Alu Friday!

One of the toughest challenges of being a triathlete is keeping training fresh and interesting, but also challenging. You’d think that, with three sports to choose from, variety would come naturally but, in my experience, it’s the opposite. In order to make sure we pay the right amount of attention to each discipline, and then focus correctly on speed, strength, endurance, technique, tempo – the list goes on – it becomes easier to unquestioningly follow a plan that differs little from week to week.

I always try to consider my week and, before sessions, decide what it is that I want from them but, even so, some weeks pass and I can’t remember what I did when.

One way I like to mix things up is by entering lots of events – runs, bike time trials, open water swims – which, as well as providing good training, help you prepare for race environments and nerves.

But I’ve decided to go one step further and really push myself – both physically and mentally. Next Friday (November 26^th), I’m doing the Spinney’s 80km bike tt, followed quickly by the Zoggs Mina Mile 1650m sea swim. I’ve decided to make this into Alu Friday.

Basically, that means completing a Half Ironman (according to the Mohs Scale, Aluminium is half as ‘hard’ as iron…) over the course of the day. By parking up short and cycling to and from the Spinney’s TT, I should be able to easily add on the extra 10k I need to complete the HIM’s 90km cycle segment.

Alu Man?

On to the 1.65k swim – a couple of hundred metres warm-up and swim down should see me reach the HIM distance of 1.9k. This should take me through till about midday, so I’ll then get a few hours rest until the sun cools a little and, around 4ish, I’ll head up to Arabian Ranches, where two laps of the 10k loop with an extra little section around a lake thrown in on the second lap, will see me come home for the 21k run section.

I’ll be doing my best to keep time for the whole thing (some parts will obviously be done for me – I’ll add the rest on to those times) with sub-5.30 being my goal…I’ll be taking Saturday off but I need to bear in mind that I’ve an Oly just over a week later.

Over the past few months, I’ve experimented with different nutrition a little – I know that all different varieties and flavours of Gu do the job up to a point, I like jelly sweets, Farley’s rusks, cookies and bananas all seem to work…as do fruit punch Gatorade, water and flat coke.

I’ve not really tried much by way of savoury food tho, which may not be a problem for a HIM but I think needs sorting by next September, ready for my first full IM. There’s plenty of time to get that right but I’ll try to incorporate it into the Alu Friday during the afternoon break - paninis, I hear, are the way to go.

In the meantime, it’s a big week or work and, possibly, moving house – all the while trying to fit in some sprint work ready for the GT tri this weekend.

A Chain Reaction

A fairly easy, nothing extraordinary weekend, with the exception of a couple of restaurant reviews for work.

I swam with my master's squad on Thursday night, and then got up bright and early on Friday morning for the Medecins Sans Frontiere swim around the Burj Al Arab. It was a terrific, fun, family event that was really well organised – plus, I got a great new transition towel out of the whole deal purely for entering!

Although swimming is definitely my strength in triathlon, I've still very little experience in open water swimming, which I find quite tough. This may sound like a bit of moaning - especially to any new triathletes who are struggling just to get up and down a few lengths without dying – but as it is my strongest discipline, it's an opportunity for me to get out ahead and get a lead on all the faster cyclists and runners and, therefore, I'd love to get my OW swims up to speed with my pool swimming.

The MSF Burj Swim is, at it says, out and around the big man-made island that the Burj Al Arab – Dubai's giant, sail-shaped hotel – stands on. I came 12^th overall – out of the 544 total number of swimmers – which is good, but I was disappointed to come out the water a little short of some of the swimmers I can just about beat in our squad sessions. My goggles leaked a little and I opted for the clear lenses, not realising that the way back was straight into the sun. On the whole, tho, it was a fun race and I learnt some lessons...always the most important thing. I always have to keep reminding myself that I'm a triathlete, not a swimmer. I'd love to be in the water more often but, realistically, I can only dedicate 2 hours a week to swimming as riding, running and gym take up 12+ hours too.

After the swim, my mate Joe (still over on business from Spain) and I headed for Ghantoot for a spot of cycling. It's where the local tris are held and, being exceptionally quiet, offers the perfect 13km loop for cycling on. However, as it was a bit later in the day, the wind was really up, making 6 of that 13k really hellishly tough. We did a couple of laps before heading off seperately on a single 13k time trial, with the other person remaining in the aircon of the car and keeping the time.

