Not even a puncture can stop me! Another podium, this time in Texas at The Longhorn Triathlon

1st John Phillips, Denver 4:30:40

2nd Liam O'Connell, Houston 4:33:08

3rd Darren Treadaway, Arctic Shorter Rochford 4:34:06

2000 athletes in total took part in the Longhorn festival

This was to be the last big triathlon for the year for me which I only committed to 6 weeks prior to flying out. The original plan was to race the final of the 101 series in Houston in November but this was cancelled due to problems with the course. So fellow tri force member Mark Cathcart who kindly put me up suggested this race as an alternative. My only concern with this was that I had 5 weeks to recover from my efforts at The Big Woody so it was touch and go as whether I was going to get the most out of this race.

On arriving in Austin a week prior to the race it was evident that the weather was going to be a huge factor on race day, it pretty much stayed in the 90's from when I arrived until race day, which was about 5-7 degrees higher than what it should be at this time of year. So I looked at the race as more of a battle of me against the elements rather than the opposition. Prior to the race I made sure that a lot of my runs and rides were in the heat so as to try and acclimatise myself to the conditions and slowly as the week progressed my tolerance to the heat increased and I would certainly go out a week prior to racing should I race in these conditions again.

Before the race not knowing many of the American names I wasn't really sure what expectations I should have so I didn't really have any goals other than to give it my best shot and I would have been happy to place top 10. The race proved a good opportunity for me as a lot of the top guys in the world were of course preparing for Kona the following week, maybe next year for me! It was also the first year they have run this race so the course was untested which meant I could approach it with an open mind and not analyse where I should be on the course at certain times which allowed me to just get my head down and race as hard as I could.

Racing in the pro wave meant that I was going to be given a low start number so after the packet pick up I was given number 13! I'm not particularly superstitious but after what was to unfold maybe I should be. I thought to myself its just a piece of paper with two numbers on it. On entering registration I noticed a guy with a Bedford Classic shirt on! I couldn't believe it ive come half way across the world and there is a guy who raced at Bedford 6 weeks ago, amazing!

Due to the high temperatures and the lake feeling like a bath! the swim was made non wetsuit. Austin Tri-Cyclist kindly lent me an Xterra speed suit to wear for the swim which basically is the closest thing you can get to swimming in a wetsuit without actually wearing one. It must have done the trick as I had one of the best swims ive ever had, which was also due to being able to swim almost every day leading up to the race. The start was calmer than expected and everyone seemed to space out nicely. I went off maybe a little too conservatively as at halfway I decided to try and bridge the gap to the small group in front and caught them with ease. I excited in 5th place and very happy as I was only about 90 seconds back and right up in the mix.

Transition was smooth and it was off onto the bike. My first thought was wow ive got good legs today. I was feeling awesome and trying to hold myself back. It was quite clear that I was reeling the field in and after 5 miles I could see the lead car in the distance and thought its not going to be long before that lead is mine. At 10 miles the lead was very much in sight at 11 miles I was 10m back and ready to become the new race leader and pop my back tyre blew! My first reaction was jack it in, your never going to win now I then started thinking what it is going to be like for the next few weeks at home with people asking me how I got on and finishing the season on a downer. So I had my Norman Stadler moment at the side of the road and threw my toys out my pram and then set about fitting a new tube. The problem I had was that I was sweating so badly that whatever I touched just seemed to slip. I eventually got the new tube in and the race support vehicle arrived and put some air in the tyre and pushed me back into the race Tour De France style! It seemed to be for ever that I was at the side of the road and looking at the results I reckon somewhere in the region of 11 minutes.

I re joined the race from what I worked out later to be in twenty something position and decided just to enjoy riding my bike and the support from the crowd and see if anything was salvageable. I was certainly riding strong and was regularly catching people. The weather was getting hotter and hotter although it was over cast which was a good thing but it was very humid. I finished the bike leg in 14th position and remember thinking to myself while in transition that it would be nice to make the top 10 and that would certainly be respectable.

From the first step I took out of transition I knew that I was running well and it wasn't long before I was running down the first athlete in front. The run consisted of 2 laps partly on road which was quite exposed and tough going in the heat and the other part was on grass tracks with a very steep climb that you had to do twice which most people I ran past were walking! After the first lap I worked out I was in about 7th position and I was flying! I don't think ive even run as well before in an Olympic distance race let alone in a half ironman. On my last pass through the transition area the crowd were really getting behind me and the commentator was going nuts, they must have noticed that I was running through most of the field. Towards the end I didn't really know what position I was in, I was just enjoying the experience. I crossed the line to find out I had made the podium and I took the fastest run of the day by nearly 4 minutes, where did that come from!

So it just goes to show you should never give in. Of course I think I could have won the race and probably should have won it but to go from nearly giving up to making the podium completely turned things around for me. My expectations as I said before were to hopefully make the top 10 so if you had asked before the race if I would have been happy with 3rd then of course the answer would have been yes. It is quite clear there is a hell of a lot more to come. It was a great way to end the season on a high!

A big thank you to Mark for putting me up and showing me the sights of Austin. Its time now to relax and think about where I go from here.......

Winning is starting to become a habit I like!

1st Darren Treadaway 02:00:43
2nd Andrew Forth 02:06:08
3rd Steve Osborne 02:07:53
4th Howard Wimpory 02:09:50
5th Mike Jubb 02:10:33

277 Finishers

This one is long over due after having to run around like a mad man sorting out all my loose ends before heading off to sunny Texas (more on that later).

The plan here was to have one last run out before the big one two weeks later. I changed my focus before hand slightly towards my swim which to be honest ive neglected a bit this year as the focus has been geared more towards Ironman and i'm pleased to say it worked nicely.

