December party time

December has been mixed with hard training, long winter rides and Christmas parties. I was hoping to spend the winter holidays on my newly transformed winter bike but it would appear that getting a wee bit wasted the morning before a training session, or even two nights before a training sessions is not the best way to go about training.

Still the bike bits are to arrive on Christmas morning so will be spending Christmas morning tinkering with the bike. Just got to get over annoying cold first.

Also will try and take my camera with me so can take some nice shots over the break

Performance enhancing food

It probably should have been obvious but Curry is not a performance enhancing food. Went out for a Curry a couple of nights ago and then attempted a quick spin on the Turbo Trainer this morning - not a good idea as the heart rate rises so does the pressure on your bowels - I shall leave it there

Chilly Duathlon

Chilly Duathlon 23 November 2008
2m Run 10m Bike 2m Run

Well the race certainly lives up to its name bloomin freezing. I tried to keep in mind that this race was only a C level race, although that did go slightly out of the window in the last 400yds, always does and the picture just goes to show it

Managed to finish 30th out of my wave of over a hundred so pretty pleased with myself, more so because I always felt like I could have given more. Still no where near as fast as the annoying little kids (university athletes) who ran in the first wave though. Still give me the winter months and we will see how close I can get to them.

Arrgggggggggg

First week back in training proper - day in day out training with one day off and my legs are shot. Having said that my sprits are really high, weight is coming down and the ride on Sat morning was fantastic. I went out on the race bike with a couple of new gadgets on it - new brakes and new tri bars. I definitely need a change in gear selection as I just dont have enough selection for anything over a slight incline.

Still on the flat it flies - but back in the spare room on the turbo for now until the first race of the off season in a couple of weeks

Must Tri Harder

Well I guess the blog title says it all but it is so hard to get motivated during the winter. My little running mate is also out of action so no fun runs in the park for a while.

Still enough moaning better to get out of this nice warm bed and onto the turbo trainer - which bores me stupid. Think that I may have to invest in a set of DVDs and some headphones to try and while away the winter months

Weighty issues

I have a real issue with people who moan about a weight problem and how there is nothing they can do about it- especially those who decide to go on TV and talk about it or those that drive 2 miles to the gym park up right outside (normally) in a disabled space and then proceed to walk on the treadmill for 20 mins before going to the cafe to eat a big slice of cake to reward themselves for all the hard work.

However, I am really struggling to get the weight off to get anywhere near race weight 76 - 78 kgs as you can see from the table below I am about 83 at the mo. As I am now stepping up the training it seems a good idea to keep track of my losses or indeed gains


Week Ending (Date) Weight
02.11.08 83
09.11.08 82.5

Swim Training Session

So I have had my first swim session of the off season. On the plus side I am not quite as bad as when I first went a couple of years ago but at the same time there are still things I need to improve on. The body rotation seems to be good and given that I am 6ft 3 I should really have a longer reach than I have at present. So for the next couple of months it is: 6-1-6 drills and finger drag drills until Jan when I go again Watch this space by Spring next year I will be swiming like a fast fish

Team Thacker

While I may, more often than not train on my own, It is always nice to have a friendly face to finish in front of!
Let me get one thing clear I am an absolute nightmare to be around before the start of a race and overall I know that the lot of a triathlete’s partner is not a particularly easy one. At least most amateur football or rugby matches start no earlier than 9am on a weekend. In comparison most triathlons start at around 9 - 10am and require registration and racking by 8am this means an early morning start to get to the venue, it is not even like there is much conversation before and frankly if the result if rubbish there is not much conversation afterwards either!

However, despite all this my fiancé, Helen accompanies me to my races and while she may refuse to come anywhere near me initially after the race – there was a very bad incident the first season I took part in the London Tri where my fiancé carried my wetsuit, still containing most of Victoria dock to the car, two days later she was in hospital – no test could confirm that it was as a result of the wetsuit but needless to say I have the job of carrying the wetsuit after events – but a big hug and a cup of flask provided tea is very welcome after the race.

As well as my fiancé, Helen, I have acquired a new running partner, Poppy our 1 year old Cocker Spaniel. She accompanies me on my runs over the dunes at Merthyr Mawr and makes the whole thing a lot more enjoyable. Although I have to admit that I am still amazed at the speed which her little legs can carry her up the dunes while I struggle like some sort of big yeti to get over even the slightest sandy incline. I have also started taking her along to my cross county training, while only a small little thing, I only run for around 60 mins at a time as I am no marathon runner, hence competing in sprint and marathon distances rather than ironman events which quite frankly put the fear of god into me.

So this is my initial support crew ably assisted from time to time by other friends and relatives, I will try to include a few pictures of the support crew at the races over the coming months.

Intro

I would like to think of myself as an unselfish person, certain friends may disagree but despite this my primary reason for starting this blog is largely for my own personal gain. I tried last season to unsuccessfully finish in the top 20 in the Welsh National Sprint and Olympic triathlon races, I finished just outside the top 30. My aim for this season is to try and break into the top 20 and while it may only mean shaving a couple of minutes off the swim, bike and run leg this is pretty difficult to do. While all other sensible human beings are tucked up in bed throughout the winter I will be going through the back catalogue of Blackadder spinning the pedals on my turbo trainer, why Blackadder, well I really need something to keep me sane while in essence sweating rivers and going nowhere.

My aim is to use this blog as a way of recording my progress over the year to see whether it is possible for a (very) average age group triathlete to break into anywhere near the top 10 within a year. I know it will be very tough, not necessarily the training but the keeping of the blog – thinking that it will only last a matter of months. I have already been informed by my closest friends whom I have known for over 20 years and being only 29 this is a large proportion of my life that they think it unlikely that I will keep up with the blog. If they have doubts about my ability to keep an uptodate blog then it is at the very least going to be v tough!