Category Archives: Blog

Saturday with Jimmy and Chopper!

22 Friday Mar 2013

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jimmy1So a great event on Saturday night where Jimmy Greaves and Chopper Harris entertained an audience of over 200 with jokes and stories of the past 50 years….We still await to see the final total raised but a good time was had by all.

Many thanks to Richard Washbrooke for providing the photographs on the night, funds were raised with many of them being signed, there are loads more to see (and buy) at the link below.

http://richardwashbrooke.photoshelter.com/gallery/Colin-Smith-Headcase-Cancer-Trust-16th-March-2013/G00007KVCd_uTi5Q/1/C0000rwvc5hGMefI Remember all proceeds goes to Colin’s charity…

Jimmy2

4th race of the season

16 Saturday Mar 2013

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Dubai2013

After what can only be described as a very boozy week in Beirut, confidence in preparation for an Olympic distance event wasn’t ideal it must be said but if you wanted to put a positive spin on it, I did get time to rest and replenish my glycogen levels?!?

Anyway, another early start, this time at Mamzar beach park for my 4th event of the year, the usual thoughts were running through my head. Why am I doing this again? Should I go back to bed? I could just do a big training session instead? Thankfully I chose to grow a pair in true ironman fashion and just get stuck in. I’m very glad I did…

The swim was less nerve racking than usual perhaps because I had completed a few already this year, but I had set a target of beating the 30min mark which was at the back of my mind. It was quite a feisty swim with lots of kicking and punching but eventually I got in my rhythm and got out the water in 28mins by my watch which I was more than happy with. In and out of T1 quite quickly I had a bit of a technical issue with my bike AKA falling off! A valid lesson learnt however that no matter how confident you are with mounting your bike, when you try and do too many things at once its only ever going to end in an awkward and embarrassing scenario much to the amusement of various spectators. I finally sorted myself, got my head down and posted a pretty decent time for the 40k which again showed me that I’m improving on the discipline I found the most difficult (we won’t think about the extra 140km ill need to complete in Nice come June for now!)

Feeling reasonably fresh off the bike I pushed quite hard on the run trying to get the heart rate up in order to see where I was at fitness wise towards the end of the 10k. Overall I was pretty pleased and by my watch I broke 45mins which was my secret target before setting out. The goal now for running is just to combine the speed work with endurance and keeping a steady pace for longer period.

So another event down and only one more to go before the season ends here I am reasonably happy where I am at. The heat is now my biggest worry until June given its now 32 degrees here and only going one way (I don’t expect any sympathy btw!) so will need to think about how I deal with that.

Lastly, I’ve been working with our creative director on some cool concepts for the head case charity. I hope to have some ideas to share in the coming months but for now would just like to thank everyone again for their continued support and effort shown so far, its massively inspirational, and also to Colin who never fails to make me laugh with his blog posts.

Until next time…

Weekly Update

13 Wednesday Mar 2013

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I will start by congratulating Tony and Dan on their efforts this week in Abu Dhabi and Dubai for their triathlon trials and training from which they returned last Wednesday.

Helen’s employer, Carillion Surgi Centre, held a quiz night on Friday on behalf of Headcase and presented them with a cheque for £3000 which is really brilliant and means we have achieved 10% of our target in one fell swoop!

On Saturday I went to Chelsea v WBA. I was driven by Bootsy, Becca and Nick.  Chelsea had arranged with Bootsy that I would sit in the disabled area at the side of the pitch, not the best of views but at least I was there.  We had to sign a load of autographs as we looked for all the world like Andy Pipkin and Lou Todd.

Colin 2

I had a check-up at Addenbrooks yesterday and was told that the tumour is stable at the moment.  They identified my recent “turns” as seizures or little fits and so they have put me on medication to control them.

 

Boris We sent out a photographer to spy on Nick to make sure he was training hard.  To our amazement he was sprinting up to the line as we snapped him.

 

We also managed to get a shot of Bootsy peddling like fury to improve his time.
Little Britain

Finally, just to remind you all that there is a fund raising live music event at The Crown in Stotfold organised by the wonderful Shirley and John King.  There are lots of great raffle prizes donated by local businesses and the band is The Fantastic Blazing Eighties, so go along and have a blast!

