The lull before the storm

Once Upon A Time there stood many magnificent castles upon a hill in a place on the East Coast of England. There then descended upon this place a terrible wind. A wind of such force and magnitude that it blew down all those glorious castles that stood there.

The winds blew for many years until finally they abated. The local community began to rebuild their lives and their houses until eventually a new village arose. That village was called Wells-Next-The-Sea.

All remained calm and well for many years. Until the winds returned. And they returned with such gusto that the villagers fled once more. They ran and ran and ran…

I have just returned from a short camping holiday with Emily and Adam at Wells-Next-The-Sea, surely without doubt the windiest place on earth. It didn’t rain. It didn’t snow. Heck, it was even sunny. But, boy oh boy, was God busy blowing down on our campsite that week with such force that even my mate Crackers and his travelling companion Ben Fogle would have found it difficult to withstand. Eventually, in fear of our tent suffering the same fate as Aunt Em's house in the Wizard of Oz, a day early and after a night where I can honestly say I didn’t get a single minute of sleep, we decided to call it a day and return home.

That’s not to say that we didn’t have a good time. Spending time together, without the disruption of school, work and triathlon (yes, triathlon), was, as always, a wonderful experience. We did some great things about which we will always remember (surely there cannot be anything better than strolling along a beautiful golden beach at sundown with your children) , but alas, as with all fairy tales, it did have to come to an end, and so we are now getting on with our normal lives before the kids return to school.

So, back home and it's here. My final blog before heading out to Australia to race on 13th September. The lull before the storm, so to speak. I leave on Thursday with the rest of the GB Team, suitably chavved up in my tracksuit and trainers. I can hardly believe that, after all this time, all the training – through wind, rain and shine – and all the expense, D-Day is finally here. I am so excited.

If you're interested, the race will be on t’internet. The races start Aussie time on Sunday at 6.45am which, by my reckoning, is Saturday 9.45pm UK time. Here’s a couple of links from which you might find the live stream:-

http://www.worldtriathlongoldcoast.com/event_guide_schedule.html

http://www.triathlonlive.tv/index/home

It's only a short race - blink and you'll miss it - so you'd better be ready if you want to catch a glimpse of Bradley - GBR - making a dash for it across the line! I'll be the guy with a beer belly finishing near the back.

Back to the week’s activities, and I raced Bedford on Sunday. I did this highly enjoyable event last year, and the lure of it being a Euro qualifier this year brought me, and many other top athletes, back for more. Quite pleased with my time, especially with a) not puncturing and b) not falling off, so I consider it job done. I only really have one eye on the Euro’s, and I haven’t actually checked to see where I came or if I qualified. Maybe I’ll have a look sometime this week.

Big ‘matey’ congratulations to Jev, Dan, Mark K, Andrew and John (mate, mate from tri club, coach (‘ironmate’), mate from Italian training camp, mate from gym respectively) who all had great races. Jev, in particular, who thinks he might have qualified, at his first attempt (smart arse!), for the Euro's. Well done, mate, and a great way to round off a great season.

A few pics of the race. Promise me you won't laugh.






Who ate all the pies?. That CAN'T be my normal physique...




Colin, Jev, Dan...


Hey, there's the Pie-man again...


...and again...


So, that’s it, one and all. The next time you hear from me will be my race report from Oz. I will be thinking of you all next week in windy Blighty. Or, then again, maybe I won't - I will have one or two other things on my mind!

Cheers.

Colin

EDIT: Since posting this blog, Joe has gone and got himself 9 GCSE passes, narrowly missing out on 10 for want of an extra mark at Drama. So, he's now at 6th form with a few more years of studying ahead of him. Am so proud of Joe who did have difficulties combining his social and academic lifestyles, so to come through with so many passes is one hell of an achievement. Well done, son - very, very proud of you.