I'm back......

I've spent the last few weeks considering what I really wanted to achieve out of this sporting summer. As anyone who has read any of my drivel knows I was planning to try and take on my fourth Ironman distance triathlon. I'd initially looked at a race in Northern Ireland and then had moved on to look at a race in Almere which again was a version of Ironman.

I realised in the last few weeks I was doing this to prove something to myself and I suppose I worked out in the same period that I have nothing to prove. I, as the shout at you as you cross the line, am an Ironman. No-one can take it away, it's written in the record books that I have finished, albeit not the fastest, 3 Ironman races and I have the medals to prove it! I also recognised that it's ok to be me. That might sound strange but I keep pushing myself to be a better person never really accepting that I am or could be good enough. Something changed that and I've finally accepted it's ok to be me. 

So I felt released, unburdened by the need to do another Ironman, I don't really like the swimming part and it's a massive amount of training. I do enjoy the training but the endless lengths in the pool, the chill of the Scottish open water and the constant nagging thoughts about the next session that needs are all things I suddenly don't miss. I feel free, relaxed and ready to do a race that I might enjoy taking part in. 

So with the Ironman ruled out I opened my iPad and looked at races all around the place. I didn't rush but took time analysing the relative merits of each opportunity and how it fitted with what I want to do sharing time with my fab wife Danielle, family and friends. I remembered a race that one of the Dunfermline Multi Sport group had raced last year and looked it up online. It's a cross Scotland race of 105 miles following the route of the Great Glen way on foot, bike and canoe. No swimming! Perfect!

So I've entered and oddly enough met the athlete, Alan Affleck, who had completed the race at a training run tonight. It was good to say hello and we're meeting up shortly so I can learn from an experienced competitor. So the Coast to Coast is on the same day as Challenge Almere starting in Nairn and finishing in Glencoe. I can honestly say I'm really looking forward to it and the challenge that lies ahead.

I'm going to keep the blog going as a record of the ups and downs of training for a multi sport event and feel happy that I've settled and entered a race that I think will suit me.

Life is for living and for the first time in ages I feel able to step back and be thankful for all that life offers. It feels full of opportunities at the moment and I'm ready to embrace all that a Scottish summer offers.

I can't finish this without mentioning my good friend and inlaw, Max. He ran his first marathon this weekend in Edinburgh and I felt so chuffed for him in completing a massive achievement. His efforts have helped get me back into training this week after a couple of more relaxed weeks. Well done on completing your first and I hope we will meet at the start of a race sometime soon! 

I was out with the DMS crew tonight running the gate to gate time trial - 6 athletes and me took on the 4.6 mile course. The impressive Iain Taylor set a course record of 29.30 and everyone out did some fine times. I finished in 33.26 - I was really chuffed with the run despite coming in last by about 800 metres! They are a good bunch of guys and were very encouraging supporting me across the finish line. I really enjoyed the test but when I looked at my watch and went through the first mile in under 7 minutes I knew it was going to be fast, too fast for me. I hung on in and at the end still felt strong at the end. It was great to have a target ahead and my plan is before the end of the summer to not come last on one of the time trials. As always time will tell! Thanks to everyone who turned up tonight, a bunch a fantastic people who revel in the challenge. My kind of training!

It's been a long week!

Well it's Thursday already and I can't believe another week is almost done. One of the challenges of training for Ironman is combining the training with work and personal commitments. It's not easy! 

The band is preparing for the gig on Saturday night so I've been spending time getting ready for that in addition work is busy with a few tenders about to be sent out as well as cost plans needing done. So all up it was a struggle to fit everything in but here is a record of the week's training.....

I was up early in Sunday and felt great. The sun was shining and I set off over the hill to the bike track. I ditched the iPhone to get rid of the Christmas song shuffle feature and went back to my trusty iPod which is stuffed with new country! It's a bit embarrassing when you realise you're singing at the top of your voice about great girls look in trucks!!!! Anyway it was early so not many people about to complain. I went down the track to the junction that leads to Newmills and set off down the path. I love the views on the way to Culross. 

When I got to the coastal path I decided to head round the point past the salt mines and back to Newmills - I was feeling strong and followed the coast through Torryburn and then back up to Cairneyhill past Forester Park golf course and home via the Col du Carnock. A evil hill but after 14 miles it was torture! Anyway over 14 miles done and the whole day ahead.

On Monday I met my Adventure racing pal Neil and we jumped on the bikes for a few laps of Arthur's Seat. It's a great playground and was packed with runners, bike racers and Rat Racers. Not sure what event was on but there was signs of a race at Holyrood car park. The climb up the hill is fairly short and not that steep, apart from a few places but with the wind off the west it was tough enough. The intention was to wind up the speed and do faster laps each time. We managed it on all but one of the laps. 

After a good test we headed off to the pool to get some much needed time in the pool. The pool was busy enough but there were enough lanes to give everyone space. 

A huge scone added back all of the calories lost doing the biking and swimming.

Tuesday and today were run days with one circuit session thrown in and Wednesday was a rest day. Planning getting out on the bike in the morning but a busy weekend is likely to prevent any decent mileage on bike or foot.

My weight remains in the 13 stones which is good for me and with 24lb shifted so far I think it's helping both my running and biking. 

One of the other battles that you face is the fight with the mind. Sometimes motivation can drop and training can become a chore rather than a joy. Niggles that normally disappear seem to linger and bed seems a little more comfy than pulling on the Lycra again. This last week I've had to push myself to get out. The combination of lots to do at work and starting to build up the training hours is hard but I know every hour invested now will benefit me later so I keep going. I've also been unsure about what race to do but I'm still leaning to Amsterdam in September. We'll see! I'm sure my mojo will return in the next few days as when I'm busy working training seems to help clear my thinking and give me ideas that actually save me time when I sit back at the desk. The mind is a complex and strange place sometimes! 

Auchterarder revisited!

The sun was shining when I opened the blinds and with the arrangement to meet Derek at Knockhill corner at 9.15 in place I set off looking forward to the trip.

Derek appeared on the A823 just ahead of me and we set off up Knockhill. There must have been a track day on as a few cars were heading up at the same time. The drivers tend to be younger and seem to enjoy cars with modified exhausts and blacked out rear windows. The interesting thing is that they all seem to respect bikers and give plenty of space.

I was feeling strong today and the climb to the top of the hill was pretty easy. It was only at the top that I noticed the wind and it seemed to be picking up. From Knockhill we climbed over Dunning Glen which was just stunning. I said to Derek that we don't get the temperatures that they get down south but getting out into Dunning Glen in 3 layers, longs and winter gloves makes up for it in so many ways. It is my favourite place to cycle of all the routes that we do. I'm pretty sure that we saw Alan and Sean from DCC heading in the opposite direction going towards coffee in Dollar with the rest of the club.

We descended slowly past the Simon Howie farm chatting about some of Derek's cycling ideas which if they come to fruition will be brilliant for Fife.

We turned left in Dunning and fought the wind all the way over to Auchterarder. It had picked up and it we took turns to lead to get a short rest from the blustery conditions. The last climb up to Cafe Kisa seemed to go on and on and when you arrive in the village you keep thinking that you are there as all of the houses look the same.

We didn't have a huge amount of time so ordered our usual drinks and fruit scone, the food of all Saturday cyclists in our regular seats by the window. They are a wee bit away from from the main seating area which is probably good for the other customers as two sweaty bikers would not be my idea of good company! The scones in Cafe Kisa are the best in the area and I'm sure they were the reason Derek chose today's route. The service is awesome and it is our current favourite stop off.

We jumped back onto the bikes and headed up through Glen Devon and with a following wind the climb seemed fairly easy. It was still fair but the wind had picked up and the clouds were building from the west. When we started our final climb an RV went past towing a boat. There was no traffic but the driver still pulled in far, too early almost taking out Derek as the boat swung in. Derek, the coolest biker on the planet was tested to the full and shared his thoughts with the driver adding a hand gesture to make his mistake clearer. We ride at our own risk but it's frustrating when drivers are careless.

So I swung off towards Saline and home. I had to get back to pick up Rebecca, my daughter off the bus from St Andrews where she is a student. She complained that she never gets a mention in the blog so here you go! It's great that she's here for the weekend!

Another brick in the wall.....

I woke up early as usual and as has been the case for the last few days the sun was shining and there was hardly a breath of wind. I put on my cycle kit and a pair of tracky bottoms, walked the dog and was presented with porridge and fruit on return. This wasn't a generous loving act by my gorgeous wife, just a mistake as she had microwaved the wrong flavour! I happily accepted the mistake and enjoyed breakfast. I have a cunning plan to mix the contents of the boxes up to ensure similar results in the future!!

So once more as Danielle headed out to work, I set off on my bike reversing the route that I did on Tuesday. The wee hill that leads up and over to the bike path quickly raises the heart rate and I hoped I didn't sound like a crazed lunatic when I bumped into my neighbour Anna out with their dog. It was pretty chilly this morning and I'd noticed a thick layer of ice on the windscreen when I was leaving but with the sun on my back I soon began to heat up.

