of self-destruction, and stop trying to find answers to why I raced so badly and just put it in a box with the lid firmly on it and put it down to a bad race at the end of a difficult season.

Holiday of a lifetime!

So many of my friends raced so well and I'd like to say a massive well done to all of them. Especially Hannah J who took silver in the 20-24 AG, Hannah K who took bronze in the elite aquathlon, Steph for taking silver in my race and Lucy for taking bronze in the 25-29 standard race. Not to forget all the other brilliant people who raced Jacqui, Mike, Sally (well done on your debut!!), Cath, Hannah L, Natalie, Charlotte, Laura, Alice...the list is endless but a huge well done to you all.

Disappointment can be one of life's most uncomfortable feelings but perhaps the best way to deal with it is to have an absolutely fantastic time in The Rockies! From white water rafting to horse riding, to canoeing to hiking, this holiday was just the absolute best! I'm sure most of you were sick of our facebook photos and status updates by the end of the holiday but a wonderful time with wonderful people was just what I needed! And as much as I loved Rhyll and Blackpool, this place won hands down!

The flight home gave me a chance not just to reflect on this season, but to reflect on the last 5 years as I bow out of the 25-29 age group:

1. The Races I have done in the last 5 years:

• I have competed in 60 multi-sport events (not including just running or just cycling events - I think that would take the total to over a century!!!)
• I have raced in 14 different countries - visiting more countries in the last 5 years than the rest of my life put together!
• I have competed for team GB 11 times - 3 x World Sprint Triathlons (yet to have a good race!), 1 x World Duathlon, 3 x European Sprint Triathlons, 3 x European Duathlons, 1 x European Aquathlon

2. The money I have spent in the last 5 years:

• I have spent £170 registering my intent to qualify for Team GB
• I have spent £1330 on race entry fees for international championships
• I worked out the above 2 points and then stopped working out anymore!!!

3. The achievements I have enjoyed

• I did not know a single sole who did triathlon when I started. Like everyone I've met, I've worked hard for everything I've enjoyed and am most proud of all the new friends I have made along the way. (Old friends of course still have their weight in gold for putting up with my constant busy schedule!)
• My British Title remains my favourite racing memory (June 2013)
• I have won 3 European medals, one of each colour, one for each discipline! (probably because I was in the right place at the right time but at last Mrs Goodall being an all rounder has paid off!!!)
• I have DNF'd and DNS'd more races than I care to remember but have always tried to bounce back with enthusiasm!
• I have absolutely loved keeping this blog which I started back in 2012 just as a place to keep my results, photos and thoughts all in one place. Now with over 20,000 hits and so many positive comments, it's become a really lovely 'keepsake' (if you can call a blog a keepsake?) My favourite post of them all is this one here,

My triathlon debut - 2 weeks before the race I realised I didn't even own a bike
(my ditziness will never change!)

4. The things I have overcome

• I have a serious phobia of flying, but have not let this stopped me from going to where I want to race
• In the last 5 years I have kept the NHS in business paying for more prescriptions than I care to remember
• In 2010 I overcame constant throat infections, in 2011 I bounced back from having my tonsils out, in 2012 I was hospitalised with a kidney infection, in 2013 I was hospitalised with stomach cramps, in 2013/14 I suffered a year long (and ongoing) hip problem and more recently this year, I have endured more throat infections
• For the next 5 years I plan to get healthy and stay healthy!!!!

5. The lessons I have learned

• Never expect to win. You can aim for it, or hope for it, but don't expect it.
• Races can be won or lost before you even get to the start line. A positive mindset is key!
• Half-ironman races are best done sober!
• Be thankful! The things you take for granted might be the things someone else is praying for.
• Life goes on (even after a bad race!) Bouncing back without a loss of enthusiasm is the real way to be a winner.
• Doing the best you can with what you have is all you can expect of anyone.....including yourself!
• There will always be someone who has better kit than you, or more sponsors than you, or does more training than you. It's more important to be a first rate version of yourself, than a second rate version of someone else.

Edmonton, 2014

I was recently asked by Chris Janzen of Triathlete Mind why I took part in triathlon. I honestly thought I would answer "to win" but surprisingly my competitive side didn't shine through! I didn't even answer "for fun" because sometimes when things don't go your way, or you're ill or injured it isn't all that fun. My answer was "for the adventure" and what an adventure is has been! Thank you to everyone who has played a part, no matter how small. It's been fabulous to grow as a person and experience some of life's best adventures. I'm sure the next 5 years will bring very different adventures, but until then I'm looking forward to a very very long winter of getting healthy and doing absolutely nothing!

National Club Relays

This event is always a great laugh! Never to be missed! And this was my fifth year of racing here. In the past I have raced for Rugby Triathlon Club, Linebreak, TRiKS and this year I was drafted in to complete the Speedy Chicks line up for Race Timing Events.  I was super excited to race alongside speedsters Claire Shea-Simonds, Emily McLoughlin and Eli Thorogood.