I headed off first and gave it some down the 'out' part of the loop – I wanted to impress my mate, of course, while also knowing that I had a big week of training leading up to another sprint tri next weekend...I aimed to give 80% but think that crept up closer to 85%!

The way back in was murderous and, on several occasions, I mentally quit cycling and, thus, triathlon. Even tucked low and aero, there were parts where I felt like I was hardly moving at all. I came through in 20:15, which is a good effort and gives me hope for a quick (for me, at least) bike split next week.

While Joe was doing his TT, I practised heading across/around roundabouts, which is a weakness of mine. Every tri I've done so far, I've lost loads on corners and turnarounds. I feel the practice helped and it was nice, waiting for Joe, just to cycle around near the car like a kid playing on their bike in the stree...something, I realised, we never do as we're always riding our bikes a certain distance to somewhere or out and back. I'm really going to try to spend 10 minutes a week just riding my bike nowhere, as I feel it helped me get to know her and manoeuvre her more easily...just those basic bike handling skills that can make a real difference.

Joe rode bravely on my very old and fifth-hand Olmo race bike to a 22:34 finish...to me, the spoils, but I was reallly impressed with Joe's riding and look forward to getting beaten next time! After that, we did a few sprints and a spin down...just 52kms in total, but it felt like a tough bike workout. To add a extra layer of pain, we then went and did an hour of upperbody and abs in the gym

I got in late last night after driving to Abu Dhabi to watch Kanye West perform and, in spite of my best intentions, was way too tired to make the Saturday Bab Al Shams ride, so I subsitituted that with 90 minutes on the turbo with a couple of 1-minute simulated climbs and sprints, while later in the day, I managed 10kms of fartleks on the road.

I also went to Wolfi's and got a nut to remove the cassette on my Planet X TT and one of those fancy chain cleaner machines, and I gave both my bikes a damn good clean...something I don't enjoy doing but am happy that I've done. That chain cleaner thingy is a little box of miracles...I'm a lazy chain cleaner but it makes the job much easier and quicker and, so, my chains will be better kept from now on it...I promise!

A mad, bad January

It’s been a couple of busy days since I last posted…although probably a little less busy than my cousin Zoe, who gave birth to a baby she-giant a couple of days ago…well done Zo!

In order to make it through some heavy days of work and some sporadic but decent workouts, I’ve been reduced to filling up my events calendar by coughing up for a few more races. I’ve already posted on here about training here in Dubai, but I thought I’d share my schedule with cyberspace, so you get an idea of the small but growing endurance sports community here in the UAE…you can also let me know whether my January is manageable or a bit too mental!

This weekend: Burj Al Arab 1k swim for Medecins Sans Frontiere

Nov 19: Race 3 – Golden Tulip sprint tri series

Nov 26: Spinneys 80k bike time trial, followed an hour or two later by the Zoggs Mina Mile 1.6k swim

Dec 4: Eleven – Sea Dubai International Olympic Triathlon

Dec 10: Spinneys Dubai 92k Cycle Challenge

Jan 14: Tri Yas – Oly distance

Jan 21: Dubai Marathon

Later on Jan 21: Fly out to Thailand for 18 days and 1500kms of mountain biking through Laos and northern Thailand

Feb 18: RAK Half Marathon

Feb 25: Dubai Roadsters Coats-to-Coast ride (220kms)

March 12: Abu Dhabi International Tri (short course: 1500m, 100kms, 10km)

March 18: Zoggs Mina Mile Swim (a whopping 6.5km marathon swim!)

March 25: Race 6 – Golden Tulip sprint tri series

There’s a couple of other aquathlons/duathlons and 10kms here and there that I may add, but this is basically the rest of my race season.

I have to confess, I’m both excited and a little concerned about that January. With my first Ironman next September, I’d love to get a sub-4hr marathon in as this would give me loads of confidence that I could manage a 5hr marathon (needed for my 12hr IM target) later in the year.

Dubai Marathon

However, due to the Oly on Dec 4 which is one of my main events, I’ll probably not have the chance to shift towards more run training till about 5 weeks before the marathon…which isn’t very much. Add to that an Oly the week before the marathon and then heading straight off on a cycling holiday (averaging 90kms a day every day on MTBs)…hmmmm…should be interesting!

