Getting Durty, Going Hard and Going Long

Last year I rated the Durty Triathlon as the hardest race I had ever done. No doubt about it, it’s still hard but I’m just fitter and knew what to expect. That really makes the difference. Last year I went into the race thinking I was a bit of a super star, ha-ha... how wrong I was. It was certainly the race that got me hooked on racing off road and really never looked back, this is where I want to be and what I want to do!

This year I was a little more clued up on this off road triathlon stuff and consider myself considerably better than last year. Some might say pro being ETU under23 Champion, I’d like to think so too. The times definitely don’t lie I was much, much faster than last year and the conditions were definitely not as favourable as last year, plus the run was a little bit longer too... So big improvement for me which definitely puts a smile on my face and it keeps my drive to keep getting faster even higher!

Now for the important part, the end result. Before the start I was seriously having an internal battle, my head was telling my body to get stoked because we’ve got a race to try and win but my legs were screaming at me after last weekend I was still suffering big time. I’m pretty sure it’s considered the fatigue come-down after a big race and result but being mentally strong is so important. As Alister has told me on many occasions, it doesn’t matter how tired you are there is always something there and the ones that can deliver the goods when feeling bad are the ones who will always succeed...  I finished 2^nd overall to Graham, his mountain biking never ceases to amaze me! So strong, even when he went past me I couldn’t even try sneak onto his wheel. There is still definitely a lot to come from my riding; after all, I have only really been riding a mountain bike properly for a year now when I decided to race this race last year. I just managed to catch Doug towards the end of the run I just never seemed to be able to close the gap on him till the very top of the climb; I had spent the best part of the bike busting myself to stay on his wheel too! Being the first Scott to cross the line makes me the current Scottish Cross Triathlon Champion! It’s quite a special one for me too, I’ve cross the line in Scottish Champ races so many time in 2^nd place or 3^rd place the fact that I’ve finally won a title is an awesome feeling. Kudos to my fellow Scottish Xterra athlete Kerry for winning her 2^nd Scottish Cross Tri champs in a row and the 3^rd race weekend in a row!  

Water Splash on the Run!

More bog running fun

Happy to have made the finish!

Really looking forward to another little solid block of work next week with Alister before I head to the Czech Republic followed by Germany for another 2 Xterra World tour Series Races.

How Bad do you want it?

Last Saturday I wanted it... I wanted to win so badly, I’ve had many disappointments so far this year but nothing was going to stop me, this was my race to win. I had watched David Millar, a fellow Scots man, one of my heroes; win a Stage of The Tour de France. After the stage he said “I was so determined, it never went through my mind that I was going to lose... I just wanted to cross that line first”. This is exactly what I decided I was going to do... and I did just that! I am currently the European Under 23 Cross Triathlon Champion and I finished 9th over all in the Elite Senior Race! 

On the podium 

Having decided I was going to emulate Millar, I needed to learn how to learn how to adapt of the conditions in Holland and quick. Adapting to the conditions of a race in off-road triathlon is probably one of the most important skills to acquire as it really doesn't matter how fast you can ride one condition if you can’t ride them all. Sand, sand and more sand... I think I have seen enough sand till next year, riding on the sand is tough, you can never drop off the power or its game over. I have to thank Rene, a local rider and runner that my team mate Kerry was staying with. He took us to kit out our bikes for the sand with new tyres, without his help I would undoubtedly have been starting with a disadvantage and been out of the competition. To ride on the sand you basically need fat slick tyres, even slight tread just digs a deeper hole... 

The Hague Race course consists of a 1km swim, 26km mountain bike and a 9km trail run. I’m not going to say too much about the actual race, other than it was hard and fast on the bike. I never looked back only forward and thinking “I catch that guy in front” or “I can shake this guy off my wheel on the next little dig”. It was a typical off-road race, where there is less of the seriousness that comes with the road and it is more about the camaraderie knowing that there is no hiding in these races so that guy next to you is working just as hard. I was lucky enough to be with two guys who were willing to share the majority of the work with me. None of us from the same nation or even needed to speak the same language just that mutual respect was enough!

Leading a chase group. Thanks to Natasha for the Pictures!

Riding hard on the sand

During the suffer-fest that was the run through the soft sand in the dunes I had a really competitive battle with my bike partner who just edged me out in the last couple of kilometres, probably through a little more experience and a few more miles in the legs... after all I have just had to finish off my degree and my dissertation had been taking up a reasonable proportion of where I would have done the majority of my base miles in the lead up to the race. 

Having a battle on the run

Near the end of the run

And the end result of my determination and self belief, after all I have been at the game for a long time and finally its beginning to all come together! Got to say I'm probably the happiest I've been in a while, its incredible what a little success can do for motivation, even when the weather outside is so bad I'm still getting out and training... It just makes the results feel really worth while! 

Crossing the finish line, relief and excitement!

I’ll be racing the Scottish off-road championships this weekend and I can’t wait to race the Durty triathlon again, however my legs are stuff suffering big time! 

Bam! Graduation! No more Unsupervised Day Care...

Better late than never, as they say... 5 years on I have finally graduated from Stirling University. Good times, Learnt a lot along the way met some cool people and made best friends for life, made a large number of regretful decisions that I would change in a heartbeat if I could. However our decisions define us and maybe I wouldn’t be in the position I am today without them... Pro athlete, graduate and currently living the dream, possibly the only thing that would top it is if I win euro millions this week, Ha!

Around this time 5 years ago I remember going to a careers meeting at school. I was young and pretty naive, I remember telling the careers adviser I was going to be a professional athlete one day and I was going to Stirling University. She looked down my school record and her expression said it all... she definitely doubted my high ambitions, the words that came out fell on deaf ears, my mind was made up and having always been a little stubborn too so nothing was going to sway me from my goals. Wonder if there was a “where you are now” meeting at school what the people that taught me would think of this!

The result of more hours in the Sports Science Labs than I would care to count, As Channing Tatum would say... “Fu*k You Science!” I definitely won this battle. 

Grandparents, Dad and Myself

Mum and Me

A successful Graduate and Triathlete who has a start to the European Under 23 Tri-Cross Championships a week today! Which I am very excited about!

I have a lot still to say about the Celtman and how proud I am of my Dad finishing the race and how well he ran the second half of the run! But I figure I’d wait till I have a good length of time to compose what I thought and some pictures, it’s all good by the way, ha! Now I’m finished working as basically a lab research assistant I’ll be updating here considerably more.