aad

What do you get when you cross a half ironman event with Glastonbury? Wimbleball. Well that's how it felt last weekend. All the bling, carbon, lycra, countryside, mud and portaloos, without the music. Unless you count the Ironman announcer/dj throwing out some cheesy songs. He also loved saying : Welcome to the UK 70.3, Wimbleball, En-ga-land. As if we didn't know.

The reports you hear about this being one tough mother of an event (for the distance) are true. Mostly you'll probably hear about the hilly bike course and how you can't find a rhythm. Well that's what I kept hearing. Oddly, it wasn't till much later I started hearing rumours, that despite it being based around a lake the 21km wasn't what you'd call flat. Hilly, brutal, tough, gruelling, sapping, were terms that started ringing in my ears. Oh, and then I heard about the fun of a mass start in the swim. Crap. What have I let myself in for.

The bike leg I felt should be OK with bucketful of sportives I had under my belt, regular spin sessions each week with Virgin Active, and the cheesy tunes from the FoT team. I managed to complete quite a few local sportive and rides, all over 100km and always looking for 1000m plus of climbing. Then there was a good long one in Italy in mid May, and the Dragon Ride (highly recommended) in early June.

The run leg? Well those hills sessions in winter were a long time ago. I was regretting not having done more but work and long hours put paid to those and several other FoT training sessions. But having Richmond Park and Wimbledon common on the door step was a blessing. There's always a route with hills.

What to say in a blog. Cliched start? Maybe. But an honest one. What have I got to say that has value?