After their first season of triathlons last year and some very close races, Nicola and Kate returned to Blenheim on what was the triathlon’s 10^th Anniversary for another enjoyable triathlon on closed, undulating roads in the beautiful grounds of Blenheim Palace.

Blenheim is a genuinely friendly triathlon for triathletes of all abilities and both entered the lake slightly less nervous than normal. Nicola had a strong swim, beating Kate, who set off a little too enthusiastically at a pace she could not maintain – but Blenheim’s 400m uphill trail from swim to T1 worked to Kate’s advantage as she overtook Nicola on the way to T1; but Nicola’s speedy transition meant she was off on the bike first. Kate then chased Nicola for 10k, the competition of chasing and being chased meaning that both Viceroys improved their previous year’s cycle time – Nicola by an amazing 6 minutes and Kate by a creditable 4 minutes. Kate finally caught Nicola and then the second 10k of the bike course was spent playing cat and mouse, chasing and overtaking each other and reaching T2 together.

Kate set off first from T2 and narrowly managed to maintain her lead for the run duration, the two finishing just minutes apart and both improving their overall performance from 2013 – Nicola with a 5 minute improvement and Kate 3 minutes.

‘It was an early start in beautiful Chester for the 2nd ITU qualifier at Olympic Distance. Before I start about the race, I would say that this was the best organised triathlon I have done – Age group waves, with 15 minute staggers meant there were no issues with over-crowding that affect most triathlons nowadays. Every marshal clapped as I went past, with most calling out first names, which were printed on our numbers. There were even toilets in transition!

My swim was off at 8am with a 900m swim upstream in the River Dee, followed by 650m downstream after the turn. I managed to get some feet on the upstream leg, remembering the drills we have been doing at Shepperton, and was hauled out of the river by 2 nice guys 24 minutes later in 10th position. An uphill run and some steps led to T1 and we set off on the bike, heading into Wales. The downside of having a good swim was that there was no confidence booster available by taking anyone on the bike…Instead I was hunted by other Canada hopefuls. Those damn Christian names printed on our numbers that I had thought were great, suddenly became annoying as I began to recognise rivals from the BTF website easing past me. A tough first 15k, undulating, on some rough surfaces soon flattened as we headed onto a dual carriageway. A fast back 20k led to an overall time of 1hr 06 mins.

The run was a pretty 3 lap course utilising 2 bridges over the Dee. A gel was needed at 4k as the legs started to feel detached from my body, but 43 mins later I shuffled over the line in 2 hr 16mins. No automatic qualification, but still in the hunt for a roll down….’

As raced and reported by Mike Armer

The Dorney lake of the North people say? ‘Not too sure about that,’ states coach Yeoman as he, Colette, Mark Edmunds, Mike Armer, Colin Hinsley headed to Nottingham for the 1st Worlds and 2015 European Sprint Qualifier. Two hard races in 6 days is not ideal, but being selected last week took away any pressure for Yeoman at least. 

Mark Edmunds was literally up first, with a 2.45am wake up as he had to drive up to Nottingham in day of race so was already tired before his 7.30am wave start time: ‘With 240 people in the wave ranging from 15-19 AG 24-29 AG and 40-44 AG the swim was always going to be bonkers so I started out wide with the aim of banking inwards and targeting a solid swim as in my last race at Dorney 2 weeks previous this didn’t happen, so I exited the swim in a solid 11.33 which I was disappointed with but at least it was an improvement. Yeoman complained that the water quality was poor, weedy and smelly! ‘I went hard and was soon pushed towards the dock so had to slow down and reposition, losing the toes of the front two, but I exited the water in 5th and smashed T1, exiting in 3^rd.’ T1 was smooth but slow for Mark Edmunds – he started with plenty of people to chase down! Meanwhile Mike Armer had a frantic swim start in 35-39 category with over 200 hopefuls aiming for the first turn buoy: ‘I got caught up in too much traffic in the middle of the field and expended too much energy trying to catch my next breath and avoid stray elbows and feet.   I finally got some clear water with 200m to go and climbed up the ramp in a disappointing 12.04 for 750m.’  

4 laps of the rowing lake followed for our Viceroys and the frustration of the swim led Mark Edmunds to pull out a strong ride of 30.12, picking up a few places in the process, but qualification was gone!  After momentarily losing his racking location in T2, an uneventful 5km of 20.10 followed and I came over the line in 1hr 04min 40s : ‘a decent result after a poor swim, which just reminds me triathlon is 4 disciplines, not just 2!’ proclaimed Mike. 

