Category Archives: Blog

Cycling takes the lead

19 Friday Apr 2013

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Wiggle New Forest Spring Sportive 2013Whilst the shoulder is on the mend I have turned all my attentions to cycling, with in the past few weeks the odd run.

So over the past two weekends I have been testing that training in two organised events, the first in Newmarket where it was 120k cycle around the countryside in what turned out to be an acceptable day with regard to the weather, cold to start but then almost blue skies, the course was quite flat but a few nasty hills got the heartbeat up and I completed that in 4 hours 54:13,

The following Saturday and I set off at the crack of a sparrow to the New Forest, weather seemed ok at 6am….but as I got closer the rain began…..arrived in a field that was already under mud and checked in wondering what I was doing……I was already soaked by the time I got to the start line as there were over 2000 idiots all waiting to have a go at the 95k course…..anyhow the weather got worse and the landscape just opened up exposing rider to the elements – which was cold rain in the face for the next few hours…..well 3 hours 49 to be precise.

Having got back to the car, my hands decided to not work and getting the wheel off to get the bike in the car took 15 mins, which was followed by a comedy sketch for any one that cared (nobody did btw) of me trying to get into warm dry clothes whilst sitting in the car….anyhow two good cycles and now off to warmer climates to check up on my Ironman buddy as he continues to impress in training…..

Colin’s weekly blog

12 Friday Apr 2013

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Well, it’s blog time again and we started the week by beating Sunderland 3-1 then on Thursday we beat R. Kazan going through 5-4 on aggregate and this Sunday we go to Wembley to face Man City in yet another  F.A. Cup semi-final.  After beating R. Kazan we will meet Basle in the Europa Cup semi-final and I hope I’ll be well enough to go to these games because (phew!) it’s a hard life being a Chelsea supporter at this time of year.

I have been feeling tired but busy this week. We have collected a different car for Helen, which we nearly wrote off within four yards of leaving the garage (the wing mirrors were not set properly) and we have had two separate visits from McMillan and district nurses.  They ordered me a hospital bed which was delivered and erected on Thursday but as yet I have not slept in it.

Tony and Dan have been training hard, keep it up boys! Bootsy is still awaiting a puncture repair kit for his trike and Nick is coming to grips with his sewing kit because his lycra has ripped beyond reasonable repair after having a tumble!

Here’s a date for your diary: 26th May at The Cock in Hitchin from 2pm -5pm.   An old school friend of mine and a fellow Chelsea supporter, Brett Healey, has organised a sponsored full body wax to raise more funds for Headcase.  There will be a jazz band, “Rance Rocking Chair Band” and a BBQ. I am really looking forward to having the first pull on the wax strip and from then on I’m sure others will be able to join in the fun. Fun for us, but not him because he’s really hairy!!  Apparently, Barclays Bank will match any proceeds raised, which is fantastic.

Breaking news! Our local Slimming World group have decided to have Headcase as their charity this year according to Gill, a member of the group who works in Tesco.

And finally, I would like to say a massive Thank You to Bootsy, the staff of London Underground and the stewards at Chelsea for allowing and directing the two of us to all the disabled entrances at the ground which really made life easier.

More places for Lunch…

11 Thursday Apr 2013

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Oh Joy, but what a view!

On the heights of Gourdon

At the 62nd kilometer of the bike course, you will pass near the village of Gourdon. One of the most beautiful villages of France and medieval fortress, Gourdon overlooks leafy “Vallée du Loup”.

From Victoria Square, listed in 1940, a breathtaking panorama unfolds over 80 kilometers of coast revealing the Mediterranean, from Nice to Théoule !
On the road of flavors and scents, the village retains an authentic charm with its Romanesque church of the twelfth century.. Yer right sure we will feel like popping into the Church !!

At the heart of, the bustling streets, the houses of Provence, many craftsmen and the quality of its hospitality make it one of the most popular places in the area.

