NiceTri Club
co/ The Rowing Club
St Neots
Cambridgeshire PE19 2BH
2014 catch up... By Tom Stead
2014 catch up...
A bit of a catch up this one, soooo busy, just coming to the end of college, just a little bit of work experience for a couple of months, landed on my feet here, managed to get a spot working with Adam, my swim coach, a personal trainer from GreenlightPt. He knows the amount of training I do, we fit the 'experience' in with the training - so works well.
I have also set up a bit of a monster with iPrintStuff, who would know there was such a demand for bespoke printing on kit that was reasonably priced ;) I set the business up to get money to fund my tri, in fact every penny I make is ploughed straight back in.....
It does mean that I have to juggle a lot of stuff around, especially now that my 'racing' season has started in earnest. Who said it would be easy? If it were easy, everyone would be doing it! To find out my about getting your kit printed up with names, sponsors etc follow this link.
Talent Backer In 2013 I qualified and raced for GB at the European and World Triathlon Champs in Turkey and here in London.
This year I have qualified six times to represent GB.
· Duathlon - Horst, Netherlands
· World Duathlon - Spain
· Euro Triathlon (Sprint) - Kitzbuhel, Austria
· Euro Triathlon (Standard) - Kitzbuhel, Austria
· World Aquathlon - Edmonton, Canada
· Worlds Triathlon - Edmonton, Canada
Even with iPrintStuff going well I would not be able to fund all of these so I turned to Talent Backer, a 'crowd' funding website. I had a campaign with them for 30 days trying to fund Canada and Spain, just these two would be over £2,500 just for flights and accommodation!
To say the campaign went well is an understatement, I've been truly humbled by the donations. Mainly from people I know and out of them loads of fellow triathletes and club members. With two weeks of the campaign to go I reached my target and by the end had exceeded it by £600! It seems people were ok with me eating at these events as well! In all seriousness, a massive thank you to everyone that is helping me compete this year - I really couldn't have done it without your generous support - a cliche but true!
Horst - European Duathlon Championships First off... This was not a race I was targeting, bigger fish to fry and all that and I wasn't in great shape at all for this race. At my tri club, NiceTri, we had outstanding GB representation at this event, with some 14 club members going. Team-mate Kye Liddle thought it would be good if we pooled our resourses and hired a mini bus, word got out and before we knew it Kye had sorted a massive 38 seater coach with some 29 seats taken (more wanted to go but we needed the space for our luggage, the bike boxes filled the 'hold'). It was a great weekend and maybe a bit too much fun was had by all ;)
In the actual race I have to go back to this 'drafting' thing. The stuff you see on the telly with the likes of the Brownlees and Gomez all working together on the bike is OKfor them but in the races we do this is cheating in a non-drafting race. For clarification: It's OK to draft in the swim and the run, but NOT the bike. You would be surprised just how many competitors don't get this.... or are they deliberately cheating? Surly not... As a commentator said on telly while talking about not being on the front you can save about 30% of energy. Anyway I couldn't shake off my tail on the bike and came in 2nd in the end.
NiceTri Sprint Triathlon #1 (1 of 3 in the series) My local and one of my favourites, not only is it a fantastically well organised event it also brings in a great group of competitors, it's a great atmosphere. A lot of this is due to the volunteer marshals that turn out time and time again for these, 2nd to none... Thanks guys.
I know this race well and wanted to do well, so I pushed hard throughout and had a storm of a race and finished on top spot on the podium (well I would have if they had one!) BOOM - WIN!
Posing with my new 2014 Trek Speed Concept!
UK - Quadrathlon World Championships
For the first time in their history this 'little known sport with a big heart' (Not sure who came up with that strap line? ... I prefer the 'when three disciplines aren't enough!) Came to the UK, In Brigg and hosted by Lincsquad who did a brilliant job. This quad by the way was a 1500m river out and back swim, a 7k out and back kayak, a 38k bike leg finished with a two lap 10k run. Race report from the BQA and WQF here, mentions something about a 'machine on a bike'.