Colin off to the Houses of Parliament.

08 Friday Mar 2013

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houses-of-parliamentAs you all know Colin is supporting the Headcase charity, and as part of the Governments attempt to gain exposure to the Brain Tumour issue Colin Spiers who was the original founder of Headcase has invited Colin and I to an event at the houses of Parliament next week. As is evident by the following Colin has gained from this blog, the fabulous donations from you all, his never ending humour about his plight, he has accepted the invitation and will attend the event.

This again shows the total class of the man, his determination to help provide hope for all of us who might face this terrible disease and don’t even know it yet. His single minded determination to get up off his backside, never to use the why me card and just do it….is just amazing I take my hat off to him, do you think Boris might be there ?

Will provide an update next week….watch this space

Update from Dubai………..

07 Thursday Mar 2013

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So as the training camp has come to an end we have both moved forward in our attempt on the Nice Ironman. We have spent hours scaring ourselves about the task ahead, talked about what to eat and drink on the day as well as what not too….cream and its strategic placement and possible replacement throughout the event as well as each discipline and how to tackle it…we now stand at just over 15 weeks, and return to individual training. Dan has had an exceptional week and is I believe on schedule….my arm seems to be improving but physio starts Friday and I am optimistic but it can’t be rushed, which for anyone that knows me is just…..well you know !

Anyhow as we continue to hear from Colin and his fantastic fight it puts the whole thing into perspective, and if you think what we are doing is mental just spend a couple of minutes looking at this and I guess it will put that into perspective as well !

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YiuLAOauIFQ

update from NICE 2013

07 Thursday Mar 2013

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NICE2013aSeems like a nice place to have lunch……only another 80k to go !

Over the next few months the organisers will be describing all the various towns that we will ride through…I guess that is because when we are riding we will not be able to enjoy them so lets

Discover the village Gréolières

At the 100th km of bike part, you will cross the narrow streets of the village of Gréolières. Gréolières is built on a small plateau on the edge of terrace facing south. Dominated by “Les Barres de Cheiron” and overlooking the Loup valley, rich in impressive waterfalls, tunnels and narrow gorges, the village appears as a jewel in the lush foothills of the Préalps.

Gréolières is the starting point for wonderful excursions. Many marked trails allow you to escape the hustle and bustle of the city.

Gréolières is a medieval village with its two castles still visible, with narrow streets lined with houses typical of the mountains of Provence. Shaded terraces and artisans are waiting for you.

Abu Dhabi… DONE.

03 Sunday Mar 2013

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Screen Shot 2013-03-03 at 11.30.06A very enjoyable day (for one half of the team at least) and another step in the right direction.

After the usual pre race nerves and watching world Ironman champions and Olympians (one of which being the current Olympic champion) start the swim, it was my go. Having still not done as much swimming as I’d like to have, confidence wasn’t at its highest but I knew If I kept a steady pace throughout the 1.5k and didn’t blow up I’d be ok and get out into T1 ready for the bike. Aside from the goggles steaming up and the glaring sun making it almost impossible to see, overall it was quite a good swim and I came out knowing that with a bit more training and some better goggles id be in a pretty decent position come June.

Out of the swim and into T1 I took my time knowing that I needed to make sure I had everything ready as I was about to embark on a 100km cycle. Off to the the bike start I saw my first fan of this years season shouting. Doesn’t matter how many people there are when doing triathlon, when you see someone you know it always gives you a lift and this was no different. I guess that was a good thing as in my head at that point I felt I needed more than just a bit of motivation! A propeller on the back wheel would of been great!

