Global Domination magazine 01

Bridgtown Cona Testa Triathlon Team

Issue 1 October 2009 www.bcttt.com

Global

www.bcttt.com

Domination Magazine

ISSUE No.1

Celebrating the first issue of GD Magazine with a competition to win a years membership to the BCTTT.

HUSTLE WITH HUSSLER

Our very own GB team member tells us how to hustle when the going gets tough

TURBO BOOST!lit

r bike sp u o y t s o o B with our s bo Session r u T r e t in W

CONEHEAD TAKING GLOBAL DOMINATION TO A NEW LEVEL ON THE LONDON PLINTH!

Inside this issue...

BCTTT Club - Whats it all about?

Members talk - the masses speak Transition: The forth discipline

Meet the member Turbo Boost! Winter Bike Training And lots more!

BCTTT

Contents ISSUE 1 OCTOBER 2009

Features 4 CONEHEAD Launching BCTTT and global domination is an afternoon’s work for the SGM

Regulars 9 MEET THE MEMBER Our monthly meet and greet. This month we get to know Mr.....

8 GROUP THERAPY Its just like AA really, we all take it in turns to stand up, introduce ourselves and then talk about what makes us the way we are!

4 THE SUPREME GRAND MASTER Yes, he speaks! Like we didn’t know that already!! In the first of his monthly sermons we g get to see the view from his hotel room?!?

8 HUSTLE WITH HUSSLER Hussler shares his pearls of wisdom this time its all about in-race strategy.

10 GEE WHIZZ Gee Atherton answers the questions and virtually begs us to tell him join our club!

9 REGIONAL CLUB NEWS

Catch up on what’s happening in your area and around the globe

12 MY RIDE Every issue we get a glimpse mpse of someone elses pride and joy....this week its...

13 WIN! WIN! WIN!

Win a year’s free membership to the BCTTT

13 PARKLIFE

Looking for a nice sociable run out this autumn? You could do a lot worse than checking out parkrun.

Global

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MEET THE BCTTT REVOLUTIONARY COUNCIL

Global

Domination Magazine

Subscribe to the on-line BCTTT club magazine email gaz@bcttt.com NOW!

Cover Story Upon a recent tourist trip to London I found myself gob-smacked at the site of our very own Supreme Grand M Master t (SGM) prancing i around d on the much talked about ‘One and Another’ Art Plinth in Trafalgar Square.

The Plinths in Trafalgar Square are normally reserved for great sculptures and artworks but currently you will find the forth plinth occupied by a living breathing person! Each person having exactly an hour to do pretty much whatever they like. It seems that the SGM couldn’t resist the opportunity of free publicity and so took to the plinth in this, his most outrageous cone-based stunt to date. You can catch his hour long performance on the net by pointing your browser at the link below. You will have to whizz past the first 1’45” of the previous individual dismounting the plinth! But it’s well worth a look!

www.oneandother.co.uk/ participants/FASTEDDIE

Welcome

T

his is it folks.

The all new BCTTT club magazine. If all goess according to plan the magazine will serve to accumulate te a months worth off club business and news in one easy to digest hit! The overall success of the magazine gazine will depend largely on you the member, the reader, the reporter and the triathlete! As contributors you will be providing 90% of the content for every issue.

Which if i am correct, will mean it won’t ever be too serious.....i hope it will be a blend of real-world advice, priceless racing tips, and very very dry wit, sprinkled with a healthy dose of sarcasm. I hope the magazine will reflect our collective wish to help and support our fellow members, albeit with a slightly twisted sense of humour!

I strongly suspect most of us have heard or read about each other on the club forums.

This has proven a fantastic way to chat and help each other out, and long may that continue. The forum offers us all a route to take when we need a fast response for example. The magazine will never be in a position to change that, nevertheless i hope you will still find it an entertaining read and one that you look forward to every month.

Brother Gazza Editor (oooh.....get me!)

Global

OCTOBER 2009 Domination 3 Magazine

The Jebel Hafeet mountain road Al Ain, United Arab Emirates

Its a ‘mecca’ to any serious triathlete out in UAE, approx. 2 hours from Dubai. The Jebel Hafeet Mountain Road extends for 7.3 mi (11.7 km) up the mountain, rising 4000 ft (1219 m). With 21 corners and three lanes (two climbing and one descending), the immaculate road was called the greatest driving road in the world by Edmunds.com. We reckon its probably a contender for the greatest cycling hill climb/decent too. But we’re sure you’ll put us right on this point!

Off Season

Training

www.parkrun.com

Fancy some free, no pressure runs? www.parkrun.com is an initiative to get people running, jogging, or walking. For a triathlete, it makes for a great training opportunity, because the runs are guaranteed to be on same time, same place, every week. They are also free to enter. If you're fortunate enough to live within striking distance of one, then you really should go along. They are all an accurate 5km distance, held in parks, so are traffic free. There is often a bit of social activity afterwards, as you soon get to know the regular faces.

You can use them as a benchmark of your progress, you can use them for Lactate Threshold runs (it doesn't matter how slowly you go, because it isn't a proper race). You can use them for practising negative splits, for trying out new kit, our for some speed work.

My local one is in Leeds Hyde Park. The circuit isn't flat, but it is the same each time. And the consistency is great – I've run in sun, rain and snow. I've done a variety of the above sessions, including trying out new shoes, a tri suit, compression socks, a new HRM and so on. It's interesting to run at a constant heart rate, and see how, as you get fitter, you speeds increase – a good measure of improvements in running economy. Of course, you can do all that on your own. But seeing the same people each week gives you a chance to measure your relative performance – how you are doing against your peers, which can be great fun, with some friendly competition too. You'll probably find that there is a league table. But rather than being based on who is the fastest, it's based on age based ranking. So you are likely to find that a 74 year old great grandmother is up there at the top – the run Nemesis!. It's not just for fun runners. Serious club athletes do them too. I just missed running against one Alistair Brownlee last winter, who, for a short time, was holder of the course record. And I did get to lead the women who had, the previous weekend, won the European cross country championships. But only for about 5 metres, before she powered off into the distance, before beating the rest of the field. It's not just for club runners. There will be people walking and jogging it too. The slowest recorded time for my local one is around an hour!

Even if you are going long, there is nothing like a short, sharp 5km run to get some speed into your legs. In the year or so since I first did one, the number of venues has increased (see table below), so there could well be one near you.

What's the catch? Well, it's funded through sponsorship and grants (there's quite often freebies – with lucozade, a sponsor, handing out drinks), but they do want volunteers. You have to register in advance on the web site. And they all seem to start at 9:00am on Saturday morning.

But a great way to shift the hang over.