I finished 2nd overall by 14 seconds... The winner Steve King, who I was gaining on, looked round and sprinted... So it was game over for me! Well done to everyone that raced that day and a massive hats off to the Lincsquad boy and girls that allowed for some great racing. I did become world U23 quadrathlon champion that day so... BOOM - WIN!
Spain - World Duathlon Championships
Spain, Spain, Spain... What an awesome experience!! Went out with mates and team mates Dean Watson and Kurt Sanders... I met some pretty awesome people out there, including other Brits and loads of foreigners!!
As far as the race goes... It went well! Probably the best Duathlon I've ever raced anyway! Started off with a 5k run around the streets of Pontevedra (awesome place - must go again some time!) which was a bit hilly and twisty, but nonetheless a sweet run course... Came off the run in around 20th place with a high 16... I got to the bike and the pain/fun began! I overtook 16 people in the first 4k of the 20k bike and was left chasing the remaining 3... I managed to catch and overtake the 3 leaders and came in off the bike in 1st place and (it's unofficial at the moment) took the fastest bike split of the day too... SAWEEET! Anyway, at this point, I was in 1st place overall, but was quickly overtaken by the fast 30-34 age-groupers... Anyway, along with my fastest bike split, I became U20 World Duathlon Champion... BOOM - WIN! Pleased with that... And just for the record, I would of also become 20-24 world champ and 25-29 champ if I were in those Age groups... Although there was only 3 seconds splitting us!! :D
It's been a hectic few months, what with working with Adam at GreenlightPT and working at my own iPrintStuff - printing suits and what not, but I managed to get 2 world champion titles in 8 days... Can't say I am too disappointed with that!
Iwould just like to big up my sponsors; GreenlightPT, Tony at the Sport Injury Clinic, NiceTri Events, the guys at Insight Nutrition and my team Corley Cycles/Body Limits Transition!
I promise the next blog will be smaller... I'll try and post little and often :)
Next races:
Brownlee Sprint Triathlon
Kitzbuhel European Sprint Triathlon Champs
Canada World Sprint Triathlon Champs
Chow for now...
I have also set up a bit of a monster with iPrintStuff, who would know there was such a demand for bespoke printing on kit that was reasonably priced ;) I set the business up to get money to fund my tri, in fact every penny I make is ploughed straight back in.....
It does mean that I have to juggle a lot of stuff around, especially now that my 'racing' season has started in earnest. Who said it would be easy? If it were easy, everyone would be doing it! To find out my about getting your kit printed up with names, sponsors etc follow this link.
Talent Backer In 2013 I qualified and raced for GB at the European and World Triathlon Champs in Turkey and here in London.
This year I have qualified six times to represent GB.
· Duathlon - Horst, Netherlands
· World Duathlon - Spain
· Euro Triathlon (Sprint) - Kitzbuhel, Austria
· Euro Triathlon (Standard) - Kitzbuhel, Austria
· World Aquathlon - Edmonton, Canada
· Worlds Triathlon - Edmonton, Canada
Even with iPrintStuff going well I would not be able to fund all of these so I turned to Talent Backer, a 'crowd' funding website. I had a campaign with them for 30 days trying to fund Canada and Spain, just these two would be over £2,500 just for flights and accommodation!
To say the campaign went well is an understatement, I've been truly humbled by the donations. Mainly from people I know and out of them loads of fellow triathletes and club members. With two weeks of the campaign to go I reached my target and by the end had exceeded it by £600! It seems people were ok with me eating at these events as well! In all seriousness, a massive thank you to everyone that is helping me compete this year - I really couldn't have done it without your generous support - a cliche but true!
