City 20 done: Atlanta

When the decision was being made as to where to hold the 1996 summer Olympic Games it should have been clear. It was to be the centenary of the modern Olympic Games and in my opinion they should have been awarded to Athens where the Games begun. Athens had bid to host the Games in ’96 and living there at the time (albeit as a youngster) I still was very much in full support of the bid and used to often wear my bid support t-shirt.

Somehow my t-shirt attire seemed to evade the attention of the IOC and the Games were awarded to Atlanta. I was gutted.

Nonetheless I still supported the Games in Atlanta and watched them when they were on. The biggest memories of the Games include Michael Johnson and his odd looking running style, the bomb, Michelle the Irish swimmer who came out of nowhere and won lots of Gold (since taken back due to doping) and Gloria Estefan singing the official song Reach. What a tune.

So as I started to plan when I could do a run in Atlanta it dawned on me that 3 out of the 4 cities I had left to run in (Atlanta, St. Louis, Mexico City and Rio) were located in North America. What about doing one trip taking them all in rather than flying across the pond numerous times? Coincidentally I was nearing the my 10^th anniversary of working at Expedia Inc. and made the bullish move of asking my manager to give me one month off work to celebrate this fact. They agreed. In fact she commented saying that she thought I was going to ask for three to six months off. Oops. Nevermind, I still got the result I wanted. The planning began. I found a half marathon in St. Louis during the month I had off and snapped up my place quickly. For Atlanta and Mexico City I was going to have to be creative with the events I did as I couldn’t find any official ones that would fit in with the dates. No matter; I had done that before and could do it again. So here was the plan for the month. First, a road trip across the US:

Dallas

Austin

New Orleans

Memphis

Nashville

Pigeon Forge (Dollywood if I’m honest)

Atlanta

St. Louis

Then, a couple of weeks in sunny Mexico:

Cancun

Mexico City

Quite a trip. All of the cities did not disappoint and despite the initial shock of how much fried food there was on offer in the south of the US I manage to stay in shape with the help of hotel treadmills. Having said that a few days in to the trip my foot started to be a little sore. Was it the treadmill running? Was it the walking around cities sightseeing all day? I am not sure to be honest but the remedy would be a few days off training. Ask any runner and this is an unnatural state of affairs. No matter how much I know that rest is sometimes is required it still pains me (more than the sore foot) to take time out of my training schedule. However; I was very good and did so. The result; my foot was fine and would allow me to keep running in Atlanta.

For my run in Atlanta I had researched city running tours like the one I had done in Rome. Bingo. There was one available and the lady that ran them (pun intended) said I just needed to contact her shortly before travelling and we could do a 10km tour around the city together.

So three weeks before setting off on my trip I emailed her to see if the deal still stood. An immediate response confirmed she would have loved to but she was now heavily pregnant and therefore wasn’t doing any tours. Yikes. What to do? She kindly put in me touch with a local running specialist shop called Big Peach Running Tours and they did weekly runs that anybody could turn up to and join in for free. Excellent – I was back on track. After a short email conversation with them it turned out that the night I planned to arrive in Atlanta they were due to do a 6 mile run around the city and I was more than welcome to join.

I was confused by the running shop’s name but it transpires (after a quick Google) that the state of Georgia is known as the peach state due to the importance of the peach business to its economy. Who knew?

On arrival in Atlanta I had time for a quick shower, change and then it was off to find the shop for my evening run. Once I got there the man in charge (Dave) was super friendly and took me under his wing. He asked what pace I would like to run at and introduced me to an equally friendly chap called Nick who would be running at the same pace. Brilliant – I could stick with him and not worry about getting lost. Dave gave me a map and directions for the run but since I had only been in the city a couple of hours my navigation knowledge consisted of the hotel and the running shop which were on the same (albeit long) street so my confidence of leading the run was not high.

Dave then welcomed the group and introduced me to the others as Mike from London. Cardinal sin calling me Mike. Perhaps my face said it all as he quickly corrected himself and then introduced Michael from London. Cue a high five from the lady next to me. I love America.