The roads were pretty quiet and the only thing that impeded my way was a stray dog wandering the streets of Newmills. A lady asked if I'd seen the pooch before and for some reason I said I hadn't seen him around. Of course I hadn't, we live miles from Newmills!

I motored along to Kincardine and then headed along to Clackmannan. There is a short section of the road after you cross the link road to new bridge that feels very French. The fields are unfenced and I love the freedom of the fence less fields! I was passing one of the farms went looking around I noticed the farmer giving his bull await looked like a hair cut or shave! He was working with a set of clippers and it took me a second to work out what on earth he was doing. Not sure why you give a bull a hair cut. My morning got even stranger when someone who looked spookily like one of the guitarists out of ZZ Top was working in his garden just round the corner from the bull at the barbers. All very strange!

I returned up past the end of the cycle path and back past the Longanlea Cafe in Forestmill. There was a lone chap sitting outside with the cafe still shut. I wondered if he was waiting for his daily cup of misery and sitting in the cold was going to be the best part of his visit to the cafe! I'm being cruel but it is a miserable place!

I pedalled back in to Carnock having completed my 40k spin and threw on my runners. I only ran for 30 minutes but my legs felt strong and I felt I was moving at a reasonable pace. For those that don't know a brick session is a bike followed by a run. It is integral part of the training plan and I plan to stick a short run into my Saturday longer bike ride from now on.

At the end of the afternoon I went back into the gym for a circuit session. It was all going to plan until I tried lifting a very heavy weight and felt my right chest muscle pull tight. The heavy weight was me and I was doing a press up. My upper body strength is rubbish but I know that if I get it in better balance with my legs it will not only help my swimming but give me a stronger riding position on the time trial bike. So I did the rest of the circuits that didn't need my upper body and then stretched out to avoid pulling anything else.

So not a bad day in the training office. Weather looks a bit pants for tomorrow so heading to the pool.

It was the Dunfermline CC 10 mile Cleish time trial last night with 43 riders competing and 10 from DCC. If you've not seen a TT rider in action here is a picture of Iain Taylor that freelance photographer Allan Fotheringham took last night. His website is http://allanfotheringham.zenfolio.com/ if you want to see more of his outstanding photo's

Feeling almost Continental....

It's been a fab day almost European, in fact just about as good a day that Scotland can offer at this time of year. A group from the Dunfermline Cycling Club are mid way through an 8 day 100 mile per day training session. I know in advance of the report of today's ride it will have been a classic, climbing up through the Perthshire hills to Dunkeld and home - I would have enjoyed the route myself if it wasn't for that pesky work!

I was up at the usual early hour and took the Scruff bag out for a walk - it was cold but even at 6.30 you could feel the heat in the sun and it felt good. I dropped the dog back into the house and dragged on my bike kit, waved Danielle goodbye on her way into the office and set off up to Saline. I had decided that I would do the route of the Carnock Epic, our homespun time trial race, and immediately felt the sun burning on my back. It was wonderful.

When we were in Cape Town a few years ago I watched the runners and bikers out early training in the morning sun before the heat of the day built. I often wonder if Scotland had the same climate would more people be out running or biking before work making the most of the warm mornings - well maybe not but we can dream. The run through Saline to Forestmill was just brilliant although I could feel the start of what I guessed would be a stronger wind later in the day.

Forestmill is the site of one of life's enigma cafe's - every time I've been in there for a coffee I have felt deeply unwelcome and have been given the impression that I am most definitely not the sort of person they are encouraging to frequent the cafe. The coffee is ok, the cakes are good and for this reason plus my desire to check if it was just a bad day I sometimes go back. I think it might just be me but I don't think the owners are keen on Lycra clad bikers or maybe I just need a blue rinse to fit in with the regulars!

Anyway from Forestmill I ploughed on down towards the end of the cycle path about half way round the Epic course. It was at this moment I had a late change of plans and carried on to Clackmannan, up to Kincardine and then through Culross and home - 25 miles done before breakfast!

I had considered running last night but the wind drove me inside and I did a 30 minute interval set - not a huge amount of fun but added to my circuit session in the morning it made for a reasonable days work out.

Circuit session planned for the morning before a ride out lunch time as i'm marshalling at the TT race tomorrow night. I think the weather is set to get worse later in the week which will be pool time.

Off to meet the awesome Father Jack, to rock away the stress of the day! Hard to beat.

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas.....

I went out for a run today and to be honest was procrastinating about it as I didn't really feel like running today. But needs must so after gathering all of my technology, my heart rate monitor and iPhone I set off unsure of my route and how far I was going to run.

It was a pretty mixed bag weather wise with a gusty breeze from the west and the occasional wintry feeling shower. So as I set off I just went off in the direction I fancied and headed up the hill and over to Cairneyhill. I was breathing pretty heavily when I bumped into our wonderful neighbours, Les and Anna, out walking their dog and a few other folk from the village doing a sponsored charity cycle to raise money for the local summer Gala.

So realising there was going to be loads of bikes on the cycle path I carried on to Cairneyhill and then down to the coast. It was a bit more gusty down on the shore front and as I looked at my garmin to check speed and distance it run out of battery. One of my mates described me as having a wide frame that acted like a sail in the wind and it sure felt like that today running into the south westerly. With no watch to guide my speed I felt strangely released and ran without a care in my head. Well apart from my iPhone selecting Christmas songs. I had set it on shuffle but every other song it played had a Christmas scheme and after the 3rd or 4th song came on I was beginning to feel a lot like switching it off rather than Christmas!!!

The run through Newmills forest was pleasantly sheltered from the wind and the tracks full of older walkers with backpacks and benches with much tea being drunk from flasks. I was offed a cup of tea as I suspect I looked like I needed one!

As I emerged back onto the bike track I noticed a couple of runners about 300 metres up the track. Deep down, lurking under the non competitor I am there must be some sort of competitive spirit as I picked up my speed and went after them. I had about 2 miles left on the track and started making progress on the target. I noticed that the right hand runner started to turn round to check where I was and when I was within 20 metres he started pulling away from the girl he was running with obviously demonstrating that he felt he could run quicker without his running partner.
As I drew up along side, the female runner picked up her speed and ran along side. What was I to do? I picked up my speed and broke free and by this time I was moving along at a fair old lick! I started to question my decision to pass the couple as I didn't want the ignominy of being overtaken having passed them so I had to keep my pace up.

I suspect that miles 10 to 12 were the fastest that I ran in my entire run. As I turned off the track I looked behind and they were no-where in sight. They had probably stopped to have a good laugh at the old bloke pegging along trying to keep ahead of them!

So I think I did between 12 and 13 miles. It went ok - need to ramp the training up not only of I'm to do an ironman distance race this year but to keep up with the Stalleys who are running the Dublin marathon with me later in the year, 4 days after I turn 50!

What a week....

I've had a brilliant week. The early part of the week on Sunday to Tuesday was blighted with my sinuses all blown up and me completely bunged up. On Tuesday I thought that the Wednesday's race was out of the question the following morning I woke up feeling much better and pretty clear.

I'd ridden into meetings in town on Monday which was pretty unpleasant. The wind was howling and feeling bunged up I struggled to breath properly. My legs didn't get going and seemed never to warm up. It was a struggle from start to finish. I blaming my sinuses but maybe my lack of bike time was more of an issue.

So I rocked up on Wednesday night unsure about the wisdom of my decision to take part. It was a 10 mile Time Trial race which means that the riders start every 60 seconds and you do the 10 miles as fast as you can. The race started in Freuchie and Iain Taylor met me early so we could drive the course and get an understanding of where to put the effort in. The race was brilliantly well organised and we signed in. Being new to this type of race I was given an early start time and went off number 3 out of the 48 competitors. Iain gave me some tips and then set off for his warm up.

I unloaded the bike, checked the bits and tyres and then set off up to the start. I didn't really know what to do and ended up heading up past the start and just pottering around on the road near the start. It was bizarre and I felt out of my comfort zone. I know what happens at the start of a marathon, ironman or triathlon but this was new. So I pulled into a picnic area and stretched out trying to work out how long it was going to take me to do the 10 miles - I decided that between 30 and 32 minutes would be a great result for me.

I made my way to the start and waited in line. The first few riders were off and it was my turn. I decided not to get held up and stood with one shoe on the ground to push myself off. I had imagined that if I had fallen over at the start I would look an idiot thus my push start.

Five, four, three, two, one and I was off. The first mile is free in that it's downhill and fast. I got down onto the tri bars and wound up the speed. There were marshals at the first two junctions but the third, a quiet one, was unmanned. I glanced up and a lorry started to pull out. I slammed on the brakes and was fortunate to squeeze round the back and missed the back of the beast by inches. It felt like inches and in reality was probably feet but it was scary and shook me big time. I took a few seconds to gather myself and pulled hard on the pedals to put the power back down.

