In the last year I’ve taken some time to scan and catalogue hundreds of family photos. A fun, interesting, eye-opening, painful, happy, laborious exercise. Anyway….this is one such photo. Tricycle, circa 1985.

It has been a funny week, some good stuff in work and a bit of a cold. Lots of time to ponder the future and my direction.

I suppose I’m feeling a bit restless in my soul; I have a real desire to learn and develop myself further, and a few options as to how i do that. That’s all a bit vague; I know.

Anyway, I also got to talk to Simon in VZ. Hey bro!

Argie bargie in the women’s sprint semi finals.

Emma Davis Finishes 37th in the Women’s Triathlon at the 2008 Olympics. Well done to Emma, our first ever Olympic Triathlete! Update: There’s a very good report on the Triathlon Ireland website of Emma’s race.

If you’ve haven’t managed to catch an Olympic triathlon on TV before make sure you check it out; it is incredibly exciting to watch! I am flying to the UK for work tonight, so I will probably not get to see the race….if any kind soul out there wants to DivX the race and make it available through some sort of filesharing application, that would be sweet.

This is a quick, hopefully useful Beginner’s Guide to Triathlon. I’ve been competing in the sport for a couple of years and I wanted to put down a few hints and tips to help anybody thinking of giving Triathlon a try. The sport has had a very positive impact on my life, it’s hugely popular, great fun and very achievable; regardless of whether or not you have a sporting background. You will also get to meet some amazing people if you decide to give it a go. I’ve written this guide from my own perspective; so it’s more appropriate for people coming from a non-sporting background, as I was when I started. Enjoy.

This guide isn’t meant to be comprehensive and there are lots of other guides, books, magazines that will help you find out more. If you have any questions just leave a comment at the bottom and I’ll get back to you.

What is Triathlon?

Triathlon is sport that combines swimming, cycling and running in one event without rest; carried out over a number of different distances. Triathlon is a “multsport“; other multisports include Aquathlon (swim - run), Duathlon (run - cycle - run) and Quadrathlon (swim - kayak - cycle - run). A multisport is different from something like heptathlon or decathlon where there is a period of time/rest/shooting the breeze between doing one sport and the next. The fun of all multisports, including Triathlon, is that the “transition” between the sports is crucial, as well as the sports themselves.

History

The sport of Triathlon that we recognise today began at the San Diego Track Club in the early 1970s as a fun diversion from normal athletics training. As is the way with these things, people got competitive and a more structured race format started to emerge. Soon other athletics clubs and individuals were competing and organising Triathlons, and the sport has continued in an unbroken line since then.

Triathlon grew in popularity throughout the 70s and 80s; and in 1989 the ITU was formed to govern the sport globally. Within only 6 years the ITU had managed to gain agreement from the IOC that Olympic status would be given to sport (the Olympic distance Triathlon is cleverly based on three existing Olympic events; the 1500m freestyle swim, 40Km cycle and 10K run). The first official Olympic event taking place at the Sydney Olympics in 2000.

Triathlon today is one of the fastest growing sports in the world. There are over 100 national bodies funding and supporting local clubs and events. The ITU website has a lot more information on the development of the sport, so you should check it out if you are interested in more background information.

Distances

There are many different distances and types of Triathlon, from children’s distances and super-sprint distances, through to the most common distances Sprint and Olympic and the longer Half and Full distances (aka Half-Ironman™, Ironman™).

Most races conform to these distances:

Sprint - Swim 750m, Cycle 20K, Run 5K

Standard/Olympic - Swim 1500m, Cycle 40K, Run 10K.

Half/Half Ironman™/70.3 -Swim 1900m, Cycle 90K, Run 21.09K.

Full/Ironman™ - Swim 3800m, Cycle 180K, Run 42.2K

Triathlon in Ireland

In Ireland, Triathlon has grown explosively in the last 10 years, but the first race was way back in 1983 in Greystones, Co. Wicklow. You can read more about this first race on the TI website. (Incidentally, I would love to hear from anybody who has photos of this race)

There are approximately 30 clubs actively training, racing and promoting the sport in Ireland today. The race calendar in Ireland is packed; from about April through to September there is literally one or more races every weekend

Equipment

As with a lot of sports, the whole equipment questions is a bit like the piece of string question. You can spend nothing, you can spend a fortune - it’s up to you. For beginners I recommend that you spend closer to nothing than a fortune. Who knows; you might finish your first race, hate the sport, hate the experience and not want to race ever again (this is unlikely though). In this case, buying a super cool wetsuit, carbon fiber bike, go-faster helmet and the same runners as that guy from the TV ad will only make you sad and broke.

