Season end thanks, time for reflection and 2017 event entries...

So, there we have it... the end of my 2016 season.
On reflection, although I have felt a little disappointed at some results, on the whole I've had a banging year!
First time for me to step up to the tortuous long course events, and I loved them both, actually finding that this distance is now my preferred course. Who'd have thought!?...

So, here we go with some sincere thank you's, to people/ companies that have helped over 2016...

Thank you, Zone 3. The Vanquish race wetsuit you provided me with has been a great help. Especially toward the end of the season, when I set new PB's for both Middle and Long course swims. As swimming is my weakest discipline, those gains are the hardest fought, and the sweetest of my season. It's been great, being a Zone 3 'Local Hero'.
Thanks to Tri Harder Ben, James and now Carl, all have a wealth of experience in this sport, collectively and as single discipline sports. Their advice over the season and service has been greatly appreciated. Cheers, guys.
Big thanks to my coach Jason Battle at, Performance Coaching Me for delivering me to The Outlaw and IM Wales in my best shape, and the many other races along the way. We have bigger goals to aim for in 2017, but I'm sure I'll be at my best, when the time comes... Shame you can't sort the weather out as a repeat of 2016!...

I went through a few pairs of running shoes this year, but still seemed to be running with sore feet, at anything over 10k... Until I found On Running shoes What a shoe! It was a real joy, to run the 26.2 miles through Tenby, with no soreness of my feet.
A big thanks to Simon Brierley of Paradise Tri for bringing the On shoes to my attention.

I also changed my cycling shoes for Wales, too!
I've worn S Works road shoes for a couple of years, without issue. But, have only taken them to about 75 miles on a ride.
Riding the Outlaw full, in quite warm conditions, everything seems fine, until I got to around 80 miles. I then became aware of my feet becoming sore! I encountered  this once before, racing Majorca 70.3 in very hot conditions (different shoes). That resulted in a very painful run, and I was now beginning to worry about the 26.2 mile run looming up on me. It did prove to be painful, very painful. But I finished.
Determined not to experience that again, I set about finding some new shoes. Not as easy as it may seem... After trawling through quite a few, I settled on Lake CX402 The custom fit soles are brilliant. K Lite leather uppers, too, make for a very comfortable fit. No pain in IM Wales ;)

Nutrition was another big area for me to concentrate on, this year... Going 'long', I really didn't want to be carrying heaps of different products on the bike, like gels, fluid, bars, etc...
I was never, and still won't go along the lines of the Pork Pies, Peanut Butter sardines, etc... Just not happening!
So, with simplification being key, I set about trying Tailwind Nutrition. Certainly looked good on paper, and appeared it would be able to support me through 112 miles of the bike, with nothing else... Bonus!
Having used it in training, with no side affects, I then incorporated it into my race strategy. Standard, then Middle distances went well, so it was a no brainer to take it to Outlaw with me, and develop a drink strategy that would get me through the distance without having bottles hanging all over my bike. Outlaw was a hot day, and mainly rolling course. The Tailwind worked very well, and I arrived for the run feeling great.
So, with that little success, I never gave it a second thought for IM Wales.
Lead up and race day prep was a carbon copy of the Outlaw, but with less nerves!
But, after just a couple of hours on the road, I began to feel like something was going wrong, with my gastric system!... The fluid wasn't working for me. Tailwind promote a philosophy of continual sipping, which  I had followed, but now was time to stop!
I continued the bike, but elected to now 'drink to thirst'. During the first 2+ hours I was consuming 750ml/ hour, over the last couple of hours I didn't quite manage 500ml!
But, the change had worked, I had been lucky enough to change the strategy in time to recover, so I was in good shape as I started the run.
Looking back, I can see that the Tailwind recipe is too rigid for me, and I need more flexibility on any given day.
On reflection, it appears quite obvious, that IM Wales course is much tougher, yet the temperature was cooler, so I could possibly have tried less electrolytes to carb ratio, but as it's all in the bottle I was stuck.
So, I now start my Winter training testing out Precision Hydration on my rides.
I attended a seminar a few days ago, hosted by Diss CC, with Jonny Tye giving a talk on this product range. I chose to have a sweat test, which didn't surprise me with the results that I am a heavy sweater!
Now, the that is confirmed, as opposed to just a feeling, I can now tailor my fluid intake better on the ride. And also, due to their capsules, I can determine my electrolyte intake on the run too, with a CamelBak, or bottles on a belt.
A big 'up' to my club mates at Tri-Anglia, too. It's a great boost, to be racing in various parts of the country, yet still hear support being shouted at me, even though I wear a different kit, for racing. Even  out in the remote parts of the bike at Outlaw and Wales, I knew that someone, somewhere would be sending messages of support on FB and believe me, there were a few times when that helped dig me out of the darkness. Finishing the race and then scrolling back through my timeline is always a good post race boost... Thanks guys.

More bonus's this year in Eastern Region Triathlon...
Firstly, I became the Eastern Region Middle Distance Super Vet Male champion. Quite a boost, on what had been an awful race day, for me!
And, yesterday the individual league was confirmed, so I finished in 2nd place in the Super Vet category.

Now, to next year...
Slightly different from this year, I'm cutting out all the shorter events. This will hopefully enable me to train better, as there won't be so many interruptions for recoveries.
This year I had wanted to do Xterra UK, but that wasn't held in 2016, so I was very excited to see Xterra Wales appear on the 2017 calendar. I do like my MTB riding, and hopefully, this will lead to more rounds in 2018... Wow!...That's looking a long way off!

2017 targets:
Really got to keep on pushing the swim. Made some good late improvements which have given me a boost and the encouragement to keep at it.
After my next visit to Tri Harder, I'll be ordering some kit and should be training to power, for my running, which hopefully brings more gains.
Plenty of quality miles on the bike, too ;)

2017 events:...

Greater Manchester Marathon
Outlaw Half Nottingham
Xterra Wales
Outlaw Half Holkham
Outlaw Full
IM Wales