I saw a rider in the distance, which proved to be hugely motivational and I put my head down until I slipped past him. The course was pretty flat and I was going ok - I knew that I could push harder but was concerned that I would blow up and fall apart. I stood up on the turns but otherwise managed to stay down on the bars for the balance of the race.

As I neared the end I saw the first rider and the motivation pushed me on to catch them and passed them about a mile before the end. I crossed the line the finishing in 26.02 which turned out to be 33rd out of the 48 racers. Iain did a 23.50 which was awesome. It was a great night and I think I'll be back to take part again. I took the picture of him just after the end of the race - looked ready for another one!

Today was the Kinross Sportive. I missed out on an entry but pedalled up to Kinross just in time to take a picture of the DCC train about to start. I then went over to Milnathort, Path O Condie and home via a few more hills. I did 90km, half an ironman but I felt the hills in my legs by the end. Sometimes you just take a look around and realise what a fantastic place we live. The weather was sunny, if cold, today and the countryside just outstanding. I was lucky that the wildlife came out to play and kept the hard miles interesting. It was just brilliant!

The DCC train finished with James Bell and Andy Bruce leading the charge in a time of 4.46 which again given the hills and 100 mile course is absolutely awesome. I've got so much respect for the DCC squad - they are just great cyclists. One day maybe.....

I've spent some time in the gym but not enough time in the pool. WIth my sinuses clear I'm hoping to get stuck in this week.

Back in Fife....

Well we made it home on Friday afternoon and after picking up a few bits and pieces from the supermarket we changed and headed out on the bikes.

It appeared that the same sun that shone on us in Venice was making a rare appearance in Carnock and the opportunity to get out for a few miles was too much. A quick text to our fantastic neighbours, Les and Anna, established they were up for coming out so we checked our tyres, oiled the chains and set off up the hill to the bike track. It was great to be out although the sun that shone here appeared to be a colder version of the orange ball that warmed the Venetian people in the overcoats and cycling leggings.

We pedalled off down the path swapping stories of the week that was and poor Les and Anna probably regretted coming out as we bored them with our expensive pizza and ridiculously priced diet cokes. I'm pretty sure Les was looking forward to a post work pint before we wrecked his planned trip to the local pub! The time passed quickly and as ever it was fab to catch up with two of life's great people. We ended up doing a very pleasant 20 miles as the sun began to set catching some of the best views that West Fife has to offer en route.

A Friday night barbecue made the day complete with the whole weekend ahead of us.

I was up early on Saturday to prepare my bike for the days ride. Tyres needed fitted and the bike needed cleaned up. I did the routine maintenance and decided to fit my new speedo - everything was going well until, inexplicably, I fed the tie wrap that was to hold the electronic gizmo to the front fork around a spoke on my bike. Forced to cut it off and with no tie wraps in the house I found an old one in the back of the car just long enough to do the job. My desire to go on Scrapheap Challenge is massive as I love bodging things up so when I don't have all the parts I need I'm in my element! I think this started when I bought my first car, an antique gold Austin Allegro ( that will get you looking on the internet! ), which regularly broke down in odd places. I quickly learned that to own an Austin Allegro you needed to be an innovative bodger and I became pretty good at getting the seemingly bodged Friday Austin back on the road after the frequent break downs!

I'd arranged to meet Derek sharp at 9am at the junction of the road that offers the option to go over Cleish or Knockhill - we selected Cleish and set off with the intention of returning over Knockhill later. It soon became clear that Derek hadn't been feeling great most of the previous week and he was coughing up gunk despite which he lead us out at a cracking pace.

Derek is in great shape and is climbing very strongly so I trailed in his wake as we hammered the pedals up Cleish. The first time I did Cleish was many years ago on an Edinburgh to St Andrews charity bike ride. I hadn't been on a bike for years and dug out my hybrid touring bike for the day. It was a straight handlebar bike that had twist shift for gears changers which I hated and I had bought one day on the basis I needed it for going on bike trips. At the time I'm not sure what bike trips I was thinking about but I bought it anyway.

I started up Cleish not knowing anything about the hill other than the warning about the decent that was on the website of the charity organising the day. Fortunately the bike had many gears including 3 cogs at the front with a ridiculous granny gear that I'm sure some of the DCC boys could have climbed Everest using. For me, at the time it was all I could do to get up Cleish and that was the easy way up! There are fewer better hills for training although we did take a moment to remember the passing of the teacher beneath the icy waters of a loch at the top a few weeks ago.

After a fairly pedestrian decent we headed over to Kinross, Minathort and then over to Yetts. It was a funny day because the wind wasn't that bad but it was pretty persistent and the ride from Milnathort up to Carnbro felt pretty tough in spots. I was in determined mood and took the lead up this section keeping the bike between 24 and 27 kph for the entire climb. It was slightly disappointing that that we were not rewarded with a speedy decent because the wind seemed to nullify the hill making pedalling necessary the whole way down!

The DCC cafe run passed us as Derek nipped into the Co-op for a bottle of water and we quickly got back on the bikes and headed to Tillicoultry and then over to the cycle track to get us home. I am working with Derek on a community project that he is leading in the centre of Dunfermline and we slowed down and blethered about the next steps for the current grant applications. He has done a power of quality work and things are looking good for the planned centre near the bus station.

I needed to get home for 11.30 and we were back well before that giving me an extra few minutes to prepare for the Dunfermline v Cowdenbeath game that I'd been invited too. Back at my house we had biked 70km at a reasonable average with one record split for Derek once he had put his Garmin into his PC.

So back home and time for a bit more focus on the training and routine to be established - ironman is all about preparation, doing the hard graft of training and staying fit. I'm going to get more biking and swimming into the schedule and get myself back where I want to be.

Tomorrow I will do a strength session and a bike session if all goes to plan. I will report in due course......

Running slowly under the Venetian sun.....

Our last full day in Ca Sabbioni has been yet another fantastic one. We are staying in a small hotel 30 minutes outside of Venice which has been without doubt one of the most friendly we have ever stayed in. The guys that work here can't do enough to help and nothing is too much. It's rare that you meet people that are so dedicated to making your holiday experience brilliant but the guys Relais Ca' Sabbioni have helped make our holiday one to remember.

Yesterday we borrowed bikes from the hotel and went out on a spin round the quiet roads that surround the area. The one big advantage (for Danielle) is that there are no hills in the area, not one, the one disadvantage (for me) is that there are no hills! I can't say that it was a hugely strenuous work out but most enjoyable in the morning sun.

We then set off for Treviso, a small university town that turned out to be stunning. As usual our trip into the town was eventful missing turn off and stopping in the wrong places. An attempted reversing manoeuvre drew the anger of a moped rider. I've got used to the shouting, horn pumping and gesticulating that comes with driving in this region and later in the day I got the time to practice some of my own as I was carved up by a BMW driver, well what did I expect!!

It's graduation time in Treviso and groups of students tour the village singing 'Doctore Doctore' at the top of their voices behind young guys and girls in fancy dress before heading to bars to celebrate their successful graduation - seemed good humoured and the local student hanging around the street corners took great delight in joining in.

On return to the hotel I set off for a short 4 mile run before we set off for yet another disappointing dinner in Venice. The best food so far has been in the hotel that we are staying in with people following the crowds to cardboard pizza shops that look a lot less tasty than the local Dunfermline Pizza's.

This morning the sun shone and I set off in my newly purchased Decathlon running kit, well I'd used all the stuff I brought and another tee shirt and shorts won't go unused! I ran just under 13km bring my total to just under 60km for the week which was ok I think. I was plodding along listening to some good country stuff when a runner heading towards me crossed the road, I followed him past me when out of the corner of my eye I saw the largest tractor, 4 wheels at the front bearing down on me from behind. There are no pavements so running on the road is obligatory but the sight of this monster just behind me almost brought on an involuntary episode of the runners trots! I jumped out of the way and waved him on his way!

Running here has been a joy and I'm going to miss not having to battle the elements ever time I'm out training.

So we head home in the morning. I'm looking forward to catching up with friends and family wit the quiz night in Carnock on Saturday night a particular highlight. Looking at the forecast I'll be digging out the longs and tops for the bike which I confess I'm looking forward to getting out on at the weekend. I've missed the bike and it will be good to be re-united with the Trek even if it's windy, cold and wet. You can't beat home!

A wee 5 mile plod in the afternoon sun

The last couple of days have been awesome. The sun has shone and despite this and the climbing temperature guage the locals still appear out on their road bikes in full winter kit. They seem very confused about the seasons here retaining winter coats I guess until the weather is well into the 80's unlike Scotland where a glimpse of the sun has us rushing for our shorts and tee shirts.

I set off for a run this afternoon thinking about the injustice of the planet giving all of these people lovely warm weather but an inability to enjoy it in the belief that they are still in winter. I decided to loop around the outside of the village and enjoy the peace and quiet that the country roads offered. This was a far cry from the rest of the day with was spent in Padova. Padova, Danielle tells me is mentioned in a Shakespeare play and I suppose armed with this knowledge and little Shakespeare reading behind me, other than the mandatory McBeth, we set off to explore an historic town steeped in things to explore and see.