Submitted by Ian Castle. AKA Jack Hughes

THE DAY I BEAT THE HAWAII IRONMAN There used to be a joke that you could never name a famous Belgian, other than Hercule Poirot, JCVD, and Eddy Merckx. There is another, Luc Van Lierde, he is/was the course record holder for the Hawaii Ironman at a little over 8 hours. He ranks amongst the greats such as Allan, Scott, Wellington, Mccormack. In 2002 the organisers of the Half Ironman UK, managed to get Luc to compete in the race, which was quite a coup as the race was still in its infancy.

So on a very wet and cold September day (temp 13 deg c, water temp 11 deg c), I was lined up (well in the second wave) with one of the greats. After 2 minutes in the water my toes had disappeared, and my hands seemed devoid of their fingers, that’s as well as a brain freezing every time I put my head in the water. The swim was a straight out and back, and on exiting the water I looked at my feet expecting to see blue numbed toes, but instead saw red! The slate on the lake bed had decided it would like to embed itself into my feet.

T1 – numb everywhere (note to self to always put a lightweight jacket in transition bag, just in case). Now for 56 miles of rolling Welsh countryside. The route left Llanberis and dropped down to Beddgellart, before climbing back up the Nant Gwynant Pass to Capel Curig, up to Caernarfon and back to Llanberis. Rain, damp roads, narrow steep descents and plenty of chance to face plant yourself in a nice piece of welsh rock.

Back to transition and the rain had eased along with my numbness, I think I could feel my toes at one stage, but I could be wrong! The run is a straight out and back, down the Llanberis pass to the pub at the top and then back to the finish. By the time I get to the finish, they had finished the presentations, but I discovered that Luc Van Lierde had dropped out due to cramping and cold, he was now a DNF. I don’t have many claims to fame, but at least I can say that I have beat the Hawaii course record holder, there was about 1000+ other people who beat him as well, but that’s only between you and me and the readers!

Jon.E

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6 Domination OCTOBER 2009 Magazine

The BCTTT Revolutionary Council Supreme Grand Master – conehead@bcttt.com Scotland – mac@bcttt.com Brother Conehead – founder of the BCTTT. Has Red Bull flowing in his veins, lives on a secret triathlon volcano island and writes bestselling books on triathlon. Can be seen at various races around the world trying to hold onto the Black Bomber.

Brother McLean is spreading the BCTTT word north of the border. If its Scottish, he’s your man.

Vice Supreme Grand Master – scotty@bcttt.com Wales – cate@bcttt.com Brother Burrows is the vice master in charge of BCTTT global domination when Conehead is otherwise engaged.

The blonde bombshell can be seen sporting pink, causing chaos and riding his bike to destruction at various races around the UK.

Sister Moonshine is responsible for all things Cymru related. If you have any issues – she will wave her magic wand and resolve them.

WAT Executive Officer North West Mrs Conehead oversees all matters WAT related, membership (inc fees). Largely responsible for reigning in Conehead from outragous schemes and ideas. Should only be contacted in extreme emergencies, otherwise don’t. If she needs to contact you – you can usually feel the hairs standing up on your neck beforehand.

Supreme Grand Master Conehead is also responsible for this territory. Oh yeah.....and yes, he is always eating burgers.

Political Officer – ian@bcttt.com Brother Castle is responsible for matters conerning common sense, reality checks and the voice of reason. He is also half cyborg with a newly re-constructed knee – although he doesn’t spend his time trapped in a movie franchise being constantly sent back in time to kill someone called ‘John Connor’.

Europe – jen@bcttt.com Sister Jeppsson co-ordinates the global domination plans for Europe from a fijord in Sweden. Or is that Norway?

Either way the European states are falling like dominoes under the guidance of the Swedish task-mistress.

Lanzarote – messer@bcttt.com Brother Starcher is fronting up things in the Canary Islands – this provides us with an important strategic foothold off the coast of Africa. Brother Starcher can be found co-ordinating global domination from a volcano of his own.

Yorkshire & Humberside – gavin@bcttt.com The white rose county is soon to come uder the influence of the BCTTT via Gavin. Whippets, pigeons, Tetley bitter are all mannner of things Gav concerns himself with.

West Midlands – gaz@bcttt.com When not dodging cars stolen by 8 year olds in the Telford area, Brother Roberts cultivates and manages the BCTTT domination of the West Midlands. Oh, and edits the club magazine. But we’re not entirely sure if he ever does any triathlons.

South West – chris@bcttt.com Brother Dearing is responsible for triathlon global domination amongst all things cider and farming. He works with the region to ensure fairness and quality in triathlon, through total domination.

London – jellybaby@bcttt.com Dubai – fatstu@bcttt.com Stu can be found trying not to melt whilst basking in the heat of ‘tax free-ness’. Its unknown how much global domination can be done – but the tendrils of the BCTTT reach far and wide.

Propaganda – danrice@bcttt.com Brothers Rice and Chapman are responsible for interweb dominaton, using this strange wonder of the modern world – the ‘website’.

Brother Jelly Baby ensures the nation’s capital is under the BCTTT umbrella of influence. With the highest concentration of triathlon clubs and triathletes in the country, the process is long and complicated – but eventually everyone will succumb to the BCTTT influence. Its simply a matter of time.

BCTTT Revolutionary Council Global

OCTOBER 2009 Domination 7 Magazine

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Hill Climb?

London from a bridge! Hasn’t got anything to do with triathlon apart from the fact that lots of us triathlete types swim in this very river once a year in the biggest triathlon the world has ever seen.

One of our very own. Look closely at this picture. This triathlete has by this stage swam 2.4 miles, he’s cycled 112 miles, and he’s 17 miles into a Marathon. He hasn’t stopped. He will complete the distance. He is an IRONMAN.

 Global

8 Domination OCTOBER 2009 Magazine

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World Champions are not two to a penny. They are proven world beating competitors in their chosen field. Here’s one (Gee Atherton, see article on page 10). And yes, that is a BCTTT membership card in his hand!

The mental struggle of IMUK

Global

OCTOBER 2009 Domination 9 Magazine

CONEHEAD

Launching BCTTT and global domination is just another afternoons work for the SGM.

The club website was up and running within a few days!

The site forum is proving very popular already.

o here we are - a living, eating, breathing and global dominating club. An idea on a Saturday morning in July resulted 48 hours later in a fully functioning, BTF affiliated triathlon club with membership cards and a website....how did this happen....?

I've been coaching for over 10 years, and in that time I like to think I've cultivated the ability to 'appraise' situations on balance, whether it's an athlete’s needs or the WAT officers mood. It was that sort of appraisal of triathlon that led me to write a 'certain book'. Coming into triathlon in 2006 I was far from happy with the information available to budding triathletes of all levels, not just prospective Ironmen.

