My First Duathlon - 12th September

I did it! Ok so it was only a sprint one, but for me they are the worst! We started off at Skidby Mill and began with a 2 mile run down and round the corner, then returning the same way back up the hill. This distance isn't really a problem, but the speed that everyone was running (and probably the fact that i had been munching chocolate through the day!) was a little too much for me and I didn't feel too great...I finished the run thinking that i wouldn't be able to carry on, but I saw that I wasn't alone and that helped :-) I walked a bit before hopping onto my bike, but as soon as I set off I was filled with renewed enthusiasm and from then on I was on a mission to catch up with a body I could see in front of me! I actually never caught up with him, but he didn't get away from me and I did pass others so it was ok :-) The cycle was only 9/10 miles ( I can remember which!) so it wasn't too bad and I seemed to be doing well! However..during the last 1-2 miles (that's a total guess as I haven't got a little bike computer yet!) there were a couple of people overtaking me on their nifty little road bikes..I was in top gear pedalling as fast as I could and they still sailed past me...gotta get me one of those!

So....how did I do? Well I was waiting for the times to be put onto the website but they don't appear to be there so I will have to say that I was about 52 minutes I think...which wasn't the slowest time so I think it was pretty good for my first race! Yey!

The final race for this season is this Wednesday, which I believe is a 9 mile cycle and then a 2 mile run, which I think I will be far better at as my legs seem to be able to run forever when they are warm! This will be followed by a celebratory drink and some food kindly provided by the little pub just down the road, so a great chance to meet more of the club and get in with the crazy barracudas! Anyway, we'll see how it goes and I will keep you posted!

;-)

Some pictures for the girls (Laura's Birthday) :-)

Here are some good ones to make you smile guys!

The Great Yorkshire Run

On Sunday the 9th September, Sheffield hosted the first Great Yorkshire Run..and I took part..yey! Tom and I travelled over to Sheffield to my parents house on the Saturday (via Decathlon-the best shop in the world, to buy a few things for my trek, sleeping bag, another fleece, t-shirts etc.) That reminds me, I haven't tried out my sleeping bag yet! Anyway...possibly not the best thing to be doing the night before a run, but as it was my friend Laura's Birthday (Hi Laura if you're reading!) we went out in Sheffield in the evening after zooming to my parents house for the fastest bbq in the history of bbq's (possibly with the exception of those taking place in the antarctic). A great night was had by all at Laura (and Eleni's!) party and despite the late night and consumption of alcohol, we managed to drag ourselves up to get to Sheffield for the run.

We all (my parents, Tom and I) met Madeleine (who had first told me about the run) and we proceeded to warm up with the Mr Motivator style dude who was up on a platform busting some moves. As always with this sort of event, the atmosphere was great and very touching. Apparently there were some famous people there running...but I only read that after the event! The Elite athletes taking part were amazing, we saw them on their return journey as we were heading out, they were running about twice our speed and looking completely composed and quite comfortable!

Our aim was to run the 10km in under an hour, which we both did...yey! We set out timing our kilometers to make sure that we were under 6 minutes/km and celebrating each time we reached a km marker! It was great that although the route took us quite a bit away from the start and therefore our supporters (yes ok there were only 3!) couldn't really see us en route, that there were people along the way clapping us and children running alongside us at some points! Also, what I thought was a great idea, there were bands at several points along the way playing different types of music. This was lovely to hear and helped me to stay motivated too :-) At the 5km mark Madeleine and I seperated and ran our own races...not as fun running alone, but I did speak to a few interesting people along the way! We were both looking forward to a certain point along the route, where we had seen a car wash style "thing" set up, which we could run through to cool down in the fine spray. This was at about 7km I think, so very welcoming!

I made it back in 54.02 (1370 th position) and Madeleine was right on my heels with a time of 56.31 in 1672 nd position. There were 4 and a half thousand people there on the day so this wasn't bad at all! I am aiming for sub 50mins next time though :-) as is Madeleine I would imagine!