Mark Edmunds tells us about his race: ‘Bike was four laps of the lake totalling 20k and I managed to stay away from any drafters fitting on my wheel and worked my way to a 29.44 minute bike. I was out of T2 in no time chasing down whoever I could find on the one lap of the run. A couple of nasty climbs but generally a flat course which I ran a solid 19.31 minutes to finish with 62.52 minutes for the race. I missed out on top 100 overall but 105th out of nearly 900 people was a good result.’ 

As Yeoman eased in to the bike ride, he rode within himself as he was looking to have a solid run. Mark continues: ‘At the end of lap 2 a small pack eased by. “Are you f$€king kidding me!!”Spotted by the draft buster but unsure if they paid for their crimes. Coming into T2 I was 7^th; looked to be light on my toes. The run course was fairly flat and for once I was catching people, only to then be run down my speed machines. Confident I was still 1st in my AG with 500m to go this guy who was running like his arse was on fire flowed by and pipped me to AG honours. I later found out he a) set the fastest run split of 16:10 and b)two weeks before set a GB age record for the mile. Good day as it secured me 2015 European qualification and another Worlds slot.’ 

So whilst all this racing was boy Viceroy racing was going on, where were Colin and Colette?
Colette remembers: ‘I had the privilege of racing in the toughest pack of women I have met to date. As much as I had tried to prepare myself you never know how you will do until.. The swim was like nothing I have ever experienced, all fists and feet for the full loop, but I loved the bike, and dare I say it the run too. I achieved a PB of 1:11:33 so pleased with my performance, but also inspired by those that were ahead of me. Good enough to go to Canada, we will see…. but I’m smiling whatever the out come’

 And Colin? Remember Coach Yeoman’s rants about drafters? Opps, enough said… they were caught and penalised!

As Viceroys Lara, Alexa ,Carl, Kevin Dargue, Kyle and Rachel headed to Hyde Park they were all psyched up and well prepared for their imminent triathlon – well sort of. Lara’s preparation for the Pru Health Triathlon in London consisted of 3 months of sitting on the sofa eating chocolate following surgery to both my ankles; Carl’s meticulous preparations didn’t take into account that you are not allowed to take bikes on the underground and so had to cycle from Waterloo to Hyde Park, raising his stress levels as he weaved his way through the traffic. Kevin is still blaming coach Yeoman for not telling himthat  Hammersmith Flyover is closed at weekends until end of August, so long, long, long, long, long tailbacks – he got stuck in it for nearly an hour.  Alexa meanwhile was so over-prepared and race  psyched, she turned up to the start an hour early as others were wearing the same hat as her! 

So Lara, what were thinking as you faced your first triathlon after injury and lenghthy recovery? ‘I was told by my physio I mustn’t run yet and friends and family told me I was mad to even consider doing it. But always doing the opposite of what everyone tells me I went for a cycle (just the one!) and bought some waterproof dressings for my incision which still hadn’t healed due to an infection and went to London on Sunday!!

It was only a sprint distance but my arms certainly knew I hadn’t swum for 3 months, despite being on crutches for what seemed like forever. A whole 6 minutes were spent in T1 changing dressings on my ankle! For future reference waterproof dressings don’t work to swim, only shower! Felt somewhat panicked by dirty lake water on my ankle so threw some alcohol gel over it and onto the bike. The bike was enjoyable and there were some parts of the course you could really get some speed. Then the run……..probably best to call it a shuffle! Probably the slowest I’ve ever ‘run’ 5k. A mixture of jogging and walking. My legs weren’t having any of it, I realised it must be a very different group of muscles used to run! I was kind of hoping my one cycle and untold ankle strengthening exercises for physio might have prepared me. 

I had my doubts along the way but having completed it, it feels good to be back in the game. So much so I managed to blag a Windsor triathlon place so I will see some fellow Viceroys there. Just don’t tell my physio!!’

Carl meanwhile had recovered from his cycling trauma and was registered, racked and settled – he headed out to the pontoon and took up a central position to get the best straight line to the first turn:  ‘I had a great swim, first to reach buoys 1 and 2 and second out of the water by a mere body length.  The run from the water exit to transition at Hyde Park is around 200m and I caught the guy in front of me.  T1 went like a dream having cut the legs down on my wetsuit, it didn’t give me any of the usual problems of getting caught round the ankles. Bike mount was not pretty but nevertheless I was moving forward with a degree of speed.