I was bombarded with 'expert' advice which whilst scientifically and technically correct - was anything but 'expert’. As a coach you base everything you do on demands and needs of the individual, not from page 6 of the triathlon coaching manual because

S

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10 Domination OCTOBER 2009 Magazine

that's what page 6 tells you to do. I had no problems finding 30 week Ironman training programmes, but where was the 'fat bald bloke' training programme, the ‘wife, job, kids and hardly any time to train' programme? Where was the human story of triathlon, not a training manual but the story of someone trying to achieve their goals and the catalogue of mistakes they made on the way? I was certain that this book would be of interest because it made sense to me and was obviously relevant to 99% of people in triathlon - if only to serve as a 'how not to' manual, surely someone must have spotted this gap in the triathlon information highway? Not to my liking, so I wrote one and it’s been the 2nd best selling triathlon book overall on Amazon ever since.

That set off a huge alarm in my head - and led me to understand something fundamental about triathlon.

It serves and supports the person wanting to crack 2 hours for an Olympic Distance and has £4,000 worth of bike porn.

The sport assumes we all aspire to get on the GB Every single one of you made this club happen - and team and crack 2 hours for OD as soon as possible without you it all would still be just an idea. all with a BTF referee glaring over your shoulder in Somewhere you can ask any question and get an transition waiting for you to make a mistake. Should honest answer, shared experiences and advice from you actually be a 'novice' then you're looked after in like minded people who are simply trying to find their races by being told to 'stay at the back of the swim way in this sport. A place where coming last is start out of the way' - how is that 'inclusive'? My celebrated! Not pseudo uber coaches or GB team personal experience was that most people simply wannabe's - but people with jobs, families, a wetsuit wanted to get through the race without making a total that doesn't fit and a £400 bike. The BCTTT has a life tit of themselves. of its own and marches forward because you're all

genuinely part of it. Not someone anonymously It was the same story with triathlon training days taking part in a club track session - you actually make being taught a little bit of everything about triathlon a difference to the club and make it feel comfortable. but not actually learning something specific that You all have the ability to help each other, and would get you through the race. Other than realising through the club forum, you do! just how much you

'don't' know about So here we are less than the sport. two months old - we've An idea on a Saturday morning in Triathlon Clubs? had a club champs (have July resulted 48 hours later in a fully Some very good a long distance champs at functioning, BTF affiliated triathlon ones - but if you IMCH in 2010) and you're represent the 90% now reading the BCTTT club with membership cards and a of people in the tabloid! Plans are website....how did this happen....? sport (i.e at the underway for the end of bottom of the results season get together and sheets) does the club represent you? In fact, what hold an awards ceremony. It’s safe to say that we're exactly in triathlon looks after or even acknowledges all 'onto something' and have tapped into what the vast majority of people that comprise it? matters to people, global domination! If we want to

do something, then we can make it happen. It also This is all great and fantastic - but it’s still only my gives me something to write about for the last half of opinion, which is where you, the good people of the second book! triathlon came in.....my lines were cast, opinions and

feelings gathered from the 220 forum and a crazy Discussions will soon start amongst the plan formed in my mind fuelled by the equally crazes Revolutionary Council about how to move the club masses of you lot. forward in 2010 - whatever the details, the rationale

and ethos will be the same. Global Domination by If you're not happy with something then my propping up the bottom of results sheets with philosophy is do something about it. If I didn't like the appalling swim technique and getting in the way of way triathlon training days were done, then do my elites, we are triathlon's unwanted children, we are own. If I didn't like triathlon clubs, then set up my everywhere - we are The BCTTT! own. If I wasn't happy with how events looked after

'rookies' I should get a race organiser to run rookie Viva Revolution waves.

“

”

Bridgtown Cona Testa Triathlon Team Global

OCTOBER 2009 Domination 11 Magazine

2008 UCI Downhill MTB World Champion

Gee Atherton Definitely NOT Rachel Atherton!

G

ee is the middle sibling of the Atherton Mountain Bike dynasty with his older brother Dan and younger sister Rachel.

He was crowned the 2008 UCI Downhill MTB World Champion along with his sister Rachel, who also won the overall World Cup series. It was the first time ever, a brother and sister have been UCI World Champions, and in Rachels case, the first time a British women has held both World Championship and World Cup series overall.

Gee is massively respected amongst his peers, not only was he world champion last year but is also a 4X race winner (think BMX race but on mountain bikes with massive rocks and jumps to get over) , rides freestyle (i/e cycles off mountains) and is one of the sports true all rounders.

The only downside to an otherwise stellar career is the family are trained by BCTTT Supreme Grand Master Conehead. The SGM caught up with Gee at the 2009 World Champs in Australia to talk triathlon, volcano islands and pony's.....

ELITE INTERVIEW 

Photo: Sven Martin of www.svenmartinphotography.com

A timid looking Gee, looking somewhat shy and retiring...

Gee Atherton 2008 UCI Downhill MTB World Champion Elite Athlete Inter view (20 hard hitting questions)!

1. Where are you right now and what are you doing there?

I'm on Llangynog (or The Nog as we call it) which is where we live, just got back from the UCI DH MTB champs in Australia where I didn't successfully defend my 2008 world title. I blame the trainer 100%.

2. What do you know about triathlon?

That some fat bald bloke we know does it, it involves lycra, rubber and wearing goggles.

3. How fast could you swim if you were being chased by sharks (with lasers on heads)?

I'd take the sharks down, wouldn’t bother swimming away from them.

4. Have you ever been to a secret triathlon volcano island?

What?

5. Blondes or brunettes?

Both, at the same time preferably.

6. Red or naked carbon?

Has to be naked carbon, what’s with the red? That will slow you down for sure.

7. Have you ever been in a room with a dwarf and a pony?

No, but as triathlon is all about rubber and lycra I'm sure every triathlete has.

8. What's been the highlight of your riding career so far?

Winning the 2008 UCI World Championship.

9. What's the gnarliest event you've ever done?

Red Bull Rampage (or just Rage) is pretty wild, out in Utah riding

down some gnarly stuff. I've also got a Red Bull event coming up in Brazil in the Favelas, riding down a street circuit. The drug cartels patrol them with AK47's and the police won't go in them.

10. What's the hardest track to ride?

None, I eat them all! ha ha!

11. Who would win a fight between you and your brother?

Oh come on....me, obviously.

12. The house is on fire and you only have time to grab one thing, what is it?

That's a tough one, there's my sister, my brother, the cats - hmmmmmm, prob my iphone.

16. If you weren't a world champion downhill MTB rider, what would you be......?

BMX? Motorcross? I can't imagine being anything else other than a downhiller!

