Well where do we start, just another quiet couple of weeks with the Tenby Aces members, nothing much going on, just a couple of small events, starting off with the Lloyds Bank Cardiff Half Marathon, Ironman Barcelona, the Ironman World Championships from Kona Hawaii and the Amman Valley Sprint Triathlon. Nothing important then, only joking, the Cardiff half provided some members with personal best times, Ironman Barcelona gave a new Welsh record, the World Championships gave two members the ultimate achievement along with another Pembrokeshire local, and then finishing off with a member competing in his first triathlon and coming home in 13th place out of 136, so a top 10 per cent finish.

Lloyds Bank Cardiff Half Marathon

The Lloyds Bank Cardiff Half Marathon boasts one of the most stunning 13.1 mile courses around. And the route takes runners past the capital’s most iconic landmarks, with beautiful scenery and historic buildings.

The predominantly flat and fast course makes it ideal for beginners and elites. The race starts outside Cardiff Castle and runners then head down past Cardiff City Stadium on the way to Penarth. They take in the glorious Penarth Marina, before crossing the barrage and heading to Cardiff Bay. Runners run right through the heart of the bay, taking in the Norwegian Church and Wales Millennium Centre. The course then heads towards the north of the city and runners will complete a loop of the beautiful Roath Park lake before the grandstand finish in the heart of the city at the Civic Centre.

The club had Olly and Elaine Brace, Andrew Burgess, Billy Connors, Steph James and Pippa Dodd running on the day. All had excellent times, with Olly coming in with 1:50:12, Elaine also in 1:50:12, Andrew in 1:53:28, Billy in 1:34:00, Steph in 2:17:00 and Pippa in a personal best time of 1:40:42. Well done to all.

Ironman Barcelona

Ironman Barcelona gives participants the opportunity to race in a region that pulses with history, culture and beauty. Barcelona will showcase a historic and culturally rich region of Spain. The village of Calella of the Barcelona-Maresme region, on Spain’s eastern coastline on the Mediterranean Sea, hosts what is now becoming one of the most spectacular race venues on the Ironman circuit.

While visiting Barcelona, there are endless activities and sights to see in this extraordinary region of the world. Exploring the exhilarating architecture of the countless World Heritage Protected buildings that span the Romanesque and Gothic and Modernisme eras will leave you breathless. The museums, cathedrals, markets, bazaars, shops and numerous walking tours will keep you busy by day, while the abundance of local and worldly culinary opportunities available will satisfy everyone’s tastes. Renowned for its beautiful beaches and lively nightlife, there’s something for athletes, family and fans alike at this destination event.

But more than that, it gives the participants a fast-flowing course, excellent for looking for a personal best time, and that is exactly what Oliver Simon came away, with completing the swim in 47:32 and coming out of the water in second place, then jumping onto the bike with an incredible time of 4:24:34, and then finishing off with a run time of 3:19:28, giving an overall time of 8:34:17 and a new Welsh record. Well done Olly, a brilliant result.

Ironman World Championships

Kona, Hawaii

Well where do we start, we all knew we had Aled Smith and Nigel Merrony going out along with Dave Francis from NB Cycles, and all flew across the World to take part in the prestigious and iconic World Championships, where they would battle extreme heat and humidity, strong winds, completing the swim without the aid of a wetsuit.

Of course getting to Kona is a massive achievement in itself, but then getting used to the conditions and course is another thing, with the winds, heat and humidity. Also getting into the customs that have built up with this race over the years such as the underpants race, and Aled had been tasked with taking his Tenby Aces pants with him and challenged to run through the streets with them. He showed that he is a good sport and duly did just that, but what we weren’t prepared for was that Aled’s parents, Mike and Paula, wanted to get in on the act and showed their support - big respect for them to also take this on.

Anyway back to the actual event, we obviously wanted to show our support and so roughly 22 Aces got together and set up televisions to show the live feed, so that we could monitor progress throughout the night.

Well the three locals had it slightly harder, as those of us that decided to set up camp and watch it from the start and continue throughout the night were shown on the screen that tempeatures were up as far as 120 degrees and winds gusting up to 60 mph; we knew then that they were in for a hard time of it.

