It's Christmas Time

I thought a quick update was in order before the chrimbo holidays.

Not much on the sports front to report as it's been a busy couple of weeks with birthday parties, xmas parties, client parties and staff parties. A lot of drinking and eating and not much training.  I've tried to keep it ticking over not to loose too much fitness.

My christmas break starts on Friday (Natale's birthday) which I am seriously excited about as I need to get away from the office for a bit.

Realistically this is the last post for 2012 so have a fun xmas break & happy new year!

I'm excited to start the programme in January but until then it is HO HO HO.

RJB

PB, Birthday, Bike Fitting and Death.

I know I have been neglecting my blog over the past couple of weeks but I've been busy with all sorts. Quite a lot of work, a bit of racing, too much wine, not enough training (especially swimming) and family losses. 

I'll do this chronologically or it will turn into an dog's breakfast. 

Race: On the 11th of November I ran the club 10km race in Leatherhead with about 70 keen Clapham Chasers all wearing the blue, green and white. This event has become the annual club race as it was the first race ever entered by a chaser some 7 years ago. Conditions were fantastic for running at 10 degrees C and bright autumn sunshine.  It is a rather hilly course, basically up and down so I wasn't expecting a decent time as I haven't been running much and the fitness wasn't there due to excessive wine  consumption and the justification that I am 'resting during the off season'. 

Anyway..... long story short I ran a time I was really happy with (41.11) so I am on track for that sub 41:00 in 2013. The ultimate goal is a sub 40:00 10km but I am still a way off that one. It was a great day out as most of the Chasers took the organised bus there and back. Unfortunately Natale had to pull out due to a niggling injury but was there cheering us all on. That evening we had our annual awards dinner which was brilliant fun and really interesting to see some people with makeup on :-) Natale got a special award for outstanding contribution for kit and a couple of our mates won best veteran male and most improved woman triathletes. I didn't win shit!

Birthday: 12th of November, best day of the year of course as it is my birthday! We both woke up with a hangover which was kind of expected after the mixture of drinks. 

Bike Fitting: After a superb birthday breakfast - that isn't a euphemism, we were off to the bike centre in Crystal Palace for my bike fitting. This was really interesting and good fun to see the mechanics of the human body on the bike and how everything works together; I know I'm a geek (see pics below). Two and a half hours later and a lot of turbo trainer work I had a road & triathlon setup completed with new saddle and new tri bars. Thanks to the lovely wife for the gift and the patience to sit there for nearly 3 hours. This was followed by a lovely dinner. 

Death: On Sunday my dear old gran passed away :-( She had a bad fall last week and fractured her hip very badly. She went into hospital last week and passed away in her sleep on Sunday morning. She was a lovely warm & kind person and she is going to be missed. I loved you Gran Joan, you had a good innings. 

Time to shake off the cold and get back on the bike and into the pool. We got a training plan to start!

Just more running really.

Wow where does the time go, it's been over two weeks since my last entry. I hope there is someone out there at that actually reads this thing or cares about the useless information it tenders. Who knows.

It's been quite busy on the sports front with a half marathon, park run & cross country being completed by one or both of the Baylys. As it is off season the swimming has taken a bit of a back seat which is
actually very welcomed.  Hammering out lengths in the pool is definitely the least exciting part of triathlon training.

On the 14th Natale & I completed the Oxford Half marathon in a steady but decent time.

• Ryan 1:33 (PB)
• Natale 2:04 (PB)

We spent Saturday evening up in Oxford town in a very quaint/odd guest house and then almost missed the start of the race as I got lost trying to get the car out of Oxford city centre. The entire town is made up of insane little one way roads so once you take a wrong turn you are basically screwed. I almost had a melt down & personality failure but we eventually go to the start line in time. Race was decent but not fantastic as it didn't even go through the beautiful town centre. Strike that one from the race calendar for 2013.

Last weekend I did my first cross country race of the season and Natale ran Wimbledon park run in a new PB, very impressive indeed. I reckon she is going to get a GB outfit before me which would be wrong wrong wrong :-) I ran a brutal cross country race in Epsom Downs up and down a big hill, I am clearly a sucker for punishment. Maybe I am catholic. No I am not.

Off to sweden this weekend to see Matthew & Jessica A.K.A Mutt & Jeff.

Only other news is I was elected onto the Clapham Chasers Committee so pretty chuffed about that.

Serious Weekend Warriors

What a brilliant weekend we had, very full but fabulously sporty.

Saturday morning we got up early to do our 3rd ever park run. They are just brilliant fun and I can't believe we haven't done more of them. 400 people of varying running ability thrashing it around the 5km course, plus you even get free coffee and cake after the race. Check it out here: www.parkrun.org.uk

We both had really good race (2X PBs for the course) and it was very wet and dirty. I really should have taken a pic of us both covered in mud. 

Saturday evening was Simon & Sam's wedding drinks party in Southwark which was a good night out.  We had a few shandies and headed home at about midnight. Not going to talk about the rugby. 