The other reason to be thrifty when you’re starting out is that for a beginner, expensive equipment usually makes very little difference - performance gear will knock off seconds, maybe a few minutes from your time; which isn’t really relevant if you’re just giving the sport a go.

Here is what you need to get started:

1. A swimsuit or swimming shorts - these shouldn’t be baggy, they should fit you snugly/comfortably so that you don’t drag through the water; it makes a difference. Most or all sports shops will have swimming gear and these should set you back about 20 quid. Popular brands include Spiuk, Speedo, Zoggs, Aquasphere, 2XU. If you are feeling adventurous you can get tri-shorts or a tri-suit which is a combination of a swimsuit with a chamois (padding) for cycling. These are great because you when you come out of the water you can get onto the bike with some comfort, and you can swim in them while training if you like.
2. A Wetsuit - In Ireland you will more than likely need a wetsuit to race. Yes, you can race without one, and yes some people do - but I wouldn’t recommend it. For safety, speed and warmth, wetsuits are great. The suit you rent or buy should be triathlon specific, meaning that it’s flexible at the shoulders to allow you to swim comfortably.

You can spend any amount of money on a suit but it needs to fit well…perfectly in fact. Swimming in a suit that is the wrong size is miserable; if it’s too small you will expend a tonne of energy fighting the suit, your breathing will be difficult and getting out of the suit in transition will be a nightmare (you will also probably damage the suit taking it off). If the suit is too big then the cuffs and neck will be loose, you’ll take on a lot of water, the suit will drag and you will move like a barge in the water. Take time picking a wetsuit, try on a few, swim in them if you can and pick one that gives you a good range of motion, feels snug but not too tight and is within your price range. If you’re worried that you’ll look fat/lumpy/skinny/weird in the suit then you shouldn’t; you will definitely look fat/lumpy/skinny/weird - but don’t let this influence the size you pick (seriously, don’t pick a smaller wetsuit in the hope that it’ll hold in your bits and make you look good - it won’t, and you’ll struggle in the water).

3. Goggles - Goggles are a bit of a personal thing. Your goggles should fit snugly, form a tight seal against your eyes and nose, and give you enough range of vision to see where you’re going. A tinted lens is useful; especially in races where you’re swimming into the sun. A lot of triathletes train and race in fairly standard goggles, but some people use more visor style goggles with larger lenses. I use a pair of Speedo goggles with large wide-vision lenses, and they are pretty good.
4. Swimming Hat - Always wear a swimming hat when you swim, especially in open water. Your head gives off a lot of heat and with the cooling effect of the water flowing over your head you are literally dumping heat out of your body like a heat exchanger or car radiator. A brightly coloured (for safety) well insulated swimming hat is a cheap way to stay warmer when you swim.
5. Runners & Running Socks - If you don’t already run then you should get your feat properly assessed at a running shop and buy the runners that are good for your feet. Spending a little bit of time at the beginning finding runners that match your foot type is time well spent. Running in the wrong shoes is no fun at all, and eventually you can do damage to your ankles, knees, hips (I speak from personal experience here). Do not, under any circumstances, wander into a “sports” shop (where they don’t actually know anything about sport…you know the shop) and let a sales assistant pick runners for you because they are new and cool, or pick the most expensive/most well known brand. The right runners for you will cost no more than the wrong runners.
6. Running socks are non-cotton socks that move smoothly inside your shoe and won’t chafe. Do not run in cotton socks. They will get soggy, clump in your shoe and form little creases - these creases will then cut your feet as you move and cause discomfort. Running socks are cheap and will save you a lot of hassle. You probably won’t race in socks (you’ll just throw your runners on and get motoring) but they are great for training.
7. A Bike - Practically any bike will do for your first race. Yes, you can race on a hybrid or mountain bike and you can modify practically any racing bike to make it a more efficient triathlon bike. If you’re going to use a bike that you already own then make sure that your gears, brakes and tyres are in good shape. If you’re going to buy a bike then take some time to get one that is the right size for you. Most good bike shops will be able to measure you and match the right frame size to your measurements.

They are the basics - the things you will almost definitely need to train and do a race. I’ve put together a more detailed equipment list in a handy spreadsheet that you can download, customise and use in any way you like. Don’t feel like you have to buy everything on the list - start out with the basics for your first race and go from there. This is the list I use when I travel to a race to tick off the things I have and need.