13. Favourite film and why The Sound of Music - Julie Andrews, what's not to like?

17. Turbo sessions, do these feature in your training schedule?

When the weather isn't great, which can be 99% of the time out here in Wales - we use the turbo's for power, recovery and fitness sessions. We have CycleOps indoor bikes in the gym at home, they measure power and all sorts of funky stuff.

14. Time trial or cross country?

Cross country all day, TT's are evil.

15. Sydney, New York, Las Vegas or Llangynog....?

The Nog! Those other places have nothing on 'The Nog'!

18. How many times per week do you train?

Most days, sometimes twice per day. We have a full gym at home with everything we need in it no excuses.

19. What's your favourite training session?

The ones where you're not there.

20. Do you want to be in the BCTTT?

“Not in any way.”

Aunty Chrissie r very own mystery agony aunt! ou

Mid-life-non-crisis ?!

Dear Chrissie, I am a bloke what had no idea what I was doing when I started to train for my first triathlon. I thought Ironman was a rubbish film. It totally dominated my life and I couldn't live without it. But first it affected me so badly I couldn't take my finger out of my mouth, next I was transfixed into creating a tee-shirt business revolving around triathlon, and then I hurt my leg and I hated triathlon, but still loved it at the same time. I used to dream of dribbling Go gel over my pigeon chest.

Recently I have patched up my triathlon training but have to walk up hills pushing my bike though. I still have no idea what I am doing, but it feels dirty and I love it.

What should I so?

Razza. Middle England.

Dear Razza, you are typical of a man with a pre-early-precurssor-mid-life-non-crisis as we experts that are far cleverer than you would call it. You should listen to a lot more Queen and get on your bike and ride, but maybe not up big hills. You should also give up making tee shirts and instead start a new challenge like editing a triathlon magazine. Oh...and sign up for IMCH 2010. Let me know how you get on.

Chrissie.

I haven’t written a book.

Dear Chrissie, I've been doing triathlon for years and years and years and am dead good. I go up hills faster than I go down them and leave people behind that have to push their bikes up. Thing is like, I have met these brill people on the web that are really rubbish at triathlon but they enjoy it more than me. They enter triathlon's I never knew existed at distances that I do before breakfast 8 days a week. I have joined their club but am worried that I’m too good and they will laugh at me, or kick me out, like what happened to that bloke that played cricket on all seven continents and wrote a book about it, like that bloke in my tri club did. I haven't written a book should I do so do you think?

GBgeezer. Training somewhere.

Hi GBgeezer, you are typical of a dead good triathlete in that you are so busy whizzing off all over Europe you cannot empathise with people that are rubbish. You are not fat, you don't have to push your bike up hills and the AGers of Europe quake in their shoes as you thunder past on your disc wheel. My suggestion is, sign up for the Upper Needflangle Mini-Super-Novice Traithlon 2010 (1 width doggy paddle, half a lap sturmey archer granny bike with basket, and a nice stroll to the tea tent). They have a "Dead Good" wave next year for the first time so that speedy triathletes can ease themselves into these races. Let me know how you get on.

Chrissie. xxx

Letter of the month Dear Chrissie, I am a fat, northern monkey. Having spent years in the military sweeping the falling rain off flat roofs, I am now paid to swear a lot at people that are far better at riding bikes than I am. I went from being very fat to being not so fat and finished an ironman in six months training, then wrote a world bestselling book but now have no challenges left in my life so I just keep doing more ironman races. Is there any hope for me?

Pointy Bonce. Somewhere up north.

Hi Pointy, Your story is not unusual.

Many northern people are fat because they eat too many chips and pies; this also affects their speech patterns.

Concentrate on eating lettuce and drinking mineral water from Lichtenstein filtered through The Atherton's bib shorts. You need another challenge, so either go back to sweeping rain off roofs, or set out to gain Global Domination you have six months, same as your Ironman plan. And sign up for IMCH 2010. Let me know how you get on.

Chrissie.

BCTTT

Write to me! Send your letters direct to the magazine. I promise not to laugh!

Or you can call my lo-call phone helpline on 0909-09090 909. Calls charged at 1p per minute. Happy days. (subject to £30 minimum call charge).

WIN WIN WIN

What to be part of the most exciting triathlon club in the known universe?

Its far easier than you thought, joining the Bridgtown Cona Testa Triathlon Club is as easy as coming last out of the swim. Email conehead@bcttt.com for more details.

OR........ there is another way...

You can enter our competition to win a years membership right here, right now. All you have to do is tell us your story, write a letter or ask Chrissie a question! You don’t have to be a literary wizard, just tell us your story and you’re in with a chance of saving a few quid.

Send your stories to ed@bcttt.com.

The winner will be announced when we have one!

Global

OCTOBER 2009 Domination 15 Magazine

Readers Rides Boardman Team Carbon

Boardman Team Carbon, upgraded with Look Keo pedals, Profile Design aero bars, Profile Design Tri saddle, Boardman carbon bottle cages, and carbon mini pump.

My initial bike was a Marin Lucas Valley.

Aluminium framed with carbon fork and rear stays, 28x700 tyres, aero wheel.

Generally, a really good hybrid bike £700 in 2006. I used it for general fitness riding and commuting. When I started Tri training back in January it was my intention to use this for the first couple of events, and then upgrade to a road bike once I knew what I wanted. I was also conscious that a hybrid would look out of place in Transition at some events.

However, once I started training with some structure, I quickly realised that if I was to do this thing properly, then a road bike was really only the way to go. I felt at the time that a Tri bike was probably a step too far.

I visited several bike shops, and had a test ride on a Specialized Allez and a Giant Defy.

But I didn't buy straight off. I got on the net to start looking at reviews, Bike Radar, Cycling Weekly etc, and came across the Boardman. I had a look a few times in my local Halfords, but they didn't seem too interested.

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16 Domination OCTOBER 2009 Magazine

In March '09 I was driving past another Halfords, I popped in to have another look, and they were genuine road cyclists, and ran through the whole spec for me.

Better still, they had some of last year’s higher spec models on display, which were on sale due to being ex-display, but I had been bit by the carbon bug, so it was a Team Carbon for me. Unfortunately, or fortunately (depending on how you look at it), they only had 1 large in stock, which was currently on display. Had a good look over it, and found a scratch on the frame by the crank. When I pointed it out to them, they explained that it was only superficial and doesn't affect the structure of the frame, but offered to knock £300 off the price, so got the bike for £700 instead of £1000! They fully serviced and prepped it for me, and then threw in two Boardman carbon bottle cages as well, another £56 worth, for nothing. I couldn't really leave it there at that price!!

As to the service from Halfords, I think it

depends greatly on the store you visit, some are truly shocking, others are equally as good as your LBS (local bike shop).

