As a bit of a back story, some of you may know that I competed at Ironman Nice last year, but failed to convert the long hours of training due to suffering from heat exhaustion and being pulled from the race, and rapidly attached to a saline bag (which actually made me feel very good afterwards!).

So, 2017 meant I had a score to settle.  However, with a new baby arriving in the Shakir household in October, training for Nice in June was going to be a touch tricky.  So Ironman Wales was selected, as it was far enough in the future to have time to train, close enough to home that we can drive with said baby in tow, and cool enough that I didn’t suffer at the hands of the heat gods again.  What I didn’t take in to account, was that this is in fact (not necessarily factually correct), one of the hardest Ironman races on the European tour.  Tidy.

Training started just after Christmas, dragging myself out of a warm, dry house into the wet and cold, where I imagined hearing the phrase ‘Jamal Shakir, you are an Ironman’ as motivation to get out the door.  The first few months weren’t too taxiing, but when things stepped up a bit, the lack of sleep and losing a training partner due to injury meant I was really struggling to find motivation with riding on my own.  This is when the good people of Viceroys took me under their wing!

Anyway, to race day. Continue reading →

‘I’ve not raced at Dorney for a couple of years now. A mixture of apathy about the race venue coupled with qualifiers elsewhere kept me away from the iconic British Olympic rowing venue. However, I’d not been able to get a place at Liverpool and wanted to race – Diamond Triathlon at Dorney it was then! 

I actually like racing at Dorney. The lake is always clean and since it’s a rowing lake, it’s quite easy to keep straight between the buoys. The bike course is flat and fast as is the run course. Yes, there is a degree of repetition (8 laps of the bike course, 4 of the run course, 2 of the swim course!), but it allows you to concentrate on the task at hand and really maximise your efforts in each discipline. Continue reading →

Lance Kesson completed the London Triathlon and recounts his race:
‘The alarm went off 5:30, racked my bike.  I had forgotten that I had set myself a personal challenge by signing up for the sub 2hrs30 wave. Was not so confident now on the morning of the event.
In the water at 8.55, claxon rings, off we go. Swim was good, no panic attack.
On to the bike, I was on the Westminster route. We headed up to Big Ben, fighting the head wind, exchanging some chat with a couple of other riders, while playing cat and mouse lead change with them.
Arriving back at the Excel centre, trainers on. Now the run, this is the part the I have traditionally found tough. I am trying to reframe what the run means to me. Part of this is listening to my body and not looking at my watch. Coupled with the negative chatter in my head and the temptation of looking at the thing on my wrist, I push on, enjoying the chill of head wind when I turn into it.
Finally the last lap I turn into finishing lane, where I pass Rachel who has been her amazing self all day supporting myself and any other competitors that look like they need their spirits lifted.
I cross the line, happy to get to the line feeling good, no idea what time I had done.
Rachel asks me do I want to know?
2:26:40
I had managed to complete the challenge I set myself, and grabbed my PB by 20 minutes.
Saw a couple other Viceroys, I hope they had equally good days – a wonderfully crazy big event.’

As raced and reported by Lance Kesson

Henley bridge to bridge (now named Thames Marathon) is a 14k downstream swim (does help!!) in the beautiful and idyllic location on the Thames. It’s the longest swimming race I’ve entered, so was a real Unknown. With the family woken at 05.30, the race started at 7.30: I was off. There were 4 sections split with 3 great feeding stations at 4K, 6k, 1.5k and 2.5k.

You get into a rhythm and your mind can wander and be free. Although there were shallow reeds, I was loving my horror movie I made up!! The tow float is compulsory and was fine to swim with. The feeds stations had lots of variety and I didn’t need any gels:-)) The end was in sight and arms burning. Always the competitor I was fighting to the end, 5th female overall. 3 hours and 6 minutes of hard work but wonderful and definitely do it again. 100% recommend.’

As raced and reported by Sarah Hempenstall

Peter Kelsey was one of 30 Viceroys who cycled London/Surrey 100 in 2016, he tells his own story:

‘Every time I looked at my wake up time for this event, I set the alarm even earlier to fit in breakfast. In the end I almost got up before I went to bed, such was the challenge of the drive to my approved parking space in sarf east Larnden. With hindsight, the drive there and back was ghastly, (not to self: next time stay in town the night before).

