Winner of the BSJ Tri Series for the 5th time in my carrier

Hi Everyone

On the 16th September I took part in the last race of the Birkirkara St Joseph Triathlon Series. I was looking for a strong performance and a good time. Unfortunately it was a bit windy and it was a bit difficult to do a personal best. However I wanted to test myself again. This was the last triathlon before the National Championships and I wanted to see the effects of all the hard training done. Today I was determined to do a good swim. I have been swimming a lot lately, covering over 20km a week of swimming, going up and down the MFA Pool. I started the swim at a very fast pace and went into the lead immediately. I was feeling strong and although the sea was very choppy, I was feeling comfortable. Today I was determined to be the first triathlete out of the water. I managed to do so and surprisingly I swam the 750m in 11.09 which is the fastest swim from all the four races.

It was a windy day and I had to forget fast times on the bike. I was a bit frustrated as I was feeling strong and could have done a great time if weather permitted. I had the third best bike split of day covering the 20km in 30.10, however still maintained a good lead over my nearest rivals. I suffered a bit in the first kilometre of the 5km run as I felt my legs a bit heavy. I think because I had pushed big gears in those windy conditions. However my legs were feeling better after the first kilometre and managed to establish the fastest run of the day in 17.50 covering all the triathlon in exactly 1 hour thus winning the series for the 5th Time in my career. This was my 10th win of the season, winning it in style as managed to beat my nearest opponent by 2mins 30sec and 3rd athlete by 3.30.

A week after I participated in the attard 10km. I wasn’t expecting much from this race as I continued with my normal training programme but still was looking for a good performance. A race is a race and when I am on the start line, I always want to give everything I’ve got. I started leading the race together with St Patrick’s Jonathan Balzan. After 3km Balzan started to open a gap between us. Cautious not to burn myself, I kept my own pace and then was caught by Mario Grech of St Patrick and Atleta Pembroke’s Drew Lang. We stayed together until at the 7th kilometre I increased the pace and managed to surge out of the group to finish 2nd in 35minutes 10seconds, 38 seconds behind winner Jonathan Balzan of St Patrick’s in 34 minutes 33 seconds.

I am very pleased with these performances. I He used these races as part of my preparations for the National Triathlon Championships on the 7th October and with these results all seems on the right track to reach my peak in a week’s time. That’s all for now Yours in Sport Keith

A win ala Pantani

Hi Everyone . Finally back to racing after a month and a half of very hard training. After the 2nd race of the Birkirkara St Joseph Series I took an easy recovery week before starting training hard to finish such a successful season on a high note. I spent the month of august really training hard. I was training 3 times a day with a total of 30hrs of training a week and it was not easy to finish all the training especially with the heat. It was really hard but I gave my best in every session because I want to achieve my target at all costs, TO WIN THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS IN OCTOBER. On Sunday 2nd September I took part in the third race of the Birkirkara St Joseph triathlon Series. I was looking forward for this race as I wanted to see the results of training done. I was a bit worried before the race as I was not feeling so well during the week. I was feeling very tired. I think because all the tiredness of the previous weeks took its toll. I rested a lot on Friday and Saturday and luckily I was fresh for the race

I started the 750m swim at a very hard pace. I wanted to do a strong performance and test myself. I was on the lead from the very beginning. I kept the lead together with two swimmers and went out of the water in 11.19, which is t my best swim time of the season. After a good transition, I started the bike at a very hard pace. I felt strong on the bike from the very beginning. I noticed that after the first lap my advantage on my rivals increased so I really digged in. I covered the 20km in 29.43 which was the best bike split of the day thus increasing my advantage I felt my legs fresh after the bike and it was a good sign for the run. I pushed a lot. I wanted to do a good time and winning the race in a dominant way. I wanted to show my superiority in the sport. I wanted to win the race by more than a minute or two. After covering the 5km in 17.50 which was the best running split of the day as well I won the race in 59.42, 3 sec away from course record. 2nd guy 3mins behind and 3rd guy 5mins behind.

I am very happy with my race. This was a great win, una vittoria ala pantani, arrivando sul traguardo staccandu tutti. I am happy that all that training is paying off and now I am very looking forward for my next races and very confident as well in my abilities. I am going to continue training hard till the end of the season. I want to win the championships at all costs NO MATTER WHAT!!!! Thats all for now Yours in Sport Keith