Training for Triathlon

Training for Triathlon is fun and challenging; it takes some planning and some effort - but the vast majority of people will be able to fit enough training around their work and life to finish a sprint or Olympic distance race.

Training Plans

There are lots and lots of websites that have free, downloadable training plans. These plans are generally a good source of information, in that they show the approximate effort required to build up to a race, but a few words of caution before you start following an off-the-shelf plan:

1. They are completely oblivious to your own personal circumstances. Even though most of the plans say that they need to be tailored to your own needs, there is only so much tailoring you can do to a plan that says you must do X sessions or distance every week.
2. You will probably not keep to a training plan that you didn’t write. A training plan that has been written by somebody else, no matter how flexible it seems, is not your training plan. A training plan is like a to-do list; and following a to-do list given to you by somebody else is no fun at all.
3. Off the shelf plans de-emphasise the importance of training with a group. Triathlon is a very individualistic sport, but the training shouldn’t be. Whatever plan you come up with will probably need to balance the needs of a few different people; your boss, your family, your training buddies.

Getting Started with Training

The bottom line with Triathlon training is that by a certain date (your first race) you should be reasonably confident that you can complete the three distances back to back. This means that for a sprint race you will need to be able to swim more than 750m, cycle more than 20K and run more than 5K. You will generally train over the distances for your target race so that when you put them together you have enough in the tank to finish the race.

Here’s what I recommend when you’re getting started;

1. Get a Checkup - I would recommend that you should go and have a checkup from your doctor/gp before starting any new sport or significantly increasing your level of physical activity. This might sound dramatic and is definitely not meant to scare you, but it will identify any potential problems and will hopefully give you the confidence to train without worry. Triathlons are achievable for practically everybody, but they place demands on a number of different parts of the body in quick succession, so a quick checkup is very worthwhile.
2. Give yourself enough time. For every hour of endurance sport like Triathlon you will probably need to train for between 5-7 weeks (very rough average). So, with a typical Olympic distance Triathlon taking about 3 hours, you should probably give yourself between 15-21 weeks to train; depending on your level of fitness when you start training and other factors. There are 10 week plans our there but these are probably not a great idea unless you have a good handle on at least one of the sports, you recover quickly, already and aren’t coming directly from doing no sport at all.
3. Join a Triathlon club early in the year. I can’t emphasise how much more you will enjoy training and racing when you are part of a group. Finding a club is generally not difficult, there are clubs in a lot of towns and cities around Ireland. Pick a club based on their training times (do they fit with your own plan?), their training locations (will you be able to make it to training?) and the club level (some clubs are very open to beginners, some are for more experienced people). Most clubs have good websites, so just drop them a mail, ask a few questions - and join the club that seems to fit with your needs. If you can join a club early (pre-Christmas or New Year) then you’ll have a huge advantage over the Johnny come latelys.
4. Draw up your own training plan - Cobble together a plan that makes sense for you. Use the resources on the web, in books, or use your club training times as a basis for your week. Start out by assigning the days of the week with Swim, Cycle, Run, Rest, Other. Swim, Cycle and Run are obvious. “Rest” is a day when you do not train. “Other” might be something like yoga or walking. You can choose to do more than one activity per day, like a run after work followed by a stretching session; but this is up to you. The frequency and time you spend training is very much up to you. Start slowly; very, very slowly and increase your training workload by no more than 10% per week. 10% might seem like a hard number to calculate, but if you think in terms of minutes (not miles, Km, laps and lengths) then you should be able to work out a reasonable plan. Do not go out and try to blitz your training schedule in the first week to see how far you can push it - this will probably lead to an injury and will definitely make you feel bad.
5. Periodise your training - You cannot and should not just keep increasing your training time every week. If you do this then you’ll quickly start to come apart at the seams. Instead, you should periodise your training; ramp your training up and down gently to give your body time to heal and strengthen. Assume that every 4th week is going to be a light week and work around it; peaking your monthly training just before this light week.
6. Pick a race and plan your season. Start out with a vague notion of what race you’d like to do and when. There are dozens of races on the calendar. Read about the races; find one that will give you enough time to train and seems like a good fit for you (the race is close to where you live, other people are doing it, it’s in an interesting place, the distance fits with your plan, it’s an interesting course etc.). Find out when race entry opens, put a reminder in your diary/calendar and enter the race as soon as it opens (a lot of popular races sell out within hours). Once you’ve entered you have a solid date to aim towards, which will help you motivate yourself as you train. It’ll all become much more real once you know where and when your first race is going to be.

