CWTC

This is not a race I’ll remember with fond memories. As they say, “the wheels came off” ………. well during the race it did, literally!

I took the caravan up to Grendon so I wouldn’t have to drive up early Sunday morning. I woke up at 5am for breakfast and there was ice on the car. “Not looking good” I thought. Even the honey (breakfast) had congealed during the night in the caravan and was no longer pourable. It was cold! The lake was just over 12 degrees so the swim was still on. However, I think the race official had just stirred his tea with the thermometer before testing the lake.

The swim was very cold, the transition to T1 was interrupted by bouts of cramp, my wheel came off 500m from T2 and the run was a mixture of straight legged running (cramp again) and final dash to the finish line.

In summary it was all very exciting… not! As you can imagine my time wasn’t anywhere near qualifying, however, had a good run once the cramp subsided. Looking on the positive side there are some lessons learnt from my experience; wear either two wetsuits or full on 10mm dry suit if the temperature in between 12 and 13 degrees and only bunny hop sleeping policemen if you’re sure you tightened the rear skewer up sufficiently.

Andy Roberson

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Two CWTC Members entered the Salisbury Fast Twitch Sprint distance Triathlon (400m Swim,19 mile Bike and 4 mile Run) on Sunday 13th May. Kurt Gunby, aged 17, came 1st in his age group (1hr 28 mins 24 secs) and 16th overall in only his second Triathlon (His 1st was Ringwood where he got a little lost!).

Whilst Persephone Hagan, aged 47 was also 1st in her age group and 2nd female overall (1hr 36 mins 18 secs). The weather was perfect: sunny with no wind, but not too hot.

Both reported good races but, as always, were able to find areas in which to improve! They will now be concentrating their training for the qualifying race, in July, at Bedford, to try and gain a place in the GB team for the 2013 European Championships.

Well Done both.

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Just a small group of hardened Triathlete’s from CWTC made the journey over to Steyning for this year’s ‘long distance’ triathlon (800m/35km/8km)

Unfortunately, one of them was me and I brought my usual luck with the weather with me as it rained continuously and temperatures struggled to 5 degrees.

Luxuries such as being able to see where you were going and being able to feel your hands and feet definitely weren’t forthcoming. This was reflected in some of the transition times people were posting.

Coupling this lot with a 4am alarm call meant it was a tough day at the office which shows the resolve of us Triathlete’s.

Results:

A similarly small group (those that didn’t fancy a 4am start!) had entered the sprint distance race held slightly later (400m/18.5km/4.6km) although the rain had eased slightly, conditions were still pretty awful.

Results:

Well done to all finishers. Those that are considering Arundel Triathlon had best bring their waterproofs as that’s next on my list J

Toby Bigwood.

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Sunday saw at least 15 club members join in on the 75 mile Randonnee ride around the Isle of Wight although some added a few more miles by cycling to the ferry port.

The day started with members meeting in Chichester and picking up fellow cyclist along the way.   We then joined around 2000 other cyclists at the port, (top tip for next year is to get your tickets on line a few weeks before the event) after getting tickets we all boarded the ferry for the 20 min trip across the water.

The signs were not good when the rain started first thing and didn’t stop until were had got about 30 miles into the ride when the clouds ran out of water and the roads started to dry for a while at least.  Due to the rains a lot of cyclists endured puncture’s as Jan can testify with having 2 blowouts (need to invest in decent tyres Jan!!).  We stopped for sandwiches at the Yarmouth check point which was about 50 miles in, a bit of a struggle to get back on the bikes and we were on the final leg back to the ferry and back home.  If you want a challenging but rewarding ride the next Randonnee is in September.

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Last year in 2011, Andy Roberson was the only member of the Chichester Westgate Triathlon Club to qualify for the 2012 European Triathlon Championships. The Championships were held in Eilat, Israel between the  20^th to the 22^nd April in temperatures ranging from 20 to 35 degrees. Competitors also had to cope with the gale force winds blowing from the desert, which from time to time developed into full blown sand storms.

The BTU had 300 GB athletes competing at Sprint and Olympic  distances including elite and paratriathlon.  Andy competed in the Sprint distance and came 10th in the 45 -49 age group. This was his first international event and he was pleased with the result. When not competing there was some fantastic racing to watch, the GB team coming away with 18 Gold medals and a stash of silver and bronze.