6:30am on Sunday and we were up (hangover and all) to get ready for our 101km Windsor bike ride. We cycled with two other Chasers to Windsor and back and had a lovely day out. A special mention to Natale who now has two 100km plus rides under her belt this year. You really do rock and I am very proud of you. Not bad at all for someone who suffers from back pain daily so no excuses for anyone.  

Five hours later we got back in Clapham hungry and cold. 

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/230981172

The pic is lunch in Windsor. Brrrr.....

Sunday evening we were treated to a fabulous steak at the Cattle Grid. Jason & Nina have just returned from their central asian odyssey and it was so good to catch-up and hear all the stories including getting engaged. Congrats my friends. 

France Photies - at last

Here are the French photos from our first international triathlon and holiday :-)

Chantilly: http://www.flickr.com/photos/22538412@N03/sets/72157631655929637/

Epernay: http://www.flickr.com/photos/22538412@N03/sets/72157631655846744/

Paris: http://www.flickr.com/photos/22538412@N03/sets/72157631656008639/

No race news as we have both taken it easy during September after a long triathlon season. Half marathon training is going well and we are both still planning on running our Oxford Half next month.

Track Day

Saturday was the club's annual fun track day where everyone gets to dabble in track athletic events you normally don't get to do during training or racing.

I decided it was a good idea to do the 100m, 200m, 4X100m relay & the 4X400m Pint relay.
Natale signed up for the 200m, 4x100m relay and the 4X400m Pint relay.

My 100m & 200m were the 2nd and 3rd events of the day and after jogging from the finish line down to the 100m start line as my hardcore warm up I ran both races in quick succession. Thirty seconds later and I had strained my glute so the fun track day was over for me, what a muppet! I really really should have warmed up properly and sprinting 100m and 200m as fast as you can, cold, is not a good idea.
From that point on I was merely a spectator which was actually quite pleasant, just lying around like a lizard in the last of the summer sun watching everyone else run around like crazy people. I am still a bit stiff today but at least I didn't seriously injure myself.

Natale managed just fine (also with no warm up but less mullet behaviour) and ran a great 200m & 4X100m relay. As expected the highlight of the day was definitely the pint relay. 4 members on a team, each person has to down a warm pint of Carling beer followed by a 400m run then high five a team mate and off goes the next person, down pint & run 400m. This was hilarious to watch and brilliant fun. Their team came stone last but they did themselves proud. The key here is speedy beer drinking and not speedy running :-)

Once the blue ribbon event was done it was down to the pub for a few cold beers.

We all had a really fun day in the sun & will be back next year.

Here be pics: http://www.flickr.com/photos/22538412@N03/sets/72157631573395417/

Back at School

Ahh....what a lovely holiday in France; we had it all, triathlon, cycling, champagne tasting, great food, amazing views, beautiful landscapes, decent weather and fantastic art. We had a really fun and relaxing time on holiday and the batteries are recharged for some more London mayhem. I am happy to be back home even though I would prefer not to be at work. The weather is warm the whole week so good times.

I won't go into all the details of the holiday but a special mention for Natale's first triathlon. She did exceptionally well besides getting lost on the bike course. Tsk tsk...
She was the 3rd fastest female swimmer in her distance which is amazing for a virgin, I mean novice. Added to that, even with an extra 5 km of cycling (zero sense of direction) she came 7th in her age group and would have come 3rd was it not for the orienteering practice she managed to fit into her race. Well done babe!
I had a good race and got a PB of 2:22 so I am happy.

After all the wine, cheese and baguettes we are back on the bike, so to speak. We have a lake swim on Saturday then we are doing the club ride to Brighton on Sunday, it's a 100km so should be fun in the sun.

Next major event is the half marathon in October. I can't believe it is already September, it's almost my birthday which means presents :-)

We are also volunteering at the London Triathlon in a fortnight as our club does one of the waterstands and it's the biggest triathlon in the world (I think) so it should be fun & good to give back a little bit.

That's it for now. Back to work everyone, nothing to see.

Some holiday pics to follow.

French Revolutions

It's almost time for our French adventure. Viva La France!

On Friday morning at the crack of dawn we take the Eurostar from Kings Cross to Paris with our bicycles, wetsuits and lycra in tow, lots of lycra. For the next 10 days we are going to be triathloning (I know that isn't a word), cycling, sight seeing and drinking proper champagne.

From Paris we drive our rental car to Chantilly which is about 100km north of Paris. We are both competing in the Chantilly Castle triathlon on Sunday which is hosted in the grounds of the Chantilly Castle, the swim is even in the old mote :-)
It's Natale's maiden triathlon so hold thumbs for a smooth race for the bosslady.

From Chantilly we head out to Epernay which is basically the capital of the Champagne region just south of Reims. We spend 4 days here where we have three, one day cycles planned. Each day is roughly 50km of sight seeing and wine tasting around the region. Each evening we return to Epernay for Champagne tasting and hopefully some fine French cuisine.