Once you’ve decided on your first race you can start thinking about other races and planning your season in more detail. You might want to do more races so taking some time to plan your season will allow you to work with your friends and family to work out holidays, commitments etc.

Training Nutrition

Triathlon is a physically demanding sport, but a modern, balanced diet should give you everything you need to train safely with plenty of energy. What I describe here is what I do, but isn’t necessarily what you should do - these are just things that I have found to be beneficial for me.

Hydration

Good hydration is absolutely crucial when you’re swimming, cycling and running. When you go to the pool to train, bring a sports bottle and some fluids. When you’re on the bike you should be consuming one 750ml bottle per hour, more if it’s hot, when you’re running you really need to make sure to keep hydrated, so carry a bottle or plan stops along your run. When you sweat you lost electrolytes, so using a sports drink to replace them as you train is a good idea.

Early on in training I found a carbohydrate & hydration drink that I liked. The drink comes in a powder, meaning I can mix bottles of it when I need to - which is much much cheaper than buying off the shelf drinks. The flavour of this drink is clean, it contains glucose and fructise to replace energy, vitamins and electrolytes which are depleted during training. You should try out a few different drinks, see which one you like.

Race Day

This section of the guide is coming soon.

Reference Material

A growing collection of books and sites that I’ve found useful.

Books

Triathlon Training Bible - Joe Friel’s book is comprehensive and very useful.

Swim Workouts for Triathletes - This book does exactly what it says on the tin; it is a collection of swim sessions bound in waterproof plastic that you can bring to the pool as a training guide. I’ve found it very useful

Websites

Tri Newbies - A good beginner’s website with sample training plans and advice.
Beginner Triathlete - A very good beginner’s website but requires registration and a subscription fee.
Triathlon Ireland - The governing body of Triathlon in Ireland. Very useful for race schedules, rules and regulations.

Hypothesis: There are some incredibly talented people working in technology, design, business - and I’ve often wondered, how do these people stay so fresh, so highly skilled and so motivated when the nature of their industry and their business changes so quickly and so often. So I asked them. And what they told me was very interesting. For some people it’s a strategy, but In most cases these just happen to be some things that really great people seem to have in common. So, what are these traits, these strategies?

Introduction

• My name is Paul May
• I have been working in technology for a little over 10 years
• I have worked for web agencies in Dublin
• I spend 2 years working with the High Tech Consulting division of Accenture
• I now work with FRONT, a web development agency based in Belfast FRONT designs and develop online applications, UX design, consulting services
• My contact details and information on how you can get notes and slides will be at the end of the talk

What is This All About

• This is not a talk about technology
• This is not a talk about design
• This is hopefully something that will be useful for you in whatever part of the technology industry you happen to work in.

Hypothesis

• I have worked and studied with some very talented people over the years.
• I’ve met and talked to people from many really great companies
• Incredibly talented people; far smarter than I.
• I’ve often wondered, how do these people stay so fresh, so highly skilled and so motivated when the nature of their industry and their business changes so quickly and so often.
• So I asked them. And what they told me was very interesting.
• For some people it’s a strategy, a plan
• In most cases these just happen to be some things that really great people seem to have in common.
• So, what are these traits, these strategies?

Talented people understand the fundamentals of what they do

• One of the common traits I found was that really good people apply the same behaviours, attitides and core insights to whatever they happen to be working on
• For most people, technology is about what is “now”, but in most cases what is “now” will be irrlevant in 5 years.
• Technologies are useful in and of themselves, but also to expose the fundamentals of what you’re trying to do.
• The basic premise is that most technologies rely on the same fundamental concepts
• Skills are transient, knowledge and perspective are timeless
  • Fundamental Concepts of Your Vocation
  • Problem Solving
  • Logical Thinking
  • Teamworking
  • Communication
  • Commercial Awareness

They live outside of their box

• Specialism is great, if you are a heart surgeon or a bomb disposal I am perfectly happy for you to geek out to hearts or bombs and have nothing else going on in your life and to not care about the before and after
• The problem is also that if all you do is focus on what *you* do, all you can ever be is a shiny cog in a bigger machine.
• For the rest of us, having an insight into the people who influence the things you work on, and the people who work on or consume them seems to be a very good thing
• Being excellent at what you do is great, but to be able to put your work in a context that is relevant for others is incredibly powerful. Having a basic understanding of the challenges that face other people is hugely valuable.
• Understanding what other people value and the way in which they communicate is really really useful.
• The main message here is “Don’t be the shiny cog”

They are not vending machines

• We come across this all the time
• I want a website, I need it done next week, I have X to spend (where X is not a lot of money)
• There is nothing wrong with this
• This is a transactional model or doing business - like putting coins into a machine and getting a generic product
• So long as you understand that this is the model you are working in, you can be incredibly successful at it
• Cost is likely to be the key differentiator - Consistent, reliable, cheap (price based)
• If this does not sound like the model you want to follow, then you have to find a way to articulate what you do in a way that goes beyond merely transactional
• Really successful people are able to articulate their skills/services/products in a way that is strategic for them. This could be transactional, but a lot of the time it isn’t.