The start was a mass start of around 277 athletes which I prefer because its a simple race in that first past the post wins. With quite a wide start I managed to get clear water and off to a good start. I managed to stay on the feet of the leaders and in sight of the lead canoe until the turn around point where I lost contact but I exited the swim around 40 seconds down so this was a job well done.

A swift transition and out onto the road, I managed to slip my chain off so had to stop and put it back on by hand, no big deal a few seconds lost. I managed to ride through to 2nd place by the end of the first mile and felt strong, the current leader took me a little longer to catch but by the end of lap 3 just before half way I had taken the lead. By this point the wind was getting really strong and riding the disc wheel was a mistake as I nearly got blown back into the lake! I backed off a little on the next few laps so as not to make any silly mistakes with the wind getting stronger and stronger.

Into T2 and I couldn't find my running shoes! school boy error number 2! by now the 2nd placed athlete was into T2 but I was off and decided to put the boot in for the first lap of the run and see what he had in the tank but he didnt respond so once I knew it was in the bag I ticked over for the rest of the run hoping not to tax the legs too much with the big race in a couple of weeks looming. In the end I won by just under 6 minutes so a nice confidence booster. Fellow tri force athlete Mike Jubb is clearly coming into form again running into 5th place with the fastest run split of the day. I was off to celebrate with a large slice of chocolate cake and coffee with training buddy Jez Cox who had just won the Maidstone Duathlon on the same morning.

A win at The Big Woody!

3 time world champion Spencer Smith presenting me with my prize

1st Darren Treadaway Arctic Shorter Rochford 08:50:36
2nd Andrew Davies 08:52:07
3rd Gavin May FVS 09:31:51
36th Simon Perkins Tri Force 11:25:31

57th Roderick Elder Tri Force 12:31:26

81 Finishers

This is probably the most satisfying race win ive had to date for a number of reasons. Firstly I had to contend with crashing my bike while doing a recce of the course 5 weeks before the race and secondly I contracted a stomach bug 3 weeks before which really messed up my training. Not to mention having to work 6 days a week covering holidays. But I had hoped the work had gone in pre Austria and that it would see me through and whatever the result was it would be something to build on and improve. Ironman Austria which I didnt finish because of back problems was my only taste of Ironman racing thus far.

Unfortunately my arrival to the race venue was delayed by tail backs coming past Oxford and I didn't make it to the campsite until 10:30pm and Rod and Simon my tri force club mates had already setup up camp and had left me half a pizza. I was hungry after my journey so tucked right in and got to bed by 11pm, not great race prep I know! Didn't get to sleep until 1pm as a group of yobs, hoodies, youths whatever they are called these days were keeping everyone awake until they eventually got board and left.

The Alarm went at 4am and it was time to force a bagel and some cereal down in preparation for the big day ahead. I felt much better after the sleep and we left the camp at around 5am taking a slight detour to get to the lake! Eventually arrived in plenty of time to setup the bikes and started to walk to the start. Everyone seemed so relaxed and chilled out, absolutely no ego flying around, maybe it was because we all respected what was ahead and were more intimidated by that than each other.

Before the race I did have my eye on the prize of a wetsuit for leading out the swim as I broke the collar on mine at Bedford the previous week, so I bodged it together rather than buy a new one because i knew that if I had of splashed out for a new one then I would have ended up winning it! The swim start was quite a relaxed affair and I settled in nicely behind the leader before the first buoy. It was evident that if I wanted that wetsuit then I was going to have to go into the red to get it and in the end I made the decision to hang back rather than sacrifice the whole race. The swim was an interesting and enjoyable affair starting in one lake climbing out and doing two laps in another lake then back to swim across the first lake. I enjoyed getting in and out because it broke things up a bit and kept it interesting. On exiting the water I checked my watch which said around 40min so the swim was obviously short as in Austria I managed the swim in 53:04, I didn't dwell on this as it is the same for everyone. I was about 2:30-3:00 off the lead man and feeling fairly good.

Onto the bike. Now having done a recce of the course 5 weeks earlier I had the up most respect for this course and if anything I probably started a little too conservatively. The first time heading up English Bicknoor I treated it very gently and was well within my comfort zone. On the first lap I was getting regular time checks from people out on the course and towards the end of the first lap I was now 4 min down. I was though feeling awesome and thought lets up things little and see how the legs are today. The next time check was 2 min so I knew I was closing, then eventually at 80 miles I caught the leader and he wasn't looking in good shape at all. This to me was like a red rag to a bull and I immediately attacked the last 30 miles. Every climb I got out the saddle and I really went for it. In hindsight maybe I pushed too hard as I was later to pay the price on the run. The bike course was never going to be fast and on a fast course like Austria I would expect to be around or just under 5 hours, today I rode 5:39 to take the fastest bike split of the day so the difficulty of the course had a large impact on the times and only a handful of us managed to sneak under 6 hours. As a comparison my club mate Simon rode a whole hour slower than what he did in Austria as did several other people.

It was a big lift to hit T2 leading the race and I had built up a reasonable cushion. What I was wondering now was would my lack of training and fitness show and had I over cooked the last 30 miles on the bike! The run consisted of 5 laps of a playing field and an out and back loop though the forest with a very steep section right in the middle. Up until now I had never run a marathon before let alone after an Ironman bike leg! so this was uncharted territory. First lap I was actually feeling surprisingly good and full of running. I took on board what I could from each aid station and tried to avoid the coke until a little later on the run. At the turn point I could see and work out the gap I had, I reckon it was about 6min, the race was now mine to lose. Lap 2 I was starting to get a little bit uneasy and the constant change of terrain was upsetting my rhythm. Lap 3 I started to have my doubts as to whether or not I was going to finish let alone win. I just kept saying to myself on lap 4 just get through this one and the final lap will take care of itself. By this time I was walking the aid stations and not in good shape at all. I could see my winning margin slowly being eaten away. I was relieved to see Simon who gave me some encouragement which really helped because it made me realise I couldn't quit as I was racing for them too and it made me think of everyone back home who has helped me. The last lap was shear hell my lack of running training was starting to show and the win was slipping away. I did hang on though to win by 90 seconds but I was too wasted to even celebrate and collapsed over the finish line. My friend Rob helped me get back on my feet and sort my gear out so yes Rob I owe you 2 now!!