Once all the Verve in Champagne has been consumed by yours truly and partner we take the rental back to Paris for two days of sight seeing. My lovely wife has booked dinner in the Eiffel Tower which should be very romantic. A French colleague of mine mentioned that the Louvre is open at night from time to time so hopefully our timing will be good and we can go at night. He claims the Paris night-lights reflect and refract off all the glass and it is something to behold.  Exciting innit.

On Sunday morning we return to London on the Eurostar.

On a side note I signed up to my first half ironman yesterday which will take place in Lisbon on May 2013, scary but exciting stuff. You can check it out here: http://www.lisboatriathlon.com/ There are 15 of us competing from our tri club so it should be a memorable weekend.

That's it. Holiday report to follow.
RJB

London 2012 Olympics - Episode 4 to 8 - typos fixed :-)

And breathe.......

It's all over and I cannot believe it.  I think I am now official depressed even though I am totally inspired by all the amazing feats of sporting greatness I have witnessed over the past two weeks. There is just way to much to go through and write about in this little blog but here are a few of my highlights:

• Seeing Mo Farrah win the 10 000 meters LIVE.
• Jess Ennis winning the Heptathlon and being there in the stadium for the final 800m event LIVE
• Seeing Wiggo win the Time Trial LIVE
• Seeing Alistair and Jonny run past us to win Gold & Bronze in the men's triathlon LIVE
• Watching the USA indoor men's volleyball team play right in front of me LIVE - my adolescent dream team
• Watching the road cycling winner & pelaton come past us at 70kph, so close we could touch them.
• Singing God Save the Queen with 80 000 people from all over the world as Jess Ennis cried on the podium while receiving her Gold medal. 

It truly was a once in a life time experience and I am eternally grateful that we were part of it.

Inspired.com

All I have to do now is get my run time under 30 mins for 10km & I can join the Brownlee bros and Richard Murray in Rio.  You have to keep dreaming hey :-)

Here are the event pics -
Event 4 - Women's Triathlon
http://www.flickr.com/photos/22538412@N03/sets/72157631047124132/
Event 5 - Super Saturday Athletics
http://www.flickr.com/photos/22538412@N03/sets/72157631080115006/
Event 6 - Men's Triathlon
http://www.flickr.com/photos/22538412@N03/sets/72157631094577158/
Event 7 - Men's Volleyball Quarter Finals
http://www.flickr.com/photos/22538412@N03/sets/72157631112022986/
Event 8 - Women's MTB
Coming Soon

P.S. Excuse the typos as I normally write this at work. 

London 2012 Olympics - Episode 2 & 3

Wow Wow Wow...

What can I say besides just throwing out more superlatives. This is just brilliant & one of the best experiences of my sporting life. In 2 days I got to see my childhood Volleyball hero team and watch King Wiggo blow everyone away on the road. 

Tuesday we went to the Earls Court Arena to watch some indoor volleyball, Italy v Argentine and then the big boys of Team USA v Germany. Both games were brilliant but watching the hard hitting Germans agains the super talented USA team was very special. The American team are just fantastic and play such spectacular, clinical volleyball.  The movement for guys 6"8 - 6"10 is just wrong. 

It was great experience and a very long day but we had great seats and I was in sporting heaven. 

Results:

3-1 to Italy

3-0 to USA

Here are the pics:http://www.flickr.com/photos/22538412@N03/sets/72157630881795768/

Wednesday we cycled to Hampton Court Palace where we were lucky enough to see Wiggo win another gold. We had tickets to the finish area so we got to stand against the fence with 300m left on a 44km course, amazing. The ladies race was close as well and a brilliant spectacle. 

Wiggo won with an average speed of 51kph over 41km. That is just so fast & I can only do 30kph average on a 40km time-trial. There we have some perspective now :-) he is a machine!!!!!

Here are the pics: http://www.flickr.com/photos/22538412@N03/sets/72157630881938174/

Sorry I  struggled to edit too many as it is just so good to see the boys n girls in their skin suits on their £10 000 carbon machines. 

Rest day today then Women's Tri and Athletics tomorrow.  Good times.

London 2012 Olympics - Episode 1

Saturday was event number 1  -  the mens road cycling. 

The day started early in Putney where we hoped to catch the boys on their way out for the 250km ride. We had 1 safa and 5 team GBs to support so we cycled to Putney from the house hoping to catch a view of Wiggo, Cavendish, Froome Dog & Daryl Impey.

At about 10:12 the pelaton came past us as we waved our flags and screamed instructions at the boys. Very technical stuff like..GO BOYS GO BOYS..... pace was pretty moderate at that stage as they had literally just started riding. 

