The Adventures of the Furry Four and One Last Tri
(
Featuring
Graeme “Saves the
Day” Silcock
Sue “I’m loving it” Fuller
Gemma
“Reactions of a Kestrel” Tune
Zena “I’ve done no
training - Skipper” Shean
Back in May, while Gemma was
inflicting the torture that she refers to as treatment, she mentioned she wasn’t “loving the bike”! With thoughts of revenge entering
my head, I threw her the idea of her trying a middle distance event – she would
have to get on her bike then!
The final big training session consisted of a 53 mile bike
followed by an 8 mile run-I’d been off work sick but knew I had to get this
under my belt-bad idea! Bike was fine but 10 minutes in to the run I’d have
opted for intensive root canal work rather than continuing..….had.. there been choice! My constant
requests for Sue and Zena to ‘go on ahead I’ll meet
you back at the house’ were ignored as they carried on chatting away, not
breaking a sweat let alone a sentence, meanwhile my life was flashing before my
eyes! (Maybe that’s a little dramatic but you catch my drift). This session,
rather than re-assuring me that I could do it instead left me thinking ‘what
the hell am I doing? Whose stupid idea was this? And more importantly-how many
healthy 25 year olds have died during a half ironman?
Fast
forward a few months, Sue and I are driving along a dark
With Gemma and Nia both asleep in the
car we headed down to Sandy Balls. After a quick stop Gemma
and Nia both awoke slightly perplexed at the sight of
furry cows in the new forest wilderness. With Gemma
now inspired by the furry cows we continued our journey to the campsite. As Gemma settled into her nice warm cabin we attempted to put
the tent up in strong winds, only to find the ground was made of concrete!,
after a quick stop of at the shop to buy some industrial tent pegs we managed
to finally put the tent up, although we soon made our way to the ladies cabin
we it was much warmer and they had TV!
When
we find Sandy Balls holiday park, Gemma
has already settled in our warm, cosy log cabin. She travelled down with Graeme
and Nia, who were settling in to their not quite so
warm and cosy tent. We recalled our adventures with beasts and Gemma asked if we had noticed how furry the cows were. Sue
and I, slightly perplexed opened the wine hoping Gemma
would then make more sense! For inspiration we put on Richards IM Austria 2008
DVD, Gemma laughed at Johns
pre-race dance and Sue and I cried through the rest of it! This was followed by
Wimbleball 2007, this time it was the kids at EETC
corner than made us tearful! Emotionally exhausted we made our way to bed. The
DVD’s made me cry and I hadn’t even done the races!! I’d been pretty emotional
for the last couple of weeks leading up to the race particularly when Sue text
me saying ‘I think you’re ready to become a half ironman!’ I think that with so
many people in the club doing full ironman’s the difficulty of your first ever
half goes overlooked and it is certainly no easy feat!! Laying
there the 2 nights before the race I had the urge to yell…… ‘TWO MORE SLEEPS
UNTIL I’M A HALF IRONMAN!’ a few chuckles were heard coming from the other
room!
While
watching Zena’s Austria DVD we also learnt Sue’s
pumping dance routine, a must for all those triathletes
ready to hit the dance floor at the EETC BBQ!!
A
leisurely lie in and breakfast the next morning (what a treat) we decided to recce the bike and run courses. Graeme declined to come
along for the trip as he was mountain biking – but it might have had something
to do with Gemma still declaring a wish to stroke a furry
cow. Can I just say you had to see these cows to believe them they
were SOOO fluffy it just didn’t look right!!
We
had planned on going mountain biking around Sandy Balls but we only got as far
as the Pub!
Anyway
we followed the bike course, Sue and I took note of the cattle grids, fast
flowing ford, inclines and nasty turns – Gemma looked
for the furriest cow. We were lovin’ the bike course – after 5
North Hills the previous week this was going to be fun - but were
not feeling the love for the run. Sue didn’t like the hills (the
first 5 miles were either up or down), I didn’t like tarmac, Gemma had lost her cows.
