'being the jammy git I am I won a free entry'

What seems like many years ago, a podgy desk jockey decided that with the mid-life crisis looming he'd better have a go at something. Run the London Marathon? - Nah everybody does that (and all respect to them!) - what about triathlon? The London Triathlon (I'll give my wife the credit/blame for that idea). Well what I didn't realise was that it wasn't that easy to get in let alone complete so what with one thing and another it never happened.

Until this year when being the jammy git I am I won a free entry - finally after 5 years I'd get to do the event that had kick started the whole thing. Having done a couple of quick (aka short) Olympics last year I realised I could be really cheeky and go in the sub 2:30 wave (well you only get the one chance!).

Finally the big day dawned and having negotiated some of Docklands finer scenic aspects (and added an extra hour to the journey time) we finally rolled into the Excel. A very slick operation with easy under cover parking - walk straight through for chip collection and into the massive transition. Its slightly more chaotic than your usual event with earlier waves coming through from the swim or bike.

Our wave gets called through to swim assembly and a final prep talk and build up and its down to the pontoon to jump into the docks - slightly salty but reasonably clear water and at 17oC pleasantly warm. I stuck to the back of the pack as normal and found that by going over to the buoys there was a rope linking them which meant no worrying about sighting. I took the start easy and slowly overtook a couple of swimmers but got a little beaten up on the turns (thought Simmo had joined our wave!) with goggles getting bashed etc. Finally exited in around 28mins - a bit slow but ok. Wetsuit took the usual age to get off then the long run into transition. Being at the back of the pack meant it was easier spotting my bike J. On with shoes (still haven't mastered the art of leaving them on the bike) and carefully over the slippy floor to the mount line.

The bike course was ok, a bit tight and twisty, especially around the excel centre, but got into a good battle with a guy with a pointy hat (no way was I going to be beaten by someone in an aero hat). Going along the embankment I saw what looked to be the lead pack on their way back - how the hell they didn't all get pulled for drafting is beyond me. Managed to keep pushing the whole way round and a 1:08:44 for the bike was pleasing.

Back through transition and out onto the run. The sun was out now and it was starting to warm up. It was pretty busy with runners from previous waves and saw Alex on his last lap or so. I took the first lap easy to get rid of a slight stitch but couldn't seem to raise the pace, a bit disappointed with a 49 min for the 10k, which with 6 ½ mins in T1 and T2 left me outside of 2:30 with a 2:32:44 - I was glad when the results came out to see I was 133rd out of 173 finishers in our wave and (all of whom should have been sub 2:30!) and not last home!

Terry

'As we're now halfway through the season the league tables are starting to shape up. Lee and Amanda are the early leaders, although Alex looks to be in a good position to challenge. Remember you need a time in 3 separate distances to get an overall score - and it's your lowest 3 that count. Good luck and remember to say if it's a PB (1 point bonus)'

"a great event and definitely a sportif I would recommend if anyone fancies a trip to the beautiful Lake District."

This was one of the best events I have competed in for a time, while strictly not a race with a non obligatory pub/drink stop at 8 miles from the end, it was nonetheless a fantastically well organised event. The turning point for entering was for your £18 entry fee you not only got 48 miles of hilly, traffic free country lanes with unrivalled scenery, but also got 3 drinks and a scrumptious healthy meal - now that is what I call a bargain!!

The sportif was over 48 miles, which in itself not a massive distance, the two climbs at 20% and 18% respectively, with both of the climbs taking well over 7 minutes to ascend made it a challenging few hours on the bike. It started from a little village called Stavely which is a keen hotspot for both mountain bikers & roadies with the village hosting one of the premier bike shops in the North West and Wilfs cafe - which is just the best for healthy delicious grub after a hard day in the saddle with cakes to die for.

On to the event, I did have the added advantage that the 20% climb is only about a 15 minute ride from my house so had ridden it three times before race day and after having to climb out of my saddle the whole way up decided a 27 cassette was the way forward (1st time ever). Came the day I was very glad for my granny ring, as with the heavy rain we have had in Cumbria the hill was laden in mud, leaves and debris and meant you needed to keep your butt on the saddle to avoid the back wheel sliding and was quite surprised how many people were forced to walk (preparation is key - know your course!!). Well, after getting up that hill, unfortunately that was just the start of a tough day with the renowned Strawberry bank climb still to come although it is worth the effort with incredible views of the Windemere to your left, which do help ease the pain.