From there we got back on the bikes and cycled to Richmond Park where we setup camp on the main drag coming back into town. 3 hours of chilling, picnicking & talking shit about sport sport and more sport we finally got ready for their return. There were thousands of people around us but we were against the fence so we had front row positions. The helicopter was overhead, the crowd went mental and the lead pack came around the corner. I cannot even begin to explain the noise, energy and excitment as they came flying past us (inches away) at 70km an hour. We all went nuts screaming as loud as you possibly can, so much so I almost lost my voice. There was a large breakaway group (which eventually produced the winner, Vinokurov, a superb cyclist from Kazakhstan) and then came the pelaton being lead by Wiggo who was desperately trying to hunt the breakaway down all by himself to set Cav up for the win. Wiggo was in such pain but had a big smile on his face, home advantage and all.

Unfortunately it was not to be Team GBs day but it was still amazing. Those guys are machines! We are DEFINITELY going to the TDF next year. 

The whole experience was unbelievably exciting and exhilarating. Tomorrow we go to Volleyball, I can't wait.

here are the pics: http://www.flickr.com/photos/22538412@N03/sets/72157630818027508/

Braai time

It's 30 degrees out there in London town so there is only one thing to do.

HAVE A BRAAI BRU!

Olympic Torch Relay

T-minus 3.5 days till the greatest sporting spectacle on earth and I cannot wait.

Yesterday evening we got to see the official torch relay pass through our area, which was a great way to get you in the mood, if anyone needed any additional motivation.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/22538412@N03/sets/72157630726247304/

And finally some Upton Triathlon pics:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/22538412@N03/sets/72157630726809546/

Upton-Upon-Sea weekend

Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain plus camping = shit dirty mud.

Saturday was the annual Chasers triathlon event & was supposed to be 50 Chasers competing in the Upton triathlon. Unfortunately the weather was so super crap that 20 Chasers didn't bother to come up from London and the swim was cancelled due to the river bursting it's banks. No kidding, there was debris the size of farm animals floating down the river, actually there may have been some farm animals in there. 

We went up on Friday night and had to put the tent up in the driving rain, we both loved this and there was no swearing about which pole went where and who did or didn't know what they were doing. After getting the tent up we went in to town to find all the restaurants & pubs had stopped serving food at 21:50. Small towns ey, great start. 

So fish and chips or pizza? Not much of a choice the night before a race and after zero deliberation (I was starving and having a personality failure) the pizza option was taken, this proved to be a school boy error. Two kilograms of dough doesn't count as positive carbs for a race, trust me. I may as well have been 4 months pregnant on Saturday.

Saturday was race and party day. The race was turned into a duathlon - 1.5km trail run, 40 km cycle, 10km trail run and actually wasn't bad in the end as the weather did improve for the race. I rode a 1:11 bike split which was a PB so can't complain but the run was really really tough on the wet farm roads, grass and trails. My poor poor long suffering second BossLady Bayly once again did a sterling job and was great support & camera man. Next year she will compete as well.  Defo!

Saturday night was the party in the Marquee which was really good fun and great to have a few beers, unwind and dance to some cheezy tunes with all the mad dronk tri geeks. 

Sunday was pack up and drive back to the big smoke with a hangover.  I think we are both still a bit knackered after the weekend and next time we will definitely cheat and stay in a B&B which was done by plenty of Chasers. Camping in the rain isn't for us. 

Natale is still a bit injured but Raff the sports doc guru is working on repairing her for the French Revolutions holiday. I can't wait as we have three day trips planned around Champagne on the bikes. It's going to be an adventure. 

I'm racing a 10km on Sunday or going for a lake swim with Natale if she is allowed. TBD. 

I will add some pics as there are a few really embarrassing ones. Maybe I'll put those up ;-)

Sun.....Sun....Sun.....please.

My sporting hero: http://www.itv.com/tourdefrance/news/cult-cycling-hero-jens-voigt-talks-to-ned-boulting/

Sh*t Triathletes Say

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KTEgLKhjIw&feature=player_embedded

Oh dear! I say a lot of that stuff now. I'm a tri nerd.

Just a quickie

Great race on Saturday with 50 club members running and totally dominating the race (we won the men's and woman's race). We both had a really good race, I ran a 19.13 (5km) and Natale ran a 25.54 (5km) so a PB for both of us.

Sunday was a TDF day as the weather was way to crap to bother venturing out.

Where is Summer 2012?

Another rainy day, another record rainfall month...bleugh. 


Clapham Chasers Mob run tomorrow. For those who don't know what a mob run is, this is when a club tries to take over a race by having as many people as possible run. i.e. create a mob. Three clubs are competing tomorrow and the club with the greatest amount of competitors in the race wins, simples. We have chosen the Brockwell Park 5km race. We are both going for a PB so watch this space. 


Sunday will either be chill or cycle and swim. 


Super 15 & Tour de France to fill the gaps :-)


Have a good weekend. Quack Quack..

Weekend Warriors

Nothing major to report after the weekend besides a bit of a marathon session yesterday. We both rode to Shepperton lake and back for a swim which was really cool but quite tiring in the wind. 50km round trip and then a decent 2km swim in the very warm lake. It was a really good day as we rounded it off with a fabulous dinner with Jason & Nina in Balham, yummy ribs n chips. 