So I am delighted with the win and I did it tough against everything I had thrown at me in the last few weeks! It was clear that the swim and run were short but you can only race the course that's put in front of you. The bike though was mega tough which almost balanced things up and I hope they at least keep this element of it for next year.

The plan now is to head out to Texas at the end of the month to stay with my friend Mark Cathcart and I am racing the Long Horn Half Ironman the week after and hoping to improve upon my best half to date which was at Lisbon earlier in the year where I clocked 4:03:54. Work has settled down again so I should be able to get at least a good 2/3 week solid block with plenty of recovery thrown in. I have taken a lot from my win here and I know what needs to be done to improve and start making the top 15 in some Mdot races next year.

Well done and thank you to the guys at tri force (Simon, Mike and Rod). You are all stars in your own right.

Podium at Bedford at last!!

1st Steve Harrison FVS TRI 01:59:49
2nd Jonathon Hotchkiss Sigma Sport/Orca 02:00:24
3rd Darren Treadaway Arctic Shorter Rochford Road T 02:01:33

315 Finishers

Ive never been so happy to finish 3rd! I have won similar races of this calibre in the past such as Worthing, South Coast Classic, Tidworth and had podium results at Chester and Swanage but Bedford has always seemed to stump me and I have been 4th here 3 times in the past and 7th last year! It was one of the first races I ever took part in and ive watched it change from a nice local event to a National event in its own right with good quality fields reaching 500 athletes over sprint and olympic distance. Maybe the course here doesn't agree with me or maybe ive just been unlucky. I made damn sure that this year things were going to change, Ironman training or not!

Several guys on the performance programme at Loughborough were on the start list so I knew there were going to be some fast swimmers to chase. I got a good start in the swim and settled into a small group behind the leaders. About a quarter of the way in my wetsuit started to let a little more water in than usual and on closer inspection its gone round the collar so looks like todays prize money will be spent on a new one. It didn't hinder me too much, maybe just made my arms a little heavy. I'm yet to have the perfect race with nothing going wrong!

I exited the water in about 12th place and set about riding through the field from the off. I felt great on the bike today as my biking has been really good this year. I didn't know how I would fair time wise as the course this year had changed, it was a nicer course but certainly a lot slower which brought the overall times down by some margin. I clocked the 2nd fastest bike split of the day which is very pleasing and was still nearly 2min down on my time on the old course! So really pleased with the bike as everyone is in the same boat. I was a little worried coming into T2 that I had over cooked it a little and jumped off the bike in about 1:30 down on the leader. My Dad shouted out that I was 4th and I thought there is no way I am settling for 4th again so set about running down the guy in front who was one of the guys from Loughborough, who pulled out shortly after I went past. In the end I hung on for 3rd spot not far down on the two guys in front who are class acts and big names in their own right.

Due to the new course it wasn't a day for fast times and this years swim times also appeared to be a little down on usual. But its still a cracking race and I will certainly be back next year. It goes to show you still can mix it over the shorter distances whilst training for Ironman.

It was god to see tri forcers out flying the flag today and thanks for waiting around for prize giving guys.

So next stop The Big Woody!

Tri Force Duathlon

Darren Treadaway 00:59:50
Jez Cox 01:00:33
Howard Davis 01:11:13
Chris Carradice 01:11:38
Mark Heaney 01:14:10
Tamsyn Allen 01:16:03
Jamie Hamilton 01:20:47
Graham Meager 01:20:59
MarkWoolhouse 01:25:47
Trace Allen 01:28:17
Paul Carter 01:28:26

I wouldnt normally write a race report for what effectively is a training race but this one deserved a special mention.

There was a lot of talk and speculation beforehand about myself, Jez Cox, Mike Jubb and Dan Corner all showing up! Now I by no means would have been the favourite had they all shown as they have all won medals at various European and World Duathlons and I myself am training for Ironman. It arguably would have been one of the best quality duathlons in the country! But I know I am in good shape and was looking forward to bashing some duathletes!

Some were taking it rather seriously and there was talk of using pyro plates and waking at 3:30am to eat breakfast in preparation! But I myself was just looking forward to having fun and a good work out! Unfortunately it wasnt the show down I had hoped for and it turned into a head to head between myself and training partner and good friend Jez Cox.

Now Jez (top British ranked Duathlete 2007) has taught me a lot on the bike over the winter from bike position to maintenance to race nutrition so I owe him a lot and his advice given selflessly to me probably cost him the race today.

I knew to stand a chance of winning I would have to get a sufficient gap on Jez on the first run otherwise he would have used me on the bike. So I went out hard from the gun and managed to get 25 seconds on him into T1. A quick transition and I attacked the bike hard nervously looking over my shoulder to see if he was making ground on me, I still had a good lead. I held on to T2 and further extended my lead on the second run.

So could Duathlon be another string to my bow? I certainly now intend to give a few more a go and look forward to more battles with Jez who i'm sure will be up for revenge next time!

Another DNF at Swanage and hopefully the end of my bad luck!!

I haven't blogged for a while because things have not been going that great. Since Austria ive had to get through a bike crash and food poisoning to get to the start line at Swanage. The crash happened when doing a recce of the course for The Big Woody in September. At the time it didn't seem too serious but it put my knee and shoulder out of whack and has made doing intense sessions difficult but just as I was getting on with it I contracted a bug I think from the local deli as there has been illness creeping up and down the high street where I work and it knocked me for six! I couldn't train properly for a week. So more time on the sidelines.