In the actual race I have to go back to this 'drafting' thing. The stuff you see on the telly with the likes of the Brownlees and Gomez all working together on the bike is OKfor them but in the races we do this is cheating in a non-drafting race. For clarification: It's OK to draft in the swim and the run, but NOT the bike. You would be surprised just how many competitors don't get this.... or are they deliberately cheating? Surly not... As a commentator said on telly while talking about not being on the front you can save about 30% of energy. Anyway I couldn't shake off my tail on the bike and came in 2nd in the end.
I know this race well and wanted to do well, so I pushed hard throughout and had a storm of a race and finished on top spot on the podium (well I would have if they had one!) BOOM - WIN!
UK - Quadrathlon World Championships
For the first time in their history this 'little known sport with a big heart' (Not sure who came up with that strap line? ... I prefer the 'when three disciplines aren't enough!) Came to the UK, In Brigg and hosted by Lincsquad who did a brilliant job. This quad by the way was a 1500m river out and back swim, a 7k out and back kayak, a 38k bike leg finished with a two lap 10k run. Race report from the BQA and WQF here, mentions something about a 'machine on a bike'.
I finished 2nd overall by 14 seconds... The winner Steve King, who I was gaining on, looked round and sprinted... So it was game over for me! Well done to everyone that raced that day and a massive hats off to the Lincsquad boy and girls that allowed for some great racing. I did become world U23 quadrathlon champion that day so... BOOM - WIN!
Spain - World Duathlon Championships
Spain, Spain, Spain... What an awesome experience!! Went out with mates and team mates Dean Watson and Kurt Sanders... I met some pretty awesome people out there, including other Brits and loads of foreigners!!
As far as the race goes... It went well! Probably the best Duathlon I've ever raced anyway! Started off with a 5k run around the streets of Pontevedra (awesome place - must go again some time!) which was a bit hilly and twisty, but nonetheless a sweet run course... Came off the run in around 20th place with a high 16... I got to the bike and the pain/fun began! I overtook 16 people in the first 4k of the 20k bike and was left chasing the remaining 3... I managed to catch and overtake the 3 leaders and came in off the bike in 1st place and (it's unofficial at the moment) took the fastest bike split of the day too... SAWEEET! Anyway, at this point, I was in 1st place overall, but was quickly overtaken by the fast 30-34 age-groupers... Anyway, along with my fastest bike split, I became U20 World Duathlon Champion... BOOM - WIN! Pleased with that... And just for the record, I would of also become 20-24 world champ and 25-29 champ if I were in those Age groups... Although there was only 3 seconds splitting us!! :D
Iwould just like to big up my sponsors; GreenlightPT, Tony at the Sport Injury Clinic, NiceTri Events, the guys at Insight Nutrition and my team Corley Cycles/Body Limits Transition!
Next races:
Brownlee Sprint Triathlon
Kitzbuhel European Sprint Triathlon Champs
Canada World Sprint Triathlon Champs
Chow for now...
So how did I do?... by Roy Pearce
A quick massage on the Monday showed the aged body suffered no major damage so I opened up the computer. No more paying day license fees, commitment was called for, so step 1 join the BTF....
Sorry (not really) to all you Anglophiles but my Celtic background dictates I had to join via Welsh Triathlon just a few clicks and membership was confirmed.
Hotel places seemed too be at a premium but I found Llwyn Hall Hotel and booked. Now bear in mind I’m new to all this but the event and venue are magnificent, and for the second year running the weather was wonderful. The swim is an M shape, in salt water in the North Dock. About 800 metres some said.
This is followed by a 27k ride to the outskirts of Cydweli (Kidwelly) along the coast road and a 5k run along the coastal path with a view over Carmarthen Bay. What more could you want, and the sun shone. The event is run by Healthy Life Activities who are a not for profit organisation,
and it attracts a very good quality field.
I am beginning to appreciate nice people do Tri and easy acquaintance was made with loads of new friends. One of whom proudly pointed out Paul Arnold (No. 23), twice capped Welsh 2nd Row, just a few yards away.