His age group race started at 7:20am on Saturday 21^st April with air and sea temperature of 25 and 21 degrees respectively.

Andy’s report - “I was standing on the beach looking out towards the Red Sea, Jordan on the left, Egypt on the right and in the distance Saudi Arabia, planning my swim strategy. The horn went and it was a run and dive into the sea. I’d chosen to use and wet suit, which paid off as I was soon in clear water but not close enough to draft the lead athletes. After 750meters I hit the beach in 2^nd place and sprinted the 500m transition to the bike. I had the fastest transition, even with a wetsuit, but failed to take advantage of this losing a lot of time during the bike mount due to shoe issues. Once on the bike it soon became apparent that the first half of the out and back bike leg was going to be a challenge due to the gale force winds blowing off the desert. By the turn round point my quads were burning and I was looking forward to a fast return, maxing out at about 60kph on the flat. The second transition was slick, matching the fastest time and it was out onto the 2 lap run course which was on gravel and sand tracks. By this time the gap to the athletes in front was too great and I could only close the gap to 10 seconds. It was a great feeling to compete for my country and hope I get the opportunity to do it again some time.”

Well done Andy!

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CWTC got the 2012 Triathlon season underway with 11 club members entering the Ringwood Triathlon on Sunday 15th Apr. It was a stark reminder of early Sunday morning starts with some setting off to the venue at 0545am.

The Swim was 24 lengths of the 25m pool (600m)followed by a 45k bike and finishing off with a 10k run.

The sun was shining but it was bitterly cold on the cycle although cycling through the New Forrest was idyllic however the cyclists had to ensure that they did not get caught up in another cycle ride which was taking place on the same day, the new forest was awash with cycles!!

The Golden Compass award goes jointly to Stuart, Kurt and Steve for going the wrong way on the run, they did however manage to get back on track and finish the race albeit a few minutes longer than anticipated.

It was a good start to the season with 5 members getting a top 3 age group position, a total of 168 Triathletes took part in the race so getting a podium position is a very good achievement.

Some people have been known to say that doing this kind of sport can be dangerous, however on this occasion it was the spectators who came-a-cropper when Sue (Gareth’s mum) fell over a dog and managed to break her leg, she was seen to by the ambulance crew and whisked away to Salisbury hospital, hope you get well soon and are not in too much discomfort. In addition to this Freddy (Gareth’s Nephew) fell into an already smashed window and broke it a little bit more; fortunately he was unharmed, I think I’ll stick to triathlon at least only my pride gets hurt !!

Full results are as follows:

Hopefully this has set up the CWTC for a good season.

Del Morton

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Babs, a Park Ranger for 37 years tried to calm my nerves “hey honey, those gators are only the small ones from 3-9 feet and they only eat small deer and ducks … You’ll be just fine”… and so it was … although I did swim a little faster to ensure I was not the one they chose to have for breakfast. Thus began, at 6.15, my 2.5mile swim (1hr 17 mins) in Lake Weir, Ocala … In the boondocks of central Florida on Sunday 25 March. Post-swim there was only a small cycle ride of 112 miles (6 hr 3 mins) and the full marathon of 26+ miles (4 hr 13 mins) to complete … No sweat!!

I had started this madness 6 months previously when Jason Davis said that I needed to build a lot more mileage in the winter. I was thinking 6-7 hrs a week, he meant 14-16 hrs a week. I needed a goal. Hence the half Ironman in January and the full Ironman in March, ready for the Olympic distance (a mere 51.5 km!) triathlon in May and June. In the end I managed 2.5 hrs per day, culminating in 2 big weeks that were 5-6 hrs a day at La Santa. It was like boot camp for my ‘not so tender’ 51 year-old body. Life was a series of aches, pains and strains. A major rethink was required for diet and also switching training focus when any particular area got too inflamed … so if hamstrings played up, I would swim more, if lower neck or shoulder, I would run more.