Race Timing Events #Selfie

I was off on first leg which I've done every year (and love!)  The swim was a case of survival. I seemed to be giving a rather large bloke a piggy back the whole way round, making it almost impossible to kick. The final straight back in and I got in some clear water which I enjoyed.  I have no idea where I came out of the water but I was pleased to hand the baton (or rather the band!) back over to Claire before I went off to get ready for the bike - because Claire, Emily & Eli swim so quick I knew I didn't have any time for faffing!

The girls had done a great job and Eli, our last swimmer, handed over to me in 2nd place overall. Wow! I have never been this high up at this event before! I set off on the bike in pursuit of the junior elite girls team that were currently in first and had the lead motorbike next to them around the 3 lap course of the lake.  The bike was incredibly windy! Wowzers! My legs were going 10 to the dozen but I wasn't actually getting anywhere! A lap and a half in and I had caught the leader. I loved the glory of this as the commentator informed the crowds of the "new leader"! How exciting! We were winning!

My times were a little slower than last year but the swim was longer,
the wind was stronger, and I was still pleased with my race.

Claire, Emily & Eli also whizzed round the bike course (our splits were so similar - 23:43, 23:10, 23:38, 23:42 - it's all about the bike!!) and we started the run legs in second overall - behind an all male team. The run was just as windy and is a little bit soul destroying because it just seems like such a long way. But (dare I say it!) I enjoyed it, and enjoyed the cheerings from the crowds!  Great runs again from Claire, Emily and Eli - with Eli crossing the line in her mighty fine red welsh kit as the first ladies team home! Woop woop!

Battling the wind

Unfortunately we didn't get a Triathlon England medal as Eli and Emily are affiliated to Triathlon Wales, so a little technicality there. Discriminating against the Welsh is definitely not cool, especially as they don't have a Welsh Relays Championships to compete in? All was not lost though as I thought we would be presented with a One Step Beyond organisers medal for winning the Open Ladies Category (the open category is for those teams who are not all affiliated to Triathlon England....i.e. us!). But, from what I can gather, the open category does not differentiate from male teams and female teams, so although we were first female team over the line, we were beaten by 3 male teams and therefore classed as fourth. Seems a little unfair to me. I suppose the moral of the story is, if you are going to race in the open category, be a male!

But overall I had thoroughly enjoyed my day!  I had a fab time catching up with friends and we totally worked the Dry Robe! Medal or no medal, we were first ladies team across the line, so I'm pretty sure that makes us champions of something?  Thank you Race Timing Events for making me feel so welcome and well done to all!

A Rocky Road to The Rockies

My favourite triathlon memory to date

1st June 2013  was a day that proved to me that dreams really do come true. Not only did I win the British Championships on that day, not only was I  first to qualify for the 2013 World Champs later that year in London, but it also allowed me to pre-qualify for the 2014 World Champs in Canada. Triple whammy or what! As I have never been out of Europe – well apart from Israel but that was for the European Champs so that doesn't really count (plus everyone was propelling rockets and bombs at us) – Canada was a place that I very much wanted to go to, and with it being the last time I could compete in the 25-29 Age Group, it was very much the only race I cared about for the whole of the 2014 season.

I set one goal and one goal only for the whole of the season – to win in Canada! Now I have met some fairly deluded triathletes in my time, and I very much know where I stand in the pecking order, so to win would be a tall order, and would require lots of super talented people to not turn up (it would be great actually if no-one turned up!), but it was certainly a possibility! To put it in perspective, I raced poorly in London World Champs and despite coming out of the water in 18th place, I cycled up to the bronze medal position. The 5k run was short and flat, which should have suited me, but crippling stomach pains meant I dropped down the field and finished in 7th. I was convinced that with smart training, determination and a whole host of passion, the gold medal in Canada could be mine.

I missed the medals in London, but the support of my friends was amazing!

With 14 months to train for the Worlds in Edmonton, I set to work.  But a little thing called life got in the way. And life can have a whole host of things planned for you that you don't plan for! So my rocky road to The Rockies goes a little something like this:

My winter months were fantastic, and I had the best winter's training that I have ever had.  This was not difficult given that in 2011 I had a kidney infection and was hospitalised for weeks and in 2012 I collapsed a couple of times with crippling stomach pains.  But this winter I was enjoying it, I had upped my swimming which saw huge success and my cycling was going well. I was running really well and I couldn't believe how fit I was getting.  From the end of November I suffered from a hip injury whilst half marathon training and that was the first of many things to go wrong. I aimed to run the Watford Half Marathon in a sub 1:30 at the start of February.  In training this proved to be something I was definitely capable of doing. But my hip didn’t want to play ball, I couldn’t even manage a jog and although I didn’t run for 5 weeks in the lead up to the event I still decided to go and see what I could do. I came away with a 1:36, bitterly disappointed but not the end of the world. It was still 7 months to go until Canada, plenty of time for things to change.

