Regaining Leading Jersey on Mount Etna

Hi Everyone

Recently i took part in the 5th Race of the Sicily Triathlon Series. The Race was a duathlon which consisited of a 4.5km Trail run starting from Belpasso, a 16.5km cycle climbing through to Etna and finishing with another trail run of 1.5km through the lava to finish on to the top of the mountain near the Crateri Silvestri

My previous race in Ali Terme in June was  a bit disappointing as I suffered a puncture on the bike segment and this caused me to lose my place in the leading group. Although I managed to finish 9th overall I lost precious points thus moving down to 2nd place in the overall Series Classification

                           

With the possibility of claiming the title at stake, I had to give the race my best shot. With little familiarity in trail running and rough mountain terrains it was my determination and controlling the pressure and different emotions I was going though rather than experience that was the determining factor for this race.

I started the race with the leading group and surprisingly i quickly settled into the environment and steadily climbed to third position after changing to the bike segment, where I starting to gain ground on the other athletes. Ikept this momentum until the very end and secured a valuble third place which enabled me to regain the lead in the series classification

                                

I am very satisfied with my performance in this race, especially since this was my real first experience on this kind of terrain My expertise in the hilly terrain definately was an asset and contributed towards regaining the lead after my inluckt and disappointing last race. After such a great performance I am rally looking forward to the next races and finsh the season on a high note. September and October are month packed with important races and my season will come to an end with the Sicily's Series Final in Catania

                                                   

I would like to thanks the support of SportMalta, the Maltese Olympic Commitee the Malta Triathlon Federation, my club Birkirkara St Joseph, my coach Ivan Rozhnov and my brother Dermot Galea, my family, my masseur Owen Attard and my sponsors Garmin Malta, BBB Cycling Malya, Jaycee Malta , Mochika Outdoor Life, Team Barry Malta International Challenge Marathon and Starbene 24/7

Most of all I would like to thank my wife Elizabeth for he support and the believe she has in my abilities. Her support is fundamental for me and am so lucky to have her by my side

That's all for now

Yours in Sports

Keith

Winner of the Birkirkara St Joseph 5km Series for the 2nd year in a row

Hi Everyone

Recently I won the Birkirkara St Joseph 5km Running Series for the 2nd year in a row. I am pleased that I manged to retain my title i won last year even though i am not on a good form at the moment. This is the first time that the series was won by the same athlete for the 2nd year in a row. An achievement that i am very pleased with especially when one considers that i am not a pure runner.

The series consisted of 3 5km races and were all held in the mtarfa by-pass. Consistency was the main factor that helped me to win the series as my times were very close to each other. In the first race I came 2nd in a time of 16.38. In the 2nd race I came 5th in 16.50 and in the third and final race I came 5th again in 16.46 but managed to open a good gap on my closest rivals and secure the title I won in 2015

I am very pleased that i won the series as I was not expecting it being that i am not in a good shape at the moment due to several factors. Although I am pleased with this win, looking at my times I still have a lot of work to do as I want to be much faster than that. However i am confident that I can improve my times by a big margin in the future with the right training and taking care of every detail.

I would like to tank my coach Ivan Rozhnov, my brother Dermot, my parents and my wife’s family, my masseur Owen Attard,  my sponsors Garmin Malta BBB Cycling Malta, Jaycee Malta, Mochika Outdoor Life, Lucida Laundry, Starbene 24/7, Team Barry Malta International Challenge Marathon, his Club Birkirakara St Joseph, the Malta Triathlon Federation, the Maltese Olympic Committee and Sportmalta for the constant support.

Most of all a big thanks goes to my wife Elizabeth who is the most important person of my life as her support is fundamental for me. Her help and believe in my abilities even during the tough moments helps me to keep going and believe in my talent in order to achieve my targets

That's all for know

Yours in sports

Keith

COURSE RECORD

Hi Everyone

Last month i took part in the 2nd race of the Birkirkara St Joseph Triathlon Series. I was looking for a good time as last race i was slowed down by a crash on the bike but luckily i managed to continue the race. The weather was good so i could go for the course record again.

I had a pretty good swim coming out of the water in 10.07. After a good transition i started the bike at a steady strong pace trying to increase the speed later on during the race. I was feeling good. I was keeping a good average speed so i focused in maintaining the pace and save legs for the run in order to have more strength till the end of the race.

I entered in T2 in first place covering the 20km in 30mins at average speed of 40km/hr which was the best bike split of the day. I am very pleased with my bike. I knew that i could have gone faster but i had another 5km running left.

I started the run at a good pace. At that moment it was very hot but tried to focus on the pace as I was on target for a very good time. I covered the 5km in 18.17 to win the race in a course record time of 1.00.31, so close to go under the hour.

I am pleased with my performance as I did a very good time and since I am not still in my top shape I know i can go under the hour next time. Now I will revise my performance and see where I can lower my time. There is still some time left for the next race so with good training my form will improve and can go for a faster time

I would like to say a big well done to my athletes Joseph Debono Bernard Sant and Charlene Bonello for positing new personal best times. Also well done to my atheltes Luke Camilleri Cuschieri and Pierre Borg who were part on the winning Relay team together with Mellieha AC runner Shaun Pullicino. Well done also to all participants and to my club Birkirkara St Joseph for the great organisation.