I suppose the biggest news of the weekend is we have taken over the kit management for the Clapham Chasers. This is already turning out to be a full time job but it great for two really bossy people. 

Natale is also progressing well on the road biking (see above) and will no doubt be a mountain goat in no time at all. 

hmmmm.......ribs...

Richmond 10k race report

What a great weekend of doing exiting sport and watching boring sport.

Saturday we went off to do some open water swimming in Shepperton about 30km west of Colliers Wood. It's a new swim spot and is open from 09:00 -11:00 which is a lot more palatable than 07:00 - 09:00 of most other spots. Getting up at 06:00 on a Saturday when you don't have a race just seems wrong. It was Natale's first foray into OWS and she did exceptionally well even though there was some complaining about goggle compatibility to start ;-)

The afternoon was spent watching the shitest rugby game in history where the boks almost bored the English to death or visa versa, I can't remember as I was slipping in and out of a coma. 

Sunday we did the club race - Richmond 10k - which was a rather tough considering it was pretty flat. We both ran PBs though so one can't complain and Natale had an exceptionally good run and SMASHED her  PB by about 5 minutes. Well done BossLady!

Natale: http://www.trainingpeaks.com/av/VCTFZUQSBSX7AUJ5JBVPGKCIMQ 

Ryan: Tri - Week 16 RACE run by ryanosaurus at Garmin Connect - Details

Sunday afternoon was spent chilling in the pub with the Chasers talking about Ironman and then watching another boring sporting event, England v Italy soccer..zzzzzzz.

No racing this weekend but if the weather is good I reckon another trip to the lake. 

Dambuster Triathlon

What a brilliant weekend. 

Friday we drove up to Rutland Waters near Leicester with a car packed full of Tri gear, 2 bikes and four sports fanatics. We gave one of the Chasers & her boyfriend (Naomi & Nico) a lift up with us so Hansie was packed solid. 

We arrived at 18:00 on Friday evening to find it blowing a gale. The wind was so hectic that the race organisers were threatening to cancel the swim and turn it into a duathlon. Boo!!! That would haver sucked as we all came to do a triathlon. But what can you do besides wait and see. So off we went for a brilliant Italian dinner with 8 of the Clapham Chasers in a tiny little town & I even had a beer or two. 

Saturday morning we got up at 05:00 and the wind had abated a bit. So we had coffee, some breakfast and made our way to the race. Swim was back on but shortened to 1km as the water temp was only 11 degrees. That's cold believe me. It is a BTF rule to reduce the swim if the water is too cold and this was a good thing as you were numb when you exited the water. I had a really good race except for T1 as I couldn't get my wetsuit off for the second race in a row. My swim was good again but I really worked on the bike and run and improved those hugely. As it was a qualifier the level was really pro so I am happy with 32nd in my age group. 

00:16:05 00:02:29 01:19:39 00:01:09 00:40:54 Total: 2:20:18 

Race was followed by a nice mellow pub lunch and then my lovely wife drove us all the way back home to London. 

Sunday was a well deserved lie in and then a decent recovery ride in Richmond park which marks the beginning on Natale's Triathlon training for August. Woohoo! France here we come. 

Once again a special thank you to Natale for being the best second in the world. Period.

Here are the photies:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/22538412@N03/sets/72157630164254130/

Tri time.

Tomorrow at 07:10 I will embark on my first olympic distance triathlon. I'm a bit nervous but super excited.

It's hammer time!

Jens Voigt, what a dude.

http://youtu.be/UncELpyKQLU

Working at the United Nations

This is what I love about London, the cultural diversity in our office.

Last training run before 'The Race'.

I ran to work this morning as my last training session before Saturday's race and I feel good and strong. Hopefully this bodes well for Saturday. 


I'm as ready as I will ever be for my first Olympic so there isn't much more I can do except go out there and get it done. Nervous as hell but I am really looking forward to it now and I've trained really hard so hopefully this will pay off. 


As a footnote: Red wine and running don't go well together, especially if you consume the wine 12 hours before running. 

Jubillee Weekend

We had a lovely weekend away in Wales with Jason & Nina thanks to the Queen's birthday.

Here are some pics: http://www.flickr.com/photos/22538412@N03/sets/72157630081089646/

Have a good weekend.

SA holiday pics

Photies from April holiday finally online.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/22538412@N03/sets/72157630080063928/

Race Report

The first triathlon of the season has been completed and it's taken me over a week to update the blog with the race report. Oops!


Big Cow (great name I know) was my first full sprint and actually only my third triathlon ever. Full sprint means 750m swim, 20km bike and 5km run. It was especially fast and furious being the British Nationals and a World Champs qualifier for New Zealand in October. The standard was insane and I only came 57th in my age group (the top 3 auto qulify) so I have a way to go before I get to wear the blue Team GB lycra suit :-)  As an indicator the top 35-39 age grouper ran a 17.37 run, that is just over 3 mins a km.