4 weeks later and I raced against the legend that is Dame Kelly Holmes at the Maxifuel Duathlon.  She was absolutely wonderful and gave everyone all the time in the world to chat, encourage, sign autographs and take photos. Despite a lack of running, and no speed work on the bike I was super pleased to finish on the podium.  Natalie Seymour took the win and as both 5ks were long Eloise Du Luart used her run speed to pip me to second place.  But bottom step of the podium and I was confident that I was right where I needed to be at this time of year.

Another 3 weeks later and I was racing at Oulton Park Duathlon which I won last year. The goal this time was to retain my title. My hip was still a little sore but I was able to train on it within reason and I was feeling strong on the bike. This race for me was, in the end, a real confidence blow. I felt dreadful on both runs and, to my surprise, even worse on the bike. I slipped back to 5th place, finishing 3 minutes slower than last year and crossing the line feeling like something wasn't right. I had no oomph or drive.  2 days later and my body felt completely awful. Thinking I maybe had a virus I went to the doctor. Also a GB Age Group athlete my doctor said I was overtraining and sent me away with the instruction of resting. Now I was completely exasperated by this. I train 8-12 hours per week. I take a rest day every week and I have easy weeks. As a young, fit athlete this should be completely manageable. I have trained far more in the past, and know others train far more than me, so I did not believe overtraining to be the cause of feeling like this. I have also done triathlon for 5 years now so I know what works for me and what doesn't. But I followed her instructions and rested.  I just kept thinking, best to get this out the way now and be better for Canada! But the rest didn't help and I developed a sore throat that was agony. I've always been prone to throat infections, hence why I had my tonsils out a few years ago.

Smiling at the finish with wonderful team mates
but feeling a little disappointed with my race

Back to the docs and they decided I had probably had a couple of viruses and post viral fatigue and they would give me antibiotics to shift the bacterial infection in my throat. 5 and a half weeks later and I was still on antibiotics. During that time I raced in the European Duathlon in Holland and somehow came away with a silver medal and raced in Lisboa Triathlon, finishing again in the runner up position, but completely disappointed with my performance.  I know its probably not wise to race on antibiotics but I'd worked hard to save up for these trips and as it transpires if I didnt race when i was on these antibiotics, I literally wouldnt have raced all season! In between racing I barely did anything. Except feel a little bit depleted and exasperated by this mystery illness.

So thankful I was well enough to race here, finishing in the Runner Up position

Another race, another Runner Up position, losing out to team mate and good friend Jacqui,
who has been an absolute rock for me this season

Before I knew it we were in May and my only other goal, apart from Canada was upon us – the British Sprint Championships. I really wanted to have a crack at defending my title from last year. Being at Eton Dorney the race venue was absolutely perfect for me, flat, fast and frantic. But as much as my mind was willing, my body wasn't, and it was another DNS for me. I went to watch, and put on a brave face and cheered for everyone else, but I started to wonder why I was investing so much time, energy and effort into a sport that was beginning to make me quite miserable.

I couldn't be disappointed for long, it was great to see my
lovely friend Suzy win silver
in our Age Group (25-29)

Accompanied with this is seeing every single training session that friends are doing, and every improvement that they are making on Twitter and Facebook. Now don't get me wrong, I would never want other people to not do well and I love how much passion these girls have, it's great to see them doing so well – I just wanted to join them! Girls I used to beat were 100% excelling, some had even taken career breaks to train full time, the gaps they were building between them and myself were completely unbridgeable.

I continued backwards and forwards to the docs with a husky voice that I had had for so long now that I couldn't remember what I actually sounded like. They tried me on some different medication, did some more tests for glandular fever and other allergy tests and sent me on my way. I went off to Germany with Mum for a girlie weekend and praise the Lord, I finally started to pick up. It was too little too late to have a great performance at the European Aquathlon, but It was good enough for a bronze medal; something a few years ago I could only have dreamed of.

Finally a race where I wasn't ill, I really enjoyed competing in this!
I made new friends, raced in a new place, and gave it my all.

A pretty mild shot of my eye that I text to my Mum
to ask her if I looked run down!

Back in the UK and the doctor confirmed I had a chlorine allergy which had been aggravating my throat and chest for all this time. So there was me thinking "I'll just do an easy swim to get back into it" and all that time it was knocking me back to square one! It had also completely wrecked my skin and gave me pretty bad eczama and swelling around the eye. I had also developed seborrhaic dermatitis on my scalp. The long and short of it was swimming was making me fall apart!

Not the best news in the world but I was happy to start feeling like my old self. Despite not planning on doing any Elite Super Series races this year, I somehow found myself on the start line of Blenheim feeling completely out of my depth. I absolutely think I could be good enough to race at this level, but you have to be on top form. And here I was rather unfit from not being able to train and rather demotivated from what felt like constant disappointment. I enjoyed seeing friends at the race but a shocking race saw me all the way down in 25th place, a world away from where I wanted to be. BUT, at least I was racing! And it was still 3 months to Canada.