So we set out into the city. The route took us through the suburbs and parks on the outskirts of Downtown where we had begun. The park and the houses that we passed were magnificent. We ran through the gay district where a couple of the pedestrian crossings had been painted in rainbow colours which I loved and even passed a few churches that were displaying the pride flag in aid of pride which was taking place in the city later in the month. Very welcoming of the churches to do so. As we looped back to return to the CBD the view was fantastic. As dusk was upon us the silhouettes of the skyscrapers lining the horizon was a brilliant sight to see and I wished I had got better photos of it. Nick (and another gentlemen called Larry) were going at a good pace (and leading the pack) but it did mean the photo opportunity stops were nonexistent. I managed to get a few of the city and also a very shaky one of the two of them just ahead of me as I thought I would be good to remember the view I had of them leading me through the city. What I didn’t count on was that at that moment of taking the photo I almost trod on a cat that had been the victim of a hit and run. Fortunately I didn’t have to take the role of the guy who trod on the dead cat when we got back to the store. Nobody wants to be him do they?

As we neared the last mile Nick and I were slightly ahead of Larry and I heard him say something but couldn’t make out what. A few seconds later Nick shouted “see you later Larry” as he had turned off to make his way straight home. I felt terrible as he probably thought I was incredibly rude not saying anything before he turned the corner but the moment (and he) was now gone. If you ever read this Larry thanks for leading me around the city and bye!

Atlanta had been quite hilly and the evening was quite humid whilst running so the water and refreshments at the shop when we got back there were welcome. Everyone hung out (as they Americans say) for a little while although I was too embarrassed to ask them to take a picture of me with my American flag for the blog and book. A selfie in their bathroom would have to do. I asked Nick where would be good to go for dinner and some drinks that evening. His response shocked me. “I’m not 21 yet so I can’t go into bars yet but I hear there are good ones on this street.” OMFG. That means he was only 1 when the Olympics took place in the city.  

That aside his advice rung true and I found some very nice places to eat and drink (because I am firmly over the age of 21) that night to celebrate.

Atlanta had a nice park downtown to celebrate the Olympics; however there were a lot of Olympic artifacts in the World of Coca Cola museum. Coke have been a sponsor of the Olympics since 1928 (the Amsterdam Games) so there were a lot of pins, pictures in the museum which was a fun addition to my weekend in the city.

So it wasn’t a difficult or even timed run in Atlanta but it still counts as my Atlanta chapter I think.

Thanks Big Peach for ensuring I had a run to do and for not getting pregnant!

Ready to go in the hotel room:

The city on our run:

Big Peach Running Store:

Done...stay strong & stay positive:

Nick and Larry (and a dead cat) in front of me:

The Olympic flame from the Atlanta Games in the Coca Cola museum:

Memorabilia in the Coke museum:

Ealing half marathon

Today was the 4th Ealing half marathon.

It was my fourth time taking part. My aim is to be here to race every year and eventually be one of the only (hopefully only) person to have run every year since its birth. Fingers crossed.

It's a tough half marathon and I am in need of sustenance so I will keep this short and sweet:

 - I love being able to walk to the start line from my house.

 - I changed my pre race meal from porridge to Special K, Red berries version if you are interested!

 - I did a quick warm up in the park and was ready to go.

 - The man in front of me resembled Tom Daley. I shall follow him just in case it turns out to be him.

 - The race was started by the family of the man who passed away in the race last year. A lovely tribute.

 - The pace was fast.

 - We climbed our first hill.

 - At 3.5 miles I passed my sister's house where she, my borther in law and niece gave me a high five.

- It was great to get personal support and I ran on.

- Then the hills continued. They seem relentless on this course.

- After a recovery between hills another was soon on the horizon.

- I had met a marathon runner at the start. This was to be her first half marathon.

- I told her the hills were all in the first half of the race.

- At 8 miles another gigantic hill was in front of us. It turned out I had lied to her then.

 - I had a stitch from miles 8 to 9. Not normal for me. Was it because of the Special K?

-  I contemplated stopping for a second.

- I didn't.

- Soon the last few miles were in sight.

- We looped around the areas I know well. Is that a blessing to know every turn or not?

- Sometimes I think it actually makes it harder.

- None the less the finish line came.

- 116th place in a time of 1 hour 23 minutes 51 seconds.