As the race wasn't timed due to the pub stop at 40 miles, Nicki and I had clocked ourselves at about 3 hrs ish which wasn't too bad for all the terrain, but it was a great event and definitely a sportif I would recommend if anyone fancies a trip to the beautiful Lake District.

www.wheelbase.co.uk/le-tour-de-staveley

Helvellyn Triathlon

Well after all those hills it gave me the bug to enter my first and only tri for the season and after Kate's visit where Nicki, Kate & I decided to run up Helvellyn just for fun (I won't tell you that we all struggled to walk for 4 days!!) - we have now entered Helvellyn Tri in September.

This event has got quite a lot of club history with Jim, and ex members Jan, Alex and Donise competing in 2007 with Jan still having the fastest club time at (4 hr 49 mins) and Jim back for more in 2008 and our own Chairman & Treasurer, A.K.A Paul & Terry conquering last year in 2009.

It is a mere mile swim (easy bit) 38 mile (very hilly bike & a little 9 mile run up & down Helvellyn.

There are still a few entries left if anyone fancies joining us - it is a great day out and happy to show anyone around the course!

www.trihard.co.uk/HelvellynHome

Christine

Well its been a busy few weeks in the "Year of Pain" so thought that I'd send a few reports in.

It started a few weeks ago with the London to Brighton bike ride, where I seemed to spend a lot of the time stuck in big jams. Still it was a good day out and managed to make it up Ditchling Beacon without stopping so that was good. Not something I'd recommend for the serious cyclists unless you are off early but good if you wanted to make a day out of it with some friends.

The next week was my first Olympic distance tri at the new Dartford Bridge event. There were a few teething problems with routes and marshals but I'm sure these would be sorted out for next year and if so I would definitely recommend this for anyone looking for a pb as it's flat and fast if a bit uninspiring. I was very pleased with my time of 2hr 28min 01sec considering I did an extra 4km on the bike (see comment above!!!). Although I do think the swim was short so it probably equalled itself out.

The weekend of the 3rd/4th July was a double header with the Great London Swim on the Saturday which was great. I managed the mile in 28min 57sec, so again was happy with that. This is definitely something to consider if you want experience of open water swimming but without the competitive bun fight that seems to happen in tri's.

Sunday I took part in the Jane Tomlinson "Run for Life" which I ran with a friend which is my excuse for being beaten by Big Bird, various superheroes and a blind man!. Still it was good to be involved in such an amazing womens legacy.

It was then a mid week Team Outrageous Tri (550m swim, 16km bike and 5 km run) which, although not the best events, are a good, local opportunity to get some speed in the legs. I just missed out on getting a sub 60min by 13secs but there's 2 more in the series so it WILL happen.

Next was the White Oak Tri (400m swim, 26km bike and 8km run) which was my first pool based tri. It seemed strange not taking off a wetsuit in transition but it seemed to speed at least that part of the race up! The bike course was a one lap affair through a combination of busy main roads and villages which was relatively undulating. I did ok (for me!) on the bike but I think the last couple of weeks caught up with me on the run. The 3 laps through the local park seemed to drag on forever, especially the short sharp hills but still its all good training and was fairly happy with a time of 1hr 40min. Again I'd recommend this race as it was well organised and the different distances added a bit of variety.

Lastly was the ITU Olympic Distance in Hyde Park which was brilliant, both the racing and then watching the pro's afterwards show how it's meant to be done!!. Although my experience is very limited I thought that this was a superb event and would fully recommend it to anyone. I managed 2hr 27min 33sec which I was very happy with but times were irrelevant really when you see the pro's do their thing, god they go quickly. Thanks to Will as well for the much appreciated support on the way round. Definitely doing this next year, so hopefully they'll be a few more ATCers out there.

Oh yeah, there was also the Rye Summer Series 10K as well which fellow ATCers Matt Cross, Mick James and Katie Austen also took part in on a sunny but windy Friday evening. Congratulations to Matt for a PB.

Well hope I haven't bored you too much.

www.justgiving.com/lees-year-of-pain

A double-hat-trick of ATCers lined up for the 3rd outing of this club event, which is fast becoming referred to as "harder than you expect". Myself, Sally, Nadine, Patrice, and a brace of Pauls were looking to improve on their previous performance or lay down a marker for next time. Gulley's which were previously made cracked and dry by the typical British sunshine flowed with sweat and spilt energy drink as everyone gave it their all.