I would like to thank my coaches  Dermot Galea, Catalin Stan and Ivan Rozhnov, my parents and my wife’s family, my masseur Owen Attard, my sponsors Garmin Malta BBB Cycling Malta, Jaycee Malta, Mochika Outdoor Life, Lucida Laundry, dgtri.com, Starbene 24/7, Team Barry Malta International Challenge Marathon, my Club Birkirakara St Joseph, the Malta Triathlon Federation, the Maltese Olympic Committee and Sportmalta for the constant support.Special Thanks also goes to my wife Elizabeth for her great support and patience with me

That's all for now

Yours in Sports

Keith

(Photo courtesy: Ryan Bonello)

Victory in St Patrick's Aquathlon

Hi Everyone

On the 29th June i participated in an aquathlon organised by St Patrick's AC at Marsaxlokk. The race consisted of 2.5km Run, 1km Swim and 2.5km Run. Although it was a very short race, it was very demanding as the run consisted of  2 very steep hills

I did my best to stay with Mark Herrera who is one of the top runners in Malta, in the first run. We started at a really fast pace as we covered the first kilometre in 3.03. .I entered in T1 in second place. We were a group of three who entered together in the sea. My legs were blocked at first and I could not kick. I was feeling the huge effort done in the run and I think i started too fast.

Although I went immediately in the lead I took the swim at a steady pace at first as I could not find a good rhythm. I was closely followed by another athlete  but by time I was feeling better in the sea and my legs were getting better so I decided that it was the time to attack. I increased my pace and managed to open a gap. I really pushed in the swim to increase my lead as much as I could.

After the swim i focused to do a fast transition in order to gain other seconds. I managed to do so and started the second and last run with a good gap. I mastered  the advantage till the end to win the race in a time of 33minutes 37 seconds, 15 seconds better than last year which is a new course record

I am very pleased with my performance especially with the swim as thanks for posting the best swimming time I won this aquathlon. It was a hard race to win as I had very tough opposition but thanks to good tactics and experience I managed to master my strength well to win the race in a course record time. I am very pleased also with my athletes Bernard Sant who came 5th overall and 1st Under 23 and  Joseph Debono for posting a personal best by 2 minutes. A great well done goes to St Patrick's AC for te good organization

I would like to thank my coaches  Dermot Galea, Catalin Stan and Iva Rozhnov, my parents and my wife’s family, my masseur Owen Attard and my nutritionist Johanna Galea,  my sponsors Garmin Malta BBB Cycling Malta, Jaycee Malta, Mochika Outdoor Life, Lucida Laundry, dgtri.com, Starbene 24/7, Team Barry Malta International Challenge Marathon, his Club Birkirakara St Joseph, the Malta Triathlon Federation, the Maltese Olympic Committee and Sportmalta for the constant support. Special Thanks also goes to my wife Elizabeth for her great support and patience with me

That's all for now

Yours in Sports

Keith

Never give up and Never stop believing

Hi Everyone

Last Sunday the Birkirkara St Joseph Sprint Traithlon Series took off at Salina Bay. After an absence of 3 years the triathlons are back to salina. I was really looking forward to this race as I really wanted to do a very good time. I had a pretty good swim coming out of the water with the top swimmers. I tried to stay as much as i could with the relay swimmer to push myself more but at the same time not wasting so much energy

When i arrived in front of my bike for some reason i did not find my helmet and sunglasses, It was very  strange as it was not that windy. I panicked a bit but managed to find them but lost precious seconds. Whilst running with my bike to  the mount line trying to recover the time lost I noticed that there was not the rubber band on my shoes and had a very bad crash with my bike whilst mounting and damaged badly the rear changer

My back wheel was blocked as well. I thought that my race was over. I stayed calm and tried to arrange them as i could in order to continue the race. I managed to do so  but i could not push as much as i could as I was afraid to brake the rear changer. I was 2nd overall and had a disadvantage of nearly 2mins.

I was a bit confused after what happened so i slowed down and tried to settle my mind. After I got a bit into my normal race pace I was reducing my disadvantage and by the end of the bike segment i managed to get my opponent and I immediately attacked the last hill before transition area. I managed to open a gap and entered in transition area in first place and thanks to a very fast transition I increased my gap,

In the 5km Run I managed to increase more my lead to secure my 55th multi-sport win in Malta of my career. I am pleased with my performance after all what happened. Managing to win the race with a 2 minutes deficit means that I am in a very good form. I know that everyone thought that finally I am going to loose a race but I believe that nothing is impossible and one has to fight till the end.

I still believed that I could  win the race. I stayed calm and used my experience. I really wished to post a very good time but I am still satisfied by the way I managed to win the race, coming from behind and still win by a margin.