However, I must confess that I never took them up on their free six week check/service. I've only ever taken it to my LBS. When I first took it there, they were very impressed by the bike, the spec, the weight, and what you get for your money.

And coincidently, they had another bike in (not a Boardman) for its regular service, which is owned by a Halfords bike mechanic. For some reason he'll service someone's bike, but pays someone else to service his!

As for a bike computer. I initially had a Garmin Edge 205, which I used to swap off of my mountain bike, but to be honest, it wasn’t something I wanted to leave on a bike in Transition. So it's now been upgraded to a Knogg. I was already using Knogg lights, and when the computer came out it just seemed so easy to use, set up, and gave all the info I required. Speed, average

speed, distance etc.

I've also upgraded the saddle to a Profile Design Tri specific saddle, another bargain in the LBS, down to £20 for the last two.

Very pleased with it, keeps the boys happy when on the nose. Also got Profile Design T2 clip on Tri bars, with aero bottle and Look Keo pedals. Generally, a decent, but budget set up, that hasn't failed me to date, runs well, and I still look forward to and enjoy going out on it.

Ssince having it, It's made me go out on longer rides on the road, my hybird was really only used for short journeys, and MTB was mainly off raod on local trails. So getting it certainly helped my training, and I obviously needed to get out on it get the

necessary bike handling skills. However, due to work and family commitments, I still don't get out on it as often, or for as long as I would like to, but I make sure that I supplement my on road cycling with Spinning classes, which for some reason I seem to be able to plan my time around better. Probably, because if I go home from work to get the bike out, then I'll get sidelined into doing something else, whereas if I go straight to the gym, there's nothing (other than hot women) to distract me. As I'm looking to have a go at IMUK next year, I know that I need to address this issue, and actually get out on the bike for long rides.

Now the biggy, am I any quicker on it. Can't give any statistical info, as on my hybrid I never had a computer. However, I certainly feel faster on the Boardman, especially when on the aero bars, and can ride it for longer. It's certainly a lot easy to climb on it, which is probably down to the width of the bars. I also feel more like a Triathlete on it, and hopefully look like one as well (I wish).

If I'm commuting, or riding through traffic, I would still take my hybrid in preference, I just feel a little more in control. I'll probably use the hybrid or MTB over the winter as well, don't want to get my little baby wet or cold, or worse still, covered in salt.

I do look after it though. After every race it gets a thorough clean, Organic Baby Wipes for Sensitive Skin. I clean the chain, check over the tyres, make sure nothing is loose, and lubricate everything ready for its next outing. Then I know that all I need to do is check the tyres are up to 120psi, and it's ready to go.

Last outing will be on 4th October at the Warwickshire Tri [I’ll see you there! Ed.], then another good clean before being wrapped up nice and warm for the winter. March time I'll take it back to the LBS for a full service ready for next year’s exploits.

Gary aka Triuphant Global

OCTOBER 2009 Domination 17 Magazine

e m e r p u S e Th e t s a M d n Gra

.. s k a e p s r e d a le r u Every Issue o

Notes from a large island....

The Supreme Grand Master has been smashing the air miles again - and has come to a startling and controversial conclusion! Some might say his conclusion is actually quite obvious and was actually the topic of conversation down the pub the other day...........oh........er..........erm....

THE SUPREME GRAND MASTER

er .

Darren ‘Conehead’ Roberts: Darren lost his two middle fingers in a biking accident whilst down under......oh.....shit.....no, that’s just Dazza being ‘down wid’ it’!!

THE SUPREME GRAND MASTER

s k a e sp

I

'm not going to suggest that what I do is anything approaching what could be called 'work' - but that's what I've been allegedly doing in Australia for the last two weeks. I've never been to Australia, I think I've been everywhere but - so when I found out the UCI Downhill MTB champs were going to be held there I was looking forward to exploring and sampling new country. The Black Bomber was especially excited, not least of which the winter weather in Sydney which comprises 20 degree sunshine and blue skies.

Having bagged myself a super cheap flight on Qantas, this soon turned to super stressfull as I could'nt take the Bomber with me. Not sure how to break this news to the Bomber without endagering my life - I placed an emergency call to British Cycling to see if I could blag Bravo Bravo onto their booking and someone take it for me. I decided it best not to tell them they were actually taking the 'Black Bomber' as this might not go down well at the check in desk when asked if they had been asked to carry something for someone.....

see the Bomber safe and sound in Sydney. I have to say that as long haul flying goes it wasn't that bad, I was on one of the new double decker Airbus planes which wasn't that full meaning I had a whole row to myself. Arriving in Sydney I was met by one of my Red Bull Australia counterparts and the hospotality began! They're a welcoming bunch the Aussies, involving lots of food and beer - which is no bad thing really. I had 3 days in Sydney until the rest of the team arrived and got myself aquainted with what is a fantastic place.

Sydney (just like New York and San Franscisco) is exactly as you imagine it - and the winter weather was nothing short of spectacular, shorts and t-shirt were the dress code and it really beggered beleif that this was 'winter'. We'd all be gratefull for a summers day like that in the UK. Which I think leads me to my point - not my long haul travel diary which seems to span the globe all year where I seem to get paid to have a good time - but how does climate affect our training and ultimately our performances..?

So with BB in the hands of UCI World Champions and Conehead beasting recipients the Atherton Family - I set off on the 27 hour journey hoping to

As a performance specialist working with elitesI've often found myself in years gone past bemoaing the UK weather and how it MUST affect training in

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20 Domination OCTOBER 2009 Magazine

THE SUPREME GRAND MASTER

s k a e sp

a negative way. I'd like to say that after years of exeperience this is in fact not true, that we must simply suck it up and get on with it. Poor weather is what a lot of people in a lot of countries have to put up with and we're no different. But after so many years of working in countries who's winters are better than our summers - it's inescapable that the weather has an enormous impact on our training - whether you're an ordinary joe or an elite.

This realisation is always brought crasing home to me as I'm riding the Bomber on a 60 mile ride (or The Blade previously) in cycling jersey, bib shorts, on a hot sunny day and in the middle of December. If the worst weather you had to cope with was some light drizzle every now and again - what could you acheive with your training regime? Those post-work training sessions would surely be a lot more appealing in the cool evenining air,with the WAT/HAT/GAT/FAT officers being much more easily placated as the weekends are spent outdoors at parks/beaches etc in the sunshine. Making your absence through training much less WAT-able surely?

I've seen this 1st hand with Mrs C the WAT uber fuhrer on our winter trips to the USA, announcing a 3 hour ride on a Saturday morning (something which would normally induce a volcanic eruption) is simply waved off with no problems.

