Back to Training

Hi Everyone

After the National Triathlon Championships I immediately went into a new phase in my training plan. It was off-season time. It was a month long and I took the opportunity to relax a bit and recover from the stress and pressure I had during the 2013 season. My aim during this period was to spend some quality time with my wife, who really helped me throughout the whole year

2013 was another successful season where I achieved a lot. I won the National Championships for the third time in my career, 1^st overall in the Birkirkara St Joseph Triathlon Series for the 6^th time in my career and setting the course record in the 3^rd race, 2^nd overall in the Birkirkara St Joseph 5km Running Series, 3^rd overall in the Birkirkara St Joseph Swimming Series, 3^rd Maltese in the Malta Half Marathon, 4^th overall in the MAAA Road Running League (1^st age group), had great performances in the World Triathlon Championships held in London and in the Garmin Cernobbio Triathlon were I raced with professional triathletes and won the Bronze Medal in the European Triathlon Championships where I also registered a New National Record on an Olympic Distance of 1hr 57minutes. In all I won 7 races this year with is very good. However If I had to choose the best moment of 2013 is none of the above. The climax of my 2013 is when Elizabeth became my wife on the 15^th March, the most important and beautiful day of my life

 With the amount of training I trained I pretended to be much faster, much more dominant. 2013 was a very difficult year. There were two particular races which I really wanted to win, the Malta Half Marathon and the National Duathlon Championships but due to sickness and injuries I could not perform as I wished. The Half Marathon was just before the wedding. I trained specifically for it but unfortunately I got sick and went on the starting line with 102 temperatures. At least I managed third although till 1km to go I was 1^st Maltese. Then the Duathlon came 8 weeks after the honeymoon. They were 8 hard weeks where had to get my top form back. I managed to do so but in race week I injured my hamstring and did not performed.  I was thinking that I was having a sort of bad luck for the whole 2013. Things were not going as planned

Then from that race everyone where questioning my abilities. Some people were talking nonsense, that I will not perform well, but how can you judge an athlete from 1 single race? These same people forgot what a great season I had in 2012. I was very angry and as my wife tells me I gave an answer not with words but with facts. The answers they got are listed above.

I started pure training in the first week of November and in December the training load increased with an average of 28 hours of training per week. At the moment I am training only on Endurance, Long sessions in every discipline. I am taking care of every single detail. I am training hard but sensible, my nutrition is in conjunction with my training as well and the results are coming. I came 3^rd in the Fleur de lys 5km organised by my club and registered a good time of 16.24 just 8seconds away from my Personal Best. It was an unexpected time at this stage of my training.

2013 finished on a high note as I won a special award at the MOC Sports Awards night on the 30^th November and made it again for the third time in my career in the semi final of the Sportsman of the Year award for the Ghazla Sportivi Nazzjonali. For 2014 I have high ambitions. I want to achieve all the targets I set. I want to repeat the 2012 season or even better. I am determined and am really focused to have a great and successful 2014.

I would like to thanks my coach Dermot Galea, my swimming coach Catalin Stan, my parents, wife's parents, my sponsors Garmin Malta, Starbene Shop of Mosta, BB Bike Parts Malta and Jaycee Malta, my club Birkirkara St Joseph especially our General SAecretart Euchar Camilleri and the Malta Triathlon Federation for the constant support. But most of all thanks to my wife Elizabeth for her great patience and support through out this difficult year. Its thanks to you that I am still the top Maltese Triathlete. 

That's All for now. Hope you had a nice christmas and wish you a prosperous and healthy New Year 2014

Yours in Sport
Keith

My Third National Title

Hi Everyone

On the 6^th October, I won my third national title in my career. It was a very difficult title to win. Although I was the favourite, for me it did not mean anything. A championship race is far different than any other local triathlon race. I was more excited than usual for this race as I was feeling that it was not going to be very easy to win. I was feeling the pressure that everyone was expecting me to win and others who did not want. I was afraid that what happened in the duathlon championships will happen again. However I think I handled the pressure well

Weather was not that good. As soon as the race started, it started to rain. I had a good swim covering the 1.5km in 22 minutes. During the swim I noticed that it was raining heavily and was a bit concerned about how am I going to push on the bike due to very slippery roads. I remembered when I raced in Sicily last year in far more difficult conditions than these on roads that I never raced on so I stayed calm

Out of water I was leading the race by 2 minutes on my nearest rivals. I started the bike steady and increased the pace in every lap. I was very careful in the turnarounds and in certain parts of the road, the rest I digged in. I was keeping an average speed of 39km/hr which is very good in those difficult conditions thus increasing my advantage to 2.30. However half way through the race I had a puncture. I cycled slowly for a whole lap till transition area. Here it was a crucial moment where I could win and lose the race.