I would like to thank my coach Dermot Galea, my swimming coach Catalin Stan, my parents and my wife’s family, my masseur Owen Attard and my nutritionist Johanna Galea,  my sponsors Garmin Malta BBB Cycling Malta, Jaycee Malta, Mochika Outdoor Life, Lucida Laundry, dgtri.com, Starbene 24/7, Team Barry Malta International Challenge Marathon, his Club Birkirakara St Joseph, the Malta Triathlon Federation, the Maltese Olympic Committee and Sportmalta for the constant support. Most of all a  big thanks goes to my wife Elizabeth for her great support and patience

That's all for now

Yours in Sport

Keith

4th Place in the 3rd race of the Sicily Triathlon Series

Hi Everyone

Recently I participated in the third race of the Sicily Triathlon Series which was held in Augusta in the province of Syracuse. As in the previous races it attracted a lot of high profile athletes including pro athletes Ennio Salerno and Enrico Schiavino 

I had a very good start in the swim and I was keeping with the good swimmers but someone swam over me and I lost them. It took me a while to get back into the rhythm. Still I managed to register a personal best time . However the organizers opted for a longer swim and this was of a disadvantage for me as the leaders managed to open a wider gap than usual. I came out of the water in 7^th Place and thanks to a good 20km bike segment, managed to climb to 3^rd place.

I did my best to close  the gap from the two in front but since the race was draft legal the two were collaborating well whilst I  had to do everything alone as unfortunately I did not find no one along the way to work with. I started the 5km together with Schiavino, who stayed behind me for the whole duration of the bike

I did my best to get away from him but I was feeling the effects of the efforts done in the bike segment. I attacked schiavino in the hilly parts of the route but they were not effective. Schiavino left everything for the last 500m and managed to beat me by 20seconds thus loosing precious points from schiavino for the series. However I am still leading the series classification by 25 points from schiavino.

I am pleased with my performance especially in the swim as I registered a personal best but the swim was 1km instead of 750m and this enabled the leaders to open a wider gap compared to the previous races and compromised my race. I did my best to close the gap in the bike but luck was not on my side. When races are draft legal and you lose a lot of time it’s difficult to close the gap. If the distances were accurate it would have been a different story.

I did a big mistake by wasting a lot of energy on the bike and lost the 3^rd place due to tired legs. Seeing that I could not close the gap from the leaders, I had to think about the points for the series and rest a bit my legs on the bike to be able to give everything in the run and fight well for third place as it was important for the series classification. In every race there is always something new to learn even if you had a good performance. 

I would like to thank my coach Dermot Galea, my swimming coach Catalin Stan, my nutritionist Johanna Galea, my masseur Owen Attard, my parents and my wife’s parents, my sponsors Garmin Malta, BBB Cycling Malta, DGtri.com, Lucida Laundry, Team Barry Malta International Challenge Marathon, Mochika Outdoor Life, Jaycee Malta, starbene 24/7, my club Birkirkara St Joseph, the Malta Triathlon Federation, the Maltese Olympic Committee and Sportmalta for their constant support. Most of all a big thanks goes to my wife Elizabeth for her constant support and for her great patience with me

That's all for know

Yours in Sports

Keith

4th Duathlon Title

Hi Everyone

A week after winning the second race of the Sicily triathlon series I had another important race which was one of my main races for this season, the National Duathlon Championships. I knew that winning again these championships was not going to be easy as the competition is very high and since it was draft legal everything was possible so I had to be very careful and play my cards well

The race was held in Hal Safi and consisted of a 4km run, 20km bike and a 2.5km run. I went into the lead from the very beginning setting my own pace. As expected I was closely followed by my team mate Shaun Galea, Steve Chetcuti and James Cuschieri who very good runners. The race was getting very interesting as we all came in together in T1.

I made an attack from the very beginning of the bike in to break away from my team mate and managed to open a gap. It was a crucial moment of the race and kept on pushing to increase my advantage. I was feeling very strong on the bike and was increasing the gap in every lap. I entered in T2 with almost a minute lead. In the second run I mastered my advantage and went on to win my 4^th Duathlon title in a good time of 54.59. I am really happy that I won these championships. It was a hard race and my team mates were very strong today who made me really work hard to win.

I would like to thank my coach Dermot Galea, my swimming coach Catalin Stan, my parents and my wife’s family, my masseur Owen Attard and my nutritionist Johanna Galea,  my sponsors Garmin Malta BBB Cycling Malta, Jaycee Malta, Mochika Outdoor Life, Lucida Laundry, dgtri.com, Starbene 24/7, Team Barry Malta International Challenge Marathon, his Club Birkirakara St Joseph, the Malta Triathlon Federation, the Maltese Olympic Committee and Sportmalta for the constant support.

Also a big thanks goes to my number 1 supporter, my wife Elizabeth for her constant support and patience and to Jason Muscat (Captureme Photograph)  Angie conti and Mark Borg for coming to our race and give us these great shots. I want to dedicate this victory to my friend Jake Vella. Good luck my friend and keep strong.

That's all for now

Keep you posted

Yours in Sports

Keith Galea