- It was within my 1h 24m target.

- "Tom Daley" passed me at 5 miles and was never seen again. Maybe it was him?

- It was tough but I will return next year.

We're off (chasing Tom Daley):

Last lap of the park. Looks of pain are optional:

Home time:

The result:

The London Zoo 10km Stampede

A run in London Zoo and Regent's Park. Two of my favourite places in London. I was in.

If you look back to August 2013 you will see I have race din London Zoo before, naked. However; luckily / sadly this time I would be wearing clothes.

The race was actually last Sunday but I am behind on my blogging so here is a quick recap:

- I arrived at the zoo bright and early.

- I warmed up by the monkey enclosure.

- It was a lovely sunny morning.

- The start waves had started to fill up but nobody wanted to be in the first wave.

- I was too embarrassed to go at the very front until someone else did. How British of me eh?

- Someone entered the first zone. I followed them. this is the first time ever the start was empty!

- The atmosphere was very friendly.

- A ten second count down and we were off.

- A quick dash around the zoo and we were then out in Regent's Park for three laps.

- I was in 4th place.

- The park is beautiful and it was fantastic watching it come to life as time went on.

- I held 4th place until 900m to go and then I was overtaken.

- I couldn't claw it back.

- We entered the zoo again for the last few hundred meters.

- 5th place was mine in a time of 38m 20s.

- The 4 ahead of me were all in their twenties so should have beaten me. Jealous much?!

- Not my best performance ever but a great run to take part in none the less.

- We got to spend the rest of the day in the Zoo which was a bonus.

- Penguins, tigers, meerkats and monkeys followed. You know the drill when in the zoo!

A beautiful morning walk to the zoo:

Confirmation of what I needed to do once I got inside the zoo:

No, you go first. No, you should go in front of me.....

Under the watchful eye of the polar bear:

We're off:

Almost there:

Crossing the line:

Back to where I warmed up with the monkeys, with the medal this time:

Post run play time:

The stunning example of art deco architecture in the form of the original penguin pool:

Parkrun with a difference

On the 12th September I did the Northala Fields Parkrun in London.

But you've run that before I hear you cry. Why yes; but this time there was a difference. I would be pushing my niece around the 5km course in her running buggy.

The run went something like this:

 - I got to the park and met my sister and niece.
 - My niece looked super cute with her hair in bunches.
 - The three of us lined up at the very back of the start group.
 - We set off.
 - I found it was easier than I thought to run with a buggy.
 - We overtook a few people.
 - We overtook a few more. They all congratulated us on our pace.
 - Before long we were near the leaders of the pack.
 - Jessica seemed to be enjoying the speed and shook her head to make her bunches blow in the wind.
 - We were on our last kilometer.
 - Jessica shouted we were almost there. She is a clever girl.
 - We crossed the line in 12th place in a time of 21m 01s.
 - We were pleased :-)

Here's how we looked:

Getting ready to go:

We did it. Jessica didn't get the memo about wearing blue it seems:

Great fun and it was nice resting my arms on the buggy whilst running. 

I hope I get to take her out for a run again soon :-)

Kew Gardens 10km

Today was the Kew Gardens 10km which is part of the Richmond Running Festival. It was the third time the event has been run (pun intended) and the second time my sister and I were back to run the race.

Last year we had both entered and raised money for Alzheimer's Society as our mother was suffering from the illness. We both got PBs at the race and we raised a lot of money for the charity. It was a good day.

Sadly since that day we have lost our Mum but we wanted to return to again run the race and raise money for the charity so that other families can benefit from the research that Alzheimer's Society do on a daily basis. Perhaps we could also break those PBs again despite us being one year older?

So we carbed up the night before on bread and pasta, set up our donation page and got a fairly early night as the alarm was set for 6:15am.

Crack of dawn arrived. Sounds filthy doesn't it? That thought aside, the morning actually went like so. Alarm went off. Shower. Dressed. Cooked porridge on the stove (no microwave cheating for me.) Porridge eaten. Banana 1 eaten. Banana 2 eaten. 1 glass of water drunk. Time to leave the house.