Distances have been recorded on custom made form's designed by our tireless Chairman Paul, who then went on to do a further event (read Paul's report below) followed by another 2-3 hours MTB session. All before lunch... crikey.

Matt

"Saxon's Orienteering Club were running an event on Saturday when I had scheduled a training day. I decided to make an impulsive entry in their 6k event."

I thought, as I was going to run around the woods on a hot Saturday at 'high noon' I might as well have a purpose to it... so I entered and set off, map in hand, to find 10 markers.

I soon realised that the woods are not as well known to me as I thought, I immediately missed the turning for 'marker 1'. I also realised that running with my reading glasses on makes me stumble and reading without my reading glasses on gets me confused.

I also realised that 6k 'as the crow flies' either gives you nettle rash or 'not as the crow flies' is a lot longer than 6k! It was a great event, for a beginner I did okay.

Paul Barron

400m, 20k, 5k

Being on my home turf I had to enter this event, which attracted a good number of fellow club members. As with most events hosted by Velocity, this represents a more grass roots approach to tri (minimal/no goody bag etc - but smaller fee, friendly atmosphere).

We got the best of the summer sunshine and although it had heated up by the run, we avoided the worst of it and the wind that picked up later. With so many from the club entered it was a good opportunity for some friendly rivalries to be rekindled/scores from East Grinstead to be avenged.

The race format was slightly unusual in that the swim was 2 lengths in each of the 6 lanes (33m pool), ducking under the rope to move across. This makes length counting simple (for idiots like me) but can disrupt your stroke. It didn't seem to bother Sam who put in a blistering 6.49 including the run to transition.

Transition itself was a little cramped, courtesy of the Centre manager who had obviously forgotten there was a swim gala later in the day and then decided to give Velocity a much smaller part of the car park to set up in. Still these minor tribulations are nothing to the experienced ATC crew who whipped through and out onto a challenging and interesting bike course (and fortunately relatively short - if you follow the course Simmo).

The bike had a nice easy first mile or so until the first of 2 level crossings (fortunately I don't think any of us were held up by trains or that Matt needed to jump one moto cross style). There was then a nice testing little hill up into Broadoak to make sure your legs were warmed up - I was obviously still cold from the speed a guy from 7oaks tri passed me. After Broadoak (and turning right at the pub Paul to avoid the XC shortcut!) the route took us onto the main Canterbury / Herne Bay road where the traffic was reasonably light. A big drop down followed by - yep another climb but at least some tarmac you could get some speed up. Having turned off this route you drop down, taking care of the dodgy road surface and along a nice flat straight, chance to get aero and pick off some slower riders. Another left sees you heading back towards Canterbury and some iffy surfaces on twisty roads before a nice gradual ascent through the woods. Last bit as you drop down into Canterbury is a bit do or die with chuffing great speed bumps to negotiate at 30mph and cars turning out at the bottom of the hill to watch for. Back over the railway line (making sure your delicate bits are nowhere near the saddle) and back into transition.

A good turn out for the club and some great results in a field that attracted experienced athletes as well as novices - following the TT and Pauls exploits I think we need to add a 5th discipline - navigation (now I've tempted fate I'm sure to take a wrong turn at the next race!!)

Terry

Picture left - ATCers mere seconds after the finish at Canterbury.
Picture right - ATCers Simon, Amanda, and Matt, after the Podplus 3 Lakes 5K, which took part the very same morning. Amanda had a lake swim earlier on, but made it back to Ashford in time for the event!

Ironman competitors don't give up easily, as demonstrated by Navin in his 5th such event.

I arrived in Klagenfurt on the Thursday before the race, the temperature was 35 degrees with no breeze; weather forecast for race day was more of the same.

Registration was on Friday and I picked up my numbers, timing chip and transition bags and all the other paraphernalia that come with an IM event.

Saturday included the race briefing and then racking bikes and transition bags for the race. You can't leave anything on the bike so everything you need for the bike has to go in one bag and everything for the run in another, these are then hung on racks so at an IM transition you not only need to be able to find your bike but two bags as well.

Race day

I was up at 04:30 for breakfast then off down to transition for final checks of the bike and transition bags.