Screen Shot 2013-03-03 at 11.37.20

With that said I must admit I really enjoyed the cycle. It was pretty flat overall and quite windy in parts but on the whole I felt great and the 3 hours seemed to go quite quickly. Every now and then you would see the helicopters and motorbikes fly past you filming the elites. Brownlee went past the other way at one point and it still makes me question why I even bother doing this. Having ended up doing an extra lap of Yas Maina f1 circuit by mistake (around 6km) he still managed to break the course record on a day where the wind on the cycle caused the long distance time to be slower by 20mins on last year! Its just unbelievable for anyone to understand how someone can do that, but having taken part in triathlons for a few years now it becomes even harder to comprehend. Super human is really the only explanation…

So off the bike in just over 3 hours I went into T2 feeling surprisingly ok with the legs in pretty good condition. Again my fan and frustrated spectator was there at the start of the run to give me a kick up the arse which was most certainly needed on what was one of the hardest 10kms I have ever put myself through. The sun was beaming down and the temperature was 30 degrees which didn’t help, but the constant stitch and nausea was really the main problem from about 1km in. There were times on the run where I really did question why I do this which is something that doesn’t normally happen and the km markers seemed to be getting further and further away I’m sure of it. Eventually the pain was over and I was through the line to be welcomed with cramp in both legs and a bit of recycled electrolytes to share around 😉

Tri Medal

Finish Time :   04:37:28

Split Times

  • Swim (1.5km) :  0:30:31
  • T1 (Gross):     0:04:08
  • Bike (100km) :  3:10:52
  • T2 (Gross):     0:03:05
  • Run (10km) :    0:48:54

So the focus now is back to a decent block of training to take prepare for the much larger challenge that lies ahead. Short term goals are breaking the 30 minute mark in the 1500m swim on the 15th March and getting the other half of the team back to full fitness.

One last note to say that it seems that the donations are beginning to pick up again which is great news!

Thank you so much to everyone for the support shown so far and lets keep going to reach that target.

 

Cheers

Colin’s Weekly Blog

02 Saturday Mar 2013

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NickIt’s weekly blog time, and it still amazes me the extent of the generosity and support from you all. Friends and people I don’t know send kind comments which are so humbling and give me the strength to carry on.

Well, I had my hospital appointment with my consultant for more results on Friday 22nd. They confirmed that I have a “saddle” blood clot the size of a rugby ball, crossing both lungs. Because of this they are stopping all chemotherapy and further treatment to cut the risk of increasing the clotting. The clot has to disperse naturally which could take weeks or months. The only thing which will help is a daily injection to the stomach which Helen administers. They can’t contain the tumour with steroids either because this can also result in more clots. This is a total Catch 22 situation but they will continue to monitor and make on-going assessments.

On that Friday, in the evening, it was good to see “Young Cabbie” Lee Wallace who had driven up from Ealing to spend some time with us, and Bootsie and Tony came on Sunday to watch the Chelsea v. Man City game with us. As usual, I got excited and went for a fall across the living room, over the coffee table and landed head first in the radiator while everyone nonchalantly carried on watching the match!

Well my auction of CFC memorabilia ended this week raising a total of £1060! I have already deposited this to Headcase. I’d like to congratulate Becca for baking and selling delicious cakes raising £120 with her “cake-a-thon”.

Tony and Dan are continuing their training in Dubai this week. Well done lads!

By Thursday we had located enough lycra to start Nick’s leotard and, with enough machinists, we Little Britainshould have a fitting by the time this blog goes out. Also we caught up with Bootsie , training flat out on his equipment as he may still be needed if Tony wimps out or breaks another nail or two!!

Newsflash! Carillion, the owners of Lister Surgi Centre where Helen works, have donated a cheque for £3000, yes that’s three grand, to Headcase!

Up and coming events are:
Next Saturday, March 9th at The Crown in Stotfold , there is live music by The Fantastic Blazing Eighties hosted by Shirley and John King in support of our amazing charity.

Abu Dhabi Tri

01 Friday Mar 2013

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Brownlee

Arrived in Abu Dhabi this morning and registered with bike racked ready for the 7.50am wave start tomorrow. While one half of the team is a pretty understandably frustrated spectator, the other half will be putting this years training through the biggest test so far. 100km cycle is going to be tough and hot but fun none the less.

Thought I’d take a sneaky pic of some of the competition ill be up against tomorrow. Nothing like an Olympic champion to spur you on is there!