There were some absolutely beautiful bikes there so the bike geek could perv to his heart's content.


I had a mixed bag of a race; great swim, poor bike and average run. This was kind of expected as I had only really been swimming due to the knee injury so I can't complain as it was a solid if unspectacular result. 


Total- 01:15:08   Swim- 00:13:34 T1- 00:01:16    Bike- 00:36:48  T2- 00:00:45     
Run- 00:22:43


Off to do my first Olympic distance next Saturday & I'm quite nervous as it's double the distance, I've never swam 1.5km in a race and it is another World Champs qualifier so the athletes will be serious. 


I should have probably chosen a smaller event to do my maiden Olympic event but as the saying goes...Go Huge or Go Home! 


I plan to go huge.

Here are the pics: http://www.flickr.com/photos/22538412@N03/sets/72157630079126554/

Race Weekend

T minus 43 hours till my first race of the season and I'm super excited & ready to go. Not 100% fit yet but the knee seems to be fully healed so I can't complain at all. Rest day today, travel up to Milton Keynes tomorrow and race at the crack of dawn on Sunday.

Enjoy the sun this weekend if you are in London. 

It's sunny, time for a braai.

It's 23 degrees and sunny in London today. What a change it makes from the dreary, freezing, rainy weather we have had so far in May. I'm definitely dusting off the braai this evening and firing it up for our 1st braai of the year. 

Interesting day yesterday on the training front, Natale & I went for a swim in the Tooting Lido (outdoor pool) at 06:00 and it was FREEZING, I mean freezing like 3 degrees. There were people swimming there in speedos, are you for real. I figure they must either be insane or be from Scotland to do that. I pulled the old wetsuit out and used it but it is way too big for me now after a long off-season of training so I flogged it to a nice man from Portsmouth and bought a new one. Triathlon is not a cheap sport. Natale tried her new wetsuit out and was like a duck to water; a frozen duck but a duck nevertheless. 

All good.

Run Baby Run

Let's recap the weekend shall we. 

1. Stormers won the most boring rugby match in history. I know they are a defensive team but damn we need more tries. 
2. Sharks won; great to see an Aussie team get a whipping. A cricket score against the Force. Hahaha. Pocock you suck balls!
3. Sarries lost but we don't have ESPN so I have no idea what happened. It was a rather limp semi by all accounts and it seems the Northampton v Quins semi was the game to watch. 
4. I went for my first run in 2 weeks and everything seems to be in working order. TG as I was going mental and getting really bored of just swimming. 
5. Finally, my lovely wife ripped up the trail in Kent on Saturday and did herself very proud. 59:59 for 10k on a trail run, very impressed. The weather was nice and sunny which was appreciated by all after the torrential rain during the past week. 

Stats: 

Overall position - 592 of 992

176th woman of 441

166th in her category of senior women, out of 400.

Here are the pics: http://www.flickr.com/photos/22538412@N03/sets/72157630079461342/

Rhino Poaching & Weekend Running

Have you read the terrible story of a Rhino mum and her calf who were recently murdered in the Kruger National Park? 

The authorities have captured 2 of the poachers and killed the 3rd which I suppose is some conciliation, although not much. It really makes me sad that our beautiful Rhinos are being murdered because of some moronic Chinese people. For such an intelligent group of people they sure do know how to fuck things up. Don't even get me started on Tibet!

Since January of this year, more than 210 rhinos have been killed by poachers in South Africa, with 130 in Kruger alone, according to official data.

If current rates continue, at least 600 rhinos will be poached this year, far more than the 448 killed in 2011. — Reuters

I wish the SA Govt could afford to deploy more resources to help protect our wildlife but I realise this isn't exactly a priority for them. Very sad. 

If you would like to help support the big guys buy some beads: http://www.rhinoforce.co.za/

On a happier note, Natale runs her 10K trail run tomorrow and the weather is looking more promising. I think I am more excited than she is TBH. Race report and pics to follow and no I haven't forgotten the Kruger Park pics, I am just lazy. 

Sunday will be my 1st run in 2 weeks so holding thumbs for a pain free run. 

Have a good one. 

Good news, no fracture.

After a whole morning of jumping through NHS hoops I finally got my X-Ray done and it is good new,  I have the all clear on the cracked tibia front.
The NHS system is a behemoth but after 2 appointments and 2 hours of waiting I did get a free consultation & X-Ray. I know it is not really free as I pay tax everywhere on the island but it is what we call a freemium in the E-Commerce space - geek.

I'm really happy as a fracture would have been bad bad bad. It looks like it is a bruised bone so I can now go for treatment and hopefully be back running ASAP.

In the spirit of the impending Olympics I thought I would share this cool video:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/olympics/17786279 

Injury Alert!

My knee is really sore, so sore that it woke me up this morning. As you can imagine I am not a happy camper as the triathlon season official starts tomorrow & I haven't really been able to train for 2 weeks now :-(

I'm hoping it is simply a bruised muscle or tendon from sitting on the back of a Land Rover for four days and then 12 hours in economy class.