 RideLondon is a fantastic 100 mile closed road sportive, with 26,000 riders taking part. The weather was good, and I was really looking forward to riding so many local roads at a pace, and not having to worry about ‘car up’ or ‘car back’. I would recommend any keen cyclists add this sportive to their list!

The start pens are well signed and well-drilled and there are more ‘pre-fab toilets’ than at La Maratona.

A slightly delayed start before we rolled out, and immediately the pace was over 40 kph through central London. Heading west I could see a large group had formed a few hundred metres ahead, and with the help of a big friendly giant South African we reeled them in by Richmond Park. Things then rumbled nicely through Walton & Weybridge, even if I rolled through Walton too early to get a cheer from Chairman Yeo. Byfleet, Pyrford & Ripley were a blur before the first climb up Newlands, where some of the group go out the back. Then a fast descent towards a climb into Holmbury & Leith and finally Box Hill. You then head  back through Leatherhead, Oxshott & Esher to the final blast into town via Wimbledon. A late hill into Wimbledon wrecks a few who have gone out too hard, but from there it is a really fast flat ride to the embankment through Putney and a sprint finish after Admiralty Arch.

 I didn’t stop to refuel, but there were many feed and drink stations well-signed, and it was lovely to see the public out to watch in such force.

 After political recent events it was also great for London to put on such a positive event, even if it does mean closed roads for most of the day, which I know some locals find a bit tedious.

I hope to ride the event again next year, and hope that based on this year’s time I can get seeded in the very front pens, as it is clear that those groups go the fastest, so getting out early is a better plan for those aiming to set a fast time.

 Other lessons learned:carry 2 super-size bottles to avoid stopping;  stay up in London the night before;  don’t over hydrate pre-ride to avoid a loo stop.

Rumour has it that Yeo will do this in 2017, it is tailor-made for the bigger stronger rider like him, as RideLondon is all about pure power on rolling hill events like this, there are not really enough hills for little mountain goats like me!’

As raced and reported by Pete Kelsey

‘I returned to Eton Dorney on the 17th of July for my second triathlon , my first ever had been the previous month in slightly different weather conditions. June was an early start with constant rain and winds , July a later start , warm and muggy.

Having not been able to swim a length at the Xcel a year ago I was always going to be apprehensive going in to the swim but once I had got that out of the way, I knew I was on my way to achieving my goal and completing my first ever TRI. Not sure of pacing etc , I managed  to complete the task in a final time of 1:24:27.

On my return to Dorney in July I felt more comfortable knowing what lay ahead plus having the support of my family there to cheer me on and Coach Yeoman along side me to offer some crucial words of wisdom and support I was determined not to embarrass myself too much in from of them all.

Instead of being at the back of the pack during the swim I realised I was actually in part of a group of swimmers so I must be doing better than last time , I was thinking of all Mark had taught us at Shepperton and was doing my best to try and drift in addition to stay on course !! Once out of the water and on the bike all seemed to be going well until T2 when I struggled to get my shoe off but after a bit of struggling I was back on my way with just the 5K run to complete.

I’ve neglected my running for some time for the sake of trying to learn to swim but managed to maintain a reasonable pace and passed a few guys , which is always a good way to finish a race.

As I crossed the finished line and checked my Garmin much to my surprise I had exceeded my previous outing by almost 9 minutes with a final time of 1:15:44 .

I was most pleased to see an improvement in my swim time by 3 .5 minutes and hope with continued coaching and training by next year to shave a few more minutes off and even try a longer distance .’

As raced and reported by Rich Jones

‘This was an emotional race. This time last season I was taking part in the same race when someone unfortunately failed to come out of the water. It was tough to deal with and on the day and a few of us did all that I could to help search but to no avail.

Since that race it always been in the back of mind and I avoid racing the later races of their series and the early ones this season but I needed to do this for him and myself.

