Back from the land of the sexy people

Had a great time in Holland - chilled place, hundreds and hundreds of bikes, and very nice people who are often unintentionally hilarious.

what? the race you say - err.

crap.

ran very well the first 15k (52 mins) but then struggled badly on the bike. It was 4 laps of a 15k out and back straight road, pancake flat and windy. I hated it, and am much more comfortable on hills. In the end i was 'horsed' by the specialist 'testers', fading from a solid 16th place in a high quality field to the 40 somethings. in the end, glad to finish, and although quite a few dropped out - i felt it was important to get to the end for the experience and to make the trip worthwhile - i was still threatening sub 3 hrs which aint too bad for my first powerman (although nowhere near good enough).

on to the next then, standard Banyoles (10k, 40k, 5k) this sunday as part of the Catalan series.

Racing season in swing for MACstrong team

Been a few weeks now since the last post. been busy with a few clients over as well as getting in some quality training for my first crack at Powerman - this sunday in Holland.

Also been getting up to speed in racing terms. Travelled to the Basque Country to do the Oñati Duathlon - a fabulous brute of an event with a net 650m climb on the bike leg - disappointed in the end to finish 4th after leading most of the way. First race of the season and ran out of gas in the last few ks of the bike. First experiences also of the Catalan duathlon series. Very much a part of Powerman prep so far and carrying slight colds going into Castellfollit de la Roca (Catalan championships) and Girona for modest 12th and 6th places respectively. In general, running is a much higher quality than in the Basque Country (i've been squeezing out low-mid 15 mins on the first 5k runs and not making the first bike group) but the biking ability is much lower and attitude terrible. So far, chasing groups aren't interested in reeling in those ahead - only to conserve their positions and energy for the 2nd run - crazy and pointless.

MACstrong biking director Stuart MacGregor has also been racing, and with more success, for his new team C21 Multisport/Specialised. A solid show at the Girvan 3 day was followed by a 'border fox' routine, taking the victory in the Shillbottle road race in Newcastle.

In general though, sporting culture is a world apart. While i was receiving a free post-race massage in Girona yesterday (1 young Catalan female each leg ;) in 25 degrees C sun, after having raced in well marshalled, policed racing through the centre of Girona for 180 participants, reflecting on the 300 or so spectators and dozens of volunteers giving out loads of free goodies. . .

. . . Stuart's C21 teammate, Graham McGarrity was being hit in the face by a can from a passing motorist in a roadrace in Northumberland after Stuart abandoned 25miles into a 100 mile course since there was no road support for a puncture.