Off to the sports injury guru tomorrow afternoon so hold thumbs. if you are English please cross your fingers.  Apparently it is the same thing. I found this out 3 weeks ago but that is another story.

Positive vibe for the knee please.

Back to school.

Well we are back in London after our whirlwind holiday in South Africa and I must say I am shattered. Not sure if it is from the reintroduction of my training programme after litres of fine wine or simply being back at work and into the routine.

SA was fabulous, intense and beautiful, especially Cape Town.  I can't say I feel anything for Johannesburg except for the fact that my close family and friends live there & I miss them all. I was quite shocked at how materialistic & plastic the place seems, as they say you either love it or hate it. Cape Town on the other hand felt warm, green and welcoming plus the place really has transformed into an international city and it felt great to be home, especially as a tourist.  

We also spent 4 days in the Kruger Park which was very special. The big 5 were all spotted including wild dogs and a black rhino which was very cool. Pictures to follow as I have 1700 to review. 

Matthew's birthday this weekend & maybe a run. 

2012 Race Schedule

May

• 12th: Trailblazer 10K trail challenge - Natale
• 27th: Big Cow Sprint Triathlon - Ryan 
• 30th: Thames Hare & Hounds, PARKLAND RELAY - Ryan & Natale

June

• 16th: Dambuster Olympic Triathlon - Ryan 
• 24th: Richmond 10K Surrey road league - Natale & Ryan

July

• 14th-15th: Upton Olympic Triathlon Weekend - Ryan 
• 22nd: Elmbridge 10K Surrey road league - Natale & Ryan

August

• 25th-26th: The Chateau de Chantilly Triathlon - Ryan & Natale

September


October

• 14th: Oxford Half Marathon - Natale & Ryan 

We're all going on a not so summer holiday.

So it's off to South Africa on Friday for a whirlwind two week holiday & I must confess that I cannot wait to a) see family and friends and b) get away from the island for a couple of weeks. It has been an entire year now since we have been abroad & almost two years since we went home, so it is well deserved and earned me thinks.


Week 1
8 man days in CPT which will be very special being in our home village visiting family & friends traveling around in our rented VW bettle. Pictures to follow.  


While we have some admin to complete and a flat to view (very exciting), the plan is for some much needed R&R & a bit of trail running mixed in with wine tasting. Volunteers needed!


Week 2
The remainder of the time is up in JHB and is already very busy. We have family birthdays, meeting nephews for the 1st time and then......my first Kruger Park visit. 


Needless to say I am LANK excited.Natale is spoiling me and taking us to a very swanky lodge for 4 days. Pictures to follow. 


So 2 more days of work and then home to Africa. London is where I happily live but Africa will always be my home. 


"Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika"

Garmin Forerunner 910XT

So I never received my watch from Amazon, it's been lost or stolen in transit and I now need to claim a refund. Who knows how long this is going to take to process. 

The upside of this rather frustrating episode is I decided to upgrade (lank) and purchase the grand daddy 901XT instead of the 310XT. Man am I glad I did, this watch is da shit. Swim/Run/Bike via ANT+ heart rate, GPS, accelerometer, altimeter, power support, you name it, it does it all. 

I do think it is quite funny how a month ago I was going to buy a second hand Polar off ebay and I now have the top of the range Garmin. All I can say is I am a very happy man. I know it is just a watch computer but it's awesome! 

Ran with it yesterday and it rocked, swam with it today and it rocked. On Sunday I plan to do my first brick (bike & run) with it and I have even uploaded the GPS route for the run course. Ahhh sports geek bliss. 

I'm not even going to get started on the improved stats you see on Garmin Connect website. 

Nuff said & sorry to waste 2 minutes of your time on my useless drivel. 

Have a great weekend & if you are in Londonia enjoy the sunshine. 

Where is my watch?!?

It is a quarter past five on Thursday afternoon & I'm about to get dressed for my run home. I was supposed to be running with my fancy new very expensive GPS watch that will tell me how fast I am running, how fast I need to run and a host of other seemingly useless pieces of information for non runners. But..... Royal Mail aren't part of team Ryanosaurus so no watch yet. Bleugh! 


Anyone who has ever bought items from Amazon (or any other online store for that matter) know exactly how frustrating it can be waiting for a deliver when it is something you really really want. Online shopping still doesn't have that instant gratification feeling you get from buying an item in a store even if the idiot selling it to you probably knows nothing about said item. Anywhoo, that said Amazon is normally really prompt with deliveries so hopefully it will arrive tomorrow. 


Got the cricket highlights recorded for this evening & I see the bois bowled rather well today. Boya!

P.S. That isn't me in the van and he isn't holding my watch. I think that is a Nokia 2210.

Two Great Running Reads

I've just finished two fantastic running books that I thought were worth sharing. They are both available on Kindle and even if you aren't a runner they are brilliantly inspirational. 


