I arrived at the race looking to achieve a sub 60. The record had to go and I knew after my last attempt that I could manage the time. However, the weather wasn’t looking good. It was very overcast at best. Anyway, the race got going and starts with a descent, the first time trial I’ve done with a descent. The outward section feels like it’s going up hill and then under a tunnel. The wind was following me and was probably the cause of me being undergeared. On the return I looked and notice an average of 25.9mph, I thought right dig deep and make sure you get to the line and notice at least 25mph. I noticed the line and the chequered flag and gave a final sprint as I passed the marshalls shouting 68 (come to think about it could easily be turned around to look like 86). I looked at the garmin to see the magic average spped of 25.6mph and a massive “YES”.

Final Time = 00:58:47

Below are my Garmin reading for the route.

I arrived at the race with a fellow Team Trisports member. For once I was early and I set up the transition area. Luckily the weather was good and clear. I started in the 1st wave for the olympic race and found the river challanging at best. Worse of all was my wetsuit had started to burn my neck again and I could feel it every time I sighted. I decided to follow some feet but lost touch on the way back and had a nice gulp of the sewarage.

The bike course is really good and fast although I got annoyed with some drafting. It reminded me of club runs around the coople loop. For once, my back didn’t hurt and no hamstring problems. I got on the run and started to catch some people in front. The end result is below but was more enjoyable for the lack of pain/issues. Next mission is a quicker swim and bike.

Overall : 9
Time : 02:11:38
Swim : 00:25:10
T1 : 00:00:55
Bike : 01:07:09
T2 : 00:00:43
Run 00:37:40

A good day out in Hatfield Broad Oak not to be mixed with Hatfield in Hertfordshire (I wondered why the Sat Nav displayed 60min to destination). The race which is part of the annual village festival and is a closed road course was full of runners and supporters. The course was tough and although overcast the weather was very humid. I managed a time of 35:40 (Chip Time) and came home in 17th place.

Running Number: 538
Gun Position: 17
Gun Time: 00:35:43
Chip Position: 17
Chip Time: 00:35:40

The race started well with the first K being a quick 3:20. Then the following being 3:27, 3:28, 3:30, 3:31,3:34 then the wheels came off and the early pace killed me 3:49,3:54. The last 2k was an improvement in 3:40 and 3:25. Here are the Garmin Stats of the day !

The course was a little too lumpy, and a little windy and I could have done without my chain coming on my rear cassett (cost me 90 seconds). The wind picked up later in the race, so the early starters definitely had it easier (oh that would be me). The race venue was spot on and I enjoyed the delights of my black coffee and Carrott cake at the end. It was also a good outing from team trisports so it was good to come home first for the club. Now to target a course to beat that sub 60! The end result was 1.02.42.

My 25m Time Trial pursuit of the sub 60 time continued at Wisbech Wheelers 25-mile Time Trial out in the Fens. The course consisted of 2 laps of a 6-miles stretch of road between 2 roundabouts completely in the open. A tough breeze made it hard as it seemed a very hard outward leg and yet very hard crosswind on the way back.

There was a 30-min delay to the start because of torrential rain. I finally got started and battled against the wind outwards and continued with cross winds on way back to start point. I noticed how close I was to Sub 60 but just couldn’t duck under the time required. Back to the drawing board for me !

Flitwick 10k, April 2011

Overall Position : 8th out of 821
Overall Time : 35:48

In a busy weekend of sport that included the Grand National, I ended up running in the Flitwick 10k. I managed to run a PB on the course and distance of 35:48. In my first race over the distance, I finished a superb 8th overall out of more than 800 competitors in what is just the beginning of a series of 10k events that I’ll be entering over the coming weeks and months, including races in Manchester and Hatfield. The weather was fantastic and I managed to run at a pace that was comftable for me, the terrain was hilly and not flat but I enjoyed the odd hill. I was joined by the family and Beca and Catrin enjoyed their breakfast of Candy Floss !

We’ll it was the first cross country of the year in Round 4 of this year’s cross-country championship in Watford on Sunday.

The course was a challenging 5 mile course, held in Cassiobury Park, Warford. I recorded a time of 35:20 and 17th place overall out of the 265 athletes that took part. I started off slower than normal to try and pace myself through the hard course. However, I found the course too challenging and blew a gasket in the middle of the race, this came at the end of a hard training week (No excuses). However, It was pertfect for the build up towards St Albans 10 that I have been looking forward too. To view the course and my personal stats Steffan Ford (Watford xc) at Garmin Connect – Details.

Welcome to cyclocross. This was my first ever race at a cyclo-cross event.  I turned up to the event without any knowledge of racing a cyclo-cross bike and it was an experience to dive in. I was allowed to race in the novice class and this was a huge relief.  Cyclo-cross is simply a cross-country form of cycle racing and is mostly a winter sport. Most courses will include run-ups or artificial obstacles, so dismounting and running with the bike are also important elements of the sport.  It was a mass turn out by Team Trisports as many of us were new to the sport with the odd expert (more than 1 race).  The course was in a open field and was laps of the area with 2 jumps. I managed a few laps and by the end managed to overtake a few (it must have taked me 3 laps to understand how to ride). My result is below :

Position : 43
Name : Steffan Ford
Division : Novice
Team : Team Trisports
Time : +1 lap +1:11