The bike course was flat and fast but you really had to concentrate on the approach to the cobbled speed humps and tight hairpin turns at the end of each lap.  It was really hard not to appear to be drafting given the number of competitors out there but soon found myself racing a couple of younger lads for the duration of the 21k.

T2 was solid too and all those tips coach gave us were being mentally ticked off one by one as I went out on the run. There is a great atmosphere at this race particularly as you cross through the grandstand at the end of each lap with the cheering supporters and compare cracking jokes about the athletes. I’d noticed in earlier races that the final turn into the finishing straight was slippery so avoided that and sprinted across the line with a new 5k PB. Overall times are never going to be great here given the long transitions (I did it in 1;18:22) but really happy with an position of 15^th in AG (out of 218 men) and a solid race all round.

Alexa had an equally impressive race, coming 7^th in her AG and 70 out of 279 women, despite forgetting everything she had been taught in her swim, setting off way too fast and burning out. She had a great cycle and run though.

Kevin meanwhile was learning an important lesson – do not let your 6 year old daughter carry your helmet! ‘My forever helpful daughter spent ½ hour twirling the helmet around on the straps. I thought it was a bit tight when I put it on to rack the bike but thought nothing of it. Come T1 I had to pull apart the helmet and re-assemble it to get the straps sorted. T1 – 6:25mins. That has to be a club worst!

Mark’s coaching definitely paid off. I felt more comfortable and in control. 23^rd out of 58 in age category (old gits). Take off 4 minutes wasted in T1 and I would have moved up 10 places. Still losing too many places on the cycling but that is due to not enough time spent on the bike.’

Great racing Viceroys.

With the words of Chairman Yeo (“Smash it”) ringing in my ears, I promptly began the evening by destroying all records for getting to the event early with a splendid T-2 hours arrival at Dorney Lake – a venue so local i probably could have walked there in that time.

Managing to squeeze my steed into the swathes of empty racking I embarked upon the longest warm up I’d ever done before chatting amiably to my fellow wave1-ers  who tried ever so nicely to get rid of me as they were desperately trying to shoe horn themselves into unlubed wetsuits 2 minutes before the race briefing began.

The swim commenced with a 250m warm up to the start line including another first for me – swimming under a bridge – before the washing machine began with a loud blast on the starter’s horn. I managed to get onto a mid-paced (fast for me !) swimmer’s feet and proceeded to use him to drag me round a decent proportion of the 750m, all the while trying to benefit from all of my winter programme and lake sessions tips, techniques and Yeoman-based fisting drills (insert own joke at leisure) – eventually exiting the water in 14:51.

A geologically timed T1 and I was out on the bike, clipped in and trying to catch number 96 who it turned out would be my nemesis/best friend for the entire 20k as we chopped and changed positions a number of times, acting as each other’s Cat and Mouse on the fast and flat course. Definitely no drafting though – that would have been against the rules……  I headed back into transition in 35:35 and a decidedly average 44 second T2 saw me heading for the run exit…. which is where I discovered I had left my legs in my cycling shoes and there was nothing connecting my body to my trainers! (What do you mean I should have done more than one brick session ?!) It took a kilometre or so of slow plodding (number 96 was long gone by this stage) before I found my legs again, although by this stage I had been passed by more than a few other runners not to mention a couple of hedgehogs and an asthmatic snail who’d lost his Ventolin. Telling my new found legs to shut up, I ploughed on and eventually, after the most negative of splits, stumbled over the line for my very first sub 1:20 sprint tri (1:19:23)

In fact it was my first sub 1:28 – a full 9 ½ minutes off my PB from last year – which I was absolutely ecstatic about and led to some slightly over-exuberant Facebook postings for which I can only apologise.

As raced and reported by Ian Talbot

Viceroys Debbie, Mick, Lucy (Owen), Chris (Ford), Kim, John (Kellet) braved a very early, very rainy bank holiday Monday to compete In Thames Turbo Race 3.

‘Pool swimming is so totally not my thing….my excuse and I am sticking to it!’ proclaimed Debbie, ‘I have never had so many strangers touch my feet and I felt like I knew the marshal personally by the end of the swim because he kept stopping me to talk……well asking me to ‘ hold it….ok off you go ‘ The ride went well enough although wet, cold and bumpy…..the local council really need to sort the roads out ! The run was fine despite not being able to feel my feet. All in all a great friendly event and will definitely do another.