Back to Sandy Balls for lunch and registration. We collected our numbers, swim hat and goodie
bag and a great t-shirt! At race briefing we looked at all the athletes –
usually you see a couple of middle age guys who are there for the challenge
- Not these they were all hardened fit
looking triathletes (even the two who put their hand
up to say it was their first tri!) The race director then informed us he was
changing the swim to 1300m (cheers from Sue and Graeme, groans from Gemma and I) because he was worried we would get cold!!!!
Sue, Gemma, Graeme and I then headed back to the cosy, warm log
cabin to pack our bags and prepare the bikes for the next day. Nia also comes along as she is still defrosting after a
night in the tent! IM Austria on the DVD again, (Graeme needed inspiring!) bags
packed and Graeme checks over all four bikes. Gemma
mutters something about he should be here soon, we breath a sigh of relief when
we realise she is talking about Alan rather than a furry cow.
We
packed our bikes into the car and headed off to the lake and T1. The light was
beginning to fade and drizzle was setting in. Sue’s bike comes out of the car
and disaster strikes – her gear cable is flopping along the frame. However,
Graeme – the Hero – is on hand and manages to fix the cable without any ado. With
a panic stricken Sue, I jumped at the opportunity to save a damsel in distress.
Zena and Gemma stood by
amazed as the mechanic from Herongate Cycles worked
at a pace never seen before! (Regular customers will know what we mean!). Really
grateful to Graham, he saved my race and was so calm and confident I didn’t
give it a second thought on race day. I
still wonder what we would have done without graeme
then-We only had 10 minutes to rack the bikes-that’s not even enough time to
swear, cry, flap around a bit and then start to look for someone who seems like
that could be practical!!! Sue lovingly muttered something about Richard
playing around with her bike a few days ago!! The same loving
husband who abandoned his wife this weekend for the Southend
10km (yes Richard-stay down that hole with your shovel!) Zena is still convinced we’ have eventually sorted it
between us (I think she’s forgetting her name is Zena
not Mike!)
We then rack up, look at the lake, and head off to find
something to eat. That is, Gemma, Sue
and I head for the pub, and Graeme and Nia spend some
more quality time together in the not so warm tent. (Nia begs to differ about the “quality time”, she mentioned it would require something expensive to make
up for the weekend???) We return to our warm and cosy log cabin and
Alan arrives soon after. We inspire him with
Race
day, it is pitch black and cold outside, but the nervous energy is buzzing
inside our warm and cosy log cabin. I beg to differ about the
‘buzzing’ part. Despite all the training, race briefing, racking the bikes etc
it still didn’t seem real then there I was pulling on my tri-suit (thank god I
got the two piece as I literally was Shi*ting myself)-its actually making me
nervous now writing about it! We receive a text from Graeme telling us
he is already on the coach (beginning to thaw out). We grab our bags and also
head for the coach – no more double seats left, but Sue sits next to Graeme, Gemma sits next to a guy who doesn’t talk, and I sit next
to a lovely guy from Ashford Tri who comments
“East
Essex Tri, you guys were amazing in
We
check our bikes, and prepare our bags. We could rack anywhere, with five bikes
to a pole. It was the EETC 4 together and our fifth person was Ashford Tri guy.
The
swim was starting in two waves, Sue was in the first wave and the rest of us
followed ten minutes after. I, at this point was in tears, sooo nervous! I kept telling Alan ‘I don’t want to do this’
‘I can’t do this’ hoping for a response along the line of ‘if you don’t want to
do it you don’t have to’ Instead all I got was ‘don’t
be stupid, of course you can do it’ 10 trips to the toilet later I was ready.
Alan had instructions to get plenty of pictures AND videos as I had no
intention of doing this again! After a slightly chilly start, easy to
spot buoys and clear water made conditions for a perfect swim. I hit T1 to see
Sue heading out on the bike and give her a shout. As I am putting on my layers,
Alan is getting into the spirit of things by calling encouragement, (Although
his encouragement was along the lines of well done Sue/Zena/Gem
Almost there’……almost there!!???? Wed only done the swim! and then Gemma is next to me. She
has a really quick transition and then Graeme is also next to us, smiling
because he has also had a quick swim. After exiting the swim I saw Gemma and Zena in T1, after a
quick sprint up the hill and fast transition I headed out onto the bike just
behind Gemma.