We made the short walk from my place across the river to Kew Gardens. It was a lovely sunny morning with a slightly chilly bite in the air due to the early hour. Pretty sure that at the exact same time some hard core party people were also feeling the chill on the night bus home. Or maybe not depending how thick their alcohol blanket was.

We landed in the gardens. A beautiful place and one of mine and my sister's favourite London havens. We dropped our bags off, made a quick toilet stop and soon were at the start gathering area. We had received our race numbers last weekend along with the joining instructions. It appeared that Natalie was in start wave 1 and I was in start wave 2. Without wanting to sound like an athletic version of Mariah Carey throwing a strop I couldn't help but wonder why I was placed in the second wave? Natalie had put an estimated finish time of 70 minutes and I had put 36 minutes. How did that happen?! However; without the need of a Mariah moment we received an email from the race organisers saying there had been an issue with their system and many people had been sent the wrong start wave and in fact our wave start positions were reversed. Maybe a PB was possible then for me?

Quick warm up done and we were then on the start line. Amongst us was a 2012 Olympian and two female GB athletes freshly back from the World Championships in Beijing, Ten second count down and we were off. Kew Gardens is a lovely place to run, especially when it was as empty as it was at 8:30am. It is very flat so it was easy to get into my pace. A slight reality check though when the two GB World Championship athletes sauntered past me chatting to each other as what looked like lightning speed to me! Girl power to them.

That said though I felt good and the mile markers were going past in accordance with my race plan. We left Kew Gardens and were onto the riverside path heading down to Richmond. Passing Kew Gardens on the other side of the fence I spotted Natalie. Perfect timing so we could exchange waves.

The riverside path is uneven but luckily one of my usual training grounds so I knew the sides of the path to avoid. Soon enough we were at Richmond and the park where we were due to finish. Now despite it being the park we were due to finish in we still had over 1 mile to go until the end. We looped around the park and I won't lie, it was painful. The girl that had been tailing me for most of the race overtook me. I started to think I must be slowing down and that a PB would be massively out of sight. However; as we made it into the last stretch I had 50 seconds to make it a best time. I pushed on as hard as I could and crossed the line. 12th place overall. 9th place out of all the men. 1st place out of my age category (35-39 year old males.) My time was 36 minutes 25 seconds. 2 seconds slower than last year so not quite a PB. I wasn't actually gutted. I was pleased because:

1) I am actually 1 year older.

2) It is my best performance over 10km this year.

Natalie also crossed the line in a massive PB of 1h 4m 06s which was brilliant!

So; Kew Gardens is still a favourite race of mine and one I would like to keep as a constant in my annual race calendar.

The only thing missing were my Mum and Dad from the finish line. I know they would have been there to cheer us on and no doubt have treated us to lunch afterwards. It makes me sad that we cannot do that as a family but having Steven, Iain and Jessica at the finish line to jump around (that was Jessica) and take us for coffee (that was Steven and Iain) certainly still made it a special family day.

Thanks to all that donated to our page....there is still time if you want to do it now :-)

https://www.justgiving.com/Natalie-Edwards15/?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=fundraisingpage&utm_content=Natalie-Edwards15&utm_campaign=pfp-share-mobile

Oh what a beautiful morning....walking to the start:

Squinting in the sun. Pre race shot:

Post race bling:

Post race shots:

Jessica loving the finish line tunes. She jumps like no other:

The Pride 10km, London

A few weeks ago Gay Pride took over London. A fantastic atmosphere as always.

Last weekend on 15th August was the Pride 10km in Victoria Park in London. It was my first time getting to take part in the event and I was really looking forward to it. Especially as I was given the coveted participant number 69. Couldn't have wished for a better one!

With Victoria Park being in East London it is not an area I have ventured to frequently (with me being based in West London); however arriving at the park it was clear I should make the journey more often. It's a lovely spot and with the sun shining it was shaping up to be a perfect place and day for a race.

I had my two year old niece Jessica in tow with me which meant that my warm up consisted of us doing some spins together and taking her to see the colourful garlands the start marshalls were wearing. I didn't mind as I wasn't particularly aiming for a top time so the day was all about having fun.

There were around 1,200 people running which meant that the start line wasn't too crowded. I handed Jessica over to Steven and got a place in the first wave. The count down happened and we were off. Three circuits of the park ahead of us.