Not sure I deserved my place at Blenheim Elite,
but I was so thankful for the opportunity to race!

Made so many friends along the way,
Suzie and Hannah kicked ass here!

Then it was onto Dambuster, the National Age Group Champs. Being a standard distance race I knew this wasn't my strength but now that I was beginning to feel better I was going to work my socks off to get a Tri England National medal.  I had a good swim, my bike was pretty average, my run was disappointing. I got overtaken with half a km to go to finish 17 seconds outside the medals and be first of the non-medallists in any age group. I tried really hard not to be disappointed, I'm sure it could be viewed as a good result off the back of 5 hours a week training and god knows how many antibiotics. I just had to try and keep positive, my health was back, that's the main thing!

Clowning around with good old Suze & Natalie,
They have become good friends through the racing scene!

It was during this month that I read that the lovely Natalie Seymour who I have raced with a few times had fallen off her bike at Windsor Triathlon and broken her collar bone. I knew she had been working hard all winter, I also knew that she had a huge amount of talent and had great prospects for the season. My heart sank for her and I vowed to stop feeling sorry for myself. There are always people worse off out there than yourself.

Not quite our year, but I will always cherish
sharing this podium with Nat back in 2013

Fun Times on the Tandem

I finally got a whole heap of enjoyment back for the sport when I did the Tandem Triathlon with good friend Ali Moult at the end of June.  It was so different, so fun and was what sport should be about – spending time with others, enjoying a challenge and feeling good about yourself. The fact that we won and by default crowned ourselves British, European and World Tandem Triathlon Champs is neither here nor there!


So with my health back and a new sense of mojo I trundled on with racing. I went from strength to strength, improving my times in a regular Gloucester Triathlon Race series, and felt generally upbeat about everything.  I won a free entry into the Jenson Button Triathlon and mixed with the stars. I didn't have the best of races there, but I did match some of the girls on their swim and run splits, so that was promising. I never thought I would be so far behind on the bike but with 6 weeks to go until Canada I knew I could get my bike form back quickly. Then it was off to Chester to race in the Deva Sprint race and it was great to take the win there out of 350 athletes and clock the fastest bike split by quite a margin.

 I treated myself to some new cycle kit and even braved going out cycling with Chris, despite him being a speed demon. We clocked a 22:48 in an undulating 10 2 up and things were finally looking up.   I was testing myself on some new running sets, and although swimming was a complete no go because of avoiding the pool and having no open water venue to train at, the lovely Sue Pugh had sent me some bands to do some dryland work so I was hopeful for what the next few weeks would bring. (Thanks Sue!!)

Unfortunately the next few weeks brought more illness. Despite a 6 week block of feeling brilliant, I woke up one morning completely unable to breathe. The back of my throat was on fire and I couldn't swallow. Oh and the good old sexy, husky voice was back. Another visit to the GPs' and they were at a loss of what to do with me. The tests they did just showed inflammation but other than that all my bloods were normal. I happened to mention I did triathlon and it was the same diagnosis given as before "oh well you must be overtraining!" At this point I burst into tears; feeling a little annoyed and quite frankly, a little fobbed off. A referral was then done to an ENT specialist and yet another course of antibiotics was prescribed;  8 a day for 10 days.

Needless to say my next race at Blithfield Sprint last weekend was another DNS . Although I didn't get to race, I did get to spend a weekend with a fantastic group of triathlete friends who all came to visit and it was great fun to catch up. Unfortunately I gave Holly Grundon and Kate Scotter a near death experience twice…..once when I spun the car on some wet roads and we ended up on a grass verge pretty close to a lamppost, and another when I took them to the rickety rides of Stourport Fun Fair and they got dangled and shook upside down! Sorry about that girls! Suzy Robinson popped in on her way back from a great performance at the National 25 TT and gave Snowy a manicure and friends Ali Moult and Laura Fuller also joined us for a good old natter and catch up. When I asked them how they all knew each other and they said "through you" I felt like the Cilla Black of triathlon, bringing people together!

The excitement I felt last month of racing Gwen Jorgensen later in August at Liverpool Elite is now a distant memory as I emailed to withdraw my entry and instead will just focus on getting back to full health for Canada with a last minute opportunity to blow off the cobwebs at the National Relays thanks to the lovely Claire Shea-Simmonds.

