Blawg Review Citation

At last! An edition of the Blawg Review that one can safely cite without incurring the Censor's wrath. Unlike Geeklawyer's spine-tingling Blawg Review #203 ...(uh oh). Never mind. Charon QC has tripped the light fantastic with this edition, brought to you by Smokedo - Smoke yourself fit with Charon.

I'm so inspired I could ignite a Choix Supreme and spend an hour on the rowing machine.

Another Season In Aid of Prostate UK

Another season begins!

This will be my third competing in aid of Prostate UK in various rowathlons (row, bike, run - I hate swimming lengths!) and duathlons arranged by Will Whitmore at DB Max, and culminating in Marlow Rowing Club's Rower's Revenge in October.

The pressure's on, because this year I've followed Mark Allen's base training suggestion and spent much of the past 4 months training below my maximum aerobic heart rate to try to improve performance when the rowathlons start in May. The first 'warm-up' event is the DB Max Chilly Duathlon at Castle Combe Race Circuit next week, on 1 March - a cheeky 2 mile run, 10 mile cycle, 2 mile run that took me 59 mins and 47 secs last year. So whether the extra time and patience has been worthwhile is about to be sorely tested!

Will it all be for nought? Not if you donate a tenner each... ;-)

I'll post the stats on my Justgiving page, and share the highs and lows right here, as the season progresses. Last season's results were:

Trybike Mallory Park Rowing Tri - May 5th - 2.5k row, 20k bike, 5k run (time 1:19:13 - 21st overall). Dodgy transitions definitely cost me a place.

Castle Combe Rowing Triathlon - August 10th - 3k row, 20k bike, 3k run (time 1:11:51 - 27th overall and beating 2007 time of 1:13:29). It was all down to the run; more training time on the bike required.

Reading Rowing Triathlon - August 16th - 2.5k row, 7k bike, 2.8k run (time 36:22 - 19th overall). Went too quickly in the row, which killed the run, but it felt good and I couldn't resist ;-)

Marlow "Rowers Revenge" - October 5th - 4k row, 25k bike, 7.5k run - (time 1:42:50). Beat previous time (2005) by about 10 mins :-)

A Rower's Revenge

Finally, after about 50 weeks of steady training, I had my revenge yesterday. It was indeed a dish served cold, with lashings of rain and mud. White kit would not have been my first choice, but then I'm raising money for Prostate UK, not a rehab unit for super models.

I'm pleased to say that the rain and local flooding did not prevent me beating my 2005 time - run on a cool dry day - by about 10 minutes, coming in 49th in 1:42:50.28. Proving not only that you can get younger, but also that a 2007 Bianchi road-racer with clip-in shoes is a much faster mode of transport than a 1997 Trek hybrid, even with mud guards and pannier racks removed.

And I must add that it was a special pleasure to repair (quite literally) to the warmth and hospitality of the George and Dragon with my father, on his much anticipated visit from Oz, for an excellent steak and ale pie and about 7 years worth of aimless conversation.

You Can Turn Back the Clock - Mens Sana in Corpore Sano

Yesterday, after 3 years, I finally managed to repeat the same triathlon event on behalf of Prostate UK - the aptly-named Prostate UK Castle Combe Rowing Triathlon (excellently organised as usual by Will Whitmore at DB Max).

So I was keen to find out if I'd improved on the previous one - if I'd turned back the clock.

It was a very near thing, as you can see. But I did it, literally, 'on the run' (NOTE: this year's run time included T2 transition from the bike)

	total	3k row	T1	20k cycle	T2	3k run
2007	1:13:29	11:16	1:35	43:27	2:01	15:10
2008	1:11:51	11:29	1:37	43:25	?	15:20 (incl T2)

Comparing the training regimes, year-on-year, I'd have to put the improvement down to last month's consumption of booze and cigars at Henley Regatta...

Wear Your Y-fronts Over Your Trousers

Nothing like a quick 5 kms scamper around a public park in your underwear for charity to spice up your weekend. Pants in the Park is on this Sunday, 15 June at 11am in Battersea Park, London (and elsewhere in the UK). Registration is at 10am.

Cameras allowed.