Padova is not the town that Shakespeare wrote about. It's a busy University town with bustling markets and angry drivers keen to explore their musical talents using the only instrument at hand, their horn. It tended to be used more particularly at daft foreign drivers looking for places to park in chaotic streets. I've learned to drive like an Italian over the last few days with indicators now not part of my driving regime, swapping lanes without warning and stopping without warning all new skills learned and practiced.

We parked up in an underground garage, another mistake, multiplied by the helpful chap standing waiting to park your car. This was going to be expensive but I was grateful to dump the car after a stressful 30 minutes drive into Shakespeare's city.

We wandered aimlessly looking at the markets and shops. They like their designers here and all of the shops are either designer or Primark look a likes with little in between. I reckon all we will take home is a few extra pounds from too many pizza's. Our wander eventually led to a Gelato distributor - today's one wasn't as good as few of the others but it did a job. Danielle has convinced me that Gelato is much lower fat than ice cream so I have embraced this knowledge with gusto and have enjoyed many low calorie treats!

Anyway back to the run. I love running in the sun, music blasting some great Love and Theft in my ears and me occasionally joining in whilst running - must of sounded like a wailing banshee to any poor passers by. After a mile or so I passed by a rare sight, a cyclist in shorts and a cycling tee. What was wrong with this poor chap I thought? Well as he stopped at the lights I noticed he was wearing a US Navy cycling shirt which made him proper hard!

I was moving ok - I seem to be slower these days so my usual stagger now only reaches a plod whereas in the past I think I could run - old age doesn't come alone! Everything was fine until I got the first twinge that is a pre-cursor of, and sorry to be crude, but the runners trots made famous by Paula in the London Marathon a few years ago. There is nothing worse than being caught short in the middle of nowhere......except maybe being caught short in the middle of a housing estate like today. I stopped, dealt withe stomach cramps and headed for home. Only problem was I didn't know where the hotel was. Thankfully google maps in hand I limped my way back to the hotel, grimacing at the lovely receptionist on the way past. Not pleasant!

So I have one set of sports kit left and am keen to do a long run so probably going to take the hotel bike out for a spin tomorrow and then run again on Thursday after a day at the lido - might get a swim in but if it's at the current sea temperature don't hold your breath.

We were thinking about another of Shakespeare's Italian towns Verona but I think will give it a miss. After today I don't think my heart will stand the strain!

I would be remiss not to mention the senseless bombing in Boston. Many on the DCC forum plus a few other friends are runners that are planning to run a marathon or have run marathons and I feel so much for all of those affected. The bomb as well as taking lives has robbed many of limbs which will change their lives forever. I don't get it or try to understand it. Violence is the cowards way out of making a point and it a point that is not well made. I hope that people that did this really struggle to live with what they have done and realise the pointlessness of the action that they have taken. It's a sad day for Boston, the families affected and the running community around the world.

On a positive note Italian TV is showing the replay of a race from 1958 in black and white filmed from the support vehicle which is fascinating watching for me if a little less gripping for Danielle!!

They don't like it up em.....

The Venetian weather has been magnificent so far and we have basked in above average temperatures under sun kissed blue skies. Even better news is that the forecast is like this for the week ahead.

Yesterday I acquainted myself with the local roads running 12km in just on an hour which wasn't too bad for a fat lad like me. This morning I awoke to sunlit skies and headed out once more but this time in the opposite direction.

The Italians have kept there religious side and many were heading to Church when I went out for a run. It was great to see families all dressed up with 3 generations walking together to share their belief in the Spring sunshine.

I plodded off with no garmin to help me judge my speed as for some reason my GPS had switched off and it wasn't giving me any readings other than time. So today I decided to run out 40 minutes before turning to complete an 80 minute run. It was superb. I ran along the banks of the canal loving every second. I said Bonjourno to everyone I passed, they ignored me except for one other runner who I had said morning to instead of bonjourno and they responded probably more in surprise than anything else.

Apart from the fishing competitions and the number of large bike groups I saw the run was unremarkable but enjoyable. I always enjoy heading out and hoping that I'll find my way back!

We set off and went up to Mestre, the next largest town in the area. It was lovely and the town centre was full of earnest men having earnest conversations. This felt very appropriate as it was my brother in law, Earnest's, birthday - Happy Birthday Ernie! They are a serious nation and I love they way the town centre's are a kids playground with everyone very relaxed and seemingly at ease with other - didn't feel like Dunfermline town centre today!

So after a wander around the local town, I decided to borrow the hotel bike. It's no carbon, shimano clad dream machine more a basic sit up and beg type Captain Mannering run about. The seat was too low but I didn't want to ask for a spanner in case I caused huge offence so I set off.

It was a single speed, maroon ladies bike and despite the poor set up and riding position I wound it up to the fastest speed I could. I followed the route of this mornings run with my hands in the nest time trialling position I could muster. I was flying along and I loved it, I passed bike after bike, granted most were being ridden by elderly ladies who I whooshed past with apparent ease.

I'm sure when Lance said it's not about the bike it was these moments he craved - or maybe not! I was loving being out when I spied in the distance a road bike with a brightly clad lycra wearing biker ahead. That was all I needed, I was off like a tortoise chasing a sloth - i gained on the fully kitted out biker before flying past on the last bend before the lights. I was in heaven and I couldn't help but remember Corporal Jones shouting 'they don't like it up em' as I cruised to a halt at the lights. My day was complete - not only was I one of the few cyclists out in short sleeves and a tee shirt but the single speed was flying along overtaking fully loaded road bikes!

All too soon I turned for home and made it back to the hotel in one piece. To date the drivers have been very courteous and left plenty of room when I've been running or on the bike.

Danielle had spent the afternoon chilling out but I was ready for something else so I headed down to the rear garden of the hotel and did a circuit session for an hour. It was fab working out in the sunshine and I loved most of the workout but by the time I started it with a longish run and a TT bike in the bank I felt tired. But I planned to do a circuit session so that's what I did,

I must have looked a bit of a twit but I didn't care and just did it. One hour later, drenched in sweat I went off for a shower,

The holiday has been brilliant so far but I think I'll need the launderette soon as I'm running out of sport's kit!

A week lost.....

To continue the lost theme of the last few weeks, work has been really busy and I seem to have lost a weeks training. Since the race last weekend I have managed a 6 mile walk and a very short pedal which is not the training of champions. I felt pretty tired after last week's adventure race and I think it was wise to recover from that. In addition the week has been manic with a project handover completing a complex fit out yesterday before a dinner that was being hosted in the space last night.

I recently sat down with Iain Taylor and we decided against the Ireman. A number of reasons behind the decision but as I feel behind with my bike training I confess feeling a little relieved at the decision. We are more than likely going to enter the Scottish Long Distance Championships in Kenmore which co-incidentally takes place on the same weekend as the Ireman. This is a half distance event including a mind numbingly cold swim in a dark Scottish loch, a 90km bike course that takes you over Schehallion twice and a very pleasant half marathon to finish off. I have done it once before and Iain had a successful outing there a couple of years ago running the final leg for Perth Triathlon.

So what to do instead? Do I save myself for Ironman Kalmar in 2014 or just go for one of the later Challenge events in September or October. My 50th birthday is in October and I'm planning to run the Dublin marathon 4 days after the big day with my friend, Fiona Stalley. She has been beating herself on the insanity DVD that Danielle, my wife, has just completed and I know will be in fantastic shape for the marathon later in the year.

This should be the year that as an age grouper I should be racing seriously within my age category as I'll be in the young 50 to 55 age group! However, I'm not a racer against others and have always raced myself so the fifty something me is hoping to be able to beat the best the forty something me could do in the past. I guess we are all like that as we strive to beat our previous personal bests in whatever the race or even on a Saturday bike ride looking at the clock and Strava!

The plan at the start of the year was to beat my best Ironman time of 14:15 and to this end I have been looking at the flatter races that are still available. So at the moment I think I can still get into most of the Challenge series races that are being held around Europe with a choice of Vichy in France, Almere in Holland or Barcelona. They are exactly the same as the Ironman distance just a different brand that offers a similar experience. Almere and Vichy are in mid September with Barcelona at the start of October.

Travelling to Vichy looks a nightmare and flying to Barcelona direct seems a challenge as we'll since the demise of Globespan so I thinking might pack the bike into the car and take the ferry to Amsterdam and try Challenge Almere. The bike course is going to be flat with the main potential test being the wind, the swim is in the harbour area which looks pretty unappealing but assuming I avoid vials disease should be fine and the run loops around the harbour area.