Born to Run 
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Born-to-Run-ebook/dp/B004CFBMRY/ref=pd_sim_kinc_2
This is my favourite and a steal at £3.99. If this book doesn't make you want to run, nothing will. 


Run!
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Run-ebook/dp/B004R1RBIC/ref=pd_sim_kinc_4
From the Ultramarathon Man Dean Karnazes, this gives you an insight into what it must be like to run a 100 mile trail race. Respect!

DIY - Do it yourself or don't

So Sunday was DIY day & the plan was to add the adhesive stencils to the window in the kitchen. These are those opaque prints (see below) you stick over the window so people can't see into your house from the street. 


Now let me start by saying that the 2 of us are fairly good at DIY. We have ripped up carpets, sanded floors, painted walls and ceilings, replaced electrical fittings etc etc etc. So this shouldn't have posed any problems. Oh how very wrong I was.


We got them delivered from the interweb and after unpacking and watching a YouTube how to video I just knew we were going to fuck it up. And of course we/I did. After much bossing, shouting, soaping, cutting, trimming, measuring and finger pointing (from both parties) we made it to the very last stage, which is getting the final water bubbles out. 


Then what does the retard do... I pushed it too hard and the bastard film creased across the entire window. You only get 1 go with this stuff and once you have damaged it, game over. So game over. 


2 hours of DIY on my Sunday and I had a £35 pile of crumpled plastic lying on the kitchen floor. After that I needed a TV timeout because I lost my temper and ruined half my day. 


So we still have 2 windows to do, World War III may start, or I could just pay someone who knows what they are doing to complete the job. I think I'll check out the Gumtree this week.

6 Years & 9 Months

Time to go on holiday.

T20 Cricket - for what it is worth

So the Proteas pulled the rabbit out the hat this morning by beating the Black Caps in Auckland and for once we were not the chockers. I'll be watching those highlights tonight. 

This means the Proteas win the series 2-1. 

I can't say I really care either way as this format of the game is really a bit of a lottery and luck plays a massive part in winning a T20 match. If Richard Levi had chopped the ball onto his stumps when he tried a clip down to third man he would have been out on 12 and would never had smashed 117 off 67 and would not have broken all the T20 batting records on Sunday. But that is cricket in any format I suppose, you ride your luck and make it count. In any case hats off to Mr Levi, you smashed em. Especially that annoying cocky fella Southee. 

All in all I'm still in two minds about 20/20 Cricket. There is definitely the excitement factor but let's be honest, it really isn't cricket. Five days in the field, now that separates the men from the boys. 

Oh and the Super 15 starts on Saturday. Come on Stormers!

Friday Fun

I dont think there is anyone reading this blog but I'm going to write another entry despite that fact. I enjoy writing entries and it is better than Fakebook. As it is customary to write crap on a Friday I want to share a link with you all. It's quite old now but it always brings a smile to my face.

The page lets you play sound bites from my favourite cyclist, Jens Voight. This dude is a legend. He is 40 years old and was still selected to ride Le Tour De France last year for Leopard Trek. That is uber impressive considering the level of talent in each pro team. His quotes are legendary, hence the soundboard. 

http://teamjva.com/jens-voigt-soundboard

Enjoy your weekend. We are running, maybe cycling and eating curry this weekend. 

In the words of the great man: Fuck fuck fuck....ok now I'm ready

Weekend Warrior

So Saturday was my last cross country race of the season and although it was sunny it was super frosty out. I think it was about 2 deg and very icy under foot so it was spikes and lycra pant on! I like wearing lycra. Is that wrong?!?

I had a decent race but went out too fast on the 1st lap so a few guys passed me on the 2nd lap which was rather annoying. There wasn't much I could do about it though as the engine was at full puff. In the end I finished with a 37.42 for 8km which is my season's best. So I can't complain & at least I didn't come last :-)

Post race we went for a couple of beers with the Chasers wich was very cool & we got to see the England v Italy game. We seem to be making some new sport buddies at the club which is marvellous. 

Later that afternoon -while rolling down the hill into Wimbledon- we bumped into a SAFA mate of ours (Alix) who we hadn't seen for 7 years. After a bit of a drunken exchange she offered us 2 tickets to join her in a mate's corporate box at the O2 to watch Snow Patrol. Natale LOVES Snow Patrol so it was a mad dash home for a shower then tube up to the O2. Long story short, the concert was awesome and they are a great band live. So a good day all in all. Video & Pics to follow.

Off to the Monday club run in 30 mins and it is Natale's first long club run so Race Report to follow.

Watch the video here!

Some London pics

Death to Facebook! Hello new world.

So this is my first blog entry. I have just deleted my Facebook account and it feels great. No more pompous self righteous drivel. From here on I plan to write what is on my mind, share some of my sporting ideas and stories and post some personal pics. 

I am no great orator so I'm not expecting anyone to read it, but if you choose to that will be smashing. 

Onwards we march. 

RJB