It is heating up.

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Second lap of the run Dan had stormed ahead with a pace of 5.05 per km, but then slowing at 6:16 per km, 6.46 per km and 7:21 per km in lap 4.

Tony’s were slower at 7:26, 8:05 and 7:29 per km.

The lead Tony had over Dan  of 8 minutes after the cycle (total race time of 8:13:20 over 8:21:20) vanished in the first lap of the run with Dan overtaking Tony and finishing the first lap 7 minutes ahead.

However Dan’s first three laps have been slowing slightly each lap, and the lead whilst still growing is slowing in its rate.

After lap 3 there is a lead of about 21 minutes.

The sun is now at full strength and the athletes are looking awful on one lap then pick up on the next.  The un-nerving periodic sound of sirens form the local ambulances is put firmly to the back of the mind of the worried but enthusiastic spectators. The positive effect of screaming relatives and friends is quite staggering, and the fact they both manage a smile is astounding!

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the bike ride is over, 2 out of 3, 1 to go

The end of the cycle Tony had gained his lead back again with a completed Cycle of 6:53:58, total race time so far of 8:13:20.

Dan clocked in, both had smiles on their faces, at 6:51:54 total race time of 8:21.20.

Both look surprisingly comfortable!

Now a marathon!

we have lost 10 full nails (Lynn and a voice, Lucy! but Beers are great medicinal treatment!

 

First Results

Swim

Tony out of the swim at 1:11:29 with a 44:36 first lap of 2.4km in 26:53m

Dan out of the swim at 1:20:41 with a 49.16 first lap of 2.4km in 31:25m

First 27.9km

Tony first cycle split after 27.9km at 1:04:28 with a pace of 25.97 km/h

Dan first cycle spit after 27.9km at 1:00:35 with a pace of 25.92km/h

Next 28.1km

Tony second cycle split after 56km took 1:02:29 (total 3:26:19) with a pace of 26.98km/h

Dan second cycle split after 56km took 1:00:45 (total 3:34:46) with a pace of 27.75km/h

Next 14km

Tony third cycle split of  70km took 1:03:26 (total 4:29:35) with a pace of 13.28km/h

Dan third cycle split of 70 km took 1:00:05 (total 4:34:51) with a pace of 13.98 km/h

Next 35km

Tony fourth cycle split after 105km they have been racing for 5:34:29  with a pace of 32.36km/h

Dan fourth cycle split after 105km racing for 5:39:00 with a pace of 32.74km/h

More to follow….

Ok folks so where are you?

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Probably tucked up in bed, at least those in Blighty. Whilst the support crew are up and at ’em at 4am, fumbling for the light switch and  the tooth brush to be bright and breezy for when the guys are ready to leave. Bring on the coffee and don’t tell them we may well grab a few 40 winks after they head off up into the mountains!

24 hours to go

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Start

In 24 hours the Support team with have escorted the competitors to the beach, distracting the nerves.  Tony and Dan will have lined up with over 2000 other insane nutters, Considering the best method to cover the 2 or 3 meters of very uncomfortable stones and launch themselves into the waves to commence a race of a life time.

The walk back from the Pasta Fest last night covered topics such as the metal boredom of straight road run, the merits of setting a time goal for each stage vs being delighted just to complete it and the issues over pre-race preparation involving the bathroom!

The 5k walk, rather than waiting for the hot and overcrowded bus was an opportunity to calculate the view around the bay that will appear on each of the three circuits, and the hope that there will be as little wind as possible to battle with.

The guys talk of flick flacking between nerves and excitement and the desire to just get it started now. But in reality the last day of essential training involves doing very little, and resting, perhaps taking in the rugby, but definitely feet up, until they announce, “perhaps a little swim in the morning would be a good idea, oh and a small run later on” But for now it is a question of mental calm and biding the time to the start.

It is not clear where the live results are to be posted online, if we find out we will pass the information on through a blog post. But the start is 6:30am, remember Nice is a hour ahead, so obviously we hope everyone will be up bright and early at 5:30 to be thinking of them at their start line.

7:30-7:50 they hope to be exiting the swim., hopefully fending off any kicks to important parts of the body, and dodging the jelly fish.

Then the bike, a bit of an unknown really and with some pretty eye-watering inclines the challenge is immense:

BikeThe race is not possible to view en route unless you are residing in one of the mountain villages as lots of roads are closed and the thought of taking a car or taxi up to station yourself to see them wizz past but increase the chances of being the cause of a collision with a competitor in some freak accident is not worth it.

So after thy have done the journey they will return to the seafront. It is thought anytime from between 2 to 4pm local time.

Then the run, four times up and down the Promenade de Anglais.

Support crew on hand if required, mainly in full voice to cheer as loudly as possible, and post any and all news as live as possible.

Expected finish time, nothing firm and no expectations, but vaguely any time between between 7 and 9pm, But we will keep you posted.

Practice swim

First swim of the stay done, around 200 wetsuited bodies tackled the first obstacle, the very hard and sharp cobbles. The toned physique of all ages looked mildly hysterical tentitively wincing at ebery step along the beach. Granted the moment they got in the water they looked more at ease.

On the way

BNLctZSCcAAxLwXThere is still time to turn around get back into Lucy’s car and drive home, get back into bed and catch a few extra hours of sleep. Why even catch up on some emails and write a report to two.

Or just keep on walking forwards…

(Photography courtesy of our senior on the ground reporter in the UK, Lucy Russell)