CWTC

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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