So how did I do? Swim was better than the previous week, bike was about the same. Halved the transition times due to better weather and organisation, run was just settling down to a rhythm at 2k when cramp in the left calf ended all hopes of glory. I managed to walk and jog through to the end where you are rewarded with water and genuine Welsh Cakes at the line. And 5 masseurs from the local ColegSirGar were on hand to offer much needed services for free. Gareth even had a go at the suspect left shoulder, brilliant.
The welcome (croesoe) was outstanding and the decision to stay over on the Sunday night as well proved inspirational. It meant a visit to Pembre National Park and late lunch outside a pub with 3 real ales on the Gower Peninsula, could be enjoyed at leisure in the sunshine. After a leisurely breakfast at Llwyn Hall the National Botanical Gardens were chosen over the Red Kite feeding station to be visited on the way home. The Red Kites WILL be seen next year as this is now a must do race and I will be back, who wants to join me?
Here is a short video of last year’s race which is well worth a look.
Tom 'Tris' to secure funds
NiceTri club member Tom is all over the papers as he 'Tris' to secure funds for his GB representation in Canada and Spain.
Tom has been massively chuffed with the level of support he has received form many fellow club members.
http://www.talentbacker.com/talents/view/tom-stead
This is a cut and copy from a recent article By Richard Hughes of the Hunts Post: (apart from the photos)
Seventeen-year-old triathlete Tom Stead has turned to the crowd-funding website Talent Backer to help fund his burgeoning career in the fast growing sport.
Tom Stead has been selected to compete for Great Britain.
Stead, who lives in Staploe, is one of the country’s hottest prospects in the triathlon, as well as the duathlon, aquathlon and quadrathlon, and he has been invited to perform for Great Britain at the World and European Championships at races in the Netherlands, Spain, Austria and Canada this year.
“My sport in general is very expensive,” Stead told The Hunts Post. “The addition of competing for GB on the world stage ups the ante. I have been given some fantastic support behind the scenes with coaching, sports therapy, nutrition and the like. But it surprises many that there is no funding whatsoever that I can get my hands on. Funding is all down to me.”
Stead, who is studying outdoor adventures at Shuttleworth College in Biggleswade, will move to the University of Bedfordshire in September where he will study sports science and exercise practise.
He continued: “I took up multi sport events four years ago. I am a member of the triathlon club NiceTri of St Neots and a recent team member of the race team Corley Cycles who are based in Milton Keynes.
“If I was to choose two stand out events from last year they would be the ETU European Triathlon Championships in Alanya, Turkey, and the ITU World Championships held at Hyde Park in London. The highlight of London was having the fastest bike split out of all 1,845 competitors
“This year is packed full of events. I have a very full race diary and dotted in among these are hopefully trips to the World and European championships in the Netherlands, Spain, Austria and Canada. You have to qualify for all these events, you can’t just rock up.”
The triathlon is a tough sport. Britain boasts some of the best competitors in the world with the Brownlee brothers, Alistair and Johnny, winning the Olympic gold and bronze medals at the London 2012 Games. And, in a bid to reach that level, Stead is hoping to raise his profile with an appeal on www.talentbacker.com.
The website highlights athletes’ talents and encourages investment in their future. Stead’s page is at www.talentbacker.com/talents/view/tom-stead.
But the athlete isn’t resting on his laurels. “As well as training, college and racing, I recently started a small business printing names and sponsor logos onto tri suits and kits of fellow athletes,” he said.
“I found that there was a gap in the market for this service but I fear that Canada and Spain may still be out of reach.”
Toms printing business
Nicetri Club V St Neots Old boy's
Well, it’s official.
A date for your diaries. The game will be during the afternoon, which is a must watch, it's going to be very funny - and probably quite painful for many!
It would be great to have you all supporting your club mates from the side lines !!