There is a serious side to this - for me this puts our athletes at a huge dissadvantage. The colds and sniffles that are part of winter life simply don't figure in the training lives of athlete's living in warmer climates. Not only can they train for longer in better conditions but the training effect isn't comprimised by annoying colds and coughs.

Lots of our athletes travel overseas for training camps - but this is no substitute for living in those climates since birth.

I'm not trying to make excuses for under performance, bad coaching and/or bad organisation in a sport which leads to poor performance. But it certainly plays a much larger part in performance (and under-performance) than we think. Of course there is a mental toughness to this, training in poor conditions can help with this. But it doesn't matter how mentally strong you are because you can motivate yourself to do a 2 hour run in pissing rain and wake up with a cold, if your opposition is faster than you.

The impending world cup is in South Africa, this will be in 30 degree heat at altitude. Whilst the football pundits are lauding the England football team because its the best team being fielded for years (just like the last time), playing the best football they've played (just like last time) with a manager that 'has' the dressing room and commands respect (just like last time) because they've beaten Croatia - this seems to put one of our national teams hands on the world cup already. If you want a sneak preview on the physical performance of England in South Africa, simply watch the last World Cup in Germany - then imagine that at altitude. I truly want England to win the world cup, and all our athletes in all our sports to do well. As much as this may sound like a cop out, we can try and work around it in training - the simple facts are we live in a shite climate that stacks the odds massively against us for training benefits and effects. Still unsure? Next time you're in a nice lovely sunny climate, try a circuit class on the beach - once you've finished imagine if you would 'feel' the same had you done the exact same thing in a room in a gym with freezing rain outside? If you wake up at 6am and the sun is shining, do you start the day in a bad mood......?

Global

OCTOBER 2009 Domination 21 Magazine

Where the hell are we?

We’re working towards global domination but for now, in the main we are in the UK. Although we should mention FatStu in UAE and Jen in Sweden.

This map was put together by Scotty and we would like to keep it going. To get your pin in the map email Scotty.

No details required, just your town. The more pins the merrier.

Global

2 Domination OCTOBER 2009 Magazine

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Telephone: 01922 411180 www.btownbikes.com

JASON WALKLEY HUSTLE with the HUSSLER

Jason has been known to drink Stella, which is the de-facto standard of acceptance into the BCTTT.

Have you ever wondered where certain member’s forum names came from?

Probably not…. but I will tell you how mine came about anyway…..

that during the pre-season of 2007 I deliberately let everyone think that I was rubbish and therefore no-one would count me in as a potential challenger, then 6 months later I destroyed everyone when it mattered… whilst racing….

Back in 2006 after I had completed my first few sprint distance Tri’s, I went on a training weekend that the RAF team had organised for us Novices (for reference I’m in the RAF). I met a fair few people that day, some I still talk to, some I don’t, some have become very good friends and it was these guys that came up with my nickname.

Since then I have set my sights on beating the guys who beat me that day as well as other guys who didn’t race that I knew where fast. My biggest scalp came last year during the World Long Course Championships in Almere for Team GB.

When I started out I found myself well behind everyone else. At RAF races and training meets I was regularly left behind on the bike and run legs. I soon tired of this and so whilst preparing for the 2007 season I set my sights on beating some of the faster guys. As the new season got underway I was still getting beaten by these guys and the inevitable banter that ensued – at every given moment – just served to spur me on. Then came the RAF championships held at the Dambuster Standard distance race, I had geared myself up for this race, knowing that if I didn’t deliver this performance, my career would be cast upon the Triathlon scrapheap before it had begun.

He was regarded as one of the RAF’s top athletes, someone who had helped me in my early development at grass roots level and someone who I thought was unbeatable.

Throughout the 2008 season every race we were both involved in I was out the swim before him, held him off on the bike then he would pass me on the run, I would fall apart and he would beat me. Why would the World Champs be any different?

That day in June brought to light a chubby Triathlete from a footballing background, who had only learnt to swim 10 months earlier, rode a road bike for the first time 12 months earlier and had never ran more than 10km in one go before, and he showed the rest of the RAF team he was here to stay! I beat a lot of guys that day, in fact I qualified for the RAF Elite team (top 6) at the first attempt at Standard distance. Perhaps better than that, I beat everyone who had been so far ahead of me only 6 months earlier. The Hussler was born….. people said

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22 Domination OCTOBER 2009 Magazine

To protect his identity I will call him Boris.

Building up to each race ‘Boris’ would tell me that this would be my time and I would beat him with ease. As I said above, he would always pass me on the run, and this would always give him that psychological advantage for the remainder of the race and would ultimately destroy me mentally.

I had to do something, and although I trained hard (as always), I heard about NLP (Neuro-linguistic programming) from a cousin who practiced, and he used this to help me become mentally stronger. We focused on any negative thoughts that I may have during races (like those I suffered from when being passed by ‘Boris’), and worked on turning those feelings to my advantage.

NLP is used fairly widely in sport these days, check it out on the interweb.

HUSTLE WITH HUSSLER

The World Champs During the race in Almere it was the usual story….. I was out the swim first, equal on the bike and at the 5km point of the 30km run, Boris caught me. This was exactly where, in the past, I had been mentally beat. Seeing him catch and pass me was just so hard to recover from. With 25km of the run remaining, this would be a true test of the Hussler’s newly formed powers.

As he passed me, he asked how I was feeling, I said ‘I’m Ok’…..I thought this is it, the whole race had come down to who could hold out the longest and no matter where I finished in the overall placings I had to beat Boris. Boris did his usual kick to leave me and I responded by staying with him. I could tell you about every mile and every though I had over the next 13 miles, but in the interests of keeping you reading, let’s just say we ran shoulder to shoulder for those 13 miles. Throughout this time he was laying on his usual negative psychology, saying that I would beat him etc etc. And I lost count of the number of times he put in a kick to try and leave me, but this time, thanks to my new found mental strength, I could respond and stay with him.

At 25km I was one stride ahead of him, which got me thinking, could I have finally broke him? I contemplated kicking myself but was aware that 5km can suddenly turn into a long long way if it all goes wrong, so I decided to stay at this pace and re-assess at the 27km point. By 27km I had opened up a gap of around 6 or 7 metres on him, I knew that now was the time and that I had to try and make a dash for the finishline, its only 3km…. less than 2 miles….another 15mins of running at the most. I used my trigger points that my cousin had given me during those NLP sessions (trigger points are like mental switches that you can turn on whenever you like), I kicked and found myself alone…. I could almost see the finish…. Boris hadn’t

responded…. I knew I had to keep going. Another trigger point activated, I surged onto the finish…

I crossed the line and waited for Boris, it seemed endless waiting for him to come through, as he crossed the line I looked at his time and I had put 90s into him over the last 3km! I had ran a 6:10 and a 6:04 for the last 2 miles of that race. WOW. I have now moved onto the really fast guys and I think there are only around 2or 3 guys left for me to beat to become the No.1 Triathlete in the RAF. Names have been changed in this article to prevent any unwanted embarrassment to the individuals involved. The true way to hustle has been left out as the Hussler needs to be always one step ahead!