So, ‘the race’, in short, epic. Indelibly marked on my brain! Surrounded by highly focused and positive people, the feel-good factor was massive. Everyone was hugely supportive and couldn’t do enough for each other: if a piece of vital kit was left behind, it would be quickly replaced by someone with a spare; any apprehensions were shared; everyone wanted to wish you well and all had mutual respect for the hard miles that had gone before the race. The gun went at 6.15. Having eaten breakfast at 2.30am, it was already a long day! The halfway swim point was back at the beach and the half Ironmen competitors exited for their bikes whilst the full distance looped the beach and dived back into the lake. It felt lonely and more like gator-bait for the 2nd lap with fewer of us out there. The water was warm and the full wetsuit probably made it too hot, but added buoyancy. As the wind picked up, so did the waves and the final return leg to shore was choppy. The crowd were brilliant, cheering you on and the team using the speaker system always knew your name and details to share with the crowd at every stage, in fact, all the staff at the 20+ aid stations (drink refills, ice, chocolate marathon bars, carbo gels, sodium pills, crisps, oranges, pretzels, suncream, Vaseline etc etc) knew your name and the positive support was incredible … It really lifted your spirits and a number of families had adopted ‘Paul the Brit’ to support around the course. In fact, one family had a small cow bell and must have stopped 15-20 times on the bike route to cheer us along. I even had Officer Stan Malone, a State Trooper on his Harley Davidson 1100, escort me at my side with blue flashing lights for a number of miles. The police also had traffic cars with lights flashing at all the junctions (which was reassuring given the amount of road kill on the roadside). Despite the brilliant organisation and safety support, one of the runners in our race was thrown 40′ in the air when he was hit from behind and a female US Navy doctor I cycled with for 5-6 miles was hit by a wing mirror, but got back on her bike, having self-assessed that she was only bruised with nothing broken, and finished the race!

The enduring memory for the bike route was the amazing beauty of the country. It was in the boondocks, with most traffic signs having bullet holes (think of Deliverance – no punctures wanted here!), but interspersed with lakes and farms. The hanging moss, palm trees and amazing array of animals all helped take the mind away from the building pain. It was also hot, damned hot! Forecast of 88-90 were thankfully exaggerated … Only 86 degrees! Humidity was also in the 80s, so training in the British winter had not helped, although using an indoor bike trainer and a pre-race camp in Lanzarote had got my body partly prepared. With 114.5 miles done, I was finally off the saddle and strangely relieved to only have a marathon to run! The fact that it took an hour longer than usual is an indication of how hard it was. The heat really kicked-in. Every 1.5 miles I would put more ice in my cap, down my shorts (!) and drink what little my body would not reject (!). By this stage I had drunk 10 litres of carbo/protein mix, swallowed 14 carbo gels, eaten 3 carbo bars and 2 bananas … anything more than a sip of water would be followed by retching. The support continued to be amazing. Half the course was running through Floridian woods along a lake and half on the roadside. The first 20 miles were steady but comparatively ok. The last 6 were a bit of a blur. My saving grace was opening an envelope from my wife at mile 19 with pictures of the children with messages to cheer me on. It did the trick. I can honestly say, that I enjoyed the last 3 miles, even though I was slower than a tortoise. So, finally, 11hrs 39 mins after the starting gun, I crossed the finish line. I had achieved one of my personal goals – something akin to a mountain that I wanted to climb. The Westgate Tri Club, my wife, family and friends have been truly amazing in their support. Thanks for tolerating the endless absences and strange triathlon Ironman-speak. I was chuffed to come 9th overall and 1st in my age group, but a very modest performance in comparison to a young fireman, Rob Verhelst, who swam and biked the full courses and then did the marathon in full gear … with helmet and oxygen tank. He came in at 1148pm accompanied by what seemed like the entire counties fire fighting vehicles blaring horns, flashing lights and firing hoses …. Respect!

Paul Mansell

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This year’s annual club excursion took 13 CWTC members & 2 spouses to Club La Santa in Lanzarote. For those who don’t know La Santa is a sports based holiday resort very popular with Triathlon training.

On the Thursday everyone made their way to Gatwick airport for the outbound flight to Arricife, Lanzarote. The flight was very good and with everyone seated all around the plane a lot of overhead shouting/talking was going on. The flight was made a lot quicker and easier for some, which might have something to do with the 25 mini bottles of wine which were consumed (between 3 people)!! That may also have contributed to one of the ladies falling flat on her backside at the airport to the amusement of many travellers.

Once we cleared customs we had a 25 minutes transfer to Club La Santa, we booked in and dropped off our bags in our respective rooms before making our way to the Green Bar where we had our first proper meal of the day. The accommodation is basic but good enough to crash after a hard day’s exercise, George however found it difficult to differentiate between the door bell and the light switch and ended up waking those trying to get an early night!!

