Merman

Congratulations to Dan for an outstanding effort in yet another triathlon today, first in age group and a T2 transition of 20something seconds. I can't get a shoe on in 20 seconds.

For ironman i wont be rushing transition, in T1 for instance, tying a cravat incorrectly can cost valuable time later when being looked at funny by people receiving your card and delaying entry. As for personal grooming... Let us just agree that no amount of impending running from T2 is going to make me pay less attention to hiding the outgoing tide that is my hair line.
I had a good swim this morning. We have descended en mass to my parents house for a week and today we were all on the beach by 830 for daddy to swim and everyone else to make sandcastles etc. I swam for 20 minutes along the coast then turned around and swam back. Actually that's a bit of a lie, i swam for 19 minutes and got caught up in some sea weed and after some floundering thought bugger it and turned around. I swam back till i got to the end of Paignton Pier, turned 90 degrees to face the shore and swam as hard as i could.

Recently arrived beach dwellers saw what must have looked like a bellowing red headed seal charge the shoreline and pound up towards a family. No one got the shot gun out though. Shows we're not in Surrey. It was about 2k in under 40 minutes, my watch isn't too accurate and i took my time. The sea was beautiful though, i could see lots of crabs on the bottom even quite far out (thanks to my new prescription goggles) and waves were gentle. To be honest i regretted the wetsuit. My autospellcheck thing just tried to tell me that wetsuit should be spelt wetshit... Hmm.

An afternoon lunching with uncle P(thank you for donation) in Dartmouth with Dad and catching some crabs with Catherine made for a very jolly day.

Out.

Riding High

My ride home tonight was fantastic other than traffic. I wish my watch had a setting to nullify traffic impact and show comparable ride on closed roads. No i don't, i wish traffic wasn't such a problem. Very frustrating when I'm trying to set land speed records. I did a sneaky rep of hill up past Beaumont stables (fond memories of horse riding hijinks from there). Came down a windy 13% decline hill as need the practice. Overall it was one of those rides on which i felt the wind whistling in my tri bars and legs felt like steam engine pistons. Looking forward to telling you about a couple of rides i have coming up. Also i bought a cycling magazine in hospital last week and applied a couple of tips to my ride today around efficiency. Getting back up to speed after a stop and putting effort in up hills were main two. Something else i need to get more practiced at is drinking on the go. A tip I read is to set watch to beep every 15 mins on bike and take a sip. I'm going now as knackered. Nit a very creative one tonight.

Oh what a week

Back from stag do then wife been in hospital so baby had to be in hospital so I had to be in hospital. Home now. Have managed to get a few runs in but not level of training I'd wish, something is conspiring against me for this event but I shall beat it. Devon next week I hope, lots of hills and sea swimming!

I was hoping to write lots but I just spent some time writing a bluey and now I'm very ready for bed (nurses have just left the house too, don't ask). Hope you understand and all that old chap or chapesses.

Stay safe out there.

Not long

You have until Game of Thrones has loaded and adverts finished on Sky Go till I stop typing and hit post. Great stag do this weekend for Ric. Superbly put together, lots of good chaps (some friends of old, others I was pleased to meet) and I enjoyed go karting a lot. Only one person I couldn't stand. Oh and I got to share a bed with Joules. I was even honourably mediocre at go karting despite my weight. I only managed to get out for one run but even with hang over it continued my trend of rapid improvement at the moment. Not just in performance but in how much I enjoyed it. I've just got back from a shorter run on which I performed some stunning sprints. Should probably give more time for trainers to break in before doing it as calves are quite tight now but they can be stre

New Bike

I cant get bike to work scheme and with two kids I was never going to be able to afford a top end carbon beauty. Instead I've gone second hand and I hope you agree that this bike is likely to cause a stir when seen racked up in transition.

Man Down

Inexorably pavement and bike strapped man drew together as graviton exchange triumphed against will of man. A tackled player curls in on the ball, the footing lost toddler spins away from the impact, the cartoon villain frantically resists the unresistable and the balance lost horse rider switches from worry of retaining stirrups to avoiding hooves. The road bike rider twists foot free and tucks in low away from traffic. The freeing failed, the pot hole stopped forward momentum, I toppled. The mighty oak tumbled, the pillar slipped. My head rushed towards the pavement, my instinct took over and fight or flight kicked in. Terra firma and I collided.

Actually i just fell over because a car stopped and my cleat didn't come out of the pedal. Nothing hurt other than pride. White van man behind me gave me a questioning thumbs up and slightly road rashed i continued on my commute. Haven't fallen since i broke my arm when a BMW cut me up ages ago and someone decided drinking tea with sister was better than taking me to hospital.

I feel amazing today. Great family, great day at work, great job, great bike. Blah blah blah. Watching 24 season 1 now.

All bunged up

A swim in the lake this morning has left me with a nose that is about to cause me to be divorced. A nose clip has now been suggested. Ear plugs were latest edition to my kit bag. If I'm told to get a mouth plug next as well ill know she is trying to bump me off for the massive insurance payout. Avenge me.

Anyway i don't know what it is about the lake swimming but it certainly causes nasal dramas. Will it stop being effected the more i go? Is it to do with breathing technique?

Post work 22 mile ride as well was good but wet.

A couple of hours training each day is working well particularly when i can build into commute. I skipped a bad part of usual journey to swim then dropped straight on motorway to get to meeting. Extended bikes to work handy. I'm going to see if I can do a run to the office soon. 14miles but I'll keep it slow and steady on direct route to test feasibility and fitness. Will need to first do a 7-8 miler at that pace to test the stitch problem. Real slow, 5-6 mph. I'm also going to have a look at my gait. And gate. My gate is falling down at home. So is my shed. And some arse kicked or punched a hole in my fence. One of the ones that didn't get blown down that is. Back to gait. More on the front of foot increase cadence etcetc. Skipping is supposed to help both with a rope and the 6year old girl in daisies kind.

donate any amount and make amusing comment to win cake! http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/GeoffHurst

Dear Diary

Thank you to Alex W for the donation!

My wife made a very funny joke last night. I told her I had gotten competitive cycling against a van with a bike on it. She said that the van had raced a Van on a bike.

My middle name is Van.

Actually it was very quick witted and I love her very much.

The last two days I have cycled into the office without having first eaten or drunk (not even coffee!). It was fine and I took a more hilly route each time. Didn't over eat afterwards either and its apparently good for fat burning.

She has launched a cake competition! Talking of food and N, she has launched a cake competition!

"After a training break for glandular fever and new baby, I'm back to being a triathlon widow - please make all of this time without Geoff worthwhile by donating as generously as you can to his Ironman fund.

Last time he did a big race he offered various incentives to donors, so I'll start the ball rolling by offering a large chocolate cake to the person who accompanies their donation with the most inspiring and motivating quote by this time next week.

And on a more serious note, Macmillan are an amazing charity and really well deserving of a few of your hard-earned pounds.

(Dan I realise you didn't receive your cake in the end, because I hadn't a clue what kind you meant from your description! If you're happy to settle for just a nice cake I'll get right on it!)

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/GeoffHurst"