Definition of the name ‘Hussler’: An athlete must be mentally strong and turn every negative experience into positive one. But don’t let yourself get into a position where it’s you that gets ‘hustled’ in the same way as our mate Boris!

Global

OCTOBER 2009 Domination 23 Magazine

DEEP E HOLE

With global domination comes our contacts that reach the very upper echelons of the sporting industry. One such contact is 'deep hole'....

W

ith the dead drop marked by a chalk mark across a bin by the side of the road - your SGM risked life and limb to recover 'The Package' containing 'The Take' for this months article....

Just before 7pm EST tonight (Sept 10th) I received an e-mail with the following statement from Blair LaHaye, the Director of Communications of World Triathlon Corporation.

"In response to athlete feedback, World Triathlon Corporation (WTC) has retracted its ban on garments that cover the calves at this year's Ford Ironman World Championship, taking place on October 10 2009, in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. Because the age of athletes wearing these garments is not visible, Ironman will eliminate marking athletes' ages on calves in Kona to ensure fairness among the field. The tradition of body marking of bib numbers on athletes' arms will remain in place.

WTC will continue reviewing this issue and evaluating ways to display ages of participating athletes."

There had been all kinds of speculations and rumors about the "real" reason behind the initial ban of socks and other garments that cover the calves, but now quite a few people will be able to sleep better the next few weeks.

Especially the industry people who make compression socks, the Pros who earn money doing so, and the age groupers who have come to accept them as the miracle solution. Ban I hear you say? What ban?!?

It all had started on Friday, September 4th when an email came across my desk that looked like a forwarded press release from the World Triathlon Corp. It stated " Ironman and Ironman 70.3 races is mandatory and marking an athlete’s age group on the calf is part of that process. Athletes competing in our events rely on age group markings on calves to identify their competition. Ironman has been receiving an increasing number of complaints that compression socks and calf guards hide age group identification. At Hawaii 70.3 in June (in which your illustrious leader raced ), Ironman experimented with eliminating age group calf markings on all athletes. This attempt at resolving the issue was met by even more complaints by the athletes (SGM note - I didn't even realise about the calf thing and heard NO-ONE complain about only having upper arms marked). Therefore, beginning with the 2009 Ford Ironman World Championship, garments that cover age group calf markings will not be permitted. Ironman’s goal is to design (and my job is to enforce) rules that provide the most level playing field possible."

This email was signed by Jimmy Riccitello, the Ironman Head Referee, and a subsequent follow-up email to him confirmed that there was indeed a new rule along those lines. Posted as rule 17 on page 19 of the Kona Athlete’s Guide it simply stated ; "Any garment, such as tights, compression socks, tube socks, medical tape, etc. that conceals body marking on the calves, will not be permitted."

The original email had actually been sent to Richard Verney, a partner in Sports Multiplied, the US distributor of 2XU, and had somehow made its way to other people in the industry. But all of a sudden a "who said what to whom when?" discussion started to overshadow the actual topic of the email and the official "no compression sock" rule, and we decided to follow-up and dig a little deeper to get more details and have some questions answered.

After all it was understood that someone racing in Kona would want to know sooner than later what to expect when racing there.

To those people who never liked them for their "stupid looks," this was a rule sent from heaven and Jimmy Riccitello became their new hero. Others though seemed quite stunned and annoyed by this rule and all kinds of questions came to the surface. What if I wrote my age and sex on my sock?

Does the rule apply to Pros too? What about folks who have sun allergies?

Plus various alternative solutions were suggested, ranging from color-coded timing chip bands to having your age group and sex printed on your race number.

Verney of 2XU even had sent a specific suggestion to WTC that would address the issue and allow people to wear their socks and calf guards. It was something along the lines of “We have an athlete lounge in Kona and we would heat transfer the official font of the numbers and letters to everyone who would want to race in their socks. We don’t care from which manufacturer the socks might be from, be it Zoot, CEP, SLS3, Skins or whatever else, these athletes can come into the lounge and we’ll add the correct information to their socks at no charge.”

But as it turns out now it appears that the 2XU crew won't have to hastily shop for heat transfers and use up their staff's time for that activity. Instead they can now focus on selling more socks and various other items.

The Pros Pros would actually have been affected by this ruling as some sponsorship money comes from various compression sock manufacturers. But why Pros would have had the same rule as the age-groupers did not make much sense anyway, considering that they actually have much lower numbers (usually between #1 and #175) and their bib numbers have a different color than the age groupers. Pro men are light blue and Pro women are light pink, and that combined with their low number should leave no doubt about which category they might be racing in. Plus the Pros pretty much know each other anyway.

The opinions of the Pro athletes about this issue varied and Chris Lieto quickly noted: “I think this is awesome. I think they look ridiculous and was not planning on wearing them in any race. I do wear them in some longer training runs and some speed sessions and have found good results, but I try not to be seen with them on.” 2004 and 2006 Ironman World Champion Normann Stadler has raced with them often but has other plans for this year’s Kona race.

"I raced in those socks last year but I will not compete in those socks this year," said Stadler. But he added: “I think the rule is not ok. What if I like to race in those old fashioned basketball socks from Nike? Every year - different rules.

Next year we ride road bars and only one gear...”

That being said, neither Lieto nor Stadler are currently paid to wear the socks and both have plenty of other sponsors, something many other Pros can’t say.

So that makes it is an easy choice for Lieto and Stadler not to wear them to begin with. But since the rule is no longer in place, Normann Stadler will be able to wear Nike basketball socks, and Chris Lieto can smile or cringe when he sees others running around with them on.

The numbers game The last few years quite a few athletes have competed with compression socks in Kona, and Zoot Sports has counted compression socks the last three years and the growth during those years is quite staggering.

2006 - 16 2007 - 82 2008 - 416 (plus an additional 46 athletes wore compression sleeves) So basically in 2008 almost 25% of the field were running and / or biking in tall socks of various brands. Verney from 2XU speculated, “as much as half the field might have shown up in Kona this year with compression socks if not for this rule.” That number might be a bit ambitious, but considering the trend of the Zoot sock count, his assumption might not be that far off. And as it turns out now, we will see how good the estimate of Verney actually is.

Viva Revolution

Some industry insiders had already heard rumblings about this new rule but the general masses were in the dark.

“We were informed by the WTC about 10 days ago that there is a discussion (about banning compression socks) and that it might happen,” said Brian Enge, CEO of Zoot Sports, “But we did not know it was official".