The group spread out fairly quickly and the first lap seemed to go pretty quickly. Jessica and Steven gave me a good cheer. By the second lap I could hear someone just behind me and we stayed that way all the way around. Steven and Jessica gave me a good cheer this time with some rainbow Union Jacks they had managed to get hold of. On the third lap the breathing behind me got closer (in a non slasher movie way) and the runner slightly overtook me. It was certainly good having someone running at the same pace to keep me pushing myself. I kept up with him and and in the last few hundred meters I pulled myself past him and crossed the finish line with a final cheer from Jessica and Steven.

I placed 23rd in a time of 36 minutes and 59 seconds which despite me not aiming for a PB is a good time and my fastest one of the year. So maybe spinning with a toddler is the way to warm up from now on?!

It was a fantastic event and enjoying a picnic in the park post run was a delight. A lovely day and I was proud to be part of it.

Until next year Pride 10km :-)

Breakfast on the tube. What other way is there to dine?

The best race number I have ever been given:

One more hug before starting:

Action shot:

Post race stretching:

The Highland Games: Perth half marathon

I have been lucky enough to live in the following places:

Athens
Brussels
Perth, Scotland
Newcastle Upon Tyne
London
Sydney

My parents were from Liverpool so I also count this as one of my lived in places since I have spent many a school holiday there during my youth.

So long before my Olympic challenge I had said to myself that I would like to run in all of the above places. Perth was the only remaining one and two weeks ago on the 8th August I got to tick it off.

It was the inaugural Perth half marathon which formed part of the Highland Games weekend. Ordinarily the longest event was the Perth Kilt run...a 5km where participants run in kilts. Fairly self explanatory eh? But this year would be the first half marathon. Kilts were not expected but you were encouraged to wear a touch of tartan.

I signed up. I left London on the Caledonian Sleeper on Friday night and arrived into Perth at 6am Saturday morning. A mere 4.5 hours prior to start time of the race. I have the ability to sleep anywhere so I had grabbed a few hours of shut eye on the train, so much so that I had a panic I had missed my stop. Fortunately I was mistaken and was only at Stirling. It turned out to be a good place to wake up as the sunrise was spectacular.

I wandered through central Perth to the park (known as the Inch) reminiscing about my mid to late teen years spent in the city. It felt lovely to be back.

I registered and picked up my number. I stored my cases and jumped onto the bus to the start line. We were taken out of town to the airport. In the three years I had lived in Perth I had never known there was an airport so everyday was indeed a school day. The race would take us through the rural hills and farms back towards the city with the final approach via Scone (that's pronounced Scoone despite what Shakespeare may have thought when he penned Macbeth) and over the bridge back to the Inch where we would finish.

There were around 300 of us running including my friend Lesley and her boyfriend Alan. I hadn't seen Lesley since I was 19 so it was a real treat to meet up again.

The instructions were to keep running straight until we saw either an arrow pointing us to turn or a marshall told us to do so. There were going to be water stops every three miles. Seemed simple. We all lined up at the start and were given a ten second count down. Off we went. I was in the start of the group and out in to the countryside we went.

The terrain was different to my usual London urban training ground but it was beautiful being out in the sunshine, Fairly quickly into the first mile I felt the leader pull me away from those behind us. As we moved up to the first mile marker I couldn't hear anyone behind me and the leader was quickly going out of my view. He was quick.

Three miles came pretty quickly and the first water stop. It was refreshing. We carried on through a few farms including one where a little dog followed me for a while. I was worried if he trailed me for too long he would get lost but he soon stopped and turned back to the farm buildings. Phew.

We then were running parallel to the river Tay. It was beautiful. As I was on my own it felt like I had the entire countryside to myself. I had never been around this area and I was enjoying the semi trail run rather than the typical road race I am used to. However; as I glanced at my watch I noticed the time creep passed the time when I would expect to hit the six mile mark. Had I missed a turn? I carried on for you a while. The water stop still wasn't there. About another 5 minutes later I was still firmly on my own and was starting to think that I was either going to have to turn around or stop and wait for a few minutes to see if anyone caught me up. Just as I turned the corner I saw a marshall. I felt elated. I was still on track! It turned out that the water station had been a little before six miles and wasn't quite ready when I had gone past. Nevermind. At least it meant I wasn't running off in the wrong direction into the Scottish Highlands.