As I said to one of my tri buddies, James, by the time the Abu Dhabi International comes on March 12 (I feel this event is going to give me a decent indicator as to how my IM prep is coming along) I’m either going to be in the greatest shape of my life or in a whole world of pain.

Abu Dhabi International Triathlon

The idea is that a month of fairly intensive marathon training over Xmas will help my running come on leaps and bounds, as will the experience of simply spending 5 hours a day in the saddle for more than two weeks. Then I put that all together for Abu Dhabi.

I look at this events calendar and I know it’s going to be tough but I’m almost drooling – I can’t wait to get my teeth into some of these events and, I think, it’s that attitude and enthusiasm which will help me through. Attitude and determination are 90% of the battle, right? Right?

Rant #1 – governments love drivers

Anyone who has known me for a little while will be more than aware of my ability to get a bee in my bonnet about, well, just about anything, often leading to long, expletive-laden and overly aggressive monologues of epic proportions.

Time then for my first blog-rant.

I just came across THIS story on EverymanTri.com (great website), about a wealthy, Merc-driving fund manager who hit and run a cyclist in the US, leaving him almost for dead, and the ludicrously light punishment that has been doled out.

As someone who not only does longish, early morning training sessions at the weekends, but also enjoys commuting the 10k or so to work/swimming/gym during the week on Dubai’s notoriously crazy roads (Indian driving test: “go forwards, go backwards…don’t worry, you only clipped it…good, here’s your licence.” Emirati driving test: “Where were you born? Dubai? Good, here’s your licence), I guess these stories resonate with me a little.

This decision is an absolute disgrace but, frankly, these incidents are going to happen again and again and again. Erzinger receiving little more than slapped wrists simply reaffirms the fact that the powers-that-be see cyclists as second-class citizens on the roads. If authorities see us that way, then can we really blame motorists for doing so, as well?

This in spite of the fact that cyclists take all manner of precautions to be safe and seen, almost always riding sensibly and considerately and, most significantly, employing a device that increases fitness and has zero, yes zero, adverse effects on the environment.

But no, let's go easy on the fella in the gas-guzzling business-wank-mobile.

If authorities are genuinely serious about a) encouraging a fitter and more active population and b) protecting the environment, then it's time to put their money where their mouth is. Throw the book at this guy – the hit is bad enough, the run is unforgivable and, let’s face it, had the cyclist died (he only suffered spinal cord injuries, bleeding from his brain, damage to his knee and scapula...he how suffers disabling spinal headaches and faces multiple surgeries for a herniated disc and plastic surgery to fix the scars he suffered in the accident) then it's manslaughter, no less…cyclists need to be protected by more than helmets.

Phew...and breathe out...rant over.

Things Dubai is great at...

In my two years living in Dubai, I’ve discovered that there are two things that the UAE does amazingly well: a. builds truly impressive things and then opens them before they’re actually ready (Burj Khalifa, The Palm etc); b. spoils things that should be fun with petty bureaucracy.

Actually, there’s a third: keeping whites white. Seriously, the Dazz Doorstep Challenge needs to get its ass over here – Emiratis must be the world’s greatest cleaners, it’s just insane how blindingly white they keep their dishdashas. I don’t know about you, but if I even wear a white t-shirt, I can guarantee spilling something down it within seconds, and then managing to dye it a strange greyish off-white while trying to get the stain out. But here, it’s a real artform.

Where are Shane Ritchie or Danny Baker when you need them?

Back to the first two points, though. Last weekend’s swim meet at the brand new Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Sports Complex (HbMbRSC, as I’m trying to make stick!) was the perfect manifestation of both of these. In a show of tardiness that even the builders of the new Wembley would be proud of, the car park was a building site, the foyer non-existent, the corridors unpainted and tiles were missing in the changing rooms…but what was finished was truly impressive. There was a 50m Olympic pool (made into a 25m short-course pool thanks to the pontoon across the middle), there was a giant, deep diving pool which also doubled as a 23m warm-up pool, triple decking football stadium style seating and one of the hugest digital scoreboards right in the middle of it all…instantly bringing up not only splits, final times and positions, but reaction time off the blocks. Apparently, the other side of the diving pool and as yet unfinished (I know, shocker, right?), another 50m pool is being constructed. I’ve swum at some venues in my time, but the BhMbRSC is really world class…adding a little more substance to the claim that Dubai/UAE will soon be going after the Olympics.