They solve problems and “add value” alongside others

• IDEO and Adaptive Path talk about using design to solve both human and business problems
• This is all the rage now; the idea of asking users and clients to help design the services they will eventually go on to use and consume
• It sounds a bit cheeky, but it works and it’s actually a very old idea
• Model: Open design session, ethnographic research, puma customised runners, nike +, Flickr, practically any social networking site. The customer adds the critical insight, content and value; the “experts” provide a framework or a product which makes this relevant for other people.
• The most successful businesses happen to be partnerships between both sides, consumers and producers
• It moves the debate away from a buyer, seller model, away from the vending machine
• It lets you become an advisor, not just a cog.

They are able to identify and evaluate trends

• Easy to get caught up, Easy to be a cheerleader
• Difficult to say what is different, special, unique and worthwhile about a new trend or technology
• If you are able to articulate the merits, demerits of a new trend/technology and communicate that you are immediately demonstrating why you understand the fundamentals of what you do, and that you are not an unthinking vending machine
• Critical thinking is not the same as being a jackass/the devil’s advocate

They can write or communicate in some other way, very effectively

• The ability to clearly and effectively communicate sets apart every designer, developer, other I have ever met
• The most useful classes I have ever taken have been on writing and public speaking
• The skills you use to write are the same skills you will use to structure design, code
• Being able to talk about your work, defend it, get ideas, give ideas to others means that you can never and will never become irrelevant

Summary

Summary of the main points.

That is All

• paul dot may at design by front dot com
• anythingyoulikeatall (then that symbol) paulmay dot org
• http://paulmay.org
• http://www.designbyfront.com

Update: I’ve now uploaded my notes from the talk. it was a good day. The topic I landed on in the end was “Staying Relevant in Tech Industries“. It was a little abstract, but it was a good first stab at a topic I’d like to develop further.

I made it! Escape from Alcatraz was everything I hoped it would be; tough, fast, exciting. Hotter than I would have liked, but an absolutely great race. This is my full report of the lead up to the race, the race itself and the journey home.

Background

Despite the fact that Escape from Alcatraz is one of the “iconic” triathlons, the first I heard about it was about a year and a half ago from a work colleague. He was trying to get a spot in the race through a contact; keen to avoid the qualification process and the lottery for places. The race sounded incredible; a swim from Alcatraz Island to San Francisco, then a bike and run course around the Golden Gate national park overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Intriguing I thought - maybe I’ll have a go at that one myself!

I entered the lottery for a spot last year, and didn’t get it - then entered the lottery again this year….and got a spot! A quick word with the bank manager and a perusal of the Aer Lingus website and I was in. This wasn’t going to be cheap, but by god it’d be fun.

Before the Race

I got to San Francisco on Thursday, flying from Dublin on the very handy direct flight. Having blown all my money on the flight I decided to stay in the reasonable, hippy-tastic Green Tortoise backpacker hostel in North Beach. I basically did nothing on Thursday of Friday; just walked around the city a bit, researched the course and tried to get over the jet lag.

I had sensibly decided to rent a bike for the race; so no massive bike box to wrestle up and down the hills of San Francisco. The good folks of Bay City Bike offered a good deal on a race bike with my choice of pedals. I picked the bike up on Saturday and was really impressed. The Giant TCR C2 is *miles* better than the bike I ride every day and use for races in Ireland; and was a little over $100 for two days. A good deal.

We registered on Saturday morning; very straightforward and well organised. The race goodie bag was pretty cool, a very useful messenger bag with a nice tshirt, good quality water bottle, energy bars and the usual fliers and junk. The race briefing after registration was pretty good (despite the lame jokes and to-be-expected whooping and hollering), with some useful information about coping with the outflowing current during the swim and the hills on the cycle and run courses. The weather was on Saturday was hot, and was expected to stay that way on Sunday…unlike last year which was a classic, grey, choppy San Franciscan June day. I got a bit scorched on Saturday in the sun, but made sure to stay well hydrated and fuelled.

