at 6 15, in a lake, in our wet suits. In Datchet!

well, we didn't go together, and there were a load of other people there. had a bit of a chat, I moaned about 'bloody premiership footballers' everywhere, he said' EX premiership footballer'. he is very nervous about next week, as he claims his swimming is crap. It isn't, he isn't bad actually.

anyway, its all in preparation for the windsor triathlon next sunday, in which we are both competing. I can have him I think

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anyway, this is now the official OTF triathlon thread

did blenheim palace tri today (750 swim/20 k bike, 5 k run)

did about 1 33 which was ok, swim went well in 16 mins but the bike! too hilly for a big guy like me and I didn't really get going

it was bloody hot as well! did see alistair campbell in the wave before me

I assume you don't mean this Robbie Earl.

I know I've told this story 55 million times but I had a shower with Campbell when training for the London triathlon a few years ago. It was around the time of the Hutton inquiry. He was a bit of a plodder.
He fancied himself on the bike. We went for a quick 12 mile ride. He thought he was Lance with a big camera crew up at the front and a few pro triathletes shielding him. My friend and I simply sat behind him, Robbie Macewan style and when the pros pulled aside for the sprint. We jumped him and to his credit he laughed and said something about cycling through treacle.
We both gave him "The Look" as we dropped him.
A proud day.

I met Robbie Earle last year. Ask him how his project with Sutton United is coming along.

he seemed to be doing ok when i saw him, the end of the swim there is a 400 m dash up a hill to transition, he came through about 15th out of 200. As he went past i did helpfully shout 'burnley are s**t'

well thats done

finished in 2 hours 59 mins and 30 secs. which i am quite happy with. saw robbie at the start. he didnt look too happy, but it was 5 30 in the morning

swim was odd, some people taking a walking/swimming approach in the thames. my bike let me down as it seemed to be one of the few non carbon bikes on the course. great bike course though. run, was it was stupidly hot and i was shattered. did the 10k in about 55 mins

on the way out i had my head turned. i have been looking at the specialized tarmac pro for a while. they are 2.5 k. they had a 2007 model on offer from 1900 to 1150. rude not to, i was in the market for a new bike, just been promoted to assistant head etc

look



its now in my hall. as shattered as i am i have to go out on it. fausto, a good deal?

robbie earle beat me by 2 mins. I had 5 mins on him on the swim, bike about the same and he dogged me on the run, knocking 7 mins off my time

jenson button who competed, i had heard he was quite tasty, came in 2 hours 20. that was 110 out of 1600 people. respect.

does a formula one driver count as a professional 'sportsman'?

Yes.

Well done, Rick - you've flown the OTF flag high there. I was looking at last year's results, and they appear to have changed the course -it was only 6kms running last time.

Nice bike -shame your sweaty arse will be all over it.

My brother bought this boy last year, and is well happy with it:



B.t.w. I did 3:12 in the Maratón de Asturias last week. Hilly bugger. I think we should set up a OTFers High Achievers (Sports) thread.

windsor tri is an olympic distance event, so its always 10k. i marshaled the run last year and it was certainly the same

does your brother do tri ant?

good marathon time btw. awesome in fact

No, he only does the cycling - goes in for various full-on, balls-out events.

So what's this, then? http://www.windsortriathlon.com/Results2007_Tri.htm

no idea, but the dates are wrong as well
http://www.humanrace.co.uk/results.html

BTW ant, looking at your link in more detail I think the 'kids of steel' does indicate its a childrens event. with a very naff title

Fantastic results all round. The bike (although I prefer bikes that end with a vowel, as you know - but still a tremendous bargain), the tri and the job. Nice work. When did you get your promotion? What sort of school is it?
Well done anyway.

You triathlete types might be interested in my friend's website, Guidathlon. It includes a diary of every triathlon, duathlon, aquathlon, etc., etc., in France this year. It's only in French at the moment, but some of the events linked to have English mirror-sites as well.

He's an amateur triathlete himself, and told me at the weekend he'll be doing this at the end of July. The bike stage includes a climb up l'Alpe d'Huez.