I changed the wheel thanks to Jack Schiavone of ‘The Cyclist’ who gave me a wheel and continued the race. My advantage was reduced to 1.15. It took me time to push again comfortable on the bike as I lost the rhythm I had before. At the end of the bike I managed to increase a bit my advantage to 1.45 and started the run fast in order to win with a good margin. I was feeling comfortable and strong and so I pushed and pushed till I could not push no more and went on to win my third National Title in 2hrs 3 minutes. I covered the 10km in 36.43 which was the best run of the day and that to it I won the title by more than 3 minutes

As soon as I finished I shouted a lot. A shout that means VICTORY. I know some people don’t like it but they don’t know how many emotions I go through before this race and how much pain I had to go through to win it. It is very difficult to win a national title once but to win it again and again is much more difficult because you have more pressure to handle. My season was not over yet

A week after I took part in the Garmin 10km organised by Mellieha AC. I was not fully recovered for this race but since it was a race sponsored by my main sponsor I wanted to participate and do well. I started the race very fast trying to keep up with Malta’s leading long distance runner, Andrew Grech. I only kept with him for 2km as my legs could sustain his fast pace so I had to slow down and settle in a good pace. I was running well until at 3km to go I slowed down. I was feeling tired and they guys behind were fast approaching. Still I found some energy to push the last 1km to finish the race in a good 2^nd place in 34.51

I would like to thank the Malta Triathlon Federation, my sponsors GARMIN MALTA, STARBENE SHOP of Mosta, BBB Bike parts Malta and Jaycee Malta, My club Birkirkara St Joseph, my parents, my wife’s parents, my coach Dermot Galea and my swimming coach Catalin Stan. Thanks again for helping throughout this season

A big thank you goes to my No 1 supporter, my wife Elizabeth. Elizabeth was fundamental for me during this season. It was a very difficult season. I had a lot of difficulties to face and things were not going the way I wanted. Everything seemed much more difficult however thanks to my wife I am still on top

Thanks my love xxxxx

That’s all for now

Yours in Sports

Keith

See you next year!!!!

6th Time Winner of BSJ Triathlon Series

Hi Everyone

On the 22nd 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 establish another course record and try to go under the 59mins barrier. 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 in both National and MFA Taqali 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 11.02 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 a strong bike covering the 20km in exactly 30mins. I did not push a lot on the bike though as I wanted to save my legs for the run. Since it was windy I opted to use lighter gears than usual especially headwind, 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. However my legs were feeling better after, so it was a good choice to step back a bit on the bike. In fact I managed to establish the fastest run of the day and also the fastest run of the whole series in 17.38 covering all the triathlon in 59.43 thus winning the series for the 6th Time in my career in style as managed to beat my nearest opponent by 1mins 40sec and 3rd athlete by 3mins.

I am very pleased with this performance. I used this race as part of my preparations for the National Triathlon Championships on the 6th October and with the results achieved lately, all seems on the right track to have a good performance next Sunday.

I would like to thank first the Malta Triathlon Federation for the great support they give me, my sponsors GARMIN MALTA, STARBENE SHOP of Mosta, BBB Bike parts Malta and Jaycee Malta, My club Birkirkara St Joseph, my parents, my wife’s parents, my coach Dermot Galea and my swimming coach Catalin Stan. Thanks again for helping in achieving such a good result.

A big thank you goes to my No 1 supporter, my wife Elizabeth for her constant support she gives me. Thanks my lovexxx

That’s all for now. 

Yours in Sport 

Keith

What an Experiance

Hi Everyone

On Sunday 15^th September, I participated in the most important race of the World Triathlon Calendar, The Pruhealh World Triathlon Grand Final held in London, Hyde Park. I have been training hard for this race for the past months because the level was very high especially in my age group. I had to compete against the top triathletes of Great Britain, Australia, and USA.