Onto
the bike, and the two and half laps pass quite quickly. Rolling
hills to start and then out on to flat open road, perfect time to get on the
tri bars and fly! After about half a lap
Zena went past at speed looking smooth, just know
she’s going to have a great race. Marshals
are cheerful and encouraging and the sun even comes out in places. Alan pops up
at various points still cheering, and taking pictures, an
videos and giving us food!. The
baby donkey, deciding to sit down in the middle of the road made things a
little interesting, as did the two black furry cows playing stand-off! I scared
the living daylights out of two pigs sauntering across the road. However most of the livestock
decided we were, by and large uninteresting, but towards the end of the course
the volume was increased by the cheers from Nia and
her friends Jack and Kieran.
Out
on the bike Gemma and I were like cat and mouse for
the first two laps, as we rode close to Sue we both cheer and Gemma shouts out nice arse to Sue! At this point the legs
were starting to feel a bit tired, I think this was the sign I should have
taken note of prior to the run.... After the final lap which felt as long as
the first two put together I finally arrived at T2.
Just as
we finished one whole lap Gemma caught me up on the
bike, cruised past, big smile, ‘I’m loving it’ she
says! At this point I was loving it, my feet
had thawed out, weather was gorgeous and the supporters particularly Al gave me
a real boost! Another lap nearly over and I spy Gemma
again, body language not good, we have a quick chat, I
tried to lift her spirits a bit. 2 hours into the bike and I’d
completely bonked! Alan has got a great video of Sue catching me up shouting
‘living the dream Gemma’ and me, in tears saying ‘I’m
not living the dream I’m hating this’
Then we passed Alan again and out on to the flat open road for the final
time. I really admired Gemma for sticking with it when she was finding it
tough. Next time I saw her at about mile
9 on the run, big smile again as she reeled me back in for a magnificent
finish!
T2, and a dreadfully long wait for a vacant
toilet. Once I am started on the run my legs are feeling much better than I
expected, despite the tarmac. I run up the first steep hill, legs still feeling
good - 4 miles pass still feeling good and have left the little group that
started with me. 6 miles and I see Alan stuffing his face with Fererro Roche – he does find my banana though! 8 miles in
and I am feeling “the
love for the run”. I’m not sure a group of guys are feeling it though
especially as when I pass them, wind is brewing! A chap even older than Charlie Baynes then catches up with me, the next few miles go
quickly as we pass much younger athletes, but my new friend drops back as we
hit the last hills. Alan drives past me on his way back from aid station
duties, and my legs are still feeling good – might even put some effort in now!
and it is into Sandy Balls for the finish. Wow –
another half under my belt (even though the swim and run are a little short) –
I would be on top of the world but am really missing Mike and the kids by this
point. (It was my first big race without Mike and I had found it quite hard not
having him there – his support is priceless.)
My T2
was interesting, did someone stick my ar*e to the
seat or had my butt swallowed the saddle, whatever it was it took me about 5
minutes actually dismount! Still in tears at this point all I was thinking was
how the hell am I going to do a half marathon, It was hot at this point but I
kept my arm warmers on for the run, convinced I’d still be out there once it
got dark! Sitting down I try and get my shoes on but every time I lifted my leg
my hip cramped, just when I was about to throw a tantrum an declare ‘that’s it
I’m not playing anymore’ one of the marshals comes over and asks if I’d like
help getting my shoes on. I answer a teary ‘yes please’ God how pathetic I must
have looked!
I’d
told Alan that morning to get to the 6 mile point on the run so wasn’t
expecting to see him so early on but he admitted that after Sue had said
something along the lines of ‘Gemmas not very happy’
he decided to ait at the start and it was that which gave me a massive
boost…along with the flat coke!! So off I went on the run and the first 3 miles
flew by-mainly because of the chatty girl I was running with- I was devastated
when she said she had to dash into the bush to go loo-I almost joined her but
thought that might be a bit weird!
At T2
I ran into the tent to see Gemma just ahead, normally
the others are miles ahead so I thought I would push it as hard as possible on
the run and try and keep up, I grabbed my stuff as quickly as possible in a bid
to chase her down. With a speedy transition I chased after Gemma,
slightly under estimating how steep those hills were! At the 3mile mark the
hills got the better of me and I “hit the wall” in the haste to chase down Gemma I hadn’t picked up any gels for the run, it was going
to be a long afternoon...