Race Day

4.50am - bright and early; a time that if I wasn’t still a little bit jet-lagged (in a good way, waking up early) would be a bit tough. There is a clear view of the Golden Gate bridge in the distance, and the lighthouse on Alcatraz island is searching around the bay slowly. It is quite the sight, the sun is just coming up as we get on the buses to the boat, the San Francisco Belle, which will take us out into the bay.

It is pretty surreal to be on board a paddle steamer, stuffed into a ballroom with 1800 other people in, or getting into wetsuits. At 7.30am the boat left the pier and we cruised out into San Francisco bay, circling Alcatraz and taking up a position about 100m off the shore. The buzz was great on the boat - everybody was incredibly excited and nervous about the race to come. Even though the swim isn’t *that* far, the view back to the shore is pretty daunting.

Unlike most races the wave starts are practically simultaneous. At 8am the horn blew to set the pros off, and within 10 minutes all 1800 people jump off the boat in their age groups into the bay for the swim, crossing a timing mat at the rail of the boat. Your race starts when you get in the water…no time for chilling out, getting your bearings, you just go while hundreds of others pile into the water behind you.

The tide was heading out to sea at the time of the race, and the currents in San Francisco bay are notoriously quick, so you need to aim well up the shore to end up where you need to get to. If you tried to do a straight line towards the swim exit you would overshoot by a mile, and could be in trouble. I found it to be a fairly technical swim, I was sighting every 5 strokes to make sure that I was heading towards the reference point up the shore, Sutro Tower. There is a lot of blather about the water temperatures being frigid and fatal, but the water is about 50 degrees fahrenheit, very similar to Ireland. The current did most of the steering for me after that. I did the mile and a half in 36 minutes, and I really enjoyed the swim. No agro, no hassle, just lovely weather and amazing views of the bridge and Alcatraz itself. At one point I did what the swim director recommends, I turned around, looked behind me back at Alcatraz and thought “Wow, this is incredible” - then I put my face in the water and got back to work.

Once I got out of the water there was the usual flapping around with my wetsuit and a 1km run to transition. If I was to do this race again I’d have a crap pair of runners waiting for me at the swim exit to make the run more comfortable. Oh well, I got back to transition along with the rest of the hordes and made it out onto the bike course pretty quickly.

This is where the disadvantage of the mass-start becomes apparent. You and about 1000 other people are getting on the bike at the same time, heading out of the same narrow transition exit onto the same narrow road. For the first 5K of the bike course it was a bit of a jam. I made a huge effort to power through the pack up into the hills of the Presidio just so I’d have clear road ahead of me. The cycle course, we were told, rewards an “aggressive approach” - so I did my best to power down hills and turn properly. It was the first course where I really noticed how poorly most people line up and take corners; in this race, even if you can get your cornering right most of the time you will make up serious time. I was really happy with the bike leg of the race.  Any Irish rider with good cornering skills and experience of long hills will do really well here.

The run was another story; the legs just never really got going. There was a point after the first ten minutes when I knew it was going to be a “grin and bear it” run. I had to grit my way around the 13Km course, up and down hills and trails, down onto deep sandy Baker Beach and up the notorious sand ladder; a 400 step climb up the cliff which you can only do at a walking trudge. I enjoyed the views on the run course, but it was tough, and hot. Some experience of fell/hill running would have put me in good stead for the course, it is rarely flat. Anyway, nuff said - tough run.

I crossed the line in 2 hours 54 minutes 10 seconds. Relieved, overjoyed, slightly sun-burned :)

Aftermath

After the race there was a really great selection of food and salad for the athletes. Perfect! It was really nice to have food available immediately. The expo was in full swing with all types of gear and bikes going for great prices. I found some shade, ate my dinner and cooled down - with a big grin on my face. Within a couple of hours I had dropped the bike back and was getting ready to leave San Francisco the following morning.

It’s still sinking in now. The race was an amazing experience. I can completely see why this is an iconic race; I can’t imagine a more perfect setting for a race. The course is challenging all the way through; the swim is technical, the bike involves climbs and fast downhill sections, the run involves off-road trails, beach running and several sections of steps. This is definitely not your standard Olympic distance race.

If you are thinking of taking a holiday in the US next year, or you fancy doing some racing abroad I would definitely recommend this race. Beautiful race, beautiful city. I’ll probably be entering the lottery for a spot next year.

Dear Mr. Bank Manager…