To say it was hard to start was an understatement. I had a small break down whilst talking to the organisers but it had to be done. In clear water I went as hard as my mind would take me and exited first but a few guys close behind. Heading out onto the bike I looked to settle into a good pace. The young guy who came out 2nd exited well out of the park but blew up within 1km as I went pass a bus thought it was a good time to pull out on me as I was doing 47kph. I hit the brakes & somehow stayed upright. However about couple km I heard a loud hissing noise… That’s right… puncture, game over. 2nd and 3rd came by 30sec later and then a massive gap of over a minute back to a slow moving 4th.

I was soon picked up by race support and not wishing to end the day like this I racked and ran out like I was racing. After lap one as I passed T2 I saw the first guy off his bike (3rd on the road) so I looked to run as if he was chasing me. He just caught me as I crossed the line in 17.58 – must have been my new asics Hyper Tri 2 shoes.

I feel that there is still unfinished business here so I will look to return on the 27th to finish the race full

Fingers crossed not technicals next week’

As raced and reported by Mark Yeoman

Race Build Up: I left the corporate world towards the end of 2015 knowing it was essential to maintain a ‘life purpose’ during this career break. Having swam and ran as a youngster (I’m now 49) and enjoyed some road cycling since 2014 I signed up for the Thorpe Park Standard triathlon.

Fortunate to be off work, in January I decided to enrol some help. I found the Viceroys website and contacted Mark who soon put together my first training plan. 6 month’s hard training followed with, naturally, highs and lows. The swimming came back fairly quickly and the bike improved steadily including the tough Dragon Ride in Wales.  However, it took until April to overcome a calf injury and run properly. 

Race Day: My training downfall had been to start time trials too quickly then fade. It was essential I pace myself correctly. Target times were: swim 23:45, bike 1:10:00 (ambitious) and run 42:00. Given I’d never put all three together I set myself an overall goal of 2 hours 30 mins.

Early in the swim I had a ‘what have you taken on here you idiot’ feeling  Soon after I laughed, held back a bit and finished strong in 23:50. So far so good. I stuck to Mark’s advice on the bike and never strayed beyond 7 out of 10 effort for the most part. However, I was having so much ‘fun’ I put a little too much into the last 10km and smashed my target with 1:08:47. 

When I started running there was doubt in my mind as to whether I’d even finish. The first 3km were weird, I felt I was hardly moving but the Garmin confirmed I was doing ok. I entered a deep dark place from km 6 to 9 being very careful not to let a few muscle twinges turn into cramp. It was clear I was going to finish now, just not clear when. Thankfully I did with 44:40 for the run giving an unbelievable (for me) total of 2:19:21 and 5th in Age Group. 

Incredibly happy I realised how important it is to make a plan based on current performance and stick to it…well almost…especially early on when you feel strong. I sense this is just the beginning of a new adventure in life…’

As raced and reported by Sandy Whisker

‘Yesterday I ventured to Dorney lake to take part in a competitive race held by VOTWO –  they use a clockwise bike coming down the middle section which adds a nice twist to the otherwise dull venue. Wave 1 had all the guys sub 39yrs & it was clear to see that some had come too fast in the windy but hot & humid conditions. An hour between waves I had time to clock their swim and bike splits before starting at mid day – yes mid day… Far too late for a race. I knew it was going to be close but the lead guy ran out dirty fast. Oh okay, that’s that then

In the 40+ a more relaxed attitude was taken, the water was murky and I some got into a good rhythm & exited in first (2nd fastest split behind the young gun winner). Soon onto the bike I knew that going fast was going to be hard, the head wind was tough and the only rest bite was the return leg back each lap. On the 3rd lap I was caught but looked to start close as I was hoping to save my legs for the run. He put a big push on the final lap and I entered T2 in 2nd but after 100m I knew this wasn’t going to be a day to burn up the run course, more burned by the sun.

Running into the headwind is no joy but I dug in and on the turn looked to keep my legs ticking over. Dehydrated and lacking food due to the late start I was relieved to cross the line and be 3rd overall and back on the podium.

Time to rest and recover ahead of another race in 2weeks time. ‘

As raced and reported by Mark Yeoman.