Keen and eager the following morning we all met up and most went for a 5 mile run which certainly blew away the cob webs. Then it was to the booking office to check what activities we could book for the rest of the day and the following couple of days. A few of the ladies went along to a step exercise which is one of the many daily organised activities. The weather was fairly overcast so we hired bikes for an afternoon ride, some members took their own bikes and were busy putting them together, although our resident bike expert Brian took his bike he tried to keep the fact quiet that he made the amateur mistake of putting his bottle carriers on upside down, however as is customary the club members did not let him get away with it and word spread like wildfire.

Once we all got ourselves biked up we went for a 60k bike ride, the weather had improved making it a very hot ride, and the roads were very smooth and undulating. We only had one puncture Emma being lucky today.

Later we all joined the wellness centre and went for a sauna/hot pool & chuffing cold pool, a perfect way to relax after a hard days exercise. In the evening we all went to the pool bar for evening meal, undoubtedly we were the loudest group there.

On Saturday we started the morning with a 2 hour swim session in the 50m Olympic pool, after swimming P and George went for a Zumba lesson they tried to get a few guys interested but to no avail. We followed that with a few hours lounging around the pool after which most of us went on a 54k road bike.

Sunday saw a mixture of activities which included an 8k run, Swimming, Mountain bike ride, 80k and 40k road bike rides, Step classes. Chan took Del on the 8k run, a course which she had done only 2 days earlier, she managed to get them lost before they even left the complex, internal compass gone astray (again). In the evening we all went to a restaurant in La Santa village for a celebration of Diana’s birthday (age long forgotten ). Juan Carlos the restaurant owner did us proud and we all had a lovely meal.

Monday saw Del, Chan, P and Diana go out on a mountain bike ride, Del as is customary had a puncture, also fell off 3 times and has a nice purple bruise to show for his troubles. Andrew Soppitt went solo on a 80k road bike ride. We had a crazy golf competition with Brian proving course knowledge comes in handy having a winning score of 59 at least 10 less than the nearest rivals. Del and Toby had a game of giant chess with Toby coming out as grand master. Gary enjoyed having a boxing session although the warm up was longer than anticipated.

Tuesday saw a myriad of events starting with Del, Chan and Emma going for a run. Steve, Brian, Gary, Patrick and Andrew going on an 80k bike, Pool Swimming and a sea swim with wet suits. P also managed to have a wind surfing lesson. Andy Mathews who was having a day off got so jealous of all the bike ride talk that he went out in the afternoon for a lone cycle! Del and Toby also went for an afternoon ride which was supposed to have been a 30k ride but ended up being 40k due to map reading errors. Quite a few members took the opportunity to do a spot of sunbathing leading to a few funny tans which will be proudly displayed at the next swim session. Fei has become the prize winner for taking advantage of attending the most set sessions, (Yoga, Body conditioning, Step, Fitball, stretch and relax to name but a few but totalling over 40 sessions).

Steve and Andrew were out on a 100k ride when up ahead they saw a peloton to which Andrew said “come on let’s catch them up” speeding up Steve shot off and didn’t realise for about 5k that Andrew had broken his chain and was getting assistance from a group of riders they had overtaken earlier.

On Wednesday we proved how rubbish we all were when the organised mini triathlon took place and none of the club members participated (oh the shame!) everyone coming up with feeble excuses. Del, Chan Toby and P decided to go on a gentle cycle, however Brian, Andrew and Patrick tagged along and then increased the pace to that of the Tour De France. Andy took himself off in the afternoon and did a 100k cycle. Later on were booked the Beach Volleyball court and commenced what can only be described as a very amateurish knock about, with laughs of frustration on both teams.

The final night saw everyone congregate in the pool bar for a final bash and meal. Andrew awarded Del with a Club La Santa T shirt for organising the tour, Chan was given a pair of socks and nose clips presumably for putting up with Del in the organising!! A few Jaeger bomb prizes were handed out too: Diana for being Mum of the tour, Steve for cycling over 400miles, Steve is practicing for the Lanzarote Iron Man in May, having course knowledge we now know it is not going to be easy so good luck Steve.

Thursday morning and everyone had to start packing up and book out, we had to book out at 10am but our transport was not until 4:30pm so nothing for it but to lounge around the pool, although P and Chan still managed an early morning run. A few members also decided to do a swim set in the 50m pool far too keen for some.

Then it was off to the airport and the long journey home.

