1st in age group and 2nd overall in Nottingham

Hi Everyone,

Another race and another great result as yesterday I came 2nd overall and 1st in my age group in the Nottingham, Sprint Distance Triathlon. The race was held in Holme Pierrepont National Water Sport in Nottingham. Weather was great and it was a hot day which is very strange for UK weather. I had to drink a lot during the race in order to keep myself hydrated. I was in the first wave and I started the race very fast, this time managing to keep up with the leading group. There were no breaststroke swimmers this time in front. Came out of the water in 13th place and covered the 850m in 12minutes.



In the swim to bike transition, I moved up to seventh place and went to tackle the 20km bike segment which consisted of a 4 laps around the National Water Sports. I was feeling so good that I was riding like mad and at one point I was going straight into the fields as i braked a bit late. I was riding really well and was gaining a lot of ground on GB Athlete Peter Lynas who was leading the race. I registered the 3rd best bike split of the day covering the 20km in a personal best time of 28.30 with an impressive average of 41km/hr. By the end of the bike I caught eventual race winner and moved up to 3rd place.



After a fast bike to run transition, I went for a fast 5.5km 1 lap run around the water park. I tried to hold on with Eventual winner Chris Dale of CEEPO TFN but he was slightly faster as I was feeling a bit the effort I did on the bike but after a kilometre I started to push and push. After 3km I moved up to 2nd place. However I was joined by other 2 guys at 2km to go. Chris Dale opened a 25seconds margin and went to win the race in 1.00.40.

The second podium spot was highly contested. I was happy with a 2nd or 3rd but not with a 4th and did not want to lose a podium place in the last bit being beaten by someone who came from the back. So I was first who opened a storming sprint finish which saw me having the final word to win second place overall and top spot in my age group in a time of 1.01.05.



I am very happy with this performance. This is one of the best races of the season if not the best one. It is simply amazing achieving such a good results in a high profile race. It is amazing and it is so nice being on the top spot of the podium. Again the distances were not accurate so I could not get a PB time but today was in top form. I am very pleased. I felt strong from start till finish and finally I had a great swim keeping up with very good swimmers.

Now my next commitment in UK is the Sprint Team Time Trial Triathlon organised by Full Boar Racing on the 5th of September were I will be doing the bike segment.

That’s all for now and will keep you updated as always

Train Safe

Keith

6th in age group British Championships

Hi Everyone,

Last Sunday I took part in the Autoglass National British Championships which were held in Bedford. Obviously it was a very high profile race as the best of the GB Athletes like James Ratcliffe and Carl Shaw took part in the race. The race consisted of a 1.5km in the river, 43km loop around Bedford and a 3lap 10km run around the river.

I started very fast than usual and was keeping the pace with the first group. However the same thing happened in blithfied as I was slowed down by the swimmers of the previous wave thus loosing contact from the leading group. The first 800m were all against the current and this hampered my performance in the swim. However I still managed to register a good time of 22minutes.



After a very fast Transition, I went to tackle the 43km bike course round the town of Bedford. The course was quite flat, with a hill after 10km. It included a lot of roundabouts but this did not affect me from keeping an average speed of 40km/hr thus covering the distance in 1.06.42.



I started the 10km with a good pace. Since the run route consisted of a 3 lap flat course of 3.3km each, I ran in negative splits. I tried to run one lap faster than the other. I managed to do so and ran the 10km in 36.19 to finish the race in 2hrs 7minutes. I placed 30th overall from 600 athletes and 6th in my age group category.

I am very happy with my performance. It was a good race and I am happy with each discipline and even with my transitions which were fast as well today. It’s a pity that the bike and swim course were longer than the standard distance because today I was in a very good shape to go under the 2hrs but never mind I am happy. The placing is great considering that I raced against the best British athletes and the first 3 in my age group came first, second and third overall, so yes, it is a great result”

James Ratcliffe and Catherine Pickthall beat all opposition at Bedford to be crowned 2010 British Triathlon Champions. My next commitment in UK is the Nottingham Sprint Triathlon on the 22nd August.

Will Keep you updated

Keith.

Fine showing in Blithfield

Hi Everyone.

Finally I am in UK training like a professional athlete. It is a dream for me that now i have only one priority at the moment which is Triathlon. Till now I have been in UK for 3 weeks and training has been going really well. On 1st August I did my first triathlon. I took part in the Blithfied Olympic Triathlon which is part of the Blue Seventy Series.

I was looking for a good result as the races I did in Malta before my trip to U.K. were very encouraging. I managed to go under the 17min barrier in a 5km by placing 4th in a time of 16.36 in the 5km Birkirkara Race 1 Series. I won the 2nd race of the BSJ Triathlon Series in a Personal best time of 1hr 00mins 14sec, winning by a 20sec margin after a great battle against Mark Zammit and finally came 7th in a new Personal Best time of 29.17 in the 20km Time Trail Organised by Birkirkara St Joseph.



Since it was a qualifying race for the world championships there was a strong field competing for this race. However it did not affected me as I was concentrated only to get as much as points possible for the series. Besides the Olympic, there was a Sprint Distance race going on which started 5mins before my race. This factor affected most of the triathletes doing the Olympic Race.

Started really strong and tried to stay behind a good group. However in the first lap I had to stop frequently as I was slowed down by swimmers who were doing the Sprint race, doing breaststroke and this affected me from swimming my usual rhythm. I covered 1.5km in 22mins which is not as good as expected. Whilst doing my transition the helmet of the one next to me fell from his bike with the wind. Then whilst I was going out of transition, a marshal told me to go back and put the helmet back in its place as it was my fault. I lost plenty of time here!!!

On the bike was very strong. It was a very hard course with tight corners and many hills. I was very strong on the hills and was catching up time from the leaders and moved up a couple of positions as well. In the first lap I was very cautions but in the second one I was feeling more confident and was taking some risks as well. I covered the 40km in 1hr 3mins in an average speed of 38km/hr

In the run I tried to run as fast as possible but half of the route was off-road and this did not helped me to run to the best of my abilities. I don’t know how many times I twisted my ankle. However I covered the 10km in 36minutes 37seconds . A good time on such a hard course. I finished the race in 2hrs 4mins in 14th place and came 3rd in my age group. With this 3rd place, I managed to qualifiy for the World Championships in Budapest next September.



I am very pleased with my result. I am not so happy with the swim but had to face some challenges during the 1.5km. I am pleased with my bike and running splits. At the moment I am 4th overall in the Blue Seventy Series. I am looking forward to continue training in UK and to prepare well for my next commitment here in England which is the Bedford Olympic British Triathlon Championships on the 15th August.

That’s all for now

Keith.