On the flipside, however, relay teams were disqualified for standing close to the pool and cheering on the swimmer in the water. In fact, teams being poolside at all seemed a minor inconvenience to all officials. ‘Sit down and shut up’ was the message – which led to a complete lack of atmosphere. Lessons need to be learned.

Have a fairly standard week of training this week, leading up to the exciting Burj Al Arab Wild Wadi swim next weekend…it’s a 1km open water race around the island which supports the Burj Al Arab…surely now one of the world’s most iconic buildings. 

It’s all in aid of Medecins Sans Frontiere but it’s a race nonetheless, with prizes including hotel stays, gym passes, waterpark passes etc. It’s split into age groups, so I’m hoping to give a decent performance being at the bottom end of the 30-40 age group and away from all those young teenage dolphin types….they make me feel so old!

Bike rides, guinea pigs, drinks and weddings

Busy weekend coming up, folks.

Firstly, I have my first swimming gala in, oooooh, around 14 years! The snappily titled H.H UAE Presidents Championship is the first meet to be held at the equally tongue-tripping Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Sports Complex. The HbMbRSC, as I like to call it, will be the venue for the FINA World Short Course Champs in December, so this is effectively a dry-run (but with water, one hopes) for that with all us UAE-based maters swimmers acting as guinea pigs.

Will it look anything like this artist's impression..?

 Anyways, I’ll be swimming 200IM, 50 free, 50 fly and 100 fly, as well as 100 back and 200 free in the relays – two sessions on Friday and another on Saturday morning. Should be fun, at least…

Also, one of my very best mates, Joe, is over here for work at the moment. Another keen relative newbie biker, we’re going to try to get a couple of long rides in over the next couple of weekends. That means joining the Cycle Challenge Friday crew at 6.30 tomorrow morning and aiming for the full 80kms that they’ll be doing. As I have to be at the pool (very nearby, which is a stroke of luck) by 9.30 latest (and the Friday crew is a nice and leisurely pace), we’ll just have to see how far we get…either turn around early or go out the full distance and break away up front for a quicker ride back in. Should make for a slightly unconventional warm-up for the swim meet, anyway.

Also, socially torn tomorrow night…a good mate, Pete, is celebrating his 25^th birthday (young whippersnapper) but, as that’s likely to get massively out of hand and debauched, I’m heading to my colleagues wedding party at the Yacht Club. Going to try to keep it tight and relatively well-behaved, as I’d like to either get a bit of the Bab Al Shams ride in before Saturday’s swim meet starts, or head down to Ghantoot for an hour to watch Crowie put the Tri2Aspire guys through their paces.

Most importantly, there’s a Everton v Blackpool game that’ll need watching…

Although it can get a bit manic and, often, these events throw scheduled training plans all off kilter, I’m loving this time of year – every weekend is likely to be similar between now and Christmas. I just try to think of it all as fun and different racing (swim meet = sprint training, going straight from the bike ride = brick session…) and, after all, what’s the point of all this training if you don’t get to race now and then?

World exclusive – Crowie could race Abu Dhabi 2011

Are you ready for my world exclusive – well, sort of world exclusive, as far as these things go?

I just interviewed double World Ironman Champ Craig Alexander who is in Dubai for a training camp with the Tri2Aspire guys, and we chatted about a whole range of things – from the relative disappointment of his fourth place finish in Kona, to his plans to extend his season into December, when he’ll race the Asia-Pacific 70.3 in Phuket, Thailand.

He also revealed that he could well be back in the UAE in March to race in the Abu Dhabi International Triathlon. A deal, he said, was almost ironed out for him to race last year but, with the commitments of being Ironman World Champ etc, it never quite panned out.

He seemed genuinely excited about the possibility of racing although admitted that he’d not be able to commit until after Christmas, once he’d worked out his schedule for the season ahead.

Other highlights were his call for more top-class Iron and 70.3 distance racing here in the UAE, with Dubai in particular being a great location, and his excitement about next year’s Half Ironman World Champs being moved up to come before Kona…worryingly for the rest of the field, Crowie still considers 70.3 to be his strongest distance!

Anyway, the interview will appear in a longer format in the Dec/Jan issue of Live Work Explore magazine, while I’ll likely try to push it elsewhere too – I’ll be sure to post links in the weeks to come.

Five Questions You’re Asked A Lot As A Triathlete

• How many hours?
• Are you mad?
• And you enjoy this?
• You were up at what time?
• So, that’s run, shoot, ski, right?