The race looks fast and is apparently on of the oldest triathlons in Europe which I assume has been bought by the Challenge group as part of their 'family' of long distance races. I've not ventured away from Ironman yet so it will be interesting to see how the races differ from the original. Ironman do the events brilliantly and I love the whole hoopla around the events that starts a few days before each race. They are brilliantly organised with good race villages tempting you to spend on the latest kit and must have accessories. I remember sitting outside having lunch the day before Ironman Austria beside a Spanish racer also completing his first Ironman. We got chatting, in English of course, and shared each others worries and nerves. He looked fit, tanned and ready to race but was nervous about the swim and how he was going to feel on the run. I think our shared lack of confidence somehow helped us both as we realised that we weren't alone feeling uncertain of the journey that lay ahead. I bumped into him about 30km into the run, he was just ahead of me and struggling. We stopped as we crossed on the out and back course and I offered a bit of encouragement as he did with me and it the little things that give you the extra shuffle to get you home. I didn't see him at the end but I checked and he finished a few minutes ahead of me.

Ironman is a great place to meet people and I know that I have made friends at races that I will stay in touch with for ever. I know that Iain T had the same experience in Wales a couple of years ago and still shares contact with people from around the globe who raced and commented on the race that day. I hope that the Challenge series builds the same camaraderie but I suppose I will need to wait and see.

Danielle is happy to come over and it's always good to have her around post race to pick up the pieces. She assures me that spectating is harder than competing an ironman and she will be more exhausted than me at the end of the day. I think I agree as it must be difficult watching someone you love push themselves to the max for 14 hours. Danielle is always encouraging and seems to know exactly what to say when I'm trailing my heels after 30km of the marathon!

I suppose I should change the name of the blog to something else as the up for down reference was up for County Down where the race was being held. If I go to Almere it is close to Amsterdam so there are a few opportunities around that as I do like 'swimming below the sea (level)' or 'just another (al) mere ironman!' but I guess I leave it as it is.

I have the next week off and whilst I'm off I'm planning a few bike rides and some runs. I might do some swims as well but have decided to focus on the other disciplines this week to try and start to get myself back on track. My weight is going well with me back into the 13's again having now shifted around one and a half stone.

There is a glimmer of hope that Spring might leap into action with some giddy double digit temperatures forecast but I'm not packing away the winter kit just yet.

Tickets for the event on 11 May have sold like hot cakes with only about 20 left so if you are interested you will need to move fast. The band has been working on some writing related covers for the night such as 'Saturday Nights All Right for Writing' and 'All Write Now' - should be a blast with the race night as well.

Lost again - this week in the Lake District!

Well what an adventure that turned out to be!

I met Neil, my mate and racing partner, at the Abington Service Station. We decided coffee was the plan and headed in to grab a cup and pay for the overnight parking - Neil was appalled that every car going into the car park is photographed and recorded into the system. I wondered if we might appear on this week's Crimewatch after another criminal race performance!

The drive down to Keswick was uneventful and as we arrived in Thorntonwaite where the race was based we decided to drop our kit off at the B & B and have a drive around before an early supper.

Our B & B was slightly out of the village but with 350 other racers we figured it would be busy with other teams - worryingly they were no other cars in the car park. The house looked like something out of Bleak House or Wuthering Heights and when the door creaked open we were welcomed by someone who looked very similar to the Kathy Bates character in Misery. She limped into the damp smelling corridor and asked us to go up the stairs ahead of her. I was half expecting the shotgun to come out and our imprisonment to start - suddenly I thought back to the Service Station when video would be rolled out as the last sighting of the boys heading for the race!!

She showed us our overpriced accommodation. The room was baltic and as the temperature was dropping outside I looked at the radiators longingly hoping that Kathy was going to switch on the heating. She recommended a couple of restaurants as we flew out the door! Map in hand we drove the likely area's the race would be run - we always do this with little impact but traditions need to be maintained. You can see from the photo that the weather was pretty outstanding, 10 degrees and sun splitting the sky! Just awesome.

We had booked a local hotel and after tinkering with my bike to get the front gears working a bit better we headed for dinner. The food was pretty good polished off with rice pudding, the food of champions. Then it was back to Kathy's - the place was in darkness and as the sun at set our guest house looked even more foreboding! Neil suggested a bit of telly so we moved into the communal lounge and watched NCIS to kill a little time. No sign of Kathy so we sat listening for the creak of floorboards that might signal Kathy's presence!

So bed was early and with no internet in Bleak House, a baltic room I decided that climbing into bed for an early night was the only option. I actually slept pretty well.....

So today was an early start followed by a scalding shower. Neil's shower was too hot and didn't appear to have a cold tap so he came through and burnt himself on my shower! Breakfast was porridge, banana and eggs and Kathy came up trumps especially as it didn't seem to contain any sleep inducing stuff and we left alive and not tied to the bed!

The Open Adventure 5 series races are brilliant - 5 hours to pick up as many points as possible using mountain bike and trail running. You get a map and then when you cross the start line you get given the points for each of the dibbing stations. Having messed up last week we took more time to make sure our route was sorted. Of course we changed it immediately after starting! Fortunately our decisions we a bit better this week and our route seemed to be a good choice.

Anyway we reached the first junction and unbelievably made a mistake and went the wrong way. After that we decided not to worry and were faced with the first major climb of the day and despite the steep climb we were moving pretty quickly. We decided to carry on round the perimeter of the route and the views were stunning - once we reached the second half of the course we had another big decision to make and we made another mistake missing out on some more big value points. I think we thought the course was bigger than it was and we could easily have picked up all of the points on the bike before heading on to the run.

The bike course included some classic single track, fire tracks and single track roads and it was magical. There are times that the race goes out of the window and you just marvel in the stunning location. Today I felt lucky to be alive (especially after our visit to Kathy!) until I had my Basil Fawlty moment shouting at my bike. The chain kept on getting stuck between the back wheel and rear cog. After the 10th time I stopped the bike and having shouted at it, there were no branches to thrash it with, tweaked the rear derailleur. Eventually after a few attempted it stopped flicking over the cogs but then would not go into the biggest of the rear cogs - I felt frustrated by the bike today. The front forks were banging on the bumps (not sure why), my brakes didn't seem to bind as they normally do and I nearly wiped out Neil when he stopped at a turn and my gears were a nightmare. The front derailleur was difficult to shift with the levers very stiff and the rear gears jumped about all day - made riding any gradient a real nightmare! Need to get it sorted!

One of the key things about any endurance races is, not to put too fine a point on it, making sure that body is in harmony at the start of the race and all of the facilities have been used - if you know what I mean! Sadly my body had no harmony today and my stomach was playing tunes all day long. They weren't good tunes with the trouser trumpet leading the orchestra!! I felt pretty miserable by the run and slowed Neil down to trot.

Neil looked at me at me grimacing and kindly offered to call it a day. We could have raced up one hill and collected a few more points but Neil suggested that we revel in the scenery and enjoy the trot back to the finish. It was good of him and as a result we slipped a few spots closer to the bottom of the leader board.

If is not a word I turn to often but today there were many ifs. If we had not missed the first checkpoint, if we had gone to pick up the high points, if we had stuck top the route and picked up mark 10, if our running had been better - today we were close to doing well but mistakes are costly and once you make them hard to unpick in hilly and challenging environments. I love these sorts of races, win or lose, to me the taking part and being out in amazing countryside with fantastic views is what it's all about. It's so different from Ironman, you know the route, you know what you have to do and you know the distances. A road bike is a predictable beast that moves with you whereas a mountain bike feels like an alien that needs balance to ride and we were only on red runs today which are the moderate difficulty ones.

I think I need more mountain bike skills time to be a better rider - Neil is technically much better and has a grace about the way he moves the bike around the hill - I have the grace of an elephant on a mountain bike and find any single track massively challenging. In some respects this makes mountain bike riding more fun in that there are so many changing conditions. Tyre pressure, choice of route and speed are all elements that need careful consideration - I seem to get it wrong more than right as I usually pump my tyres too hard for the conditions but despite all of my incompetence and inability I love it!

So onwards with the training before our holiday. This week I'm planning some cross training, running and hopefully biking but that will be weather dependant!

Lost.......

What a day!

There are days that you Scotland throws everything that is good about it at you, today was without doubt one of those!

The day started reasonably early, with the plan to get on the road to Aberfoyle at 7.45am ish! It was the first of the spring series of the Scottish Mountain Biking Orienteering championships. I looked at the temperature gauge falling as the miles passed and I made my way north. The skies were blue, the sun shining and nothing was on the roads. It was magnificent! I've not spent a huge amount of time in Aberfoyle but it's in a fantastic location. As I rolled into town I called my team mate Neil Smith who had already arrived and was setting up his bike.

I jumped out the car and set about finding a cafe that would sell me a cup of tea. The only place that was open was the butchers shop and bakers, only the candlestick maker was missing from the line up and they made a fine cup of tea. Neil was pretty much ready by the time I got back and I sorted out my bike, what to wear and drunk my tea. Neil is an ideal racing partner as he is always so well organised. I could almost turn up without a bike as I'm sure that Neil would have a spare! He is the map reader, route selector and generally the intelligence side of the team - not sure what I bring to the partnership but it seems to work well! Having said that I got involved in map reading and route selection and maybe that's were things went a bit Pete Tong!