So, please bring your entire family that's kids, grandparents, friends, neighbours, countrymen ... you get the gist... and then get your party gear out, spend the evening with the Nicetri gang at St Neots Rugby club - there will be a band and disco.
Come and have a Laugh and joke at our expense as we take on the local Rugby club.
**santa ride**
Saturday 14th December 11:00 meet Rowing Club
You must wear a Santa Suit or be in Festive Fancy Dress (this is mandatory - any poor attempts will be prosecuted)
This is open to all, non members, kids, the lot!
The plan is to meet at the Rowing Club, have a gentle amble through town. The ride will be kept to an easy tour of St Neots...lets bring St Neots to a standstill and cause a RIOT!!....Happppppeeeeee Christmassss!. Then for a beer or 12.
Please note......we are riding on public roads through St Neots so please be sensible in respect of cycle ability, awareness and safety, especially for youngsters!
Thank you and HO HO HO!
Duncan (captain)
You must wear a Santa Suit or be in Festive Fancy Dress (this is mandatory - any poor attempts will be prosecuted)
This is open to all, non members, kids, the lot!
The plan is to meet at the Rowing Club, have a gentle amble through town. The ride will be kept to an easy tour of St Neots...lets bring St Neots to a standstill and cause a RIOT!!....Happppppeeeeee Christmassss!. Then for a beer or 12.
Please note......we are riding on public roads through St Neots so please be sensible in respect of cycle ability, awareness and safety, especially for youngsters!
Thank you and HO HO HO!
Duncan (captain)
Chairman’s Overview 2012-13..... By Paul Ridley
This brief overview will outline what your committee has been working on and achieved during the last twelve months.
We have had six committee meetings and five Club meetings all of which were well attended.
This was the first year in the club’s three year history where we really managed to establish an identity and bring together people of all abilities who wanted to participate in the three triathlon disciplines.
Members trained, raced or just enjoyed the social side of the club and asked for more regular training and social events.
Following on from last year it was recognised that three areas needed to be improved in order to aid the growth and success of the club:
1. Communication – Improve on the existing website, social media and introduce the use of texts and e-mails to inform club members as to what is going on.
2. Club Kit – Supply branded affordable training and social clothing to all club members.
3. Training sessions – Provide more structured weekly training sessions for people at all stages in their triathlon careers.
During the year the committee worked hard on improving these three things. The website was further improved initially by Steve Hughes and then again by Dave Stead who also took on the role of developing the social media side of the club, updating Facebook and introducing Twitter. Weekly texts notifying people of training sessions are now sent out by Club Captain Duncan Bush and this is followed up by a monthly overview of activities via
E-mail. We will still look to improve this over the next year.
We now have club branded clothing including Tri-suits, Cycle Jerseys, Training tops and hoodies. Whenever we are cycling, running or racing now our club can be identified by our bright green livery. Running vests are the next on the list, just in time for the Cross Country season.
The number of dedicated training sessions the club puts on has increased dramatically over the last twelve months. In the summer season we had two weekly cycle sessions, four River swims and more recently a weekly speed work running session as well as a weekend cycle and run.
The introduction of the winter Turbo sessions has once again proved popular with members.
Many of our members also supplement their training by cycling with St Neots Cycling Club, swimming with the Swans Swimming Club and running with Riverside Runners, this is something that the committee hopes will continue to flourish.
Club participation events chosen for the committee in 2013 were as follows:
1. NiceTri sprint triathlon in May
2. National Club Relays Nottingham held in August
3. Dorney Lakes Triathlons end of September
The highlight of these events was the National Club Relays in Nottingham. NiceTri had ten teams and forty people taking part. I believe we had the largest number of competitors from any one club on the Saturday and to top it all we had a first and third place for two of our teams. A great fun event that the committee felt really raised the profile of the club as well as giving the club an even bigger feel good factor.
Now that the club is looking forward to its third official year and it has many reasons to be proud.
Membership has now grown to over eighty people with a good mix of ladies, men, younger and new club members.