Despite the obstacles and adversities that have come my way the support of my friends, family and fellow competitors has been amazing. I've also had phenomenal support from Chris Janzen of Triathlete Mind who has given me the mental strength to keep going when perhaps I would have given up a long time ago. He has taught me skills and tools that I can apply to all areas of life and (despite what may seem like a pretty negative blog) I can still take away a whole host of enjoyment and sense of adventure from my experiences. He is the most incredible person I have ever worked with and I wish I could bottle him up and put him in my handbag and sprinkle his positivity like fairy dust wherever life may take me. And although there are still many uncertainties over the next few weeks, there are a few things im sure of:

My flights are booked, my accommodation is ready and there are probably tons of black bears lurking in the national parks of Canada waiting to greet me. My new goal is to go and make the most of this experience. To make some new friends, meet some new people, see some new places and create some new memories. My road to the Rockies may have been Rocky, but I'll be on that start line knowing anything can happen on race day! Others haven't written me off just yet and neither have I - here's to mental toughness, never giving up......and praying for a miracle!

Chester Deva Divas

Let me introduce you to my lovely friends Vanesa & Jess. Vanesa is a crazy Spanish chick who will make you laugh until your ribs hurt! Jess is just as nuts and has been one of my best friends in the world since I met her 14 years ago.

My journey to Chester Deva Divas triathlon started about a month ago:
* Jess ~ "Why don't you do Diva's with me and come and stay"
* Me ~ "Great sounds fun, count me in"

3 weeks later the start list is sent out, minus Jess's name:
* Me ~ "Jess why aren't you on the start list?"
* Jess ~ "I can't be bothered, I'll just watch you win it!"

Oh great, I better race well then! Friday night in Chester was amazing! We went out for Tapas and sat in a courtyard, it was like we were abroad! One bottle of cava lead to another, and another, then we were on the prosecco and the cocktails. There was a sangria thrown in there somewhere and just when we thought "maybe that's enough", Vanesa appears with another bottle of Cava! Woop woop!

"Good friends don't let you do stupid things......alone"

Thanks Pam for the wetsuit!

When most people would like to relax the morning after the night before, our Saturday went like this:
* Up at 8:00am - couldn't face breakfast
* Somehow survived Vanesa's driving to Manley Mere, every time we went over a speed bump my head was through the roof!
* A dip in the lake in a lush Huub wetsuit I had borrowed from Pammie babes after splitting mine last week!
* A hot chocolate, scone and read of the paper in the sunshine - this would be so much more enjoyable if I was not hungover!
* Googling on my phone 'how long does a hangover last'
* Back in the car with Vanesa, dear god
* Out on the bikes to recce the race bike course
* Lunch at The Architect sat on the table next to Michael Owen
* Back in the car with Vanesa (clinging on for dear life) to go and register at the race tent
* Finally home to shower and put PJs on
* A healthy dinner of pizza and jelly babies
* Wondering if a 72 hour hangover is really in store for me
* Start to watch a film but the room is still spinning so at 8pm I go to bed
* Get up every hour to see if I need to be sick
* Finally fall asleep thinking "I am never drinking again!


We arrived at race venue 'The Meadows' the next morning at 7:15am.  There was a great buzz around the place, the atmosphere was fab! There were 350 women racing, from all different backgrounds and all different abilities. I spent most of the morning in the portaloos (nice!) but tried to 'talk myself into it' and kick some ass.

The swim was in the River Dee and was a lovely calm swim starting at one point, and swimming up (or down?) stream to the next. I led for the first half of the swim until someone swam past me and I latched onto her feet. We went slightly wrong at the end, almost forgetting to go through the 'gate' before exiting the water. Out of the water in 2nd and Jess gave me the biggest cheer ever! A quick T1 saw me out on the bike first with about 4 other girls in close pursuit, grabbing their bikes and following me.


Being the first athlete out on the bike course meant the crowd were going wild! They were screaming and shouting and applauding as if I were a celebrity! I loved soaking up the atmosphere and for the first time all morning, felt alright! If bike courses were made for me, then this would be it. Mostly flat, a few drags and rolls on an out and back course. By the time I got to the turn around point, I already had a huge lead. The headwind on the way out had played to my strengths but coming back in with a tail wind it would be harder to make more time on my competitors. I got a little held up on the way back; mostly because all of the other girls from later waves were still heading out on the bike course so when the roads got narrow, the cars infront of me stopped to let them through safely, but in the process meant I was sitting in their traffic jam! That happened a couple of times which was a little frustrating. Coming to the end of the bike course I was navigating the last few roads around the estate back to transition when 2 marshals sent me back out again with the other athletes. I don't think they realised I was the first girl back. Most athletes would use their common sense and just carry on but me being me, meant that I turned round to start the bike course again until they started calling me back! Haha what an idiot!