We were very lucky that we had very good weather for the race on Sunday morning. All the other races had been done in very bad weather conditions. The lake was 15 degrees and the race organisation opted to shorten the swim from 1500 to 750m. I was very excited before the race. It was a new experience for me racing against athletes from other continents. Thanks to my wife I managed to calm down and focus on the task ahead.

I had a very good swim. I tried to stay with the main group. At one point I could not see the buoy as the sun was directly in front of us. I just followed the others in front and hoping that they were going in the right direction. I completed the swim in 10.39 (My Garmin showed that the correct swim distance was 950m – that was a Personal best). We had to run for T1 for 600m. My legs were frozen and I could not run comfortable and it took me a while to put in my cycling shoes on as well. T1 took me around 3mins. It was one of the longest transitions ever

The bike course was wonderful. We had 2 loops and we cycled through Buckingham Palace, parliament, Trafalgar square and also the Maltese embassy. The course was fast but we had to tackle a lot of turns and that affected the average speed. The course was more of a tourist sightseeing. I covered the 40km in 1.01 in an average speed of 39km/hr. On Friday I went to cycle around London to test the bike course. It was hell as I had to stop for every traffic lights and the amount of traffic. However it was worth it as I knew how to tackle the course on race day

T2 was as long as T1. Another 3 minutes added on the overall time. Legs were still frozen and it was not easy to put on my running shoes. Then I went to tackle the run. It was a 3 lap course around the serpentine. I was really running well and felt really strong. The course was fast so really pushed for a good time. I covered the 10km in 35.10 to finish the race in 1hr 54mins. I am really pleased with my performance. I did my best. I finished 37^th in my age group and 130 overall from over 5000 participants. The trip finished on a very high note as on Monday before leaving, I met the greatest triathlete on all time. The 3 times World Champion Javier Gomez. I feel very lucky that I met him. We talked a bit and gave me his signature and we had a picture together as well

I would like to thank first the Malta Triathlon Federation for the great support they gave to the team during the trip, my sponsors GARMIN MALTA, STARBENE SHOP of Mosta, BBB Bike parts Malta and Jaycee Malta, My club Birkirkara St Joseph, my parents, my wife’s parents, my coach Dermot Galea and my swimming coach Catalin Stan. Thanks again for helping in achieving such a good result.

A big thank you goes to my No 1 supporter, my wife Elizabeth. Elizabeth was fundamental especially before the race. I was getting over excited and she managed to calm me. Thanks my love xxxxx

That’s all for now

Yours in Sports

Keith

COURSE RECORD

Hi Everyone

Finally I broke the course record in the 3rd race of the Birkirkara St Joseph Triathlon Series held on the 25^th August. The previous record was of my brother coach Dermot Galea set in 2006 of 59minutes 9 seconds. The weather was perfect and I noticed that with my current form it was possible to beat the record and make history. I started the race fast and tried to keep with the swimmers which forms part of the relay teams. I covered the 750m swim in 11minutes 4 seconds in first place. I was focused to do a good transition as every seconds count. I attacked immediately the bike. I set into a very fast pace and I was going for a really good time. In the middle of the bike I was feeling legs a bit tired as I think I pushed a lot in the first couple of kilometres.

I had to encounter a problem with an arriva bendy bus as it really slowed me down yet again. I kept calm and I still kept on pushing and eased the pace a bit in the last few kilometres to save some energy for the run. I covered the 20km in 29minutes 17seconds setting an average speed of 40.5km/hr. I started the run at a fast pace. I kept on pushing and pushing till I could not push no more. The last few metres were a very tough as I wanted to push more but I was really at my limit. I gave everything I had in my body to win the race in a COURSE RECORD TIME of 59minutes 1 second.

I covered the 5km in 17minutes 41seconds and also managed to consolidate my lead in the general classification as I won the race by 2minutes 30seconds margin. I really trained hard to get this record. I am a bit disappointed because I could have been the first triathlete to go under the 59minutes barrier but still am happy to have broken the record of my brother Dermot, who in my opinion is the best ever Maltese triathlete.

Before this race I took part in the last race of the Birkirkara St Joseph 5km running series. It was the final duel against my club teammate Steve Chetcuti. I started the race with a disadvantage of 4 seconds in the general classification. I attacked from the first kilometre but Steve produced a wonderful performance to cover all my attacks and beat me in a sprint finish. I covered the 5km in 16.22. 4 seconds behind Steve. Steve did a great comeback after last year he was badly injured. Am glad he is back in top form. Well done mate you deserve this win!!