Feedback from club members is that the club is supportive, friendly and above all a fun place to be.
For a club of less than one hundred members we have had great success with members qualifying to represent their country both in European and World events.
Sprint Triathlon Tom Stead, Richard Hancock, Emma Ritchie, Mick Lawrence, Ed Porteus, Chris Ritchie.
Middle Distance Triathlon– Duncan Bush.
Duathlon – Les Thomas, Kye Liddle, Tom Stead and Ian Turner.
Aquathlon – Tom Stead
Apologies if I have missed anyone from the list.
We have also had the following people undertaking their first Iron Distance events this year.
Duncan Bush, Keith Ritchie, Keith Pritchard, Lucy Bush, Steve Childerly, Phil Laycock, Neil Stevenson, Paul Newell, Chell Ritchie, Steve Hughes , Darren Preston ,Michaela and myself. Then of course we have double Iron Man Gary Wale.
Just as important we had sixteen club members complete their first triathlon, well done to all of them. The committee offers its congratulations to all the club members on their personal achievements this year whatever they have been.
I would also like to thank all the members of the committee for their time and enthusiasm over the last year and hopefully you will agree that they have made a lot of progress in the development of the club.
Finally, your committee would like to take the opportunity to thank all of you, the club’s members for choosing NiceTri and the support you have given through attending training sessions, social events and racing as for the club. The club simply would not exist without you all and it is your enthusiasm and commitment that keeps it going.
Captains round up.... from Mon 21st Oct
• Wednesday Night 18:30 Club Turbo (Duloe Village Hall) £1 members / £2 Non Members – welcome to the sweat fest!
• Saturday 08:00 Club Ride (St Neots Rowing Club) – 40-50 miles (Base Training)
• Sunday 09:00 Club “long” Run (St Neots Rowing Club) – 10+ Miles (will be part/all XC)
See here for our winter Training schedule
Noteworthy
AGM this coming Friday 25th….it’s your time to get involved and even get on the committee?
Great turn out at both speed work and turbo last week, hopefully you’re all seeing the benefits, plus how ALL abilities are being catered for. Keep it up guys and well done!
Weekend Training – really looking for club support here, please come if you can, the more we have the better we can manage speeds, distances etc!
Let’s keep racing over winter….and watch this space for Winter TT’s, Club 5k Handicap Races and Even the odd Grafham Duathalon….muddy, sweaty and dirty?!
Finally….keep those blogs coming in, even if it’s a reflection on your year…..Thanks Team NiceTri!
I’m a triathlete….. I REALLY am!! ... By Mark Lloyd
It’s the 31st December 2012 and I’m sitting at my PC collating all my cycling data for the year – sad eh!! It suddenly dawns on me that I’ve cycled over 4000 miles in 2012 and I’m still a fat b%£$&!”£ - this can’t be right!!
“This year I’m going to make a resolution and I’m going to stick to it” I thought to myself.
I know a few people that have taken part in triathlons, they are all slim, so it must be good for you. I quite fancy that idea – so let’s do it.
This was my first ‘serious’ resolution and I felt proud that I’d had made that commitment to myself.
It’s amazing how all of this changed as I put on my trainers the next day and went for a ‘run’. What the hell have I done!!!!!!????? I put this initial atrocious performance down to the fact that I don’t like running so wasn’t too hard on myself ?
The next morning I was up early and headed to the pool – I can swim, have done for years, how hard can this be?
Goggles on and Bermuda shorts flapping around as I walked to the edge of the pool. Standing there looking very similar to a character from ‘Benidorm’, I looked down the lane. Looks pretty short, this will be a piece of cake.
Dive…………… I’m a swimming god… Front crawl all the way to the other end, I turn and head back. Huge mistake as I hadn’t actually taken a breath yet and was about to find out what gasping for breath underwater felt like!
I emerge approximately 4 metres from the side of the pool in an eruption of coughing, splashing and general panic… 29 metres….. I think I may need to practice swimming too ?