And...

Five Questions You Ask Yourself A Lot As A Triathlete

• How much?
• I’ll need to be up at what time?
• And I enjoy this?
• Am I mad?
• How can I go faster?

Triathlon Training in Dubai

Clearly, here in Dubai we don’t have the wealth of facilities or groups that tri freaks in big cities in Europe, Australia or the US have access to, but, for a new little city in the desert, we actually don’t do too badly. here's a run down on what's available to the Dubai triathlete in search of training.

Swim

Easy. There’s really only one masters’ swim programme – Dubai Masters Swimming Club – so, fortunately, it’s a good one. Coach Seth puts us through our paces between six and eight times a week (every evening between 7pm and 8pm, and Saturday mornings at…well…I don’t know what time coz I’ve never been). There are also a couple of morning sessions during the week but, unless I’ve had to alter my programme for some reason, I rarely make these. All sorts of levels are spread across the six lanes and quite a few of the local tri crowd tend to train there too – at the upper end, we generally get through around 3200m of mainly threshold work during our hour-long sessions.

Bike

The biggest Dubai bike shop, Wolfi’s, organises a weekly Friday (remember, Friday is our Saturday!) morning ride with the Dubai Roadsters, offering 80km, 100km and 140km. For a relative beginner – like me – the pace is a little fierce. Fortunately, there’s also the Cycle Challenge crew who are organising the Dubai 92km bike race in December and have been running build-up rides steadily increasing in distance. I ride with them on a Friday morning and, when possible, Saturday too, for a 60k run that is a bit faster than Friday and has the added benefit of coffee and a croissant at the lovely Bab Al Shams resort at the halfway mark.

Run

Dubai is blessed with many running clubs, with Abras, The Creek Striders and The Mirdif Milers being the main ones. Unfortunately, they all train when I’m busy doing other things and, between swim/bike/gym/work/the bootcamp I run in winter, I just can’t fit any of their sessions in, so I choose to run alone.

General

I quite like this set-up. The swimming and long weekend group rides give me a social element, and I also very much enjoy some solo training with the MP3 player blurring out tunes or podcasts, so I get that with runs and gym sessions.

There are a couple of triathlon teams in Dubai – the most notable being Tri2Aspire – but I like to think of myself as a freewheeling John Coltrane jazz spirit…ok, in reality, I feel it’s still early in my tri journey and there’s lots I can do and I enjoy being able to pick and choose what I do – if I can’t train one evening, it’s not the end of the world.

Can this approach work – guess I’ll find out tomorrow when I interview triathlon MEGASTAR Craig Alexander, who is currently in Dubai doing a training camp with Tri2Aspire. He’s self-coached, so I’ll be asking for some pointers.

I'll post some titbits from the interview here asap.

Race Report – Al Jazira Triathlon Race 2

The Al Jazira triathlon series in Ghantoot, as I said, forms the bread and butter of our racing season here in the UAE. Now held more or less monthly, this weekend saw the second race of the winter series. It was a special one for me as it marked almost exactly a year since my first ever triathlon.

I did my first over this course (750m swim, 26k cycle, 6k run) in January last year and have done four with the weekend being my fifth. My time has come down each time – 1.34 first time out, then 1.30 and 1.26 last season. The first race of this season, I hoped I'd knock a few minutes off as I'd trained hard and well over the summer...the week before the race, however, was somewhat interrupted – a press trip to Oktoberfest in Munich, a couple of overnight flights and a tight deadline in work meant I'd trained little, slept very little and felt pretty dehydrated. I posted a 2 minute PB with a 1.24 but, with a far better lead-up, I felt that I had another couple of minutes in me this time around and was excited to get going.

The swim start - all images by Probike.ae

It was a perfect morning for racing – bright and sunny with a cooling breeze but nowhere near as windy as it can get. The swim course is in a channel leading to the sea that curves around the Golden Tulip Al Jazira Hotel. I'm always nervous about the swim as it's by far my strongest discipline and I know I have to give a good showing. Fortunately, one of the top guys from the local Tri2Aspire team went out really hard and I was able to draft him the whole way – usually it's me leading, so I was surprised by how much better this felt. I was able to sight less and concentrate on keeping my breathing easy and fluid. Coming out the swim, climbing up the steps (killers!), past the pool and into the transition area, I felt as good as I have at this point.