Back into T2 and Jess was going wild again! The commentator announced that last year I had won the British and European Championships (I felt a bit embarrassed by this) and he also told the crowds how I was fuelled for today's race by prosecco and cava, cringe!!! Off on the run and this is where I felt really bad. I could just taste alcohol. So gross! I had been running for about 3 minutes when I heard the commentator announce the next girl into T2. Ah great, I thought, I have a nice big lead I can just plod round and try to feel human. However Dee Allen of TeamFreeSpeed had other ideas. She was a gazelle! I have raced with super speedsters like Emma Pallant and Katie Hewison in the past and I swear Dee would give them a run for their money! On lap 1 the marshalls were saying "I think it's safe to say you're going to win this one love!" but by lap 2 it had changed to a frantic "you better get a move on!" I tried to pick it up a bit with 2k to go and a little bit of sick came up so I decided to go back to plodding. It will be alright, I thought. Then Jess was legging it towards me shouting to get a move on, (Is it bad if I admit that I wanted to punch her in the face!) Haha! I was just hating every second and replied to Jess that I didn't mind if I didn't win.

But once I said that I looked over my shoulder and could see Dee was catching me quickly! I thought to myself how annoyed would I be if I didn't win because I was hungover? The answer? Very! So with 1km to go I picked it up a notch and ignored all feelings of sickness! Once I came out by the car park and could see the finish, I knew Dee wouldn't catch me so could relax into the finish, crossing the line in 1:18:07, just 5 seconds ahead of Dee (she ran a sub 17 minute 5k!!!)! What a great race!! It was quite exciting having Dee push me all the way (although I didn't feel like that at the time!)

Our other friend Jess (a different one!) crossed the line not long after and then we cheered on pocket rocket Vanesa, who was fabulous! The biggest cheer of the day went to the last lady across the line who gave it everything she had to make it round the course. The crowd went wild, it was brilliant! The prize giving was lovely and I won a voucher, some high 5 energy powder and a bottle of bubbly - which I won't be drinking anytime soon!

Afterwards Jess and I cycled to Parkgate for a world famous ice cream. I used to live near here so it was lovely to be back on homesoil! All in all, it was a fantastic weekend!

Lost my bank card on a cycle to Parkgate,
pretty sure I can see the blue card on the bottom left of this picture!!!

Best ice cream in the world!

Oh no, not more bubbly!

Fantastic racing by Vanesa!

Fabulous friends!

Jenson Button, Allesley Festival & Gloucester Race Series

Well my rather varied race season continues! It may not have been a season that's gone to plan, but it's certainly been adventurous! Last weekend I won a free race entry into the Jenson Button Triathlon. It was a fabulous day, a really great event and loads of fun to mix with some celebs - I was super happy to get my photo taken with Double Ironman World Champion, Chris McCormack (especially as at the time I didn't have a clue who he was)!

I also got interviewed by Tri 247 which was fun (I think I just chatted on about having a burger?!?) and the post-race party was fabulous!

I didn't have the best of races, I completely forgot to take my cycling legs with me and was rather disappointed with my splits. In fact, I am yet to have a half decent race against the elite girls, but that said  I had the biggest smile of the day and met some fab people. You can read my full blog on the event here:

It was great catching up with Katie Hewison who finished 2nd in the final

The next day was my mum's village festival day; it's a 2 week festival which culminates in a Kids 2K run, an adults 10K race, garden walks and home made wine and pimms! Due to my ongoing dodgy hip (yes, it has returned!) I had  not entered the 10K so instead paced my nephew George and niece Issy round the 2K. They were both brilliant and loved every minute, maybe we have the next Helen Jenkins and Alister Brownlee in the making? As my hip felt fine, I then decided to run the 10k course with my sister Helen who really wanted to break the 55 minute barrier; she did it easily in 53:27 (Well done Helen, although you've got to beat that hubby of yours next time!)

With my nephew George, neice Issy and sister Helen

A pic from Henry's swimming Gala.
And a pic of Arthur's poem which reads:
'Three green dinosaurs went to get a tatoo,
one needed the loo, then there were two!' 

The talent in our family doesn't end there. My other nephew Henry is now the 5th fastest butterfly swimmer in the whole of Leeds, 8th fastest in freestyle and seems to be dominating all his school swimming galas! His younger brother Arthur is also a budding poet!

Following the 10k, we enjoyed the garden walks, home made alcohol and cakes. Quite a few of the residents had entered the scarecrow competition which was themed 'Countries of the World'. My mum and neighbour Leanne had a pretty good go with Great Britain, creating the Queen and her Corgi, unfortunately she couldn't sit up right for too long so they didn't make the top 3!

Last night I raced in the third race of the Gloucester Triathlon Series. I first did this in May when I was pretty ill, had missed the British Champs, not trained for weeks and felt like I had to do something to keep myself sane! Returning back 4 weeks later in June I felt much stronger and then last night, despite my wetsuit completely splitting down the side and a stone in my trainer for the whole of the run, it was probably the first time all season that I've been happy with my performance! The field each month has got stronger and stronger and there's been some great competition from the girls with fellow GBR Age Grouper Sarah Smith keeping me on my toes and Nicole Walters taking the win in both the June and July races. There's one more race in August which I'm not sure I can make at this stage, although a promise of a post-race BBQ from the organisers might tempt me! The table below shows my steady improvement in the right direction.