The rest of the race went smoothly and crossing the river back into central Perth felt good. It really is a picturesque city. Our last few miles were circumnavigating the Inch which was pleasant and despite me taking a slightly wrong turn where a marshall informed me that "you're ganging the wrong way" (I love the Scottish accent) I crossed the line in second place. Much more than I ever expected. I was lucky enough to be given a porridge mixer (a gift from the Perth kilt run in Canada) as well as collecting a prize from the race today. My time was 1 hour 23 minutes 21 seconds.

The rest of the weekend went something like this:

 - Post race cider celebrations with Lesley and Alan
 - Two nights out with a dear friend
 - 4 mate dates in one day (some whom I hadn't seen for years)
 - A trip on the Caledonian Sleeper back to London in time for work on Monday morning

The race was really good fun and I hope they decide to run it again as I would love to come back. Maybe I could even try and go for first place now I know the terrain and route?!

Thanks Perth!

Waking up to a stunning sunrise in Stirling:

Me, Lesley and Alan post race. Their tartan effort far out stripped (the willow) mine:

Collecting my second place prize:

The Great Newham London Run

Today was the Great Newham London Run.

Last year was the Anniversary Run (of the 2012 Games) in the Olympic Park which took us on a 5 mile loop of the park itself but not going into any of the venues.

This year though we would get to finish in the Olympic Stadium. I was sold and signed up.

The Olympic Park for me still holds the excitement of the Games even though it was three years ago. I love going there. So arriving this morning I was excited about the race.

Today was actually a 10km race rather than the 5 mile that it was last year. Luckily I had met someone in the pub a few weeks ago and after a few drinks were talking about running. We realised we were racing on the same day both in the Olympic Park but I was insistent that mine was a 5 mile and he was sure his was a 10km. A quick check on the trusty smart phone and it transpired he was correct. So there is good that comes out of trips to the pub otherwise I could have been searching for an extra mile for the finish line today.

The atmosphere was great at the start line and it is so nice not freezing your tits off waiting for the gun to go off. After a little delay Paula Radcliffe fired the gun and across the line we went.

It was pretty crowded at the start and was a bit of a bottle neck so I didn't get into my flow until we approached the 1km mark. After that I felt like I was on pace. I was hoping for a PB.

The KMs were going by pretty quickly but the heat was getting stronger. I was sweating and looking forward to the one drink stop at about 5.5km. Prior to the drink stop was a run through shower which was a real treat. The park is surprisingly undulating with some steep climbs which were tough in the heat but in my head I just kept thinking that what goes up must come down right?

7km, 8km went by and then we were heading towards the stadium. 9km went past. I wasn't on track for a PB but wouldn't be too far off so pushed on through. We entered the stadium and ran around (the inside) for about 200m. Then I could see light at the end of the tunnel. We turned a corner and hit the track. It felt cool. The crowd were loud and it was impossible not to watch them. As I rounded the far corner I spotted Steven. I waved. The crowd cheered. I felt like and Olympian.

I carried on for the final 100m and crossed the line. Paula Radcliffe was next to the finish line and I caught her eye as I finished. She congratulated me.

So my results were:

Time: 37m 24s
Place: 60th overall
Gender place (35-39 age group): 12th

So no PB (missing out by 59 seconds) but an awesome run and a good result in the heat. It wasn't an easy one but certainly a good 'un as they say.

I have already signed up for the race next year so let's see what 2016 brings?

The Olympic Park:

The finishing stretch:

The result:

The prize:

My last few hundred meters:

The mighty Paula:

A catch up on the last month: London Triathlon & Liverpool Half

So it appears that work has gotten in the way of keeping up with my blog. How rude.

So in the past month I have had a couple of events which I will now summarise briefly.

