The Place (or Palace)

The organization has done a good job of emailing information to the competitors leading up to the race.

Today, this was included in one of the links:

Blenheim Palace, the gift of a grateful nation to its saviour John, Duke of Marlborough, is also a gift of a venue for triathlon. Loads of space for parking, a competitor village and a gorgeous view or vista at every turn. There's a lake that, basically, just says "swim in me", a transition area that's the Palace's front yard, a closed cycle circuit that offers plenty of interest and yet is not overly physically challenging and a run route that you will actually want to go back and walk around afterwards -- all of this makes the Mazda Blenheim Triathlon a paradise for a novice triathlete.

Wow, I'm looking forward to the event even more.

By the way, from a customer experience point of view, this really increases my pre-race feeling that I've signed up to a great race.

Last Weekend before the Sprints

Next weekend is the Blenheim Triathlon sprint distance.

I swam 1000 meters on Saturday with B and C.

I biked today. the weather was absolutely foul- cold, rainy and windy. Came home to a warm lunch and a glass of red wine.

This week will be easy, short runs. And then we're off to a B&B near the race for Saturday night.

I've already started packing my gear in anticipation.

Number One Fun

Here's the number to look for at The Blenheim Tri next Sunday.


If the weather is good, it will be a beautiful event.

BTW: I swam 1000 meters today.

Bike offically sorted

I picked up the borrowed bike today from my good friend Jack. I've used it in the past and it rides well. It's a Dawes- I think this one.

C and I cleaned it up this afternoon.

The best part is that I've been training on my mountain bike which is plenty heavy, so this feels light as a feather.

A killer weekend

Run home from work on Friday: 4 miles
Swim with Bella and C on Saturday: 800 meters
Brick with Mike Robertson on Sunday: 14 mile bike ride immediately followed by a 7 mile run (all in the rain).

Limp into work on Monday...

A training run to kill me

We went out of London this past weekend to stay with some friends. They live in a little village called Frieth (located here), in the rolling hills of the Chilterns.

Nigel and I ran about 7 miles on Sunday morning. He's is in pretty good shape, and he punished me on these trails and hills. The views were spectacular from the top, but I couldn't fully appreciate them as I gasped for breath.

All in all, it was a good cross-training exercise, but very demanding.

My race number arrives!

On Friday, I got home from work to find a big envelope. Inside was all the information and race number for the Blenheim Tri in June. Just reading it started to get me excited for the event.

And it looks like a beautiful place for a race.

I'll be doing the sprint distance- 750 m. swim, 20 km bike, 5km bike- on Sunday at 11:45, 3 June.

Bricks and more bricks

I've now gotten into the painful swing of doing bricks (combinations of two triathlon elements) on the weekends. Today, a beautiful Bank Holiday Monday, I biked for 2 laps around Richmond Park, and then ran another lap. Each lap is 7 miles.

This means I can do short runs during the week, long exercise on the weekends, and rest every other day.

Next weekend, a bit of swimming.

Second brick

Sunday, I did my first swim of the season (in fact, first since summer 2005) and felt great. Swimming is my second strongest suit. I did a fast 600 meters and then ran two miles.

The First Brick

It was a glorious week end in London so I was inspired by the sun.

I did my first brick on Sunday- biked for 5 miles, then immediately ran the same course.

Going forward, I think I'll do a brick each week end to gear up for Blenheim in June.

Bike: Potentially sorted

I met my mate Jack over the weekend for a few pints. It looks like I'll borrow his bike for the next 6 months to use for my two races.

I hadn't been able to find a good quality, but cheap alternative to buy. This gives me something light at least. And puts me sorted from the equipment side.

Head Cold

I've had nearly two weeks off from running due to a severe sinus infection. Hope to be back on course this week-end. And swimming for the first time, by the end of the month.

This was most likely a blessing in costume.

Swimming: sorted

There is a local community college down the road from us, and they have a pool. Reasonably priced also.

Bike and Swim

I have commited to finding a swim venue by the end of January. And finding a bike by the end of February.

Good thing my running mileage is up to scratch at this point (8 miles at an 8 minute/mile pace).

End of Year 2006 Goal

Well, I reached my end of year 2006 goal: I ran a half marathon distance.

Back in September, I told myself that I would run that distance by the end of the year, regardless of my entry status to the London Marathon. I did two laps of my Home course- a total of 14 miles. Didn't time myself, but I felt like I was doing 9 minute miles.

This will put me on a good base for the upcoming Triathlons for 2007.

London Marathon- NO!

I was declined for the 2007 London Marathon.

Really, didn't make through the lottery.

I still have the opportunity to run for a charity. May look into running on behalf of RBMIND.

End of Nov Mileage

This past Sunday I did three laps of my regular Wimbledon Common route. This should have equated to about 12 miles.

It was a rainy, sloppy day and the trail was half-covered in puddles.

Finishing felt good, but I had to really press myself to step through the last mile of mud.

Middle of Nov Mileage

I did 9 miles this past Saturday at a 8:30-9:00 pace. On schedule for an 11 mile long run by month end.

I'm averaging about 15-20 miles per week.

Endurance is...

This guy did 50 marathons in 50 days, finishing with the NYC Marathon.

Then decided to run home to SF...

Resting Heart Rate

Resting heart rate at work: 44

Similar to past readings.