Transition was smooth and, although I was a little slow and awkward getting my shoes on on the bike, I settled into a good cycle position and speed fairly quickly. Then the strangest thing happened – it felt good, really good, and fast.

As a strong swimmer and very novice cyclist, I'm used to seeing an endless procession of speedy racers flashing past me, but just a couple were trickling past. And, while travelling a lot faster, they weren't exactly tearing off into the distance – I was almost keeping up. By the halfway point on the ride, there were still a number of guys who I know as being top-level racers who hadn't yet passed me. Although I started to fidget and feel a little sore in the last quarter, the realisation of a really quick (for me) bike split kept me going.

I got into transition and, despite dropping my bike while trying to rack it, I didn't panic and felt OK hitting the run. Which was almost a carbon copy of the bike leg. If I were mid-pack, I'd be a decent enough runner, but up near the front I'm still found wanting. Being so much further forward than I usually am at this point, I expected a wildebeest stampede of runners to fly past – a few muscled past, one or two did leave me for dead but, by and large, I felt good, strong and fast.

The last few metres, heading down to the finish line, I was almost giddy...1.17...I was on for a 1.17!!!

1.17.13, it turned out...and I was blown away. 11^th in the men's 16-39 category.

I realise, in retrospect, that this was the result of a summer's good training – in the last race, it was a miracle I'd even finished given the week before it I'd had...with a good lead-in, this time I saw all the benefits.

There's three weeks till the next race – though that'll purely serve as a brick workout ready for the Global 11 International (olympic distance) race a couple of weeks later. But I'm ready and raring to go. Just hope I can prove that this week's race wasn't a complete fluke!

Triathlon: from this...

...to this, in almost exactly one year.

A growing scene – triathlon in the UAE

The Middle East is not exactly synonymous with triathlon. It’s certainly a young sport here in the UAE but, like in the rest of the world, one that’s growing fast.

The first big difference, as I mentioned before, is that – due to sweltering summer heat that regularly climbs above 45°C – triathlon is a winter sport here. You can train during summer – pools are chilled and as long as you cycle or run slowly and very early or late in the day – whereas, for around eight months of the winter, conditions are fantastic. Warm every day, very little rain, few storms…

But, anyway, that means that, as most the rest of the tri-competing world is currently taking a bit of time off or contemplating their winter training schedules, we’re just getting going here.

The fantastic people who run Emirates Triathlon organise a sprint series, with a  regular monthly 750m/26k/6k triathlon taking place at Ghantoot (on the border between Dubai and Abu Dhabi). With so many Brits, Europeans, Americans, Suth Africans, Aussies and Kiwis mixing here, in Dubai especially, there’s a huge appetite for triathlon and these sprints usually sell out (250 capacity) three weeks or so before the event. They’re getting more and more popular too.

Golden Tulip Al Jazira - starting point for the swim in the Ghantoot sprint tri series races.

For me, as a novice but OKish triathlete, they form great B races and barometres for my training. There are bigger events I’m more focused on, but these Ghantoot tris form the bread and butter for most of us based here.

Anyway, the next of these sprints is bright and early tomorrow morning (6.30am start as it’s still quite warm once the sun’s fully up). I’m really looking forward to it to see how I’ve improved over the summer, plus it’s the first race I feel I’ve had a nice, relaxed week leading into the race which, due to work, rarely happens. I’m hoping I can turn that into a PB.

I’ll let you know how I get on…

10 sure-fire signs that you’ve been bitten by the triathlon bug

1.             Your bike is worth more than your car
2.             You’re invited to the hottest party of the year and your first thought is how it’ll affect training and whether you can work it into a rest day
3.             Your cabinets are filled with talc, Vaseline/Bodyglide and protein/carb supplements
4.             You have the washboard  abs you always dreamed of that are the envy of all your friends, and yet you’re more concerned with shaving a couple of seconds off your transition time
5.             All of your trainers have elastic laces in them
6.             People generally think you’re a bit mad
7.             You get up earlier at the weekend than you do during the week
8.             While others dream of winning the lottery to buy cars, villas and holiday homes, you’d happily blow the lot on Zipps, Ridley frames, Di2 gear sets and Louis Garneau aero helmets
9.             Secretly, deep down inside, although you’d never admit it, you sort of think of people who ‘just’ bike, swim or run are kind of weak
10.             You’re never, ever, ever happy with the gear you have…there’s always something else

And a few just from the men's point of view: 

·         You own more lycra/spandex than your wife or girlfriend

·         Having a shave now takes a lot longer and doesn’t just involve your face

·         Thanks to group rides, you spend way too much time staring at other men’s arses

·         You spend whole days, entire races or even long training weekends with extremely fit women wearing next to nothing and it doesn’t even raise a twitch

·         Taking your bike apart to clean it and dealing with mechanical issues make you feel all awesome and manly inside

·         They’re recovery tights? What? Whaaaat?