It all sounded lovely and I was looking forward to it.
Unfortunately, it was probably the coldest day on record when I awoke from my restless night’s sleep, so the thought of wearing what can only be described as a lycra leotard was not appealing. I arrived at the venue in plenty of time, registered, racked my bike up and started to lay out all of my clothes; Socks, gloves, arm warmers, leg warmers, t-shirt, spare t-shirt, spare gloves.. You get the idea. My area of transition looked like a car boot sale!!
Looking around I noticed that most people only had a pair of trainers and their bike helmet…. PAH!! It’s freezing, I’ll need all of this I thought to myself.
I won’t bore you with all the details, but the swim was relatively uneventful, but as I exited the pool I kept reminding myself of the rules… “Don’t touch your bike until you’ve got your helmet on”… Out of the pool doors and outside into transition – blimey it was cold!!
Found my bike with relative ease and popped on my helmet and ensured it was fastened. What happened next can only be described as embarrassing… Let’s just say trying to put a t-shirt on over your head isn’t possible whilst wearing a cycle helmet ?.
Eventually I head out on the road and into familiar territory for me. Fast forward 50 minutes or so and I’m back at my car boot sale trying to find matching socks and trainers to put on for the jog around the park. The below says everything I want to without boring you all with more text.
It wasn’t long after this that I discovered the Nicetri Club and after a couple of emails I turned up one Wednesday evening for a ride. I thought that I would start with the ride as I was pretty quick on my road bike as I had been doing it for quite a while AND I did ride over 4000 miles in the last year….
Those thoughts have haunted me ever since!!!
There was a modest turn out and the group was split into ladies and what appeared to be ‘astronauts’ riding space ships – before I had time to choose my group the ladies had gone and I was rolling out of the car park amongst the astronauts. I was used to riding in a group, so was sure I’d be ok. As we turned out of St Neots and headed towards Abbotsley, the mood suddenly changed. Some bloke they called ‘Fatboy’ (who clearly didn’t warrant this name) took up the pace and all I can remember is hanging on for dear life.
Within a couple of miles of leaving Abbotsley I had been dropped ? I knew where we were headed, so I carried on chasing and re-joined the group in Everton – oh how I wish I hadn’t bothered!!!
After three times I was absolutely knackered, so I opted to stop in the little layby at the top where someone called Keith was standing barking instructions and encouragement to us all during the session. I sat there and watched as people just kept coming past. Up and down they went. It was relentless.
As the group in the layby grew, I became more aware of one particular ‘astronaut’ – he just kept going and going, almost getting faster with each rep. He was clearly extremely mental and also a machine!!! You guessed it, I’d just met Duncan ?
The ride home turned out to be even more ridiculous as the ride to the hill session. Apparently we were going to ‘chain gang’ at about 20-21mph all the way back to St Neots. As my speedo clocked over the 30mph point again, I literally blew up and had to back off… I had been dropped again ?
That ride back to St Neots was a pivotal one for me. Two thoughts were in my mind constantly:
1. This is a joke, I’m useless, why am I bothering
2. Wow, these guys are awesome, who better to train with
Still toying with these thoughts on the drive home, it was borderline that I’d see any of these mental people ever again!!
That evening I received a couple of messages via Facebook which made my mind up for me – they were from the Club Captain – that astronaut, machine bloke from earlier (Duncan) Never have kind and encouraging words been more needed I can tell you!!!
Roll on until the present day…
I’ve completed four Sprint Triathlons and my first Olympic distance on Sunday (yes I’m still aching as I write this).
The Nicetri Club is truly awesome, like anything, it is the people that make it. You’d think that having numerous members eligible to wear a GB vest would cause things to being ‘cliquey’ and that there would be an amount of arrogance around – but there is absolutely none of this in the club, everyone is so very helpful and always happy to offer advice (or take the p155 (Keith)) ?