Mewanwhile, Lucy Owen was braving her first race of the season: ‘First lesson was to remember to look at the weather forecast. Mild drizzle on the way there turned to a downpour and with no plastic bag or the like to cover my kit everything started to get rather soggy in transition. Lots of hanging around later and I was off. Obviously put a random time down for the swim- don’t enter just before bed after a couple of glasses of wine- as I was caught behind lots of people, but still managed a not awful time. The bike leg was slightly odd having to hop off and walk round temporary traffic lights, and I just didn’t push it hard enough- no idea why it took me so long! Very frustrating and Mark will be getting a call for some coaching!

I would love to use the weather as an excuse but it had stopped raining when I went out. The run was good, especially as my speed work has been a bit hit and miss recently. Overall a very disappointing result at 17th female, but lots of things to work on and spur me on for training for the rest of the season. Felt very fresh afterwards which makes me think I didn’t put in enough effort!’

Mick too was the victim of the pool swim, his predicted timing putting him last in and lastout of the water, but he son turned this to his advantage: ‘I was soon picking people off on the ride. The enforced dismount and walk segment to avoid road works made for an unusual variation on the bike leg, but the ride was a lot of fun nonetheless. Back in transition after 38 mins and out for my fastest 5k this year (21.43). Result – 1:11:09 39th overall and 6th in age group. My highlight of the day- watching a random triathlete punch the air in sheer unadulterated delight at finishing the swim. Inspirational stuff!

Lessons learned
1) Get out of bed and just do it
2) Learning to swim faster is not a quick process
3) Having been over taken on the run, don’t simply accept it, try to hold on and eventually they may break. He did and I regained a place
4) My dry robe is awesome!
5) Enjoy it! There are loads of interesting cool people in our sport.’

Great work team VTC!

After a 6 hour train trip zooming across the length of France we (Rachel Hall, Lance Keeson) arrived in Aix en Provence. After negotiating the ruck sacks and bike box from Eurostar, up and down escalators on the Paris metro and finally the TGV I was feeling pretty proud, but this was a temporary state as I soon realised when the TGV whizzed off into the distance that there are 3 train stations in Aix en Provence and we were 20 mins drive from the apartment. Fail!

The next morning was registration & briefing day. The main street in Provence had been transformed into an Ironman expo with kit and merchandise everywhere as we played spot the Ironman tattoo between panic attacks about Lance having a fit for race medical certificate and how I was going to get 20k from the start to the finish with no public transport or shuttles. The medical was avoided by a late BTF join up – we’ll come to the second bit later.

Registration was a very chilled out affair, no ID required, a few signatures and boom the rucksack & transition delights were in. Lance’s hands. The briefing was equally relaxed- a quick PowerPoint presentation of the athletes pack that we’d read a hundred times before we arrived. Our previous experience was Austria where the registration was uber strict & run like a military operation, with a face to face briefing by the race director, so this felt very different. With all that done it was time to explore and try not kill the credit card on new kit and to eat our body weight in lovely French bread and pastries. Continue reading →

Alan Clarke and Charlotte Saunders took part in the Farnham 10 TT at Bentley yesterday evening. The race was down as a 25mile but they changed it to a 10 as the weather and light was poor. Neither Viceroys moaned about the shorter race in the grim weather thought; Clarkie tells us how it went:

‘I had a mad rush to get my kit and by bike together while Charlotte paced around waiting for me to get my arse into gear. We raced together in a 25m over a month ago, as part of our training for the Duo Normand later this year, so today was a test to see if our fitness and ability to ride as a pair had improved. With no warm up, a cold wind and the start of rain we got to the start and knew we’d at least win our race…we were the only 2up in the race. Our plan was to work hard into the wind going out and use the wind on the return leg to hang onto the pace we’d set on the way out. After a steady start we got into a good pace and as my legs started to burn – I thought I’d hear the cry to ease off and slow down. It never came and we smashed our way round, increasing out speed on the home leg, overtaking 4 of our minute men (well 30sec men) to finishin 23:32. That’s a great effort especially in the wind, rain and no time to warm up. We’re looking good for the Duo and hope to get another few races under our belt to really get our name as near to the top as we can in the name of VTC and the pink kit.’

Survive Dorney I hear you ask, the flat course with short transition ideal for beginners? Yes, survive! Jon, Kate, Stuart, Gary and Suze headed to Eton Dorney for a triathlon adventure on Eton Supersprint Saturday.