	Swim	T1	Bike	T2	Run	Total	Gender	Overall
Race 1 – May	09:07	0:56	34:31	1:01	17:31	1:03:18	1st	9th
Race 2 – June	09:03	0:42	32:27	1:04	16:49	1:00:06	2nd	6th
Race 3 - July	08:55	0:54	31:35	1:04	16:39	59:08	2nd	9th

So with 6 weeks to go until the World Championships in Canada I'm trying to take a step back from the expectations I had put on myself at the start of the season, and enjoy the adventures to come. I have some more races planned to help me to sharpen up, have lots of time booked in with friends and family and, to keep the theme of racing celebs this year, have the small task of taking on Gwen Jorgensen at the Liverpool Triathlon.

Happy Summer and Happy Training :-)

Tandem Triathlon

Throughout this blog I (Sam), will be writing in this bold, rather confident typeface.

And I (Ali), will be writing in this relaxed, more elegant font.

A little while ago, Ali and I….

That’s me.

….had an idea that was really quite random.  To take on the Bishop’s Castle Tandem Triathlon. Probably the only Tandem Triathlon in the World. So by default, the British, European and World Tandem Triathlon Championships.  Set in an area of outstanding Natural Beauty in the rolling Shropshire Hills, I was going to take on the 1k swim, tackle the tandem ….

….with me! And I was going to take on the 10k run.  How hard could it be?

We hit a couple of obstacles in the lead up to the race.  Firstly, a team name. 

Double Trouble.

Secondly, a tandem.

A tandem?!?  We haven’t got a tandem?

And thirdly, a chlorine allergy.

There is no way I am swapping to do the swim!

Finally practicing together on the Friday Evening

So in the weeks leading up to the race I managed to source a tandem: an old vintage relic with the gear shifters on the down tube.  I had volunteered myself to pilot the bike so thought I better get some practice in and made Chris sit on the back to avoid looking a bit odd on it on my own.  It didn’t go well. We couldn’t get started, couldn’t stay on it, and made it 100m away from home before Chris decided it was safer to walk home!  Oh well.  At least Ali had assured me she would be practicing daily on the back of a tandem during her week at Centre Parcs.

I had a brilliant week!  Nailed the rapids, rowing boats, high ropes, mountain bike course, several visits to the pancake house (clearly we needed to find out if sweet or salted pancakes were better)......Tandem?

Eventually it was Friday night and Ali and Jonny were here to stay! As the dinner was cooking…

Or rather not cooking, Sam had broken the oven…

we dusted the cobwebs off the tandem and went out for a quick practice.   I quickly established a running commentary such as “3, 2, 1, go,” “just making the gears harder”, “turning right here” and “stopping, stopping, foot down” which I’m sure Ali really appreciated.

Sam's running commentary lasted forever and, if it is possible to do so, just made dinner even later….

After a fantastic evening of eating drinking and yapping away, we were soon up and out early doors to make our way to the race. 

Very happy with our Double Trouble coasters

Bishops Castle - what a friendly place!  As we walked round to check out what was what we first found the registration table and could have gone home happy after getting out personalised coasters! We found the start line, we found the finish, we found the man getting naked in the street in T1...

What T1?

Oh yeah there was no T1.  The swimmers just jumped out of the pool to run round and look for their tandem buddy (me!) waiting for them with the bike.  Back to the naked man....So Mr Speedo there had decided that the best option was to make best use of his tandem buddy to hold up what can only be described as a flannel as he stripped down to his birthday suit before popping on his cycling shorts!  Naturally all of this also happened next to a man dressed as a Nun and another in a pink dress with coordinated Fluro tights!?

I had been really looking forward to the open water 1k swim. However if I’d have read the race details I’d have known it was a pool swim.

The best T1 in the world

In a 20m pool.

Meaning.…

…..50 lengths!

I was drugged up on antihistamine to fight the chlorine and before I knew it I was off. After 20 lengths I got an almighty tap on the head with the float by my lane counter. I had been promoted to the fast lane. Excellent!! I got the giggles with 10 lengths to go as I started thinking about Ali waiting at the mount line. She was probably itching to get going and I tried to speed up a little to go and greet my partner! Out of the swim in 15 minutes, fastest of the females, and I was on my way to the flying mount of the tandem!

So whilst Sam was busy deciding which lane she wanted to swim in, I tried to suss out a bit more about the race. I noticed a few bikes had all started to stand in a row so I checked with the commentator who reassured me "you can start anywhere you like love!"  Of course we could!  Deciding to stick to the spot where Sam had left us (which just coincidentally happened to be next to a large kerb to help us get on the thing, as well as being a few meters in front of everyone else....) I chatted to Derek and explained that I loved running but definitely didn't have a PB in my legs today.  "You won't be PB-ing on that course!"

What did he mean by that? Oh, oh Sam's out! Yes let's go!!!

We're doing it!!!!