I’d like to thank you all for the support you have shown and given me over the last few months it is truly inspirational.
Special thanks to Duncan for giving me a kick up the arse during the last couple of months, Lucy for her smiles that I’m sure have kept us all going through the pain, the Ritchie ‘clan’ for their support, experience, banter and cake, the ‘ginger’ one for falling off her bike on my first ever session and making me feel so much better about myself..
Unfortunately for you guys I can now look in the mirror and say; “I’m a triathlete, I REALLY am” – which means I’ll be sticking around!!
Battle of the Year.... part two by Ben Hall
Battle of the year - The pressure of expectation.So I should start this by firstly introducing myself as if you were not one of the original Nice Tri members you may not know who I am.
My name is Ben and I am the current club treasurer, however I'm best known for being the 'King of Tapering' and my efforts to 'peak' for the 1 race I do each year. (Club Relays) Regrettably though, more recently for going out drinking until 3am the night before this year’s club relays....
And quickly moving on, 2013 would be the year for change, this would be the year I would break the stigma and do a second race! Nice Tri Sprint 2 on Sunday 8th September.
Only 2 weeks after the club relays this would be sure to raise some eyebrows! Though before we get to the race though let us rewind to how we got to this point.
Banter - an exchange of light, playful, teasing remarks; good-natured raillery.
This should possibly be reworked to include - The moment when any of the above leads to poor decision making.
A trap a naive Chris Viggars found himself in after 5 pints and claiming he could complete the St. Neots Nicetri course in 1hour and 20minutes. An impressive claim from a man who’s only current known exercise was the odd game of badminton.
So there we were, a wager of £50 was set and after approximately a further 30seconds of 'banter' had quickly escalated to £150.... easy money and I was laughing, literally.
A few weeks after this Chris came crawling back with his tail between his legs asking to renegotiate the terms agreed. Like a fine young gentlemen (or fool) I offered him a chance to agree a more even wager. Very quickly this was agreed as a straight shoot out between me and him for £50, an amount the victor could use for a few triumphant beverages.
In the coming 3 months I set myself the daunting challenge of going for 2 runs a week with approximately 1 bike a month and zero swimming so not to peak too soon. Something I'm in no doubt all you athletes can relate too when marking your race calendar in January.
Chris had been busy, firstly purchasing the equipment he would need and practicing all the disciplines, It was clear to see he had caught the bug and was determined to cause an upset.
So there we were Sunday 8th September at the Riverside Park raring to go and before we knew it, we were off along with 170 others on the 750m swim. As I exited the swim in approximately 160th place it was no surprise that Chris's bike was no longer racked though with my weakest discipline out of the way the hunt for victory was well and truly on.
After some awful guesstimations by Ed Porteus and Chris Ritchie regarding my deficit throughout the bike, momentary panic had come over me and was I further behind than I thought I would be at this point?
As I came into the bike dismount line, I got my first sighting of the hare. The words, 'Come and get me' as Chris ran past in the opposite direction was likely an attempt to antagonize, but in fact was the moment I knew his advantage would not be enough and it was only a matter of time before I broke his heart.
Nearing the end of the first lap of the run my target was in sight and as I coasted up behind him a quick tap on the shoulder too dash his spirits and let him know his time running scared was up.
I injected a quick burst of speed to ensure I passed Keith Ritchie on comms. Infront and he could advise the crowd of the key developments in the most anticipated head to head for years.
After an uneventful final lap I crossed the finish line to victory.
A few minutes later Chris had also finished in a valiant effort for his first sprint triathlon.
Swim | T1 | Bike | T2 | Run | Total | |
Ben Hall | 22m 25s | 1m 29s | 49m 18s | 44s | 24m 13s | 1h 38m 09s |
Chris Viggars | 19m 51s | 1m 19s | 49m 52s | 1m 04s | 30m 07s | 1h 42m 14s |
So............Rematch next year?
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