London World Triathlon

31st May was the World Triathlon in London's Hyde Park. I had entered last year but due to my back explosion (see graphic blog post from this time last year) I couldn't take part. So here I was one year later back to take on the challenge. Except this year my bike had since been stolen so I was on a borrowed mountain bike. Oh well...the bike portion is never my best and I wasn't aiming for a particular time so I was just pleased to be able to take part.

Arriving at Hyde Park there was light drizzle which is not altogether too bad to compete in until I rounded a corner just by the Serpentine and saw a cyclist in an earlier wave take a corner and come sliding off their bike all the way across the road. Ouch. He jumped up and was back on the bike. Good for him although it made me more nervous about the cycle part.

Checked in and all my gear ready at transition my group lined up at the Serpentine to jump in the water...just as the heavens opened. Torrential rain. Not really a problem for me as I was about to get wet anyway but for the spectators that cannot be fun. With the rain easing off we started the race.

The breakdown was:

Swim =  400m
Bike: 15.5km
Run: 2.5km

Shorter than the other triathlons I had done but I was excited about doing it in Hyde Park.

The swim was fun and going past the giant swim models they had in the water was pretty cool. Out of the swim it was a short run to transition and then onto the bike. The mountain bike was ok to ride although the chain was creaking and felt like it came off a few times. It was a pleasant ride though through the splendid surroundings. I fear I may have resembled a Sunday morning leisurely cyclists as there were a lot of people speeding past me; however I was happy to take it slow as on the same corner I mentioned before I saw one cyclist come off their bike on each lap. Safety first for me. Back into transition and onto the run. This was were I could get my own back and speed past others.

I was then in the final stretch in front of the crowd and made my way over the finish line just behind the Brownlee brothers. Just kidding of course. My results were:

Overall: 1 hour 25 seconds placing me 85th out of 239.

Swim: 6 minutes 54 seconds (32nd out of 239)
Transition 1: 5 minutes 57 seconds
Bike: 37 minutes 32 seconds (179th out of 239)
Transition 2: 1 minute 39 seconds
Run: 8 minutes 23 seconds (1st out of 239)

Clear from the above that I am good at swimming and running and clearly suck on the bike!

A good day and I will be back to take part next year as it's such a great event (that's provided I actually buy a new bike.)

Mountain bike to the rescue (thanks Steven!)

Swimming in the Serpentine (in the rain)

Going for a gentle cycle....

Finishing strong!

Done!

Liverpool Rock n Roll Half Marathon

Last year was the inaugural Rock n Roll race in Liverpool. They are well organised events and I have happy memories of running others like Edinburgh and Las Vegas so I was happy to sign myself up for the next Liverpool installment; particularly as they promised me an extra bit of bling in the form of a "Rock Encore" medal for having running the inaugural race and then this years one. I was sold. The race was a few weeks back now on 14th June 2015.

Race preparation the day before took a slightly different mode to my usual. We had a family day out at the beach in Formby enjoying a picnic, a game of rounders and a wander through the squirrel reserve next o the beach. Very reminiscent of the days when we would visit England in my school holidays to visit the extended family. Marvellous. 

Awaking on race morning my legs were a little sore. Who knew a game of rounders in the sand would work so many muscles?!

The start was at the Albert Dock which is just a stunning place to be. I may be biased but Liverpool is indeed a World class city. We started and were on our way along the river and soon up into the town centre. We passed the dog statue thing (Google it) and then through China town which has the oldest Chinese arch in the UK. Through Sefton Park I saw some of my family cheering me on which was awesome (high fives all round) and then on toward the river we went. 

I was making fairly good time and was with the leading ladies when we turned onto the river for a 4 mile stretch back to the finish. As soon as we hit the riverfront I was confronted with the most fierce headwind I have ever run in. It was relentless. It didn't give up for the entire 4 miles to the finish; although neither did I. I knew a PB was out of the question but I refused to walk. I crossed the line just happy to be able to stop! My results were:

 Time: 1 hour 23 minutes 32 seconds

Place: 42nd out of about 13,000 starters

So not a bad performance and rumours were that the wind was adding on about 2 minutes to most people's PBs so I was happy with that.

Plus the bling looked good! Rock n Roll certainly delivered on that front...

Serious rounders game on the beach:

I actually only spotted two of the red squirrels but still a marvellous place:

A mo running in slo mo: