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

Zen like swimming....

When I went to the Total Immersion weekend course Jai, the lead instructor talked about feeling at one with the water. Today I felt at one with the water for the first time ever!

The last few swims have purely focused on one thing each length and with me that is usually trying to keep my head in the right position bobbing in front of me looking at the bottom of the pool. So I did a couple of lengths with no breathing so I could focus on the technique issues that I struggle with after which I stopped, gathered my breath and got down to doing a few lengths.

After a few moments I started to count my strokes and because counting is also an exercise that forms part of the meditation I'm doing I found myself beginning to completely relax. I continued counting slowly to 10 and then going back to zero, breathing rhythmically with my stroke and I was off. I forgot I was swimming, I just relaxed and quietly made my way up and down the pool. There were only a couple of other people in at the time but I didn't notice them, I was gone, off in another world, a better world where I was born to swim and felt released and entirely free. It felt like yoga / meditation in the water and was without doubt one of the most relaxing and enjoyable experiences I have enjoyed in a while. I don't think it was very fast and I have no idea how far I swam but it was a wonderful feeling of peace and oneness with the water that I have never experienced. I think this is the spirit of swimming that Total Immersion is all about but Jai might correct me on this!

If TI has actually released the swimmer in me I will be forever grateful and as Danielle said when we were chatting later the best investment in triathlon to date.

So to catch up the last few days training, I've done more swimming (today was my first zen like swim!), completed my indoor circuit sessions every day and yesterday ran 9 miles in the rain. My garmin was all over the place but I'm sure the distance was correct.

I'm planning a run in the morning and a circuit session later in the day.

Training, as well as being good for the body is good for the mind. I feel much more positive about myself and life generally when I'm training than when I'm not. This positivity seems to generate an enthusiasm for life that I'm sure can be a real pain for poor Danielle and the other people that are close to me. I'm lucky that I have such a supportive partner and she has put up with all of the madness without a word and if I ever need encouragement she is there with exactly the right words to say. I'm a very fortunate man!

In terms of the body I benefit from a low heart rate. Now I had always assumed that this was due to all of the training until I popped in to see Dad earlier in the week. He is 90 as I have mentioned before and for his age very fit. He is sharp as a tack and has the wisdom of Solomon. So in conversation he told me his heart rate has always been low, mid 40's as is my mothers, and therefore my low heart rate is likely to be entirely through birth and not earned through fitness! My mum, always thinks of our best interests, worries that Ironman is a bit OTT for a 49 year old bloke but she remains 100% supportive when I race which is fantastic. Maybe they gave me a genetic leg up to becoming an Ironman through birth - who knows!!!

An Epic Caper in 2010

I've been out training on the bike with Derek again who continues to post fastest times on sections of the road according to his Garmin Edge. These bits of kit are amazing with the ability to record everything from distance, speed, heart rate, height climbed and spit out loads of averages. Combined with Strava you can then compare how fast you are to other cyclist who have completed the same journey - it's not about the bike but about the stats these days!

A lot of our personal bests were set in the period around our failed mission to complete the Cape Epic. The Cape Epic is an amazing bike race with professional and amateur mountain bikers racing over some of the most spectacular and hilly terrain in the Eastern Cape area of South Africa. John Woodrow, a fellow rider from Dunfermline and his partner completed the race in 2011 which is an awesome achievement as it is tough going.

We had gained one of the few places up for grabs exactly one year before the start of the race in early March 2009 giving us 12 months to prepare for what was going to be the challenge of a lifetime for both of us. Derek always has been a great cyclist and a brilliant friend so when he wanted to join me I could not of been happier.

Over the next 12 months we trained like badgers (not sure where I picked that up because I've never seen a badger train!) and we were physically as fit as we had ever been when we set off. The days before the race involved registration in Cape Town, an immense pre-race party where the Scottish contingent ( Derek and I ) got a huge welcome from the assembled teams.

On the morning of the race we were bussed from the hotel into the country for the start of the Cape Epic 2010. A year of training had gone into this point and we were nervous and excited about what lay ahead. 1,200 riders in teams of 2 lined up as the TV helicopters swooped overhead allowing the pilot to display the full array of his skills. There was much hanging around, picture taking and chat with fellow racers. We heard the gun going off and we made our way over the start line - it felt incredible that we had made it, were fit and ready for the challenges that lay ahead.

The first hill was not far away. There was over 2000m of climbing on the 134km first stage and with so many bikes in the chute at the start we were soon frustrated with the stop start nature of the climbing. It was steep and if the person in front decided to stop there was no-where to go so you stopped as well. Things didn't get any easier as we moved into the single track section.

We were moving well when I heard a pop and realised I had punctured. I jumped off the bike, pulled into the scrub at the side of the path and was about to start repairing the wheel when a voice shouted across ' I wouldn't do that there - too many snakes!' You can imagine I had the bike back on it's wheels and over my shoulder quicker than you could say snake bite! I had no choice but to run which with my multi sport background was easy. I managed to keep up with the bikes and after a coupe of kilometres found some space to change the tyre. We did it pretty fast and got back on the trail. We were down in the vineyards and the trails had opened up so it was much easier to get moving.

As we started the next long climb we passed loads of bikes eventually finishing the climb on the smooth tar road that went over the pass. The decent on the other side was exhilarating and we were soon off the smooth tar and back on what we call in Scotland, stalkers tracks. These are rough landrover tracks that allow travel through the wilder hills of Scotland. In South Africa the tracks were full of soft sandy patches that it took some skill to negotiate.

This is when disaster occurred and a rider jumped across the track and caught Derek's back wheel, knocking him headfirst into a wall. When I got to him he was just coming round and completely disorientated. As I was wondering what to do a medic appeared over the hill and suggested he would patch up Derek if I sorted out his mangled bike. The handlebars were at 90 degrees and the damage was mostly superficial with a few scrapes mechanically his bike was ok. Derek on the other hand wasn't in such good shape. The medic walked behind Derek and gave me a signal that it was all over. I was ready to head for the pick up when Derek told me that we were going to carry on and he set off. I hung back and had a word with the medic who told me about the damage to Derek's arm and legs and told me he would keep an eye on us.

We charged off and setting a good pace made our way to the next water point. The trouble started with cramp. Part of the reaction of a big crash is shock and Derek's body was telling him the same message that the medic had shared with me and he shouldn't be riding. We must have looked a right pair as Derek cramped up time and time again, each time me trying to massage the legs and Derek in excruciating pain. He fought on and we completed the last big climb of the day. The relief of reaching a point that was only 25km from the end was evident and we were cheered by the volunteers manning the point as we set off to the finish. The cramps were coming every mile and lasting longer and on top of that Derek's left arm was badly staved and he couldn't brake or control the bike with his left hand.

I realised that even if we did finish today it was going to at the cost of completing the race so at the next bout of cramp I persuaded Derek to call it a day and sadly our race was over. We sat in the pick up truck disconsolate and stunned.

Derek went off to the medical tent and I took the bikes to the cleaning bay. He appeared at our tents looking like he had been 10 rounds with Mike Tyson.

About an hour later we were sitting in the food tent, alone eating what was left of supper when a Belgian racer wandered in and sat down. He confessed to being the rider who had knocked Derek off and apologised for wrecking our race. We had no animosity to the guy, accidents happen and it obviously wasn't intentional although 'beware of Belgians' has become our coded warning if there are any dodgy riders out in the pack!

We decided the next day that there was no purpose in not making the most of the experience so hired a car, found a route and set off to the wine lands!

Every cloud has a sliver lining!

The 2013 race begins this weekend I think and would I go back and do it again - not a chance!

Spring has sprung!

The weather in the last week has been brilliant which has allowed a few trips out on the bike. I took my mudguards off on Wednesday after another 30 miles of continual rubbing drove me mad. I probably didn't fit them properly but every trip out mud gathered between the wheel and the guard. When I finally removed the guards the wee stones that had gathered in the mud surrounding the guard had completed shredded my tyres. So now got 2 new tyres to fit sometime.

This left me with a problem so on Friday I headed out with Derek on the Mountain bikes. It was a pleasant change to be sitting up but you sure notice the difference in resistance between the skinny road bike and the chunky mountain bike tyres. So this week it's been good to start building the bike fitness again with 19 miles on Wednesday, 29 on Thursday, 35 on Friday and 55 on Saturday.

For Saturday's ride I went up to the garage and pulled out the old vintage road bike. It's a Reynolds 531 tubing with shimano chnagers and campag hubs all from the early 70's. I love it! A pal of mine gave it to me a few years ago when he was clearing his garage and I'm now thinking I might get it re-sprayed and refurbished. Shame to let classic engineering rust!

We set off at 9am on Saturday. It was a stunning morning. I had travelled about a mile from the house when an SUV pulled out of the Crossford turn off right in front of me. When he eventually saw me he slammed on his brakes, mine were full on as well, and I squeezed past him with the heat and smell of his engine close to my head. Not a great start to the day. It shook me up especially when you read of another young rider who lost his life in a race yesterday. There seem to be more and more issues on the road with bikers involved in grisly accidents.

The ride up from Dunfermline through to Dunning was just awesome, well apart from the odd icy patch and by the time we reached the top of the climb it felt like a summers day. The decent into Dunning put an end to that as the icy north westerly blast chilled us quicker than a masterchef ice cream! From there we turned and headed to Cafe Kisa in Auchterarder. I consider myself to be quite an expert in the various cafe stops around our various bike routes and can safely say that Cafe Kisa is top of the list.

When we arrived it was pretty packed but a couple of sweaty, smelly bikers can always make a bit of room in the crowd! We got the windows seats and Derek fired up a full breakfast order of bacon and egg roll, a scone and to keep it all healthy some Earl Grey Tea. Not to be outdone I went for the bacon roll, scone and latte option. A belly busting treat!

We climbed back onto the bikes for the trip home rather bloated but the big man was in the mood for the Glen Devon climb. He went off like a shot and I clung on to his back wheel like my life depended on it. He texted later to let me know it was his fastest ever ascent of the climb which didn't surprise me as my legs were toast by the top. I hadn't quite got round to oiling the gears so every gear change on the front cog involved the use of my right heel to return the chain to the smaller of the two front cogs and I couldn't get the back derailleur to change to the smallest back cog so Derek flew off down the hill with me in slightly chilled pursuit.

The ice was still sitting on the top of the river that flows through Glen Devon which surprised me but I suppose the height and lack of direct sunlight prevented the thaw. It was then a blast back to Knockhill and home. It was a brilliant day out with 975m of climbing and a few PB's for Derek.

Entries for the race in August have opened and I'll sort that out sometime soon. The weight loss is still on track despite the bacon rolls and scones and I'm still doing my circuits which I'm loving. I enjoyed a full rest day yesterday which was brilliant but my sinuses have blown up a bit today so may need to take it easy later. We'll see.

Let's hope the summer is not the usual damp squib this year!

The photo is from the top of the Dunning climb looking out towards the Cairngorms. Such beauty so close to home is something I'm continually grateful of.