So onto Swanage. Well my body was working and I was over the food poisoning just, so managed to line up looking forward to one of my favourite races where I have placed 2nd and 3rd in the past and hoping for the win this year.

The swim was the usual fight to get to the first buoy, it seems rather ironic that various people have said lately to me that they have had panic attacks when swimming open water, ive always been extremely confident in water and never had a problem but I got out to the first buoy with the leaders and got hit round the head and my goggles pulled off. I let people swim over me while I re grouped and put my goggles back on but I felt very anxious so I can now appreciate what the others I spoke of have gone through. I got my self together the lead was gone so I carried on as normal but was too far back from the lead group so stuck in no mans land.

Onto dry land and a solid transition and I started to bring the field back on the bike and I think worked my way up to around 3rd place. Going out of Swanage I was confused by a sign making reference to the sprint race that was going on and I took the wrong turning. I wasn't the only person to make that mistake either! Both races were going in the same direction so all they needed was an arrow for all competitors and I wouldn't have even questioned it. My fault though I realise for not making sure I knew the course. I re joined the race and just rolled back into T2 and went for a sausage sarnie by the sea!

I hope my run of bad luck is now over and its back to business.

DNF at Austria

Its not a nice experience having to write a race report after not finishing one of the most important races of the year but unfortunately my first Ironman was not to be, circumstances were somewhat out of my control but other aspects of it were not and all I can say is ive learnt a hell of a lot from the experience and there is a lot I would change for my next one and yes there will be a next one! Here is what happened.

I knew with the swim it would be solid and as my coach Steve puts it "its just the warm up". The swim has had the least of my attention this year purely for the fact that there are far more time gains to be had on the bike and the run therefore I think ive averaged about 2/3 1 hour sessions per week this year.

As it was my first Ironman I decided to race as an Age Grouper with an eye on a Hawaii slot. The age groupers started on mass about 100m behind the pro start. I was expecting a real fight at the start but it remained calm and was somewhat of an anti climax and found I didn't have to fight much for position. At about half way I had started to catch some of the 50+ pros as they were wearing different coloured caps so easy spot. I exited the water in 52 something and crossed the line with 53:04, that will do nicely! Transition was uneventful and swift thanks to great assistance in the tent from the race staff! (thanks Phil). As I was running through transition I was toe to toe with race number 6 Sergio Marques of Portugal. We left on our bikes together and rode at a similar pace for the first half of the first lap along with Canadian number 22. As we caught more riders the road started to get more and more crowded and I couldn't believe the company I was keeping on the bike and was trying not to get too excited!

I went through the first lap of the bike in 2:23:45 and remember thinking that all I have to do is keep it together and I will be on for a bike split of well under 5 hours. Not far into the second lap my lower back started to get a little uncomfortable so I stretched it out like I have done many times before and thought I can deal with a little discomfort no big deal, it started to get tighter when aero the eased on the climbs. I lost concentration for a little and rode over a pot hole or man hole cover and it sent a jolt through my back as I wasn't prepared for it. It felt ok at first then after a few minutes my back tightened up really badly particularly my right side. Even if I could have ignored the pain to finish the bike there would be no way I was walking anywhere let alone ruining a marathon. It got so bad I couldn't even pedal up the next climb to roll back to the finish. I had to dismount in agony and broken. I tried to flag some of the motor bikes down to help me out and they told me a car would be along soon, well I had to wait 2 hours before I was picked up. I was taken back to the medic tent examined and put on a drip. Lying back on the bed in the medic tent I looked to my left and who was laying next to me, Mr Kit himself Chris Morris!!. There were 3 athletes in the huge medic tent and two of them were tri force!

So my race ended prematurely. Riding over the bump and jolting my back was unfortunate but also unlikely to happen again and perhaps a freak incident. What I have learnt is that I need to work on strengthening my back and core in general and I think next time maybe I would use my other bike for anything over half ironman distance which has a more comfortable position. I have been to see my physio who has given me a clean bill of health although said i may have a slight weakness there so has given me some exercises to do to help my position on the bike. With a better core it should help me even if there are any un expected bumps!

So its onward on upward, I have taken some positives from the race and know there is a good Ironman in me in the not too distant future. Steve and Myself have made the decsion to race an Ironman Distance race in the UK on the 1st September. It was a hard decision because it means missing the British Champs but we felt it was important to get an Ironman Distance race under my belt this year because that is what we have trained for. So the focus now turns to The Big Woody and then the One O One series final in November.

I did thoroughly enjoy the trip and Chris, Simon, Phil and Jonathon were great company and I wouldn't hesitate on doing it again. It kind of puts it into perspective when only 50% of us finished! Chris you obviously went down fighting, nothing more you could have done you will have better days ahead, Jon and Simon you are stars! and Phil what can I say, you looked after us like super stars.

A solid performance at Bala despite near disaster!

1. Mark Stenning Swindon Tri 03:47:06
2. Paul Hawkins Planet X 03:47:50
3.Lawrence Fanous 2XU TFN RT 03:49:33
4. Martin Yelling 2XU TFN RT 03:50:02
5. Mark Couldwell 2XU TFN RT 03:51:44
6. Paul Mountford Parker International 03:53:59
7. Darren Treadaway Arctic Shorter Rochford 03:56:48

(I did 4:05:42 in 2006 placing 6th)

345 Finishers

This was to be my last race before the 5 week build up towards Ironman Austria so I was looking for another solid performance and confidence booster before the big one.

If you had asked me before the race if I would have been happy with 7th then my response would have been no way. But I went around 9 minutes quicker than in 2006 despite finishing a place lower down the field. So although I am still not over the moon finishing 7th I will take it! Even the organiser commented that it was the best field ever assembled at Bala in the 6 years its been running. There was one fatal flaw in my race preparation which I think has probably cost me which I will come to later in the report.