Swim

At 07:00 the cannon was fired and 2,600 athletes hit the water for the swim start. It was the usual mad thrashing until the first turn buoy at 1400m. The lake really is too hot and I was suffering in the heat. The organisers always ensure that the official water temperature is 23.9 degrees meaning wetsuits are used (over 24 then it is a no wetsuit swim) but I'm not sure that that is helpful - I certainly find it too hot and hard to breathe and would consider swimming without one for this race. After the first turn I got into a rhythm and found clear water back towards the shore. The last 900m is up a canal and this is a real pinch point as everyone tries to get into the same space. I was constantly being passed by someone who then changed to breast stroke and kicked me in the side as I went past. I decided to let them go ahead and promptly got kicked in the hand - agony - one of my fingers was pointing the wrong way so I had to click it back and carry on, the last 400m or so was a bit painful.

T1

I managed to run/jog to the change tent and found my bag pretty quickly but I lost time struggling with socks onto wet feet, I remembered to slap on some factor 50 before heading out on the bike.

Bike

The bike route in Austria is very scenic and I took it steady but was suffering on the two climbs, I could have done with lower gearing and I certainly hadn't done enough hilly bike training and it showed. At the end of the first bike lap I stopped for my special needs bag containing my nutrition - they couldn't find it! So I had to rely on the drink provided at the aid stations which was of variable concentration. On the second lap there was an almighty thunderstorm, the rain was stinging like hail and suddenly there was a fierce wind blowing across the course. Down by the lakeside the roads were flooding and a lot of tree debris was being deposited on the road; I thought I would puncture but managed to avoid any mishaps. The rain only lasted about an hour but the wind stayed for the rest of the lap. I really struggled up the last climb and my quads were burning and felt like they would cramp at any moment so I was glad to get off the bike and start the run.

T2

Was less eventful and I set off onto the run.

Run

It was about quarter to five when I got onto the run course and it was still about 35 degrees, I was feeling really sick and a bit dizzy so I had to power-walk the first part of the run. My quads were still on fire and I now had a severe pain in the ankle so the run never really got beyond a power walk. Several hours later and in the dark I crossed the line to finish in 16 hours, 33 minutes. Not one of my best performances but a finish none the less.

Lessons learned from this one - I really need to do more hills in my bike training, I know I can do the distance but with most of my long rides being on Romney Marsh there just isn't any climbing, I'll need to find some hills and ride them.

It's not all about triathlons, Mick James has sent the following Race Report. A great result and a much improved time - presumably due to the triathlon cross-training!

On Sunday I took part in the Wadhurst Runners / Nice Work organised BEWL 15

On another HOT and very dry day, which had dust clouds that made breathing not so nice, this event had great organisation that other organisers should look at.

I completed the 15mile multi-terrain, multi-altitude race in a time of 2hours 12mins 18sec

This gained me 264th place of the 669 finishers, from 700+ starters.

This knocked 19min 47sec off of my 2009 time, so even though it was a tough event I came away happier than last year, and achieved 30th in my age category.

Mick

Sally reports on the Dorney Lakes Women's Only Triathlon

4 ATC women took part in this event on a really scorching hot afternoon, Sally Aspital, Rebecca Parr, Liz Smythe and Amanda Nicholson. There were over 550 women entered in the sprint event with each wave containing about 100 starters. There didn't seem to be too much pushing and shoving at the start. Obviously all too lady like for that sort of behaviour. The swim seemed a long 400m, then onto 4 circuits of the lake on the bike and finally two loops for the run. This triathlon is very well organised, safe, flat, closed road, with a clean clear lake to swim in. Congratulations to Liz and Amanda for completing their first triathlons. Results as follows:

5.30 Clapham Common for a 6am start. I have had my helmet stolen from the hotel and my road bike still in pieces from a snapped chain, bending every bit of the gears as it whipped out. So here I am with a fixed wheel bike and I see a stall where I buy a new helmet, meet up with Dan and head off to the first set of traffic lights 50 yrds down the road. This is a road race with some 30,000 riders who start from 6am onwards. Piece of advice - start at 6am or don't go. People who start riding later spend hours in bike jams. Not us, we sailed on, all the really fast riders get ahead, we're ahead of the bulk of the other 6am riders and only the fastest of the later starters overtake us. Loads of people stop for endless refreshments but its only 56 miles in total so hard core ATC riders don't need to stop much. It's a good day out, we make all the hills except Ditchley Beacon on the fixed wheel bike and we are in Brighton having breakfast not much after 10am. We see Alex Tang on the finish line - riding for a charity team. Nice to see another club rider there. Pause for coffee and then a drive home. Good day/morning out - makes me feel glad we do decent training runs with the club on Sundays - this seems like not much at all after a winter on the roads of Kent. £300 raised for British Heart Foundation. This gives me a priority place next year and I can take a team of up to 15 so anyone who wants to do this next year just give me a call.

Simon Fox

"Members of Ashford Tri Club joined a 13 person peloton for a long distance cycle from Maidstone to Brussels."

Raising sponsorship for Kent Foundation, a local charity that helps young people start up in business, the 'Kent Peloton' travelled around 220 miles over three days. Photograph includes John, Simon, Keith, Patrice, Phil and Paul.

We experienced rain in England, rain in France and rain in Belgium.

However, on the positive side we experienced English champagne, French wine and Belgian beers.

"Well done all"

Myra Garret 10K - Sunday 23rd May

Mick James - 49.50

Dover Half Marathon - Monday, 31 May 2010

Lee Gladwell and myself Mick James took part in this event today, it was postponed from February due to snow. BUT no one was able to stop the wind that got you head on for the return, not too strong. The course designer it has been decided by many a runner, must be either a mountain biker or climber. The true word about the course cannot be put in words, BUT hilly is too tame.

For my part I ran this for the first 1/2M since a bad calf injury at Hastings. And with great care on the uphill's, sometimes walking as my physio told me she would kill me if I ran up them all, did run some.

I finished with a time of 1hr 43min 30sec, 77th place of 258 finishers and 14th of 37 in my age cat.

Poor Lee had my problem, he was going well, going past me between 4-6 and being my carrot until 11 miles and he pulled a calf muscle going up the hill at 10-11 miles

Finishing with a time of 1hr 56min 33sec.

I hope he gets his injury sorted as it can take time.

Well now for the recovery ready for the Harvel Hash Harriers 5 mile on the 5th June. Anyone else up for it??

Enjoy your sport.

Mick

Deal Aquathon 2010 - 500m & 5km

In a break from tradition, this year this was held at Hythe over the June half term break and competitors were greeted with warm sunshine rather than the snow showers of previous years. The early Friday evening start attracted a good number of kids (27) but fewer adults (23). For a small race the venue was ideal with access from the pool direct onto the promenade for the run.

My son took part although afterwards said he preferred it when he did it in the snow!! (some hope for him then). Despite being lapped several times in the pool I managed a reasonable 9.59 for the swim + transition followed by a 21.11 for the run to give 31.10 overall, 5th (and 1st in age group ? of 3....).

Terry

An extremely busy weekend for ATC with 24 members competing in 5 events - here are the results:

Marshman Triathlons, Lydd:

Sprint distance: Swim 700m, Bike 22km, Run 6km
Lee Gladwell 1hr 28m 04s(Lee's Report)
Neil Vining 1:50:18(Neil's Report)

Middle distance (half-Ironman): Swim 1900m, Bike 90km, Run 21km
Paul Milton 8hr 5m 07s(Paul's Report)

Stelling Minnis 10km run:
Keith Lamb 46m 23s
Paul Smith 50m 50s

Larkfield 10km run:
Mick James 47m 05s(Mick's Report)

17 members took part on the day, a club record in itself for one event. With both of last year's champions absent there was everything to play for, although any sense of competition was well hidden compared to the great club spirit on display. We got an excellent set of results and some brilliant personal achievements, here are some of the stories.

From Sally Aspital:

From Sam Best:

From Kate Keene:

Click Image to Enlarge

From Terry Foreman:

From Phil Booth:

With transition closing at 6.30am it was a rush to get everything ready before standing at the start line for 1 and a half hours watching all the long distance racers start their swim. By the time it was our turn I was almost grateful to get into the water as it was starting to get a bit chilly despite the sunny morning. This feeling was short lived as the water was 12 degrees according to some people and I soon longed to be anywhere but in the water. Still, the race started and I managed to avoid most of the elbows and exited the water in a pleasing 7th place. This was where the problems started though as in my rush to exit transition on time I just dumped all my kit and hoped for the best. Note to self "take part in the transitions training in future!!" after faffing about for nearly 4mins I finally exited wearing one glove and feeling quite stressed! Biking is not my strong point but managed to get round in reasonable shape and even managed to overtake someone, although I think they were doing the full Marshman not the mini. After seeing a pretty horrible crash and stopping to help for a bit I made it back to T2 and managed to get out significantly quicker this time round. The flat run went well and I managed to claw some of the lost places back to finish in 14th place. This is a significant improvement on my previous 2 triathlons where I finished last and 5th from last so I was well happy.