We biked up the hill up to the start, registered, got our dibbers (the things that record you have been to the way points on the map) and I made another cup of tea! Things were running late and we had a few extra minutes to read the map of the area. We had bumped into Dave Frame, who we did the Rat Race with a few years ago and managed to finish 21st out of the 132 teams taking part. Dave knows his way around a course and is very fit despite complaining about his increasing years today.

The organiser shouted that the start was open and we dibbed in and grabbed the way marked map. This was our first mistake as we were rushing around and too keen to start! First race of the season and we made a few stupid mistakes and despite agreeing to treating the race a training ride it's hard to resist racing. So leaning against a fence and looking at the various scores for each of the points we planned our route. It was agreed, done and dusted! Or was it, at the last second we decided to do the top half of the course up in the Queen Elizabeth Forest - turned out to be a big mistake as we spent an hour climbing up through the steepest part of the course. I took a few pictures from the top looking back down into the valley below. It was a fantastic climb and to be honest we forgot about the race and enjoyed mountain biking on the sunny slopes.

When we're out invariably we believe the map must be wrong at some point during the race. That happened more than once today, mostly the maps are spot on but occasionally forest tracks are joined up and the maps are wrong.

When we completed the hilly section we set off to the fast flatter section of the course. Error number 2 was setting about the flatter section on the same route that we had originally planned. This took us round the perimeter of the course picking up the bigger scores for the least accessible points. The key to today's race was getting the most out of the map and careful planning - none of which we had done! There were lots of in and out way points as the forest tracks didn't easily link up and the better route would have been to go and race the flatter section of the course picking up as many of the in and out points within the 3 hour time limit. By the time we had spent an hour in the wrong forest and then starting on our perimeter strategy we were stuffed and quickly worked out there was no quick way to picking up any serious points. If we had gone into the flat section on a different route we'd have picked up a good few more points.

All up it was a stunning day, the biking was brilliant fun and despite our poor route selection it was only a training day and we will learn from the experience.

I'm hoping that we have seen the worst of the weather. Most of my training since the last blog has been on the treadmill, in the pool or on the spin bike and I am champing at the bit to get outside. Normally by this time I have done much more work on the road but the cold and snow has really put me off.

Next week we have a 5 hour adventure race so hopefully our map reading will be a little better.

The fat bloke in the pool ( and it wasn't me! )

Well the first sprint triathlon race of my season was cancelled late on Friday after the organiser decided that the risk of people getting hypothermia was too high. I think it was a wise decision especially having woken up to yesterday's Baltic wind and wind chill factor.

It's funny how we all become experts in the weather during these periods of unusual weather. Folk can be overheard talking about the poor conditions being caused position of the jet stream being blocked by high pressure over Scandinavia dragging cold air over the UK which means that the temperature is 20 degrees less than the same week last year- next thing I'll be on the telly. The worst news is that it is forecast to last this week as well. More indoor training beckons!

So with no race on Saturday and Danielle out for the day I was free to do a few things that I wanted to do. So I took the opportunity and did a circuit session in the morning. It was mostly yoga type stuff which I find the tough due to my lack of flexibility and I find the various stretches tricky to see the least.

After that I jumped straight into the car and head to Carnegie. The pool was rammed, kids with rings, balls flying round and various teenagers lurking about in oversized shorts trying to look cool for the few girls in the pool. The only space that was available was the far side lane and unbelievably it was empty! This is a good as it gets - an empty lane. I jumped in and got going. It was awesome! I felt brilliant gliding up and down the lane effortlessly putting into use all of my Total Immersion training. Each length I focussed on one thing and whilst it wasn't the fastest it felt relaxed and just easy.

Every so often one of the teenagers would jump into the lane next to me and race me up the pool. Most of the time they would win but after 25m they were done and I carried on. After 20 odd lengths a guy joined me in the lane. He was a good swimmer and stopped to let me past in the usual manner at the end of lane when he needed a break. He left at about length 60 and a girl joined me. She was a great swimmer and we happily crossed paths in the middle of each lane. I had completed 96 lengths when large boned bloke number one came into the lane. Head about water, breaststroke, he plodded up the lane and I caught him just at the point fat bloke number 2 jumped into the lane, completely blocking the lane. I was forced to stop and on standing up the fat bloke gave me such a look. I nudged past them and swam my last lengths to finish my 100 lengths - 2500m completed and very happy!

As I jumped out the pool the attendant spoke to me and said that I was lucky to have picked a time that the lane was empty. The old boys apparently turn up at he same time every day and take over the lane! Given the chaos of the pool it was great to get the freedom to complete a long swim all by myself!

The weather was no better today so I ran 7 miles on the treadmill. It's not the most exciting thing to do but felt better than braving the cutting cold wind that welcomed myself and Scruffy to the day! NCIS managed to keep me entertained for the hour I plodded. The new runners arrived a couple of days ago and they fitted a treat.

So not sure what the week ahead holds. I'm racing next Saturday in the Scottish Mountain Biking Series in Aberfoyle and to be honest I'm not expecting a fast time but the race will be good fun and set us up for the Open Adventure 5 series race in Keswick in 2 weeks.

Let's hope the Jet Stream gets the weather sorted and Spring can rock up!!

The evenings are drawing out......

Well the good news is that the clocks are changing soon and we'll soon be able to get out more in the evenings - can't wait!

The last couple of days have been more circuits, core and running. I was up early so did a core set and then walking the dog I realised that it wasn't that cold, it was sunny and bright and the snow wasn't thick enough to prevent a run. It was stunning, 10k in the sun lightened my spirit and set me up for the work ahead.

When I was running I was reflecting on life, as I often do, thinking about the things that make us the people we are. The experience of life throws much at us and at the moment I'm feeling pretty good. When I'm up I'm hugely positive and believe I can do anything - you probably need that to complete an ironman - but when I'm down I kick myself at every opportunity. The start of the year put me in that place and I think that I am one of those SAD people that needs the sun to get up! Who knows but the longer days leave me optimistic about the summer ahead.

My weight is down to a level that it was when I did the Cape Epic and was at my fittest. I'm not at my fittest but with hard work and perseverance I will get there. I've been keeping an eye on the results as they come in from the 2013 race and it looks like a cracker with the race lead changing again today.

The weekend's race is looking doubtful for the organiser. He emailed everyone taking part saying he would cycle the course tomorrow and drive later in the day. Given the weather at the moment I've already decided that being hypothermic after jumping out of a heated swimming pool is not the wisest plan and am going to give the race a miss. Iain Taylor, a braver soul than me is still planning to head down so I hope the conditions are good enough for the race to be completed. If anyone wants my place..........

I met up with Iain yesterday to chat through Ireland and generally have a natter about the year ahead. He is having trouble with his knee again, probably since the daft night race that crocked both John Woodrow and myself. I really hope that whatever it is clears up but also know that Iain has the running in his legs to get through most things with less training so hope he'll be fine in time for Ireland in August.

I guess I'll be back inside tomorrow given the weather so probably time to hit the pool and enjoy a swim as well as a circuit session. We'll see, if it's ok I might even get out on the bike but then I might be dreaming it's springtime and not deepest winter!!!

The Ironman in my past......

I've talked about my dad and the important part that he has played in my life in terms of creating a set of values and a strength to deal with the various ups and downs that life has thrown at me.

I was asking about the other people from our family past and he told me about his grandfather. Dad's grandad was a fisherman who worked with his brother fishing off Harris in the North West of Scotland. Thoughout the fishing season they went out every day in whatever the Minch threw at them and caught cod and ling. At the end of each of trip they took the fish, salted the catch and put it in storage.

As the season went on they collected more and more fish in their boxes until the end of the season. Now at the time, mid 1800's apparently the Germans loved salted cod so he and his brother set off in there boat and navigated there way around the north coast of Scotland through some of Scotland's most challenging waters and over the North Sea. Once they reached Denmark they would head through the Kiel Canal which took them into the Baltic Sea from where they could access the major waterways into Germany to sell the fish in Hamburg and other markets in that area.

My dad found a book which recorded all of the sales and where the fish was sold. It even told a story of a storm that they sailed into during which the two brothers working the boat didn't see or speak to each other for 5 days. The remarkable thing was that there were no GPS's and they sailed by the sun and stars - now we need a GPS to home after a bike ride! Despite their lack of equipment they always made it back home and maybe they should be the first winners of Ironman Poland!! They made there money for the entire year on those trips and I suppose were market leaders in the export trade, European economic trading partners established by a couple of boys from Harris. George Osbourne eat your heart out!