During your Biking course inspection or during your stay in our region, take the time to stop at the auberge de Gourdon. A traditional cuisine depending on market and season awaits you. Strolling through the streets, you’ll also discover homemade gingerbread and it’s worth the detour
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The Ascensionde Gourdon

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Colin’s weekly update.

07 Sunday Apr 2013

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Well, another week of survival and I had wanted to see Chelsea whoop The Mancs and they did! This leads us to another semi-final at Wembley and even… possibly…the FINAL!! On Thursday we moved another step further towards another European final In Amsterdam. I am determined to get there if Chelsea does. I always said that Rafa would come good and he did! Ha ha! To round off a very busy week we have another match against Sunderland today and, with any luck, that will push us even further up the league.

Last Sunday we went across to Steeple Morden and had dinner with Charlie which was very nice. My appetite is coming back due to the steroid increase. After a few months since diagnosis and I have finally got a visit from the McMillan nurse, she has ordered me a hospital bed for the downstairs room as sometimes I have a struggle to get up the stairs. She has also offered me a day visit to the Hospice.

We have been to Car Giant to look for a replacement car and eventually have found a Renault from Enfield so that Helen can make a gradual return to work when her leave ends.
Finally I’d like to say a big thanks to Richard Washbrooke Photography for donating ALL of his proceeds from the Littlington night to the Headcase charity.

Brilliant.

A weekend of sand, ice and invisible oranges

07 Sunday Apr 2013

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OrangeWith sandstorms hitting the UAE this weekend it gave me the perfect excuse to lock myself in my new gym and put some mileage in the legs after loosing the first 3 days of the week with a sinus infection.

Friday turned into a rather unexpected drill session with a PT in my new gym. She saw me on the running machine working on my foot striking Thursday evening and came up to me to help me film it. From there she gave me some advice on training and offered to help me (for free) with a number of things including my core strength and technique. If there is one thing I’ve learnt from talking to people and reading the countless blogs and websites about training for an event like the Ironman is that these two areas cannot be ignored. There is no question that you have to put the miles and hours in to build the endurance but if you can work on strength, technique and endurance at the same time, then you’re on to a winner. So after very little thinking I gladly accepted her offer. I had no idea what I had let myself in for…..

After cycling 30k Friday morning she  showed me the set up she’d put together outside. It all looked pretty standard for a core session with relatively low weights and steps etc similar to what id been doing in the summer with cross fit. I won’t bore you with the exact exercises but I did 3 rounds of running drills, low weight squat movements and a few other core drills and it had me on the verge of puking my guts up which is something you don’t really do when working on endurance. It was really tough but one of the most valuable hours of training I’ve done so far. Ive been working on trying to switch between forefoot and heel striking when running so I can learn how to use different muscles and conserve energy over longer distances and these drills are going to be a massive help in that transition.

What I didn’t consider howeverimage was the effect it would have on my legs which hadn’t been exposed to this level of abuse for a while. Suffice to say that today’s endurance session was a lot harder than originally thought but I got through it in the end even if I looked like was trying to balance an orange between my legs when I walk! A gruesome ice bath was next followed by an evening on the sofa watching Arsenal stumble over the line to beat West Brom and leapfrog Chelsea (even if its for only for 24 hours) capping off an enjoyable yet painful weekend.

I just want to quickly echo the praise already shown to everyone that’s helped us reach the 10k milestone. It really is inspiring to see so many people make such an effort and certainly gives me that extra 10% I sometimes need when I’m thinking about missing a session. As always Colin you continue to be a legend with your weekly blog posts which not only have my laughing out load regularly but have taught me what can be achieved when you have a positive attitude no matter what you’re faced with.

Update on Fundraising

03 Wednesday Apr 2013

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So we move through another milestone…..£10,000 great effort everyone, but we still need more and it gets tougher.

Events that I know about coming up…

  • Lloyd’s the Musical – an event in the City on the 23rd June – 150 people, musical, quiz and auction, should be a good night.
     