·         If you see a beautiful woman riding an awesome bike, you almost certainly check out the bike first

Have I missed anything? 

I’d just like to add a little something which I clearly and dearly hold to be true: while all the gear infatuation, the bright riding clothes, the long compression socks, the 2XU recovery tights and the tight spandex racesuits may suggest that we’re not in a position to comment, however…men wearing one of those three-quarter singlet type tops that expose your belly button is completely and utterly wrong, and should be a capital punishment offence. There’s just no need – they’re an affront to sighted people the world over. Cut it out – right out. OK, rant over.

Just not right

Look back to the future

As triathletes, we're constantly looking forward. Browse forums and, beneath each post, you'll find a list of the poster's main events for the year ahead. We talk next week's training, how we'll taper for our next race, even the next pair of shoes, wheels or nutritional strategy we're looking to adopt. Such is the intensity and hard work involved in triathlon that it's not unusual for us to plan a couple of seasons ahead, especially if a first tilt at Ironman or a marathon is involved.

This week marks my one year triathlon anniversary. A year since I lined up on the poolside for the Al Ain Sprint Triathlon (Al Ain is a small inland oasis city in the UAE). I swam 500m in a pool wearing supermarket swimming trunks and, despite my background being in swimming, I was exhausted after just 150m. I then put shorts and a t-shirt on and slowly cycled four laps of 5k on a mountain bike (knobbly tyres and all) that I'd never ridden before while everyone raced past on their speed machines. I then ran 5k, as far as I'd ever really run before. It killed me, but I loved it.

My first tri: kid's bike helmet - check; borrowed MTB - check; bad clothing choices - check; still some podge to lose - check check check.

Even arriving at that point had been a three year journey – a super sporty kid who swam at a national level became a lazy student and inactive journalist who played 5-a-side football once a week in an effort to keep the rapidly increasing beer belly and jowls in check.

One day, while living in Spain, I looked at myself in the mirror and said enough is enough. Like Forest Gump, I just started running. And then lifting weights. By the time I moved to Dubai, I was in far better shape and a series of random happenings saw me, firstly, living briefly with three triathletes and, secondly, taking on several sections of the Abu Dhabi Adventure Challenge as part of a media team to cover and blog on the event. That Al Ain sprint tri was part of the training for that.

By the time the Abu Dhabi Adventure Challenge concluded after the first week of December 09, I was addicted and committed to becoming a half decent triathlete. Heading into my second year now (and second season – unlike in the US and Europe, summers here are way too hot and so triathlon is effectively a winter sport), I have a whole load of sprints and an Olympic under my belt. I regularly ride 80k+ in a single sitting and can do a long slow run of around 20k.

And this is exactly why it's just as important to look back as it is to look forward. After a bad training session, a slow race or an interrupted week, it can feel like all that effort is getting us nowhere – I've had plenty of those times in training. But I look back on the person who sat on that borrowed mountain bike a year ago, and the difference is startling. 

To see improvements, you need to look at where you've come from, not the baby steps you take each week or month.

The first cut is the deepest...

...and the first blog is the hardest. By its very nature, of course, no-one will read it, or certainly not for a while – why would they? It's the first post; until now, this little corner of cyberspace didn't exist.

The point being, that I'm not quite sure what to say, so I figure I'll just tell you a little about me. I'm a British journalist who works for a travel/guidebook publishing company. I've been living and working in Dubai for two years and I'm a relatively recent convert to the wonderful world of triathlon.

This blog is going to be about a wide range of things but, in theory at least, triathlon, training in silly hot temperatures and how to be a triathlete in a multi-sports backwater (albeit, one that's progressing quickly).

So, that's enough for now. Due to an electricity cut in the office, I'm working from home today so I'm off to do some proof reading by the pool...admit it, you hate me already, right?

A hard day at the office.