After
5 miles of stumbling around in the middle of nowhere, a very kind runner
offered me some gels after seeing me wandering round like a lost cow, with some
energy finally back in the machine I set off to the finish.
Driving the course the day before proved invaluable. We all thought the first 5 miles of the run
would be tough and agreed walking was fine.
In the end we all ran that part of the course (well I walked for about
100m, does that count?). After 6 miles
the course flattened and then descended, felt really good
and it was a great boost seeing Alan frequently, with a selection of goodies
laid out on his passenger seat!
At about
10 miles I finished my last gel and ceremoniously chucked the wrapper in a bin
with the words ‘thank heavens for that, no more gels this year – yuk!’
I crossed
the finish and can safely say that was one of my favourite races. All weekend I‘d being saying to Gemma ‘wish I could see your face when you finish’. The race organisers decided on two waves and as
I was in the first I had a ten minutes start on Gemma,
just enough! Her expression was
priceless, well done Gemma! I
could see Sue in the distance and was slowly gaining on her, at trun around point I said to Sue ‘Double finish?’ but the
hill got the better of me and Sue was just too strong but coming own the home
straight Sue was slowing herself down shouting ‘come on Gemma!’
Bless her I couldn’t believe she was slowing down for me! What an idiot! Don’t
be stupid I said, you go!!!
I
hang around the finish awaiting the rest of the team. Sue finishes in
magnificent style, and a new pb,
Gemma is shortly after – and promptly bursts into
tears, and Graeme finishes next – major problems with his legs interrupted his
run, but it was still a huge pb! The
finish was amazing, I was crying the whole way down the finishing chute, I
couldn’t believe I had done it the Sue, Zena (looking
fresh as a daisy) and Alan were there with big hugs for me! It was an
unbelievable feeling!
As
the run came to close I could see the finishing chute just ahead, with a last
push i attempted a sprint finish with all the EETC
guys waiting cheering me on which was great! By this point my legs were
completely pooped; I think Zena aptly named this
event “one tri too many” for me. Although knackered I was really pleased when Zena told me I managed a new PB of about an hour, this was
definitely down to the support of everyone at the weekend from organising the
kit, riding alongside Gemma on the bike and Sue’s
encouragement down by the lake and out on the bike, and Nia
especially who has only just thawed out!.
We
head back to the cabin, Alan hugs Gemma and tells her
how great she is, I phone Mike and he congratulates me, Richard texts Sue with
his 10k run time! (phone in one hand,
shovel in the other)
After a
quick shower and change we head back to the on site Bistro for wine, tea and
the presentation. Zena’s
great race is rewarded with First Lady in her age group. Despite
feeling absolutely shattered we all still manage a huge cheer for Zena when she got her prize! What a fantastic time!!!
After
packing the tent we said our goodbyes and headed to the nearest services to
find the biggest possible burger for some urgent refuelling. With a long drive
home it was a good chance to reflect on the year’s events, and how important it
is too listen to your coaches when they say rest instead of race! (yes Zena you were right!). After a
great weekend with everyone from EETC and the ford apprentices who bravely
withstood the cold and the early morning start, were already looking forward to
IM France next year, I even heard the Furry Four may be making a special
appearance at Nice......
The
next morning Alan had to help me get out of bed and help hold me up as I walked
like I’d sh*t myself! I could have cried with the
pain in my legs….if I wasn’t so dehydrated! Two fried breakfasts later and I
was feeling much better….a long as I wasn’t expected to do stairs!!! Despite
all the low points I absolutely love it and can’t wait to do another one! But I
don’t care how drunk I was at the EETC BBQ there’s no way I’d agree to do a
full ironman!!! Sue, Zena and Alan were amazing the
whole way through with the training and support-definitely wouldn’t have got
through it without them. Graeme and his support crew were so encouraging and to
be fair to Richard it was his training program that got me through it so
massive thanks to him!
A
great race, a great weekend, Alan was a superstar – only Gemma
never got to stroke a cow.................... ‘I’ll be back!!!!’