Bala is an awesome setting for a race and I was mesmerised by the scenery and terrain the first time I raced here and have been back twice since.

I got off to a good start in the swim and settled into the second pack nicely. The water temperature was fine but would have struggled if it was any colder. First transition was smooth and it was off onto the bike, spirits were lifted by hearing my name over the loud speaker as one of the contenders. Onto the bike and after about 10 minutes or so I spotted Jon and gave him a few words of encouragement and he did the same for me, its good having people you know out on the course especially in these longer races. Paul Mountford (reigning British Champion) caught me about 1 hour into the bike and to be honest I thought he would steam past a lot sooner so I thought either he was having a bad day or I was going well and I think it was the latter. The rest of the bike leg was uneventful, on the closing straight I was caught by Martin Yelling and we entered transition not far apart which was a big lift to know I was in good company, it was now just a case of how much time I could catch on the rest of the field.

Here comes the f*&k up! I was so busy trying to be with Martin out of transition that I forgot my gels! I realised at mile 1 after spotting Martins fuel belt, it dawned on me that my fuel was back in transition. I thought its not the end of the world the event is sponsored by High 5 so there must at least be some energy drink along the course, but it turned out that all they had was water! They were waiting for the High 5 to be delivered and it never arrived in time. So I had to do the whole of the run on water only! Which I think worked against me mentally as well as physically as I tried to run conservatively and just worry about getting to the turn around and see what I had left to get to the finish. I did struggle back and thanks guys for the encouragement when we passed on the course but by that time the legs had gone to jelly, the vision was blurry and all I was worried about was getting to that damn finish line and collapsing!

An enjoyable but tough day out. Good to have support from the club out there and hopefully we can make it a bigger event next year. Well done to all that finished.

Next its into the unknown Ironman!!

A win at Hillingdon Triathlon and a course record at Colney Heath

Harefield Lake on a good day!

1. Darren Treadaway 01:13:22
2. Steve Hyett 01:19:07
3. Justin Corcoran 01:19:57
4. David Everitt 01:20:21
5. David Knight 01:22:05

67 Finishers

Colney Heath 23rd May 22:57 (previous best 23:52 2006!)

Last Wednesday I ventured out to Colney Heath for the Tri Force midweek time trial expecting a mediocre performance having done a long ride of 4:35 followed by a 2 hour run (big day!) the previous day. So knew the legs were going to be tired. Riding out though I started to feel ok and knew that the conditions were going to be perfect as it was about 25 degrees with very little wind.

I didn't feel that I was going that well and even contemplated pulling out at the turn around. It then began to sink in who I was catching and at what time down the road, various numbers were ticking over in my head and thought I could at least be on for a respectable time.

I crossed the line with 23:27 on my watch as I had started it 30sec before the off when the man in front went. Maths not being my strongest subject I added the 30sec to my time instead of subtracting it and thought hmmm 23:57 that's respectable, it wasn't until Chris Morris who was taking the times came over and broke the news that it was 22:57 and I was shocked, so shocked that I re checked my watch and a couple of other riders! and that confirmed it, new course record 22:57!! Think now 22:30 is possible.

Hillingdon Harefield Triathlon 27th May

This was perhaps my most convincing win to date and probably technically one of my worst performances but glad to get these glitches out the way before the racing gets more serious again!

To start with it was pouring with rain as it has been all weekend. So I thought no big deal, man up get on with it and take no risks, get round in one piece.

Due to the conditions the swim was probably the most enjoyable part of the race which is unusual for me. I got clear water at the start and got off the front with one other athlete, as we approached the first buoy the lead canoeist cut inside of it, so we didn't know whether to follow or go round the buoy, obviously with hindsight the course was made up to go around the buoy. So we both stopped looked at each other the rest of the field was rapidly approaching then we got shouted at to swim around it, thank you Mr Canoeist!! We ended up finishing the swim together.

Into T1 which was the swim to run change over. This was the worst transition of my life, the wetsuit didn't come off! my legs were frozen and not doing what my brain was telling them and to top matters off I had pinned my number on the wrong way round so it was blank on the front! I faffed around with it trying to reposition it and ripped it so I now had a number hanging on by one pin. Meanwhile the Duathlon had started and my training partner Jez Cox was getting further and further up the road. The rain was still pouring down, I got to the turn around and got told off for not displaying my number correctly, so more faffing with it, I then put the boot in for the last 3k to see if I could take some time out of Jez.

Into T2 as I went to mount my bike my tri suit got snagged on the back of my saddle and it pulled the suit right into my crotch and I nearly fell off the damn thing! I eventually got settled and into my rhythm. Yes more rain to follow, just went through the motions, no silly mistakes, just a safe ride.

I hit the finish winning by just under 6 minutes. I'm sure a lot of people didnt race because of the condition's but you can only race who is there on the day and a win is a win! Afterwards it took a long time to get warm again.

So a good day for the boys Jez won the Duathlon too!

Redditch Sprint Triathlon

1st James Gillfillan 58:20
2nd Mike Cornes 59:15
3rd James Lock 59:55
4th Tom Curtis 59:55
5th Darren Treadaway 1:00:20
217 Finishers

Made a last minute decision to head up to Redditch for the first BTA sprint race of the year. The main reason for racing being that my team manager Robert Engers was racing and it was a chance to test out my new steed again.

My swim was sound and certainly better than Lisbon so this is moving in the right direction. I then set about riding through the field and worked my way up to 2nd place but had several guys strung out down the road hanging onto my wheel. I gave a few dirty looks which didn't seem to do anything, then said a few words and they seemed to drop back then a few seconds later they were back on again, where were the bloody draft busters!