  • Back to School Ball – Well done Vicky Marvel – 16th June
     
  • Faye and her girls bash – 11th May – Can she do better than the Chelsea boys ?????
     
  • Three Peaks scheduled for July but is starting to take shape
  • Lee the Cabbies collection at Heathrow, seems to want to wait until it gets warmer…….
     
  • Donna’s Furniture Store has already contributed but is still going
     
  • Applications into a number of companies about corporate sponsorship  – what about yours ?????

In addition there are a number of collection tins around the place which is all good, think that’s about it…for information about any of the events please view the blog….. www.headcase-ironman.me

If anyone else can think of anything else that may add to the funds and needs a bit of help let us know as we are determined to reach and exceed the target.

PLEASE you know its for a great cause…………..thanks

Best till last

02 Tuesday Apr 2013

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best till last 1The last week has been slightly difficult to train as I’ve had a number of visitors over. That said I’ve still been able to do some work and combining it with a bit of rest hasn’t done me too much harm. The drinking on the other hand….

Saturday morning marked my 5th and final planned preparation race before the big event in June. This was the Jebel Ali sprint which to my suprise had some very competitive athletes entered in it. Faris Al Sultan who won the world ironman championships in Hawaii in 2005 was the stand out name but all of the leading local semi pro athletes were there which gave the event a bit of an extra buzz.

For the first time in my relatively short triathlon career I wasn’t even a little bit nervous at the start of the swim, I just really wanted to get going and go balls out right from the start. I did that and although coming out the swim I was blowing quite hard, I had finished the 1st split in just under 13mins which for me was pretty decent.

It took me a while to get my breath back on the bike but that was partly because I went for it again. I just wanted to see what would happen if I went as hard as possible from start to finish to basically test my fitness. The bike was only 18k which was a bit annoying but it meant it was really fast and quite fun. Not sure on the exact split time but my watch said around 32.40.

On to the run which was quite technical around the Jebel Ali resort I saw Faris flying around his second lap. Still makes me laugh how quick these guys go! There was also about 600metres of running on the sand which was very interesting and slowed the times down a bit but I actually enjoyed it in a weird way as it was different. As like the other 2 splits I was hammering it as hard a possible and got through the line in 1.07.41 (27/151)

The bike was obviously 2k shorter than usual but even with that difference my time is by far the quickest sprint time I’ve ever posted. Faris Al Sultan came through in 53.01 so there is still some work to do but for now its all about smashing the endurance and training well.

Colin’s weekly Blog – nine month survivor

31 Sunday Mar 2013

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nine

Well, here is the latest blog on Good Friday March 29th. In a few days, on April 3rd, I will become a 9 Month survivor, another milestone achieved.  Yesterday though, I received a letter from Addenbrookes to say I can’t fly (because of the brain tumour) or travel long distance, i.e. Eurostar, by rail (because of the blood clot) which is all because I had told them that I had agreed to go to Nice to accept the donation on behalf of Headcase for the Ironman Event.  Apparently this is because of the air pressure of the flight or being effectively under the water in the Chunnel.  They also said that I will have to have the stomach injections for the rest of life.  I had been told this before, but seeing it in black and white brings it home all the more.

Hopefully, I’ll be in a position to give a final total raised by the last Chelsea Fundraiser in Littlington, on next week’s blog.

Forthcoming events – Thanks to Faye Tracey there is an event being organised for the ladies (link is http://headcase-ironman.me take a look ) which will include virtual horseracing and lots of Pimms and Champagne. Follow the link and sign up for May 11th because the guys can join the ladies in the evening when there may well be a comedian.

As well as this, Vicky Marvel has arranged a “Back to School Ball” where you had better wear your uniform or risk a detention (or worse, Colin giving you the cane with his silver  dog headed walking stick!) and be prepared for a professional DJ reminding you of the music you loved to dance to.  This is on Thursday 16th May.

That’s it for now, hopefully I will be off to watch The Blues whoop The Mancs on Easter Monday as long as I can find the bloody ticket. I know I’ve put it somewhere safe but God only knows where that is.  I have a sinking feeling when I remember I did a load of shredding yesterday……!