It was pouring with rain and the race briefing included warnings about slippery sections of the course – Jon was the first casualty as he catapulted over his handlebars coming in to T1; to add insult to injury he was then given a 2 minute fine for (in his state of shock) undoing his helmet before racking his bike. Stuart was meanwhile just ahead of his team mates having got out of the water 45 seconds before Gary (his nearest competitor). Any competition from Gary was soon scuppered as he got a puncture on his last lap though, frustratingly bringing him in just 2 minutes behind Stuart… and that was before finishing the race with blood soaking through his trainer!

Kate ‘s excuse for a slow swim (this time) was that she was being a good friend and staying with her mate who was competing in her first ever tri – but she was pleased with her bike and run times. Suze had clearly been training hard over the winter, her run time bringing her in 3 minutes ahead of Kate. Highlights for other Viceroys were a PB by 5 minutes for Stuart, Jon’s speedy transition times and Gary’s potentially awesome non-puncture time and seeing the friendly face of Viceroy Suzy Blandford who was marshalling the finish line.

As a top amateur  triathlete it’s all about qualifying for the Worlds, the World Championships –  and this year we are proud to have 7 Viceroys all competing to challenge the best in the world at triathlon in Edmonton, Canada. Shropshire Olympic,  Nottingham sprint, Deva Olympic, Rother Valley Sprint, Dambuster Olympic and Milton Keynes Sprint are the races which we need to hold our breaths for as Mark Yeoman, Mike Armer, Mark Edmunds, Colette Kitterhing, Carla Gilbey, Colin Hinsley, Tim Ferguson take a step towards living the triathlon dream.

Mark Yeoman and Mike Armer headed to Ellesmere this weekend for the first round of qualifiers as the rain started to come down – it promised to be a wet and slightly windy day in Shropshire

Mike remembers: ‘As I racked up the bike, I spotted Yeoman pacing around transition, just as we heard a loud explosion….Poor number 267; his back tyre had popped on the rack! I was due off at 10:35am, with Yeoman 10 mins behind – I wondered when I would get the tap as he passed me… The swim was a frantic start with more stray arms than I had seen in a while. But, happily, calm waters and a 1 lap diamond shape meant the turns were not so congested. I kept trying to remember the drafting practise we had done at the lake, but then found myself fighting others to get on the toes of the guy in front. I exited the lake with a solid swim of 23:28.

I had been practising my bike mount with shoes clipped in at home. Unfortunately I had only been practising whilst the bike was on the turbo…..lesson learned…..be prepared, attend the Transition master class! I managed to get on the bike but when reaching down to guide my foot in to the shoe, I couldn’t reach… disaster! I gave a few spectators a laugh as I stumbled off my bike, and ripped my shoes off the pedals to get them on the old fashioned way! Regaining my composure, I set off on a relatively undulating, wet course. The first 20km felt good, but on the return to Ellesmere, the head wind took it’s toll – no wonder the first 20k had felt nice and fast! Hung on for a 1 hr 07 mins. Just the run to get through and it was tough – short ups and downs which sapped the legs. Mr Yeoman arrived on my shoulder at 5km, having made up the 10 mins, and then disappeared off into the distance on his way to a 3rd place.’

Mark had hit the swim hard and lead from the start and opened a nice lead. Each wave had gone off in 5min intervals, so he soon had to swim through the women’s water which at the turns buoys cost him, but he still exited in 19.50 – around a minute off what he needed.

Mark continues: ‘ The bike was bloody hard and not my preferred course – Welsh hills and nothing flat. So I pushed as hard as I could. I suffered over the last 8km into a strong head wind. Entering into T2 I was still first in AG but after 1km Martin Jessup eased by. The run was a killer, double out and back with two hills on the first out and then slow incline on the second. I eased up to Michael around 6km feel ropey, By 7km by legs where cooked and I knew I was slowing as the 18.30 first 5km soon caught up. Rule #5 Rule #5. I was slowing but by how much. with 1km to go I dropped a place but he told me that there was no one near so I shuffled home to secure 3rd AG and my automatic place for the Worlds (WOO HOO – GO YEO!). I’m over the moon as the race went well and with more run focus that final 4km will come.’

Mike secured a 42:35 10km to finish, and was delighted with an overall PB of 2hrs 15 mins, but in 17th place, it shows the utter commitment our 6 remaining Viceroys will need to get one of those GB spots….roll on Deva (for Mike) and Nottingham for other VTCs!