His other Grandfather was also a fisherman but he used to hitch a lift on a boat from Scalpay, a wee island off Harris, over to Torridon. From there he would walk to Wick to pick up work on a fishing boat. Can you imagine that commute! The way home was longer as instead of travelling cross country he needed to stick to the coast because of the number of robbers lurking on the shorter mainland route. He was carrying his entire earnings for the year and to lose it all would have been a disaster.

Both grandad's had small crofts and kept sheep which needed to be looked after. That's where my great grandmothers came to the party looking after the croft while their respective husbands were at sea. Life must have been pretty tough!

We are lucky in that we do these races to test ourselves and give us targets to keep fit. 150 years ago it was a matter of survival and I would imagine the test on the body of sailing across the North Sea in a small unpowered fishing boat was significantly more than 140 miles of an Ironman with no energy bars or power drinks.

So maybe just maybe Ironman is in the Macleod Genes!!

Just for the record I spent an hour doing circuits first thing and then went swimming at lunchtime. The faster lane was busy with people taking approximately one minute to swim one length. Now I'm not fast but I had to pass people every two lengths which eventually became impossible when a few more joined the lane to backstroke their way slowly up and down the fast lane. It didn't frustrate me at all.......

Bit of a damp squib......

I held this weekend in much hope. I was really looking forward to a decent run on the bike but it's been a miserable weekend with rain pretty much most of yesterday and today.

I briefly considered the weekly Parkrun yesterday but after wrestling with the duvet gave it a miss and spent an hour running in the gym with the joys of Soccer AM on the telly. Running inside is one of these things that we are just not meant to do but I couldn't face the rain and sleet - jelly an rather than ironman me!

Danielle was waiting for the Tesco delivery. He duly did his job dropping off more courgettes, apples and pears than I thought existed. Danielle is food testing and as a result is on an odd combo diet this week but I think she's made a slight mistake ordering 9 courgettes! So all recipes including courgette and pears welcome! I think the Tesco driver thought we'd lost the plot.....or maybe he thought we'd bought the plot!!

After lunch, including a trip to Tesco to buy more, not courgettes, but wholemeal flour I decided to spend an hour doing circuits in the gym. It was tough. I have loads of leg strength but still struggle with the upper body stuff as I'm not the strongest but hopefully in 3 weeks time hopefully I'll be finished the circuit programme I'm on and with a core of rock. My flexibility hasn't improved much and when we were out later our wonderful Yoga teaching friend Anna asked me how I was getting on with the flexibility stretch she had taught me recently. I hung my head in shame guilty of not having practiced. I was asked to demonstrate my flexibility which sadly turned out o be less than be French stick that sat on the table!

So today, I was promised a sunny afternoon by the good people at the MET office. Wrong, it rained until after 3pm. I had completed an hour in the gym early doors to create the space to get out on the bike this afternoon. So seeing the rain I was a tad disappointed. I considered the gym and a spin session but I couldn't face - pathetic but the day isn't over yet so who knows!

So this afternoon I went into the kitchen. I enjoy cooking, sadly not talented, and would be more at the experimental end of the Cheffy scale. For every success there are several huge disappointments and I'm pretty certain that my cod al la cabbage and beet root pasta will be two dishes I take to the grave! I love making bread which again has been the source of a few disasters. The current favourite is flatbread. So today I extended that into pizza bases, not any old pizza base but wholemeal pizza base! I omitted the sugar that seemed to be in the recipes in the book and made up the mix and stuck it all in the bread machine.

It kind of worked but I don't think Pizza Express have a huge amounts worry about but my pizza turned out ok. No white flour in his house as the healthy options are explored. Bizarrely being a bit of a junk food junkie I'm enjoying new flavours and using natural stuff to cook with. It's a bit more effort but at least there's no horse meat jockeying for position in my food.

The other thing I dug out today was my guitar. I was mucking about with a melody when Danielle came in and asked what I was playing. Turned out she liked it and suggested that I record it and keep working on it. So the plan is to work it up into a song and if the rest of the band, Father Jack, agree we'll play it on the 11 May at the Safe Space fundraising night in amongst the classics we'll be playing.

The forecast for the week ahead looks a bit, as they say on the news forecasts, pants so I guess it will be a week to swim, spin and run on the treadmill. Not perfect but it will need to be done. I've also been trying out a few different energy drinks and protein shakes and I think that I've found an SIS option that doesn't destroy my stomach. The first outing will be at the Scottish Mountain Biking Orienteering race a week on Saturday so we'll see how that goes.

Spring sometime soon would be good!

The rallying call of the Bell!

I was busy all morning at meetings in the west so by the time I was heading home the sun was beginning to peep through the clouds and the skies were beginning to brighten up!

I reached home, switched on the PC and got one of those notifications that someone had posted in one of the Facebook groups I follow. I clicked on the link to see that one of the DCC riders had been out in the rain, wind and cold for an 80 miler including most of the hills in the area! It was an awesome achievement given the weather and knowing James he probably did it in shorts and a short sleeved bike shirt! So having read his post I looked out at the now balmy conditions and decided to shift my carcass out there.

I have to confess that it was one of those days, to be honest, where the comfort of the house was much more appealing than heading out but I pulled on the longs and enjoyed 7 miles in the sun. It was brilliant! When I got home I spent an hour on abs and stretching.

Here's hoping that the weather picks up at the weekend.

Tomorrow I'm meeting a pal, David Douglas, to chat about the London to Brighton run race later in the year. We talked about doing this at Christmas time and as I've not done an ultra before I figured it would be a great challenge to work towards post the August Ireman.

When I out and about last week I wandered past a stall selling those shoes that look like feet. I've read Born to Run by Chris McDougall which is all about the barefoot runners of the Tarahumara people of Mexico who are amazing distance runners. They race each other for pride and honour in the villages with champions running amazing distances as the races can last more than one day. It's a great read and I would highly recommend it.

One of the key issues about distance running is being in peak condition for the race and it gives me another reason to shift the extra pounds I'm still carrying. Danielle has been looking at food testing and we both have been fascinated by week 1 - all diet stuff was thrown out and full fat stuff brought back in. There was a list of what we can and can't have stuck to the fridge. The results this week have been good with neither of us hungry and eating a good balanced fresh diet. The hassle of cooking far outweighs the ready meals that we occasionally turn to and Danielle has shifted 5 pounds in 4 days while eating like a horse (post blog note that this description did not go down too well with Danielle!) - so all good so far.

Thought I'd add a picture of the scales which shows 1 st and 2 lbs so far as a bit of motivation - targeting sub 13 and a half (nearer 13 to be honest)

So the weekend lies ahead - got a few races coming up with the Tranent Tri next week, the Scottish Mountain Biking monthly race the week after and the Adventure 5 series following the first weekend in April. I've got a week to get my climbing legs back on!!

Now where did I leave my chocolate pudding........

All in the head.....

I took a rest day today after a hard few days training as the body needs time to recover.

Ironman is not just a physical challenge but a huge mental challenge as well so today I met with a friend in Edinburgh who is working with that side of the race. I believe that if you prepare properly for any event, turn up at the start physically ready but are not in the right frame of mind you're performance will suffer. Sometimes I think I can do anything but in my darker moments my head fills with bad thoughts about my limitations.

So today we looked at the aspects that help drive success and how rated my performance in comparison to a champion. It was fascinating stuff. One of the people I respect most is Chrissie Wellington. When she decides she is going to do something nothing will get in her way and she does it to the best of her ability. She had a big bike crash just before heading out to the world championships in Kona a few years ago but went on to win the race and retired from Ironman undefeated. Incredible!

So obviously I am not in Chrissie Wellington's league but I have yet to make the start line of an Ironman in peak physical condition. So I was looking for the reasons behind this and have made a couple of decisions to help give myself the best opportunity to go for a sub 13 (my ambitious target for the Ireman) finish. These are to look at the sessions that I'm doing and make sure that I'm doing them right, to wear a heart rate monitor to get a better handle on my training thresholds and zones, the third is to give up alcohol until the race and finally improve my diet.

The first two are pretty straightforward but as most people know I do enjoy a glass of red and a beer from time to time. The issue is that they are just empty calories and I believe, rightly or wrongly, that it slows the metabolism making the fat burning body less efficient. I might be entirely wrong but someone told me this once and he knows what he's talking about. So it's time to put the talk into action and make sure that I turn up in County Down in peak condition.

They say that if you write something down then it is more likely you will stick on the path so I thought I would record it here so that people that know me won't be surprised when I'm on the soda and lime on a night out. I'm looking at my diet and Danielle is helping by selecting a menu that is going to take out refined carbohydrates (plus a lot of the other stuff I love) from our diet. So with these small changes I hope to get my body fat percentage right down and finally feel I'm not the fattest lad on the start line.

When I decided to do another Ironman I also decided that if I am going to put myself through the torture I am going to go as fast as I can. These changes will help me towards my goal and if I develop a winning mentality I'm pretty sure I can achieve the sub 13 that is my target. It's going to take the support of friends and in Danielle I have my number one supporter. She is amazing at coming up with positive suggestions that are incredibly helpful and as she knows me inside out, she helps me believe that I can do the things I want to do.