I am very happy that finally I broke the record and now my target is to go under 59minutes. I did my best to win the 5km series but these races were part of my training schedule and I was not in the best shape on the start and to finish second is a bonus. I would like to thank my brother coach Dermot Galea, my swimming coach Catalin Stan, my parents and my wife’s parents for their support. My club Birkirkara St Joseph and my sponsors GARMIN MALTA, STARBENE SHOP of Mosta which provides me with supplement and the NOENE SOLES and BBB Bike parts.

I would like to say a big big thank you to my wife Elizabeth. Here support is so much important to me. She gives me most of the strength I have in order to prudence such a good performance. Thanks my love. Now my next racing commitments are the WORLD TRIATHLON CHAMPIONSHIPS in London on the 15^th September.

That’s all for now

Yours in sports, Keith

Pierre Borg wins Mosta Sprint Elite Race

Agones Sfc Rider Pierre Borg won the Santa Marija Sprint Elite Race, organised by the Mosta AF Sign Studio as part of the celebration for the St. Mary Feast.  Coached by Malta Triathlon Champion Keith Galea, the Agones Rider launched his final sprint at 400m to go.  Mosta Riders Steve Sciberras and Paul Magri immediately responded to Borg's Sprint but they could not match his incredible sprinting Power and went on to win his first race of the season with Sciberras and Magri coming in second and Third respectively. Borg's win is also the first win for Agones Sfc in a Cycling Elite Race.

Pierre Borg had a very good season. He came 3rd overall in the 3rd race of the National Cycling championships held in Zurrieq, 2nd in the Criterium Race held in Siggiewi and was part of the winning relay team of the 2nd race of the Birkirkara St Joseph Triathlon Series where he performed the 20km bike segment registering the 3rd best bike split of the day.

2nd in my category in the Garmin Cernobbio Triathlon

Hi Everyone

During the past month I was training hard for the Garmon TriO Cernobbio Triathlon. Before the race I took part in several races as part of my training schedule. I came 2^nd in the 2^nd race of the BSJ 5km series setting a new personal best time of 16mins 17sec. I also took part in the 4th and 5^th race of the Birkirkara St Joseph Swimming Series, coming 3^rd in 29.48 and 4^th in a personal best time on 2km in 28.15

On Sunday 4^th August I was on the starting line for the Garmin TriO Cernobbio Triathlon, Province of Como. I managed to produce a very good performance. The race was part of the Italian ranking, so the best Italian triathletes were expected to be on the starting line. The prevailing weather were not ideal as the race started at 1pm in temperature hovering around 40 degrees Temperature

Swimming strongly against the water currents of Lake Como, I managed to cover the 1.5km swim in 23minutes 22 seconds. The 40km bike course was very hilly and we had to cycle from Cernobbio through the village of Mennaggio and back twice. I covered the 40km in 1 hour 2 minutes. At the point when I  started the run, the weather was hot. I started the hilly 10km at a good pace but the heat was taking its toll on my pace. He covered the 10km in 40minutes 20 sec to finish the race in 2 hours 8mins and a respectable 22^nd place from 800 participants including Italian professional Triathletes, and 2^nd in my Category

I am very happy with my performance. I wanted to test myself with the Italian guys. Unfortunately since I was a foreigner, I was in the non- Italian wave and happened to be the strongest. In fact I came 1st in my wave. However I spent too much time alone on the bike while the Italians were drafting and this was a major drawback. The heat in the run was very taxing and I could not run at my usual pace. I would like to thanks my sponsor Garmin Malta for assisting me during this trip

Back in Malta, I took part in the last race of the Birkirkara St Joseph Open water Swimming Championships. Thanks to my good performance in the 4km swim, the Saint finished 3^rd overall in the General Classification. I would like to thank the KMS for the 20/20 Elite Scheme, my sponsors  Garmin Malta, Starbene Shop of Mosta and BBB Bike Parts, my coach Dermot Galea and also my wife Elizabeth Galea for accompanying and supporting my during this trip.

My Next race is the 3^rd and final race of the Birkirkara St Joseph 5km Running Series on the 20^th August and 5 days after will compete in the 3^rd race of the Birkirkara St Joseph Triathlon Series. However All is targeted for the race on the 15^th September were I will be representing Malta in the World Triathlon Championships in London, Hyde Park

Thats all for now

Keep tuned

Keith