The race in general was ok with a relatively fast, flat course but see Paul Milton's report of the full Marshman below which highlights some of the bad points.

Still, the first triathlon in my "year of pain" is over and there were many lessons learnt, mostly that I need to pedal harder and not be such a tart in transitions!!!

Swim was a mare as I couldn't get anything going and was all over the place for the first 1000m - bit of a lake novice and it showed, cold, viz. direction rtc. - but slowly got the hang of it and was even picking people off by the end. T1 was a nightmare as wetsuit wouldn't come off (always has done before). Bike was going well until I came round a corner in the last 5 miles to find a bloodied cyclist on the floor, pulled over, straight into the monster road crack that had downed him. Stacked it big time - rebuild needed. Deep Joy. Plus pretty banged up after the crash, blood etc. Managed to run/scoot/pedal the bike to T2. The run was not too bad, but the weather deteriorated horribly and none of the marshals could speak English (eastern European day jobbers), and there weren't many of them keen on leaving their cars, none of them knew if they were at the 3mile station, 5 mile station etc which struck me as bad - what if a competitor needs assistance, surely the marshals must be able to assist or at least summon assistance rather than just grimace sullenly from inside their cars? The last stretch of the run was up the Lydd/Dymchurch road and there was no dedicated route, you ran along the side of the road - it's a fast road and there is no path and there are no marshals, if there were to be a problem you're on your own (as was the guy on the bike that I stopped to help).

I have been credited with last, which is wrong because the swim didn't take an hour but I think they got the waves mixed. At least I did a lousy time and made lots of mistake that I won't repeat which is better than getting the same time and having run as good a race as I were able to. To be honest it isn't superbly well organised and some people have come a long way to do this and if I were one of them I would be annoyed. Lesson for races we organise - be a happy marshal, didn't realise how much we take that for granted, the sullen Poles were more energy sapping than two inch mud - I got a bit 'Why do I bother, no-one cares etc' and that is way more debilitating than a sore leg or whatever. On the other hand having a tame half-iron on our doorstep is not to be sniffed at and as my first proper middle distance event I was more pleased with overcoming all the stuff ups and getting to the end.

You can't buy experience and for me this was a learning event - I did so much badly I'm actually going to sit down and write down everything that went wrong and how to prevent/mitigate in the future. Oh and I ran over a pigeon leaving the car park.

Swim 700m
Bike 22Km
Run 6Km

Most of you won't know me, because I've only been to a couple of swim sessions, one of which was snowed off , which is kind of representative of my general athletics career. However, I recently competed in my first sprint tri, the OW Mini Marshman, on the day that the entire rest of the club was at East Grinstead. You should be starting to form a picture now.

Got down to the lake nice and early, racked the bike and had a bit of time to watch a mate's swim wave and the middle distance race swims. Clocked ticked round, got into the wettie and went down to the swim start with my dad as sherpa.

The sprint swim was 2 sides of the rectangular lake, with the shortside first, keeping the lake bank on the right. Got into the water had a little practice swim and lined up as per a mate's advice, on theright, at the front. Horn went, head down, swim like mad, couple of collisions but nothing serious. Come up for a sighting stroke and I'm pointing at the middle of the lake. Ok, no problem, change direction a bit, swim some more come up for a sighting stroke and I'm in the middle of a patch of reeds near the bank. B**x. Never mind, head down, swim again. Crash into turn buoy. B***x again. Make no mistake, this thing is bright yellow and the size of a small car. You'd have thought it would be fairly easy to avoid.

At this point, I'm dead last, my nose is full of water, as is the right lens of my goggles making life a touch soft focus and I'm seriously questioning my sanity. Still, it can only get better, can't it?

No.

Head back down into water, right, going to catch up by swimming fast. Overtake breast stroke triathlon lady and make good progress for 50m or so. Next sighting stroke, I look up, and there's the middle of the lake again. Continue zigzagging along in this fashion for a couple of hundred metres until one of the rescue canoeists takes pity and decides to shepherd me a bit. By this stage I've overtaken lady breast stroker 4 times.

Eventually get to the swim exit in 19:53. My dad reckoned that I'd swum half as far again as I needed to. Staggered into T1.

Only breast stroke triathlon lady behind me at this stage.

Found my bike in the racking and sat down to take the wettie off. Forgot about the timing chip on my ankle and spent a fruitless minute pulling at the suit and wondering why one leg was smaller than the other. Swallowed down a gel, helmet on, bike shoes on. Bloke on the rack next to me turns up having got 200 yards down the road before puncturing and DNF. We had a quick chat before he pointed out that I should really get moving. He had a point. Breast stroke triathlon lady was out of T1 while I was chatting and I was now dead last.

Set about trying to put a decent bike time in. Up until this point I had expected the bike to be my weakest area despite all my previous worries about the swim. However, I was really rattling along nicely, and passed 2 people early on. Settled into a nice rhythm, then passed another guy who had punctured. All was going spiffingly until I got to one of the marshalled junctions, there was some traffic coming, I was waved to a halt and forgot to unclip. I did a slow motion fall to the right, landing fairly heavily. Nice lady marshal came and picked me up out of the road and handed me my race number which had fallen off.

Having done that once, you would really expect it to not happen again,wouldn't you? Wrong.

I clipped back in, crossed the junction and pulled over to put my race number back on. Timber. Across the pavement onto my left side. Excellent. Both elbows bleeding now! Never underestimate my ability to fail to learn from mistakes.

I asked the nice lady marshal if I could lay there for a while. Nope. Apparently not.

Managed to get through the rest of the bike without any further incident and into T2.

T2 was fairly quick, mainly because there was no-one there to chat with. 2 of the 3 people I'd passed earlier went back past while I was lying in the road which I though was jolly unsporting.

Rack bike, trainers on, another gel and out over the timing mat.

Legs felt incredibly heavy coming out of T2 and I trudged for 3/4 of a mile feeling really slow. Soon settled into a better pace, at which point I realised that my "it'll be OK on the day (patent pending)" strategy was coming apart. The night before the race, I put some elastic laces in my trainers. 7 minutes into the run leg I realised that they were way too tight!

So, developing blisters, and with aching feet, I set about hunting down the 2 I caught earlier. Put a solid, unspectacular run in and caught both of the 2 I'd caught on the bike, finishing (I think) 3rd fromlast.

Incidentally, triathlon lady, who I passed 4 times in the lake, once on the bike, and once on the run, finished 2nd from last.

Found out that there were actually a couple more behind me out of the water in the end, so finished 41st of 53, but 5 of those were DNF. Oh, and according to the timing chips, breast stroke triathlon lady might actually have been a bloke called Andrew (!?)

Hope to meet a few more of you soon.
Cheers
Neil

On a warm morning like the one most people had, and my first event since putting a calf muscle out big time during the Hastings 1/2M which stopped me dead and caused me to not finish my first event in all my time of running.

Overall winner was , Tom Collins of the Medway & Maidstone Club and a time of 33:19

"On Saturday 8 May,Navin our very own triathlon referee, gave a very concise and useful input to ATC members about the laws and practicalities of transition.

Although the weather was bleak, we had a great introduction and the opportunity to practice this integral part of the race.

Navin also provided home-made bike racking, see photo, when the rest of us had to rely on garden forks and tree branches to support our bikes. Thanks Navin, a great input."

Report from Paul Milton

The Whitstable 10k was held on BH Monday May 3rd in 'interesting' conditions, we had sun, cloud, rain and wind (and not just because of last nights curry). It's a reasonably flat course with the last 5k being straight along the seafront.

I started at the back amongst the fat and wheezy (or 'my people' as I call them), which proved to be a bit of a mistake as there wasn't too much road at first and some of the more portly competitors took some circumnavigating (but well done to them for being involved).

The race itself was pretty uneventful, cold windy and rainy but it was a seaside Bank Holiday so what did we really expect anyway. I was OK for the first 5k but I had done 56miles on the bike the day before and it started to tell in the second half and I developed a sort of brick and bonk at the same time ? a bronk! My legs just wanted to go home, curl up on the sofa with a plate of toast and a Bond movie and feel smug. However I pushed on and was pleased with my time of 56.08 which is a PB and another step on my way to a much hoped for sub-50 one day (I really am not much of a runner).