Very uncharacteristically for me I lost some time on the run and ended up 5th. The legs were heavy on the run which was to be expected with the volume of training that's going in also the fact I carried the guys behind round the bike course meant they had fresher legs than I did! Anyway I got what I wanted out of the day and that was to have a blast on the new bike and it was awesome rewarding me with 2nd fastest bike split to James Gillfillan and we were the only riders in the field to dip below 31:00.

First win on new bike and more publicity

Brickendon Midweek Time trial

My first ever win at Brickendon! A wet and windy evening, I think with more riding on my new bike and better conditions I will go 21 this year.

Darren Treadaway 22:24
Dave Candy 22.32
Ian Coles 23.26
Mike Bridge 23.35
Nick Ison 23.37
Darren Rochford 23.43

Barnet Borough Times 17/05/2007

Run helps top finish

New Barnet triathlete Darren Treadaway finished an excellent 16th in the Lisbon Half Ironman event.

Treadaway, who has just turned semi-professional in a bid to make an even bigger impact in the sport, was up against professional athletes from all over Europe, making his achievement even more remarkable.

The gruelling event was made up of a 1.9km swim (80 lengths), a 90k cycle and a half marathon run (21k).

Treadaway finished in a time of just over four hours, just behind two of the UK's top professional triathletes.

The super-fit Barnet star actually finished the half marathon in a time of 1 hr 16 mins, which was some going after the other two disciplines.

Treadaway, a member of Hertfordshire-based Tri-Force, now benefits from the sponsorship of Potters Bar and Finchley-based bike shop Shorter Rochford and Hunters Estate Agents of Hertfordshire, his employers.

The Arctic Shorter Rochford cycling team, of which Treadaway is also a member, has one of the best pedigrees in the country and has historically enticed some of the best of the UK's cyclists on to its books.

They will be supplying Treadaway with a custom- bike worth thousands of pounds and a race kit.

Though primarily a triathlete, Treadaway's all-round ability means he is able to compete at the highest level in both cycling and running as single-sport events. He recently finished 33rd at the Reading Half Marathon and 13th at the Watford Half Marathon.

Tri-Force chairman Howard Davies said: "Darren is a force to be reckoned with in triathlon. As well as being an incredible asset for the county's profile in triathlon, he is a hardworking and very humble member of Tri-Force, who always has time to pass on support and expertise to newer members."

Tri-Force is Hertfordshire's top triathlon club and welcomes new members of all standards and experience, including juniors. For further information, log on to the Tri-Force website at www.tri-force.org

My new bike is here!

A big thank you to Darren and Alan Rochford from Shorter Rochford Cycles. Ive been out on it tonight and its so so quick!! Looking forward to Brickendon tomorrow night!

Lisboa International Triathlon

1 Johnsen, Jimmy DEN 03:45:48
2 Koefoed, Jens DEN 03:48:17
3 Sundberg, Swen GER 03:50:03
4 Cartmell, Fraser UK 03:50:23
5 Benocs, Zoltan HUN 03:51:44
6 Monteiro, Frederico BRA 03:56:14
7 Gomes, Pedro POR 03:55:20
8 Woodward, Alun ENG 03:56:26
9 Saunders, Nick ENG 03:56:40
10 Hovgaard, Esben DEN 03:58:05
11 Petersen-Bach, Jens DEN 03:58:18
12 Kaczmarek, Finn DEN 03:58:43
13 Hugelshofer, Patrik SUI 04:00:20
14 António, Custódio POR 04:03:23
15 Hecht, Mathias SUI 04:03:48
16 Treadaway, Darren ENG 04:03:54

Right the quick version is that I am really pleased with the result and feel I am getting closer to the best guys in the world so the extra time commitment is clearly paying off and I hope the result is something I can build on. Looking at last years results I felt the top 10 was achievable and last year I would have placed top 10 but this year the race moved up in class with athletes from 19 countries, some as far away as Brazil turned up! It truly was a world class field with the reigning European champion and various Ironman winners and World Cup athletes.

It wasn't however all plane sailing and ive really until now kept this under my hat but my ankle injury didn't clear up as quick as I thought it had and in hindsight I rushed back too quickly so my head was a mess leading upto the race but ive come through it ok and if anything my run will get stronger in the next race.

Onto the race. In the race itinery it said that the Elites were going to get their own start so I didn't really stress about fighting for position, so I waited and waited hanging onto the pontoon and nothing. Suddenly out of the blue the claxon went! and it looked like we were off. I managed to get clear water a little too easily then realised that all the fast guys had started on the far side so I had to cut across to try and get on the back of the chasing group, which I never caught and found myself swimming in no mans land for most of the race. Anyway it probably cost me a minute, no big deal in a race this long, maybe a lesson learned for next time.

The bike for me was the most enjoyable ride ive had in triathlon, I felt so strong with my new position and the extra miles had made a huge difference. I started catching people very quickly and felt well within my comfort zone and worked hard going out into the wind and got my bars and gels down me coming back with the wind behind me. On each of the 4 laps you go into the town centre where the atmosphere was electric and a big lift each time you came round.

I was relishing starting the run as I already knew I was having a good race and was looking forward to my usual blast through the field on the final run but it didn't happen as it normally does I think possibly for two reasons, the first being that at this level everyone runs fast and secondly I had maybe lost a little run fitness with the injury. I started on the first lap rather cautiously, probably a little too cautiously as I was worried about blowing to pieces as the temperature was hotting up, I eventually settled into my rhythm and laps 2 and 3 were solid and lap 4 was about hanging on with some useful encouragement from Rob as I passed him. I needed a shouting at as the wheels were starting to fall off so thanks Rob!h

Thank you to Laurence from Tri Force for accompanying me on the trip and well done on finishing despite not being at your best, lesser men would have pulled out!

I will be back next year, fitter, stronger and ready to go top 10 under 4 hours!

You can now post comments on here so feel free! Just want to make sure that at least someone reads my waffle!