With the swimmers not being allowed the use of wetsuits, it was going to make the swim considerably harder, with only your own buoyancy to keep you afloat. Both successfully completed the swim, with Aled in 1:19:00, and Nigel in 1:52:22, before they could come through to transition and take on the tough bike course; tough, because as the cyclists make their way north along the Queen Ka’ahumanu Highway, from Kailua-Kona to the turnaround in Hawi, they can be exposed to intense trade winds that buffet much of the exposed western and northern coast of the Big Island. The winds vary in intensity from steady to heavy blasts that can blow cyclists across the road. For this reason, disc wheels are not permitted. Winds may subside during the gradual climb to Hawi, but pick up again as athletes make their way to T2.

With Aled showing the benefit of his younger years, they completed the bike course, Aled getting back in 5:15:35 and Nigel in 6:37:56, both fantastic times.

They then have to start the marathon. No we are all aware of the atmosphere in Tenby and New Hedges for the marathon part of Ironman Wales, and personally it got me through on the day, and I am sure others would agree. But the course in Kona was wholly far more unforgiving, seeing our athletes exiting T2 and running through town before taking on Ali’i Drive, where spectators will pack the roads. But then having to retrace their steps and climb up Palani Road to the Queen Ka’ahumanu Highway to make their way to the Natural Energy Laboratory Hawaii Authority (NELHA), where it becomes a very lonely place except for other athletes.

Unless cloud cover or nightfall spares you, anticipate high heat and humidity on the run course. They both completed it and came in to a great welcome back at the finishing line and also back at our own Kona HQ where we were watching them come over in the early hours, with Aled’s run time of 3:46:23 and Nigel’s 6:37:56, giving them both a place in sporting history with completed times of Aled 10:30:15 and Nigel 15:42:44, along with Dave Francis from NB Cycles, completing with a fantastic effort of 1:12:58 for the swim, 5:04:20 for the bike and 3:48:33 for the run and an overall time of 10:16:20.

An absolutely amazing achievement by all three of you, and we can’t wait until you come back to tell us all about it, and no doubt we will need to have another social evening for that.

Amman Valley Sprint Triathlon

Last Sunday also saw Mike Lindsey competing in his first triathlon event, with him taking on the Amman Valley Sprint Triathlon. Now this comes hot on the heels of him completing his first half marathon a couple of weeks ago, and is surely a springboard to larger events next year, with Mike taking on the 400 metre pool swim, 10 mile bike course and finishing off with a 5km run. Mike completed the swim in 11:13:07, and as Mike would agree he was glad to get that part of it out of the way, before moving onto the bike which we all know he loves, and completing that in 24:28:80, before finishing off the run in 21:55:60 and an overall time of 59:17:25 and a 13th place finish. Well done Mike.

Club Turbo Trainer Sessions

The sessions are now in full swing, with Rhys on a Monday and Mike on a Thursday. Both sessions are very challenging, but equally suitable for beginners or experienced cyclists, and there is something to be learnt from each session.

This week a number of us decided to complete a heart rate test prior to the start of the session, so that we can plot our progress throughout the winter turbo sessions. These test sessions can be arranged, but need to be arranged prior to the session, but they are excellent to work out your heart rate zones, so that these can be used during your training.

The new Cycleops Turbo trainers are proving to be an excellent investment, and members are giving excellent feedback as to how reslastic they are to the road. Come and have a go and work through your base fitness sessions throughout the winter, so to be a better cyclist when it comes to getting back out on the road in the spring.

activities for the coming week

Monday, October 19 - Turbo with Rhys Jordan at Tenby Bowling Club, 6.30 pm to start for 7 pm.

Wednesday, October 21 - Aces Run Session, meet at Tenby Leisure Centre at 6.30 pm.

Thursday, October 22 - Turbo with Mike Lindsey at Tenby Bowling Club, 6.30 pm to start for 7 pm.

Friday, October 23 - Pool Swim Session with Slacky for those booked in. Tenby Leisure Centre at 7 pm.

Sunday, October 25 - Club Ride, meet at Tenby Leisure Centre at 8 am.