All in all we all had a resounding and beneficial busman’s holiday and without doubt I will be organising La Santa 2013 so watch out for future emails so you can enjoy the delights of La Santa.

Del Morton

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After completing 3 off road duathlons during the winter I was looking forward to competing on a dry, smooth and most importantly flat surface, Lake Dorney estate. The duathlon comprised a 5km run, 20km bike and 5km run all on closed flat roads.

I arrived at the venue at 7am. The sun was reflecting off the lake, which was like a mill pond and the frost had started to melt away. There was a nip in the air but it was looking like we were going to get perfect racing conditions.

The race registration, for those who know Dorney, was the opposite end to the complex, and so we were able to park 1 min away from transition. This made the logistics of carrying kit, changing, racking, and registration so much easier giving more time for checking out the course and most important on lapped courses, the number of laps required to complete before crossing the finish line. Apart from using my race bike on the turbo during the winter this was the first time out on the bike so I gave it a quick test run to make sure nothing was going to fall off, then promptly racked it and sat in the car warming up with a nice warm caffeine shot.

9:00am came round quick and I was standing on the line with the other 300 competitors awaiting the gun. Race apparel ranged from full waterproofs and thermals (not kidding!) to skimpy tri suits… I opted for the later with an additional base layer and gloves, which was perfect.

The gun sounded at about 9:10 and we were off. I had forgotten my watch so I was running by feel and as I wanted to match or go faster in the second run I focused on a steady pace rather than sprinting off the line. 5km was soon over and I was jumping on the bike for what I hoped was a fast bike.

Funnily enough the bike seemed to be over quicker than anticipated, but I put it down to the training and bike set up, which I felt was perfect. As I came into the transition there were a few indicators that made me think “not many in transition yet… I must be doing well”. Then over the tannoy I heard “Andy Roberson first male into transition”. It wasn’t until I got onto the run and thought to myself I can ease up a bit as there’s no one on my heals that I thought I may have taken a wrong turn somewhere on the bike. It was confirmed on the return leg of the run when I saw halve a dozen bounding gazelles (athletes) flying down the course in the opposite direction. I crossed the finish line in a slightly sheepish state, quietly telling the race director and commentator of my school boy error. For those who remember Steyning Triathlon 2011, you’ll know this isn’t an isolated incident, finishing in first place with a course record after losing my way on the run. Oh, and Windsor 2010 on the bike.

However, even after disqualification I was not down hearted. It was a terrific race, albeit a bit shorter than expected and I managed a sub 20 min for both 5kms runs (19:57 and 19:55 respectively) and a solid ride achieving just under 40kph average. As a preseason race and build up to the European champs it was a winner!

Race report by Andy Roberson

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The Wildman Duathlon took place at Hankley Common and consisted of a 10km run , 18km bike and 5km run . After already completing the two previous Duathlons in the winter series my focus was on maintain form and pace during the last 5km. As the gun went off I kept on telling myself “I’ll be catching up with you lot later!” as I was over taken by a steady stream of runners anxious to win the race in the first ten minutes. Of course some would, but I was hoping to reel some athletes in during the final run. After the first lap, comprising of a long steady ascent, 10 metre muddy water dip and two notable hills at the end, I focused on running at my own pace for the second lap. Into transition feeling comfortable I decided to put another layer on as the wind had picked up and I didn’t want to get cold. In hindsight I should have selected a different clothing strategy as I lost 40 to 50 seconds in transition. Out on the two lap bike course, I suddenly realised how challenging cycling on sand was. Not only does it sap your strength, your front wheel has a mind of its own…. as I found out on a particularly loose section of track as I went over the handle bars. On the positive side, sand is relatively soft :J. There were a couple of fun downhill sections with loose rocks, surprise drop offs and ascents requiring a dismount to complete the hills. Coming into T2 I knew I had recovered a few places during the bike and was ready for a quick transition to overtake a youngster who had flown past me on the last descent. Having transitioned well I took 30 seconds out of this youngster, but more importantly confidence was high and I was chasing down my next victim athlete. During the next 4km I ran down 3 or 4 more athletes to place myself about 20 seconds behind another male vet at the bottom of the final two leg sapping hills. I managed to get right up behind him at the top of the first hill but the quads where destroyed and could only hold my position to the finish line. Overall I had a solid race and paced it as planned leaving fuel in the tank for the final run.

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