Terry Foreman was advising me that if I were smart I could hide in the caravan park and pick up the race when it looped back. I refused to countenance such an idea, but it obviously worked for 'Stowaway' Foreman as he clocked 42.10. Amanda Nicholson came round in 1.03.54 (ahead of many other club runners including Deal Tri!). Lee Gladwell was also there although not officially as ATC, he said he clocked 42 minutes dead, but the records say 42.01. It's your conscience Lee, but you're only cheating yourself!

Report from Rebecca Parr

Swim 400M, Cycle 25k, Run 8k

The day bode well when after a 4.45am alarm call, it was so cold, I had to scrape the ice off my car!

Having done my first ever tri in September on the same course, I was looking to improve on that time. I have to say I didn't feel quite as nervous as the first time since I knew where to go and what to do. The marshals at the Sevenoaks Tri were really supportive and helpful particularly when I am wandering around with no hearing aids in!

A good swim this time and no being sick in the pool! Straight into transition and the dilemma, do I wear arm warmers or not? Decide not to save time and spent the first 15 minutes of the ride wishing I had. Felt stronger on the bike and even had the pleasure of overtaking a few (well they were on mountain bikes so I'm not sure that really counts). Under Simon's excellent tutelage on the Novice and Intermediate Sunday rides over the past few months, I was even able to get up the hills without walking.Final mile into Sevenoaks and my chain came off. 1 minute later with black hands back on the bike to T2.

The run was awful for the first mile and a half with backache and a stitch. Then all of a sudden, there was rhythm, breathing sorted itself out and away I went. Felt much stronger than last time aiming for the finish. Saw Simon on the way out and Sally on the way back. Such a boost to see familiar faces. Final haul up the slope and the finish line is in sight. Ended with grease all over my hands, top and face.

A review of the time shows a 21minute improvement on September's race, which I was really chuffed about, although I was still the slowest club member on the day.

Measured in laps gained during a 45 minute period the results were:

Measured in laps gained during a 45 minute period the results were:

This is a long established event and one that I had always wanted to have a go at, so when Alex posted on the ATC forum looking for an mtb rider I quickly volunteered, unaware that my team mate was the yet to be crowned running champ for ATC.

On the cold and snowy north Kent coast we arrived in good time and after meeting fellow club teams and attending the brief briefing we were glad to get he race started. I reckoned on a 15-20 minute wait after the run started and was soon being 'encouraged' by Paul to get ready as he had spotted the lead runners coming toward transition. They were being lead by Alex! A quick handover and he had put me in the unfamiliar position of leading a race. Our speed seemed to catch the marshalls and a few dog-walkers on the start of the mtb ride a little unawares as I tried to make the most of what was inevitably going to be a short-lived stay in the yellow jersey.

I managed to hammer along the path part of the ride and got about a mile into the mud before losing the lead. The mtb course was a tough but uninspiring mudfest with no more than 10 metres total climb / descent, essentially a flat slippery circuit, very testing conditions requiring a delicate balance of keeping traction on the rearwheel and pressure on the front wheel to prevent it slipping out. The mud was almost relentless so it was difficult to build any sort of momentum, just spin and slip and try to pick the best route through. Whilst doing this on the first lap one competitor decided the best route through was to squeeze Paul into one of the many flooded dykes, Paul has now put a suggestion to the organisers that riders wear their numbers on their backs for easier revenge ( - sorry recognition!).

The 2 circuits finished with a ¼ mile sea front ride on tarmac and then a run with the bike into transition, training paid off here as I overtook another rider on foot!! I then ditched the bike to run faster and hand back to Alex only to be 'advised' that I needed to take my bike into the hand-over box losing another ½ minute in doing so, this proved very costly as despite Alex's fantastic XC run time (see below for details) we were beaten by ½ minute by a couple of FARTS!

For the record and it really has to be applauded is that not only did Alex achieve P1 in the road race but he also came P2 in the XC, recording the fastest combined run time for the day despite waiting over an hour between the 2 runs in near-freezing conditions (sorry mate!)

This is a well organised race, I think it probably belongs in the 'challenge' category and I would do it again, although I expect it may be solo as I think Alex may be looking for a different team mate or indeed going solo himself - I've witnessed his 'enthusiastic' mountain biking and reckon he's got a good chance... watch this space.

See you all at the A&D 10k 7th Feb...

Phil Booth