So let the wagons roll, it's time to cut the chunk to get myself ready to stand on the start in County Down in the shape of my life........

A nod to Tri - bike, swim and circuits! Oh and an invite to a race night and Father Jack!

It's been a good and varied days training which despite feeling a little tired now has given me a bit more confidence that I'm doing the right things.

The training for Ironman, as those who have been on the journey know is relentless even from 6 months out. Most days involve a couple of training sessions and personally I aim to get 3 swims, 3 bikes and 3 runs each week including a long bike and long run which builds in time and distance week by week. I'm still working on weight loss which was a bit of a disaster after a gastronomic weekend of fine dining, good British cooking, cooked breakfasts and some lovely red wine. The fantastic cuisine cost me a couple of pounds and the first job this week has been to, as they say on the telly, cut the fat!

I spent an hour and twenty minutes doing circuits yesterday and then today managed an interval session on the spin bike before breakfast, a swim at lunch time and then back into our wee gym for more circuits tonight. My core is getting stronger and the old moobs are slowly getting smaller and wobbly a little less than they did a few weeks ago.

The weather in Fife has turned a tad chilly again and being nervous on the bike I will wait for the end of the cold snap before taking the road bike out of the shed. Meantime I'll continue to work in the gym on my spin bike.

Meeting my brother in law's brother, Max for a run tomorrow afternoon which will be good to get out with someone else who runs at the same speed as me.

We're having a race night and my band, the inimitable Father Jack are playing. It's at the Dalgety Bay Sailing Club on Saturday 11 May with tickets £10/each. It's going to be a fab night with a race night like none you will have been to including live horse racing, water jumps and a huge dice! Father Jack has lined up an awesome mix of classics played in our own style. Usually seems to go down pretty well. So if you fancy a ticket let me know and I'll sort it out. All funds go towards a local Dunfermline Charity called Safe Space - see the side of the blog for details.

If I can do the technology thing I'll upload a track to let you hear us!

Ironman Austria 2007 - The hills are alive......

I got my place at Ironman Austria during Christmas of 2006 thanks to an incredible Ironman, Andy Collier, from London who had decided against racing. Andy went on to complete a deca ironman race which was an incredible achievement.

I had started my bike training in August when I put my name on the reserve list. My big issue was swimming as you will all know by now. I couldn’t swim front crawl, not even a little bit, when I got my race place - the race was on......

Fast forward to Klagenfurt:

We arrived on the day before the race, registered, met a few friends at the athletes briefing and then set about re-building my bike. I went for a short test ride, made a few more adjustments and packed my transition bags. I had never done a race like this before so found the race briefing very helpful. With everything done I set off with Danielle to an Italian restaurant for dinner. We bumped into a couple of pals at the restaurant which was great as we shared our hopes and fears for the race. My personal hope was to finish, my fear was that I would fall apart on the swim. (His turned out to be spookily similar!)

The alarm didn’t need to go off at 4am as I was already awake. The hotel was fantastic and had laid on a proper breakfast starting at 4:15. I shovelled in as many calories as I could, did the usual many toilet visits and filled my bottles. We set off to the start and ignoring the local police managed to get parked 30 yards from transition. I did the usual check of the bike, bags, applied a load of sun cream and pulled on the wetsuit.

I was dreading the swim. The 10 minutes before the race was amazing. A sense of anticipation and excitement was in the air. As the gun fired I stood on the beach and watched 2,221 racers hurl themselves into the chaos of the swim.

Swim (1:47)

Once the mass of swimmers was off and away, I strolled into the water and started at the back by myself. I had decided not to get involved in the bumping and pushing of the mass start and to stay calm, not panic, get into a nice stroke and then focus on beating the cut off. I was fine until about 400m by which time my goggles had fogged up and I bumped into another swimmer. I had managed to catch up with the back of the group. They seemed as incompetent as me. I spent the next 2,600m being guided by people in canoes on either side of the course. I probably swum nearer 4,500m overall because I couldn’t see where I was going! Sighting is an important skill and one I will focus on before my next open water swim.

I ran aground on the beach at the entrance to the canal. The canal was full of weeds and not that pleasant to swim in, but the support on either side was very vocal and it didn’t seem to last that long. There was a steep ramp out of the water that a couple of volunteers pulled you up and it was off to transition. My left leg cramped on the ramp which surprised me but I shook it off quickly. Danielle, my wife, was there to meet me at the swim exit and offer a few words of encouragement.

T1 (11:48)

Off with the wetsuit and on with the bike kit. I was so chuffed that I had got through the swim, I took my time in transition chatting to Symes (the guy I had dinner with pre race) – both slightly surprised we managed the swim. Put in my contact lenses, more sun cream, packed my bag and I was off to find my bike. This turned out to be a rather simple process as the previously full transition area was now deserted.

Bike (6:58)

The cramp on the ramp worried me. I had decided a rather defensive strategy from the start of just wanting to finish but now I was worried that even this goal was at risk. I decided to fuel up on the bike. I had a rather home spun food plan based around my mum’s fruit cake and flapjacks. The artificial bars that are dished out at the aid stations do nothing for me and generally upset my stomach.

By 9am the sun was up and it was getting hot so plenty of water and energy drinks.Quite early I developed a cracking headache and I hadn’t taken any painkillers out – a schoolboy error! The first 20k of the bike was undulating and very pleasant beside the lake we had been swimming in. Then it was off for the first loop and into the hills. There were 2 climbs on the course but it is considered to be one of the faster bike course on the Ironman circuit.

The second climb at Rupertiberg was the biggest climb and I found it a bit of a killer second time around and there were a number of folk walking up the steep sections but with the crowd shouting support and waving flags in your face you had to keep going! The support round the bike course was superb. Every village, even at isolated houses and at the top of every climb people gathered to cheer you on.

The only real excitement of my bike was when the eventual winner went past me nearing the end of his second loop. He was impressive. He must have been doing 45kmh compared to my 27kmh and disappeared into the distance with me 60 miles behind him!

By the time I was on my second lap people were moving into town to cheer the runners and with fewer marshals around I know of a couple of folk who got lost and headed off in the wrong direction! Passed a few pirates (Runners World Triathletes) on the bike and it was great getting the encouragement from some of the folk that I’d met at the pre-race briefing. During my second lap I waved down the medic bike and without stopping asked for pain relief tablets the medic on the back of the bike passed me some paracetamol - I didn’t know if this was allowed but they passed me the drugs and my head cleared.

The bike ride was stunning – the hills were amazing and the sun high in the sky.

T2 (11:20)

Dropped the bike and jogged over to the changing area. On with my shoes, grabbed a hat and some more sun cream and off I went. Not quite sure how I managed to waste 11 minutes in transition!

Run (6:06)

After about 10k of walk and run I began to see more and more people struggling. I put my finishing head on and decide that I want to finish above worrying about a time. So I walked and shuffled the 26.2 miles. A personal worst marathon time by 2 hours but I didn’t care. I knew that if I kept up my shuffling I would beat the 17 hour cut off and finish the race.

The support from racers going in the opposite direction was great and I hooked up with my pal Symes again for most of the second half before he went for his final 7k sprint. We whiled away the time messing up the maths to work out when we would finish! The run goes through the centre of the town and crowds in the bars were entertaining as they became more and more vocal as the beer flowed. It was pretty dark by the time I strolled in towards the end. I had followed this chap who was in a bad way for some time but determined to finish. He was being followed by 2 medics on bikes. He turned out to be over 70 years old and managed to finish the race.

The finish of the Ironman is amazing. The crowds are banked up in terraces, they dance and celebrate every finisher. As I turned the corner, Danielle met me and we jogged towards the finish line together. The announcer screamed down the microphone ‘ here’s John Ma-cle-odd a first time ironman’ and then as the crowd were going mad he added ‘ John Ma-cle-odd, you are an i-ron-man’. It was great. The sense of elation and emotion that was coursing through me was a high I still treasure. I was pretty exhausted but all of a sudden my main concern was getting the medal and tee shirt that proved I had finished!

So I finished in a very slow 15:15. The odd thing is that despite the slow time I still felt a winner. I didn’t ever feel any less than any other athlete taking part even though I was slow and the congratulations that I received from other racers was heartfelt. All of the training was worthwhile for that moment you cross the line.

Post race you have to clear your stuff and bike from transition on the evening of the race which is a nightmare given you are tired and just want to get some food on board. Fortunately because I had broken every rule in the book and dumped the car so close to transition I just pulled the wheels off the bike and threw everything into the car. Danielle didn't fancy driving, she was knackered after a full day watching the race - she assures me it is more exhausting watching than racing! So I drove home and we abandoned all the kit in the car, went into the hotel and grabbed some food and a beer. I couldn't drink the beer and stuck to water!

I struggled into the smallest bath in the world back at the hotel and only realised how badly sunburnt I was. I still have the tan lines from that day!

The Bike Course