Faye steps up for the Girls !!!!!

28 Thursday Mar 2013

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Faye is arranging a Charity Fundraiser in aid of the brilliant Headcase Ironman Challenge. (the link is https://headcase-ironman.me/take a look )

The event theme is ‘ladies day at the races’.

The boys have had their fun with testosterone filled Chelsea themed events, so now it is the turn of us ladies to raise some money in style!

This will take place Saturday 11th May, at 3pm, Chic Bar, Hitchin. Proof is in the title that this is a ladies only event, a company will be attending and they provide a ‘virtual racing’ night, details below. It should be a really fun, unique event where hopefully we can raise lots of money!

The racing will be 4pm – 6pm, afternoon tea will be served together with a Champagne and Pimms on arrival. I am also looking at securing a comedian(this is speculative at the moment) which will be from 7pm – 8pm. Gentleman are welcome to join from 8pm for the rest of the evening where there will be music, dancing and lots more champagne!

Tickets will be £30, costs are extremely reasonable due to Sarah Bethel, owner of Chic kindly offering us her venue for free, so a large amount of the ticket cost will go straight to the charity.

I really hope you can make it, please do let me know at fayeelizabethtracey2013@blackberry.orange.co.uk, tickets should be ready by the weekend of 6th April

I will also be running an auction, I have a number of lovely items prepared, but if anybody has any contacts who could make any form of donation for the auction, that would be very much appreciated

It should be a fantastic afternoon / evening, hope to see you there!

Colin’s Weekly Blog

22 Friday Mar 2013

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Hello again everyone.

Let me start by explaining why my blogs have been erratic lately and have not been posted on time. Firstly, in case you’ve all forgotten by now, I’ve got a tumour. A feckin’ big Grade 4 one, and the symptoms are very different from day-to- day tiredness, sickness and anxiety. I seem to be at the early stages of Tourette’s!! Coming off the train at Baldock station last Sunday evening (back from football) I blurted out to this random young lady “Hello love” right in her face!

On top of this rather worrying tendency, my bloody computer has been playing up sporadically for the past two weeks and was only 100% repaired last night.

The disco in Shirley and John’s pub, The Crown in Stotfold, was brilliant and the group, The Blazing Eighties were truly amazing. Over £600 was raised that night and lots of people left feeling really happy with their excellent raffle prizes drummed up by Shirley and her staff, who managed to persuade local businesses and customers to donate. Huge thanks to all involved in making this a successful evening, it is appreciated so much.

Jimmy2

On Tuesday I was meant to be picked up and taken to The House of Commons by Colin Spiers, the founder of Headcase, to lobby Parliament about funding research on brain tumours. Unfortunately I was feeling unwell that day and had to cancel. Helen phoned Addenbrooks and they advised her to increase my steroids, which seem to have worked because on Saturday I managed to attend another fundraising event.

This was arranged by Debbie, the landlady at The Crown in Littlington, on our behalf to raise more funds for Headcase. (It’s strange that most of the pubs involved are called ‘The Crown’ and it’s my crown which is the cause of all my problems at the moment!) Ex Chelsea, Tottenham and England player Jimmy Greaves was there, along with the legend that is Ron Chopper Harris. As well as this, there was a comedian to add to the entertainment. There was a raffle and an auction for signed memorabilia. The final figures for sums raised have not been divided amongst various charities and the expenses calculated yet, but a good time was certainly had by all. Apparently though, Ron Harris is going to sponsor The Iron Man event to the tune of £300.

Lots of people have been donating individually, Penny from The Boot in Baldock, Ian Wilkie, Kevin Morgan, Jim and Julie Cranston, Maureen and Graham Blunt, Kim and Kevin Toman and Stormin’ Norman to name but a few. I’d like them to know that it is all received by Headcase with gratitude. So sorry if I’ve left anybody out but ……like I said at the beginning, I’ve got a brain tumour!