Herts Advertiser 10th May

Triumph for star
10 May 2007
EDITORIAL - herts.advertiser@archant.co.uk

IMPRESSIVE triathlete Darren Treadway has been making his mark on the sport this month.In the Portuguese National Championships in Lisbon at the weekend, Treadway came 16th in the long course event (1.9k swim, 90k bike and a 21k run) with a world class time of 4.03.54. It was an impressive field including several Ironmen winners and the current European Champion.

The senior section of Tri Force took part in the club organised Where? Triathlon - the name a reminder of its inception as a last minute replacement for cancellation of the Ware triathlon many years ago.

Rising star Treadway took the win, completing the 400m swim, 21km bike ride and 6km run in a time of 1.01.21, 50 seconds ahead of second placed FVS star Mark Racher. The club honours for first and second woman across the line were reversed with FVS' Kerrie Renshaw finishing in 1.10.50, a full three and a half minutes ahead of Tri Forces' Tamsyn Allen. Tri Force newcomer Emma Tempstra made an impressive debut for the club, clinching third place in a time of 1 hour 17 minutes.

Tri Force Juniors had an early season triathlon to warm them up for the coming season at Sandridge School. There were 22 youngsters aged between eight and 16 in the swim, cycle, run competition.

New members are welcome to join the club and for further information on Tri Force log on to www.tri-force.org

Herts Advertiser 26th April

Lisbon test for star
26 April 2007
EDITORIAL - herts.advertiser@archant.co.uk

DARREN Treadaway of Tri-Force takes on his first serious international challenge of the year at the Lisbon Half Ironman on Saturday, May 5.Tri Force Chairman Howard Davies is predicting big things for Treadaway, who turned semi-professional at the start of 2007. He said: "Darren is a force to be recognised with in Triathlon. As well as being an incredible asset for the county's profile in triathlon he is a hard-working and very humble member of Tri-Force, who always has time to pass on support and expertise to newer members. We should all wish him well in Lisbon."

Treadaway has had valuable assistance from bike shop Shorter Rochford and the Arctic Shorter Rochford cycling team which has historically recruited some of the best cyclists in the country. Shorter Rochford will be supplying a custom bike and essential race kit.

Triathlete Treadaway also competes at the very highest level in both cycling and running as single sport events. In his first outing for the team he placed 11th in the North Road Hardriders among a classy field and has already set several personal bests in running, recording a half marathon time of 1:12:54 when he finished 33rd in the Reading Half Marathon, placing him 17th in the South of England championships. Other highlights include his 13th place at the Watford Half Marathon.

For more information about Hertfordshire Triathlon Club Tri-Force log on to the website at www.tri-force.org

Fall at Southern 12 Stage Relays

Ok first up I think the picture probably looks worse than it is and I will hopefully be resuming light exercise within the next couple of days and maybe lay off the running for a week or so.

Right will start at the beginning. We were lying pretty much where I would have expected us to be after stage 10 which was somewhere in the late 20's and still had an outside chance of qualifying for the National so I was looking forward to a good run and hopefully pick off a few places for the team. gfshjgfsjfsjgsfjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjsgjfsjjsgjsgj

The first half of the race was very fast indeed assisted by a strong tail wind, it was when I started to come back into the head wind that disaster struck. I was leaning into the wind hard so as to try and stay in the middle of the path and out of nowhere the wind suddenly stopped and I clipped the curb and went over on the ankle. Now under any other circumstances I would have aborted the race unless it was one of my A races to avoid further damage but I had 11 other guys relying on me to finish so I had to bite my tongue and shut out the pain and limp home for the last 2 miles in the hope that we could still salvage something. gfjgfjfgjjjjjjjjjjffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffgjsffjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjsgjfgj

I still ended up running 27:36 for 5 miles but in a lot of pain at the finish and whisked into the St Johns Ambulance at the end and luckily my Dad was with me to drive me home. The good news is after closer inspection it is not broken and I should bounce back soon. It is already feeling a little better. gfjssssssssssssssssssssggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggsgfjjgjfgjgjsgjfgjjs

I am 5 weeks out from Portugal so I hope to God I can come back quick form this one.

Another PB at Reading Half Marathon, not quite sure how though!

1st Simon Kasimili, Kenya, 1:03:35
33rd Darren Treadaway, Barnet and District 1:12:54

9877 Finishers ujjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjj

To be honest I was 50/50 on the Friday before the race about actually putting myself on the start line. This was to be the end of a very hard 4 week training block totalling about 25 hours a week and I would have expected to crack a lot sooner so myself and Steve had planned for an easy recovery week after Reading. kkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk

Saturday morning I got a call from Laurence asking me if I could give someone a lift so I said of course and realised it looked like I was now racing, I did say that if he beats me then he can walk home! gggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg

On arrival which I thought would be more chaotic considering there were some 12,000 runners competing in the two events, we were ushered into the disabled car park so had very easy access to the race area and facilities, obviously this was an oversight but it was too late to do anything about it so thought we would ride our luck. Watching the masses que up to put there baggage in and go through various warm up routines, rituals was somewhat amusing! I went for my usual 20minute jog and knew that it wasn't going to be an easy day, legs were still very heavy.

We realised that the start was going to be very busy so we made sure that we got there with plenty of time to spare, well in fact about half an hour. While jumping up and down to keep warm waiting for the start a TV camera man and interviewer approached me and asked if they could talk to me I said sure but felt kind of embarrassed and thought they should of been talking to one of the Commonwealth Games guys like Dan Robinson or Huw Lobb or one of the Kenyans so said a few words and probably made a tit of myself! Not sure when or where it is going to be shown.

