The Royal Navy are going back to Hawaii

230 years after Captain James Cook first made landfall in the Hawaiian islands and 229 years after his rather less successful return to the Big Island the Royal Navy will once again be stepping foot on the Island of Hawaii. Wendy and I will be at the Ironman World Championships one way or another.

I have not managed to find some back door route to qualification but instead we have made a rather exciting decision. Wendy has wanted to visit Hawaii for many, many years and has raised the possibility of going there on holiday long before my interest in Triathlon and my subsequent desire to qualify for the World Championships. In all honesty I was always put off by the expense and distances involved and used to fob her off with lame excuses. With this exchange posting to the States we are over 3000 miles closer to the Hawaiian Islands than we were in the UK and we have decided just to go ahead and rent a holiday home for a week over the World Champs.

As far as I am concerned it is a win win situation. If I can pull it off and qualify for the World Champs I will have family with me to share in the experience. If I fail to qualify we can have a once in a lifetime style holiday and watch one of the greatest sporting spectacles in the world (I also get to score points with my wife which I can bank for subsequent holidays).

I cannot help but feel like things are beginning to gather pace. I am really excited about the trip to Hawaii, even if it is not until October, and the season will be kicking off very soon. The marathon is only a week and a half away and I am already starting to think about what I will need for my first Triathlon of the season.

I am also really excited about the new kit that should be arriving soon. Zoot have apparently mailed our new shoes and they do not even go on general sale until March and I think the LAS helmets are close to being mailed. I feel like a kid in a sweet shop and will post some pictures as soon as the gear arrives.

I also promise to try not to upset anyone when we get to Hawaii as apparantly there is some controversy over what might have happened to Cook after his death. All controversy aside if anyone does want to eat me please bear in mind that by October I will most likely not have too much in the way of body fat and will not make a good roast.

2008 Race Schedule

I have posted my 2008 Race Schedule on the sidebar. You can visit the relevant website for each event by clicking on the individual races.

The schedule is not set in stone and there are a couple of other running races or relays that I might try and fit in. I have already registered for the races that have sold out with the exception of the Ironman events i.e. Cherry Blossom 10 miler (sold out in 4 hours) and Columbia. I have also registered for the Nation's Tri which is close to selling out and is a race which I really enjoyed last year.

Please note that I still do not know for sure if I am going to Lake Placid. I am not registered for the race, which is sold out, but I hope to compete as part of the Cadence Kona challenge. That being said, as I understand it, not all six of us 'contenders' are going to be able to go.

Participation in the Hawaii Ironman Worldchamps is obviously dependant on me getting to Lake Placid and then putting in a fast enough time to qualify.

I am also hoping to do the Escape from Alcatraz Tri which looks like a lot of fun but that is dependant on a lottery draw next month and would also mean that I would have to drop Mooseman.

It should be a really great year for racing and I am looking forward to getting going. I want to make the most of my last full year in the US and to sample some of the great North American triathlons before I go back to Europe.

Now that the dust has settled.

It is has been a couple of months now since the Cadence Kona Challenge weekend in New York and I finally have the chance to draw breath. It has been a roller coaster of a ride so far. My initial application was a ‘fire and forget’ email and I really didn’t expect to hear anything back. The selection weekend in New York was amazing. The Cadence facilities and staff were both top notch. I got the opportunity to meet Sam McGlone straight off the back of her fantastic second place finish in Hawaii and we were wined and dined at a swanky SoHo hotel penthouse bar – very cool.

My fellow finalists are all really great people and I look forward to reading their blogs. I have been assigned my new coach, Holden Cameau, and been expertly fitted for my new Cyfac bike by Colin Sandberg at Cadence’s Philly centre (also very nice). I am now four weeks into the new training program. So what have I learnt so far ...?

… although I was very happy with my old Felt S22 the new Cyfac le Mythique is in a different league. It looks stunning in its deep blue and black paint scheme and after a few rides I find it very fast and stable. The Zipp 606 wheelset and Vuka bars are beautifully engineered and I cannot wait to race them next year.

… Ironman training is hard work. I am really tired at the moment and I feel like I did 9 months ago when I first started training for triathlon. I have gone from a 2:1 build to recovery ratio to a 3:1 ratio and I have also seen a significant increase in training volume. At the moment my body is in the process of adjusting to this increase in training.

… I do not photo well. I have just received January’s copy of Triathlete Magazine and I look as if I am half asleep in my photo.

… I still benefit from group training. My new coach has kindly tied my new routine in with that of my local tri teams (www.triteamz.com) program as much as possible. This allows me to keep in contact with friends and team mates that I have made over the last year and also to benefit from mutual encouragement that naturally occurs during group training. As an added bonus many of my team mates are training for Ironman Lake Placid so I get to train with people who have the same goal.

… my age group (30-35) is very competitive. I have had a quick look at some of the qualifying times for Kona and they are fast. Although I find this a little intimidating I take comfort in my fellow finalist Randy’s blog, “failing”, and I have cut back on my part time studies to devote as much time as I can to triathlon. I will give it my best shot and I know I will never regret this experience.

Whatever happens I am looking forward to the ride. I am very grateful for this opportunity and for the continued backing of my wife who supports my efforts despite the long hours involved.

The cheesy photo is of me and my new bike.