The bike mount was a bit…

…..wobbly!

We cycled all of 20m to the end of the car park and then had to get off, turn the bike round to the right, and start again!

We were doing it!!  I didn't take my eyes off my feet for the first 10K and my knuckles were white from holding on so tightly... But we were doing it!  Of course, the most important advantage of having two people on the tandem, is that it means you can really make the most of having someone to talk to all the way round!

Ali was chatting my head off but because of the wind she couldn't quite hear my replies, so the only way to carry on chatting was to turn my head round to carry on the convo!  I sort of forgot about the fact I actually needed to look where I was going!

Not being able to see anything on the back hadn't seemed to bother me much until then!!

My best memory of the bike went a bit like this:

Sam can we free wheel for a minute?

Yes, sure, why?

My feet aren’t on the pedals?

What on earth are you doing?

Ok they’re on.

[5 mins later]

Sam, can we free wheel for a minute?   

The most exciting thing was when we saw other tandems in front of us.  We had not expected this to happen.  Without a word we both picked up the pace and rode past with a cheer!

As we saw more people up ahead, Ali started stroking my bum. "Ali what are you doing?" I'd ask to which she'd say "I'm getting more aero!" Oh God, she's on the drops!

All the chatting and taking in the views meant that before we knew it we were climbing the killer hill for the second time where we overtook a few more people who took the sensible option of getting off and walking.

We'd make it to T2!!

Jonny and Derek seemed amazed to see us! We had done brilliantly! It was a little confusing about what we were supposed to do here so we jumped off the bike and ran (or rather shuffled) with it down a little trail forest.

When can I run, when can I run?

Not yet, we need to rack the tandem. 

The best T2 in the world!

Where’s the racking?

Errr…

I spotted a free patch of grass and shouted “here!” before pushing the tandem to one side and dashing away!

Go Ali Go!!!

I think I got a bit too excited and put on a full on sprint and before I knew it I was hurtling down a pretty steep descent! Which just kept going on....and on! Until then it happened, I was faced with the first of a million hills to climb. If you weren't running down one, you were pulling yourself up.  So this is what Derek meant!!

Still managing to keep some pace and overtake a few, a cheered everyone running back in the other direction of the out-and-back course, however barely got a smile back... What was up there?!  As I finally got to the longest ever 4.5k marker I scrambled up the last steep stretch to the 5k point, very pleased with myself I quickly turned and went flying back down.

Hurry up Ali, I'm freezing!

A couple of minutes later when it started to level out I heard "where are you going?!!"  Very pleased with myself thinking he was just surprised how quickly I'd done it "back down, I've been to the top"  "You're supposed to go over it and back the other side"

Oh bugger.

"Ali, I forgot to tell you - you've got to get back on the bike!"

Once again I was climbing to the top of the summit, and this time carried on to indeed the other side.

Phew, the hills weren't quite so bad on this side but that's when the heavens opened, it was pouring it down and the trail turned to mud. Luckily I was boiling from my extra miles and I was loving it!

Jonny, Derek and I were absolutely soaked and shivering. Hurry up Ali!

Home straight! The km markers came just as slowly as they did on the way out, but finally I was stumbling up and hating the hill that I'd loved so much at the start, ready to put a quick sprint on as I went round the corner for when everyone could see me again.

Then I saw a gazelle in the distance running towards us with steam coming up off her head! FANTASTIC ALI! So I got ready again with the tandem and passed Ali’s helmet to her.

So at this stage you are probably wondering why Sam is passing me my helmet?

Ah yes.

There are many things Sam didn’t tell me about this race – like the fact the run was up a mountain, and she didn’t own a tandem. She also forgot to mention that the race was swim-bike-run-bike.  So we were back on the tandem for the final flourish!

Getting ready for the Final Flourish to the Finish!

By this point all our race nerves had gone and we jumped,

Well err, climbed…

on to the tandem and got going for the last bit.  The roads were soaking from the torrential rain and my hands had gone white because they were so cold so I couldn’t actually feel the brakes. I didn’t tell Ali that.

You never told me that!!!

And before we knew it we were at the finish! What an amazing event! We had smiled, laughed, chatted and giggled from start to finish!

And it turns out we won the women’s event by 36 minutes! We are now unofficial British

European

And world tandem triathlon champions! Haha!!

A huge thank you to Mick for loaning us the tandem, to Jonny and all of Chris’s family and Phil's family for coming to support us, and to the organisers and marshals for a fantastic event. There are so many little quirks to this event, and we would not change a thing!!!  A big well done to Chris and Phil who finished 2^nd in the men’s category, although we could match their speed on the swim and run we couldn't quite match their bike speed (with a bike split that was erm, 20 minutes *cough cough* quicker than ours!) They may be the Tandem Titans this year, but watch out next year boys!

You’re doing the run next year

Thank you Bishop’s Castle Tandem Triathlon.  See you in 2015!