The gun went and adrenaline kicked in and my legs felt re-charged and ready to race. Went off too quickly as per usual but eventually settled down. Went through 2 miles in 10:30, 5 miles in 27:00, 6 miles in 32:35 looking at the splits I realised that I was already up on the pace I ran at Watford and at this stage was enjoying the race and great crowd support. I hit 10 miles in a new PB of 54:55 wow! and worked out in my head that I was on 1:11 pace which was a lot easier said than done.

I got to the 11 mile mark and could see the stadium looming in the distance but my legs went to pieces, the hard work was now really taking its toll on my legs especially my quads. I felt awful and had just resigned myself now just to finishing, I got caught by a big group with a mile to go containing the guy who I gave a lift too, cheeky git! As I got closer to the stadium I could hear the crowd which was a big lift and checked the watch and was amazed to see I was still on for a 1:12!

It goes to show I am in great shape now and once I rest and taper for Portugal I am going to be ready to really turn some heads in the tri world as i am biking and swimming very well too! got my first easy week for a while this week then its 2 more weeks hard work before the build up for Portugal.

Will be doing the 12 stage road relays on Sunday, these are great fun and will be well rested.

Puncture at the Oxonian

Didn't do a race report for this one as a puncture prevented me from finishing with about 4 miles to go. I got what I wanted though in the form of a good work out and think looking at the splits that I would have been somewhere around 5th as I was riding well. Nothing more to say on this one really. My team mate rode well to finish 3rd.

Changes to the Schedule

Due to not getting my entry in on time for Sevenoaks Triathlon I have decided to enter Duston Triathlon instead which in hindsight was probably the better option as it is a week later and looking at last years results it looks like quite a competitive field

I am also considering dropping Shropshire in favour of going back to Bala as I love racing at Bala as its tough and the bike and run suit me down to the ground. I would like to win this one and smash my time from last year!

A week in the life of me!

A lot of friends in and outside of the sport have asked me recently "hows the training going" well that's the comment I usually get from people who don't understand the sport, fellow athletes tend to talk numbers more.

Although I was hoping to be working less this year the very buoyant property market has meant I am working more than I had hoped, although I still have more flexibility and am doing more training this year than ever before, well in fact nearly double!

Below is what i've done over the last 7 days and a fairly typical type of weeks training. A bit disappointed this week to miss one of my swim sessions, hoping to build up to 4 swim sessions once the season gets closer, on the whole a solid week.

Saturday
am 2hour bike, 10am-5pm work, pm 1 hour run intervals

Sunday
am 5hour bike on tri bars the whole way, pm 2 hour run off road

Monday
9am-6pm work, pm 90min long turbo intervals

Tuesday
am 1hour swim 4hour bike (out in Oxford, rode the course that I will be racing next week), pm 50min run intervals

Wednesday
9am-1pm work, pm 3hour bike then 1 hour 40min run (hard final hour)

Thursday
9am-6pm work Rest Day (couldn't get up for swimming!)

Friday
9am-6pm work, pm 1 hour swim then 1 hour short turbo intervals

Total hours training 24:00

North Road Hard Riders - A good performance but so much more to come!

1 Richard PREBBLE Pinarello RT 0:59:45
2 Peter TADROS In-Gear Quickvit RT 0:59:56
3 Andy PROFFITT Arctic Shorter Rochford RT 1:00:28
4 Matthew BOTTRILL De Rosa CC 1:00:47
5 Peter BISSELL Arctic Shorter Rochford RT 1:02:04
6 Christian YATES In-Gear Quickvit RT 1:02:39
7 Sean YATES In-Gear Quickvit RT 1:02:50 1st team
8 Brett HARWOOD Wheel Spin Cycles 1:03:30
9 Daniel CORNER Arctic Shorter Rochford RT 1:04:50
10 David STAFF Anglia Velo 1:07:22
11 Darren TREADAWAY Arctic Shorter Rochford RT 1:07:36

63 Riders Finished

This was to be my debut for my new team Arctic Shorter Rochford and my first outing in a big time trial event outside of the world of triathlon. The Arctic as the team seems to be fondly known, well that's what people shout when we go past is a very strong team in UK cycling with reigning U/23 road race champion and national hill climb champion plus other former national standard riders. So for a triathlete who specialises in three sports to be accepted onto the team is an honour, we also have another multi sport athlete in the form of former World Amateur Duathlon champion Dan Corner who is a very strong rider and has had me red lining it on training rides!

Onto the race. Unfortunately my team bike was not going to be ready for another few weeks but that didn't deter me as I was eager to see how my legs performed from the extra training put in over the winter. I noticed that all the riders in front of me were riding time trial bikes which I am guessing must have been the faster option so hopefully some more time to be saved here once it arrives.

The day started off wet so there was going to be no heroics on the descents just get round in one piece and hammer the climbs, it was warm though so that was a bonus. I hammered the first 2 climbs and probably paid a little bit here but felt strong and ready for the undulations ahead as I approached halfway. As I was about to turn left into Brickendon Green I was caught for 3 minutes which must have been one of the top finishers but somewhat scary to see how fast he was riding and taking the corners and a bit demoralizing to think I had been caught for so much time, on the other hand I had ridden past 4 riders so I must have been moving too.

The next quarter of the race was pretty uneventful, just keep the legs going and try and save some for Essendon Hill. As I approached the foot of Essendon I had problems getting into the small chain ring! after playing around with it and a bit of fiddling I got it back in the small ring and breathed a sigh of relief! I had to ride the last mile and a half in the small ring or stop which was ok as most of it was uphill so not worth stopping here. From what I can see in the results it probably cost me 10th but no big deal better now than later in the year. It turned out to be a costly day as I also broke my rear tri spoke wheel, it didn't slow me down at all just annoying!

Looking at the results I never thought I would ever see a results sheet with Sean Yates (ex Tour De France and team mates with Lance Armstrong!) in 7th and me in 11th!! So I am really pleased and know there is so much more to come.

Next stop Oxionian time trial, hopefully top 10 here!