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

Posted by in Blog, Dan

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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!

Second Tri of the season

22 Friday Feb 2013

Posted by in Blog, Dan

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Triathlon number 2 of the season complete and it was an interesting one. I must admit when my alarm went off at 4.45am I very nearly rolled over and hit the off button but that’s just not the attitude of a Ironman is it?!

So on arrival to the event, aside from the ludicrously early start, the temperature, wind and state of the sea were all making me feel that perhaps turning over was a better decision. The organisers announced that because the sea was so choppy (2-3ft waves) that we all had the option to not do the swim if we wanted and that they were reducing the size to one lap of 400m anyway for people that did want to have ago. Again I was in an predicament similar to bed one where I was torn between what I should do. The same answer applied! “that’s not the attitude of an Ironman”

So on to the beach and several mouthfuls of sea water later I was out before I knew it. First test of the new bike wasn’t ideal as the chain came off twice right at the beginning which was pretty annoying but unfortunately something that can happen with a new bike. After that however it was nothing but awesome. I flew past people like they weren’t even there (something that has happened to me almost every time) and it was bloody great. Even in to really strong headwind I felt strong over the whole 22km and it fully justified my decision to upgrade!

Off the bike and into the run I felt pretty comfortable and although it was boring it was a pretty strong run and got me over the line in 34th out 95 with a time of 1:11:59. Attention now turns to Abu Dhabi next week where the distances start to increase and the fan base increases from 0 to 1!

 

That’s me in the wheelchair with my flag.

21 Thursday Feb 2013

Posted by in Blog, Colin's Blog

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wheelchair

Let me start by saying that it’s good to be back and feeling more normal and thanks to those who stepped in for me last week to enable my blog to go out.  I’ve a long way to go now to get rid of the clots on the lungs, daily injections in the stomach for up to five months while monitoring the tumour – the clots being the priority now and not to form any more.  I am on oxygen at home at the moment to stop breathlessness and I’m awaiting a wheelchair to be delivered.

So once again I was admitted to Addenbrooks at short notice, not really being sure what was up exactly.  Arrived…taken to Oncology short stay…blood tests…chest Xray…MRI scan and when the results came back it amounted to blood clots on the lungs. They wanted me to stay in for monitoring and so they had to find a bed for me which they did at 10 O’clock at night.

It wasn’t until the staff handover the next morning that I got the technical term for my condition.  As the doctor and night team were handing over, they were going through the other patients.

“This is Mr So and so, bowel cancer.  This is Mr Blah Blah, bone and hip cancer.  This is Mr X, cancer in the femur   and this is Mr Smith, admitted late last night with….constipation!!”

I looked up at them.  “What?”

They were giggling.  I said, “Excuse me.  I’m terminally ill here.  It’s a brain tumour, not constipation!”

Well, thank you all again for your donations and for your messages of support. I try to thank you individually but my computer is as slow as me these days!  I am going back to the hospital again on Friday for more tests, scans and to check on the fecking clots!  A new magazine/publication recently launched by a friend of ours,  Ms Katy Ryan, “In-Spire”,  ran a Headcase article this week and my story  featured under the headline “Six Months Survivor and Counting”  You can find it at  www.in-spirelsmagazine.co.uk.

My two Chelsea auctions have ended this week of my personal collections of programs and ticket stubs. The proceeds will be deposited direct to the Headcase charity once the money has gone to my PayPal account and all the fees (EBay charges, postage, PayPal fees)  have been deducted.

I would like to wish a speedy recovery to our Ironman, Tony, who underwent a more invasive operation on his shoulder than he first thought. My heartfelt message is,  “Get over it and get back training!” I understand that he is on holiday next week to recuperate.

We have encouraged young Bootsy to dust down his cycling equipment in case he is needed to step in as a replacement for Tony on the off chance he doesn’t recover and get fit in time. We’ve also negotiated with the organisers to have a separate competitor to do the running part of the Ironman which Nick has agreed to do. We are frantically trying to locate enough Lycra to custom – make a leotard for him!

Finally, I would like to welcome into the family my latest grandchild, Francesca, who arrived on the night of Wednesday 20th of February weighing in at 9lb 1oz.

 

 

 

The New Weapon

19 Tuesday Feb 2013

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bike

So I’ve been measured, put through flexibility tests, had body scans, spent hours twisting and turning millimeters here and there and pretty much anything else you can think of  to ensure the bike is specifically set up to fit me! The end result is this little bad boy.

Having ridden a bike 2 sizes too big for me for the best part of 3 years I’m hoping there will be a noticeable difference this Friday when it will get its first race run out.

Here is a little video explaining the benefits and technology behind the bike and its aero dynamics > http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=BeP4DgEcCZk

Anyway enough about the geeky features, back to working on the engine!

Recent Article in Nat Geo

18 Monday Feb 2013

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Full Article:

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2013/02/venom/holland-text

Meanwhile, a neurotoxin from the venom of the giant deathstalker scorpion has been found to attach to the surface of brain cancer cells. The overwhelming reason tumors come back is that surgeons can’t reliably distinguish good cells from bad at the growths’ edges. Magnetic resonance imaging—the best available diagnostic tool—doesn’t detect masses smaller than about a billion cells. This means surgeons have to find the boundaries between tumors and healthy tissue “purely by visual and textural cues,” says James Olson of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, Washington. “It’s a very imperfect science. Glioma cells weave into normal tissue, and pieces sometimes get left behind.”
Doctors who treat glioma, the most common form of brain cancer, created a “molecular flashlight” by marking chlorotoxin with a near-infrared dye. On the very first trial, Olson says, the “tumor paint,” as he calls the scorpion-derived marker, “lit up the cancer beautifully. We were literally jumping up and down because we knew what incredible potential this had.” The paint reveals masses with as few as 200 tumor cells. “You can truly see the tumor almost cell by cell,” Olson says. “This will let surgeons get more cancer out, maybe even 100 percent.” Human trials on the dyed toxin will start later this year, and if tests go well, the paint could be used for prostate, colorectal, lung, breast, pancreatic, and skin cancers, as well as glioma, potentially saving or prolonging millions of lives every year.

Bootsie turns from Career to Competitor……

17 Sunday Feb 2013

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Little BritainIt has been reported that whilst Colin is being treated in order to return to full duty, Bootsie, his lead career on match days, has been spotted on his bike.

Following surgery on one of the IMHeadcase team, Bootsie has stepped in and has begun training for the event……

Commenting Bootsie said ” It has to be done, we are all wishing Colin well and thinking of him constantly, but the show must go on ” he continued ” if I have to do it all then so be it ………but to be honest I have a long way to go and I am getting strange looks with these stabilisers on” Great effort Bootsie.