Anyway, I am well and truly hooked to these events so looking for the next one now!

My First Barracuda Club Ride!

I went out on my first group bike ride, which was great :-) Meeting lots of the Barracudas (sounds like some sort of secret society eh?!) made me feel much more at ease and positive about entering events with them. They were all on road bikes except for Jacqui (who told me about the club and has been great getting me to and from the training sessions!) so immediately we were at a disadvantage with our mountain bikes, but everybody was very nice and they did keep stopping to make sure everyone was together. We went from Skidby mill, through Little Weighton...I can't remember the route exactly, but I remember a few names of places...Rayworth, Eppleworth/Eppleton?...Anyway, we did about 25 miles I think and at a fair pace so it was a good challenge! I thoroughly enjoyed it, the scenery was lovely, the weather was nice...the flies didn't taste so good and I did have red eyes by the end as I think the flying beasties in the area were daring each other to fly into my eyes!

I have joined a Triathlon Club!!

I told you to check out this one! Yes, I am now a member of the Barracuda Triathlon Club (Take a look at their website, they're a great club...www.barracudatriclub.com)

Ok so I haven't actually done any triathlons yet, but i am very willing and getting really into the training. This weekend I went to Cliff Pratt (also a very good place to go for any biking equipment or advice...www.cpcycles.com) to sort myself out with a helmet so that I can actually enter the races. I was happily choosing one at a suitable price...good ventilation...small enough for my tiny head....and next thing i know, we're walking out with 2 new bikes and 2 helmets!!! What happened in there?! Ha ha! We did get a good deal and some cool stuff so it was ok :-)

So...since then, Tom and I have been on some good bike rides (obviously we had to use them the day we bought them!) out to Hornsea, we went over to the the Humber Bridge...and now even to work and back! As you might imagine we have had many a comment on our arriving at work on our new matching toys...but we know we're the coolest kids at RB so all is fine! ;-)

Anyways, I have my first Barracuda outing tomorrow..a bike ride out from Skidby (that's where the hills are..eek!) so I will see how I go and report back soon for anyone who is interested!

Photo's coming very soon (when i've charged up my camera so that i can upload!)

Weekend in Appleton le Moor

What a lovely bank holiday! Tom and I went to visit his parents in Appleton le Moor, which is a brilliant way to spend a weekend anyway as it is so relaxed and scenic out there! However..this time was different as i took my trekking gear :-) Oh...except for my walking socks...thanks for the loan Deb!



The saturday was spent out fishing off a boat in Witby (yes i realise this didn't really help my training!) It was great fun speeding out to sea in the boat, although i did lose the feeling in my fingers as i was holding on so tight! I took to catching the moment rather than the fish...yes i was the onboard camera man! (I have lots of photo's of the weekend, but haven't uploaded them yet so i will add them tomorrow! Unfortunately it got a bit rough not long after we got out there so we headed back to shore and back to ranch to start the next stage of the fisherman's day out...the bbq ;-)

On Sunday it was time to don walking gear and head out into the countryside. With the promise of real local ales we set out to Cropton, where we found a brewery...yay! It was a lovely day, so i got to experience my gear in conditions more like we will get in India (i think) than our weekend in the Peaks! Yet again, my boots served me well and filled me with confidence that my tootsies will be quite happy for the trip :-)

Monday...we went back to Witby to battle against the tourists out for the Bank Holiday...hmmm...i guess that could count as training...perhaps more mentally than physically...I think it takes a lot of patience and mental strength to remain calm in such situations! Anyway, so not too much of your conventional trekking was done, but I had a great time and that's what counts ha ha! Ooh, check out my next entry for some good physical training....

Thanks for reading and if anyone is interested in going out to stay in Appleton Le Moor (which i would strongly recommend!) in a lovely little cottage with a garden that leads straight out into the countryside, please contact me and I will put you in touch with Tom's parents! I will post some photo's of the cottage at some point.