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OCTOBER 2009 Domination 27 Magazine

Meet the Member Ian Castle

Introducing Mr. Ian Castle, aka Jack Hughes ‘The voice of reason’

Oh.....and Mungo.

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28 Domination OCTOBER 2009 Magazine

Lets start with your name and any aka’s...

Ian Castle is my real name. Jack Hughes is my nick name. I've used it on forums for years and years (since the mid 90s). It is a play on “J'Accuse”, which seemed like a good idea at the time.

How old are you (please)!?

I'm at the point where the only birthday's that matter are those that take you into the next age group. This is my first year of being an M45 – I was 45 in July. I refuse to be middle aged though!

Do you have family?

I've seem to have mislaid more family members than I've acquired. So, there is just me, the missus, and the dog. The dog is rather big though.

Where’s are you?

I'm fortunate enough to live in the very beautiful South Pennines – on the border of Yorkshire and Lancashire. The Pennine way runs close by. There are masses of places to walk, climb, boat, bike and run. If you saw the recent “Wuthering Heights” adaptation on TV, that will give you an idea of the scenery.

Getting out on the bike and running has made me fall in love with this part of the world all over again. I'm originally a southerner – from near Bristol. But I've now lived long enough in Yorkshire to be called a Southerner by Northern folk, and a Northerner by Southern people. Neither are terms of appreciation.

How did you get into tri?

Mid life crisis. Had achieved most of the work, lifestyle etc. goals. Fed up of all these lazy twenty somethings at work, so decided to teach them a lesson. Fed up of being overweight. Worried about long term health and the need to be as fit and well for as long as possible. Enjoyed running and cycling – but it wasn't until injuries reared their ugly heads that the appeal of cross training took over. Initially, I was a bit sceptical of triathlon – the idea of transition directly from event to another seemed “odd” - a getting dressed race. Most other “athlons” are “reset” after each event – compare modern pentathlon for example. Anyway, I liked the challenge of learning to swim and thought training for three events would only be a good thing to do! It's taken a long time to get started – what with having to learn to swim, and then damaging the knee, resulting in the first visit to hospital since I was 13/14.

the house was increasingly full of bikes. A new extension had to be built to house them.

We all took part in a variety of competitions – from Audax through to Time Trials. Most holidays were biking ones – lots of Youth Hostels. I did a few time trials, but didn't like it that much - too hard! Sadly, cycling stopped for a good while when my Brother was killed at age 21 returning from the Paris Brest Paris event. There is still a memorial competition named for him in the world of Audax, I think. If you ever see me fretting about your health and safety, especially on bike, then that is why!

When and where was your first tri?

13th September 2009. I didn't start learning to swim until this year. Did my first length in March. The idea of me, actually doing a swimming race, is something I still find amazing. And I wasn't last in the swim... nearly, but not quite.

What does the family think of your triathlon exploits?

Too much time. Too much money. I am crazy.

However, I'm working hard on trying to get her to join in. You can lead a horse to water....

But she has started running a bit. We recently hired a Tandem on holiday, and she his now keen to get one. So I hope it will be something that we can increasingly do together. We don't really give our better halves the credit they deserve. All the time they have to put up with us being out training. Then the pre-race nerves: “Not now darling, I'm visualising my race”. It takes a lot of support to enable me to get on with everything tri related – especially when I end up in hospital as a result of my activities.

What has been your greatest triathlon moment to date?

Doing one! I cannot stress enough what a personal achievement doing a swim has been. So that is the major thing – to take something I never managed to do as a kid (I cite health reasons as the excuse – couldn't go anywhere near water without getting ill.

Until I had my tonsils out when I was 13/14.

But by then, the swimming boat had sailed, so to speak).

What’s the daftest thing you’ve done in a race so far?

Turning up and starting. Despite being hardly able to swim 50m. Having just had knee surgery and not done any real training for bike and run.

What’s your motivation?

Did you swim/bike/run previously?

I ran and cycled competitively as a school boy. I ran for club and at county level until I switched up an age group, and started getting injured – couldn't cope with the longer distances and increases in volume. My father was a keen cyclist, so the family were all members of the cycling club. From age 10

The usual sort of things. To conquer demons, to turn back the clock. And to get to eat as much Soreen as I want.

What bike(s) do you have?

There just isn't the space in the house... My old mountain bike (1992 Muddy Fox) and my new Road Bike. For that I set myself a limited

budget. Got bored of trying to work out what to buy. So just gave the spec and budget to the LBS and let them get on with it. I asked for something that would do for a couple of races, but would, if I decided to do some more next year, do as a training bike. So it will mainly be used for touring, going out on the road, sportives etc. I'll get a TT bike next year!

And your dream bike?

To be honest, I don't dream about bikes. It's a tool for a job. I find all the mechanics a bit boring. I just want to ride them. If I had someone to build and maintain it, then I would jump at that. My Dad and brother used to love just building things – but I never got that particular bug.

How often do you train? And do you use a training plan?

As often as I can! I work away a lot, which makes training a challenge. Theoretically I follow a training plan. But injuries keep getting in the way. Next year I will do better.

My number one goal is to not get injured. I love the challenge of self training and smart training. To work out how I can get the best out of what I do. I am motivated by being as fast as I can...

Which HRM/GPS gadgets have you got?

Oooh! I love gadgets. I'm fascinated by measurements. I've had a few GPS things, and got an HRM back in 2002 when I first decided I needed to get fit. A change of jobs in 2003 but that on the back burner for a bit.

Currently, my main gadget is a Garmin 405. I also use a polar F410 (its HRM functions are more reliable than the Garmin's).

Any other kit you love or would like to tell us about?

I want to get a powertap for the bike next. I have a Tacx Flow turbo (that's the entry level one with the telemetry). I also put all my results, and those of the people that I meet in races into a great big database and do lots of interesting queries on them. I have to confess that I have my own pretty reasonable blood pressure meter. I have goals of reducing blood pressure, cholesterol in my quest make my body 30 years younger. Oh, and a few body composition monitors. A sportcount 100 for recording laps in the pool. A pair of fivefingers (barefoot shoes). I love buying technical clothing. Well, that's the only clothing I'm allowed to buy for myself. I have an increasing library of books and am developing an unhealthy interest in sport medicine. The missus has just started a course which means she can get to a decent academic library. I'm going to get her to start getting me the Journal of sport medicine.

Beer or no beer?

I love beer. Proper Beer. I am a card carrying member of Camra. The trouble is, that beer isn't really any good for me. So nowadays it is an occasional treat. Wine I also like.

Global

OCTOBER 2009 Domination 29 Magazine

ISSUE No.1

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Bridgtown Cona Testa Triathlon Team