2016: Year of the Triathlon

As 2016 began I had no inkling that by the end of the year I would have completed two triathlons and would have lost 1.5 stone in weight (9.5kg). It certainly wasn't a New Year resolution. Truth be told, some tough love from friends encouraged me to start Slimming World at the end of April and soon after I had entered myself in for the Culford Sprint Triathlon in Suffolk with a d-day of 24th July. I chose the Culford Triathlon as it finished with 4km run instead of the usual 5km. Running is my weakest discipline (still) and so I thought that might help me somewhat. 

Park Run 

Southend Parkrun Early 2016. I call this photo 'Why?'

Inspired by my wife who 8 months after barely completing her first Parkrun in Southend, ran a marathon, I started the free, timed and organised 5km runs in mid 2015. My 10th Parkrun was on 2nd January 2016 and my time was 34:23.

My target ever since starting was to 'sub 30mins' but I was struggling to even be sub 32 mins, my PB for up to that point was 32.13. 

Upon joining Slimming World however and actually losing weight I had an amazing run of 5 PBs in 5 weeks. 

I managed to go sub-32 on 14th May, sub-31 on 21st May and sub-30 on 28th May. My five week streak culminated in going sub-29 on 25th June. In that time I had lost approximately 1 stone and 3 mins16 secs. 

I love Parkrun and am so thankful for the organisers and volunteers who run them week in week out. My wife, sister and friend even made it into one of the local rags in celebration of 200 Parkruns in Southend.

My Triathlon Tips for Novices

1. The first bit of advice I received was to get fast tie elastic laces to help with transitions. Job done, they are great. 

2. Nailing transitions is really important and they are rightly referred to as the 'fourth' discipline. I took part in two Go-Tri events (200m swim - 5km bike (on grass) - 2500m run) hosted by East Essex Tri Club which were brilliant for getting my transitions quicker and more efficient as well as getting used to doing a Triathlon. 

3. Bring talc for socks/shoes.

4. Get a number belt. Makes things easier regarding showing your number. 

D-Day 24th July 

The Culford Triathlon is located at Culford Independent School which provided an impressive backdrop for the day's proceedings. Being a fast swimmer my set off time for the pool swim was towards the end. Being a slow runner I was concerned that I might be the last one out on the course. 

My modest aim was to not come last although I did set a target of 1hr 20mins. My other more important target was to raise money for The Dorothy Springer Trust, an educational charity in Sierra Leone that we support. We managed to raise £2000 which fully funded a couple of disabled students on IT courses. Cometh the day...

As for my time I was delighted with 1:13:51, more than six minutes off my target. I was also awarded 121st place out of 191 finishers so I was very happy with that. 

I did another sprint triathlon in 2016 too, in October. Again I was really happy with my performance, particularly the swim where I was 10th fastest out of the whole field. Sadly I was the 15th slowest runner though. You can't have everything. 

I even did the Southend 10k after refusing to even entertain the idea...

So, if you have the will to improve your fitness this year, if a fat bloke in his forties can do it, surely can you. 

Onwards into 2017...

Hong Kong - Top 3 Travel Tips

Hong Kong is a perfect place to explore for a few days especially on a long haul flight with a stopover. On route to Bali this summer the wife and I decided to take advantage of exploring Hong Kong and we're glad we did. 

It's busy. Very busy. If I'm honest I was also a little surprised how many tourists there were which provides the basis for my first tip for tourist attractions - GET THERE EARLY!

Hong Kong is part of China but enjoys a high level of autonomy and independence including having it's own currency (£1 = $11.9HK & $1US = $7.75HK as of 30/8/15). The arrangement is often described as "one country - two systems"  

Accommodation

View from Room 2912 - Ibis North Point

Hotels aren't cheap in Hong Kong and after a bit of research we decided to stay at Ibis, North Point (click here for Trip Advisor reviews). This was one of the cheapest options which is also pretty central and next to a subway station. In fact the entrance to North Point station is approx 50 yards away. We were happy with our choice, although the rooms are very small, we got a free upgrade to a harbour view, air-con was good (and needed) and there was free wi-fi. We didn't eat at the hotel, I felt breakfast was overpriced. Instead we took a light breakfast in McDonalds in the main road behind the hotel. We found service to be good too. Read my review here.



Travel

HK has an excellent public transport system - the MTR. Upon arrival in HK at the airport we bought 2 tourist travel cards for $300HK each ($50HK returned at the end). This allowed a return trip to/from airport and all other MTR journeys for three consecutive days. We let this was a good investment and used the MTR every day. 


Things to do.

1. Victoria Peak.

We thought it would be wise to go up at dusk to be able to see the view in daylight and at night. There were horrific queues for the Peak Tram were running to about a 1.5 hour wait so we jumped in a taxi to reach the top. Regrettably we were completely ripped off by the taxi (paid approx £20 for 2 of us  to  get up the hill) but reconciled this by getting the bus down for approximately £1 each.  

Tian Tan Buddha (and Ngong Ping 360 Cable Car)

The Big Buddha is a major centre of Buddhism in Hong Kong and a major tourist attraction. In a trip there you can also experience a wonderful cable car ride. Tip - the queues for the 360 (glass bottom) are much longer than the normal cars. We chose a normal car.  
To get there - Head to Tung Chung on the MTR and follow signs to the cable car. Get there early. Be warned of the dreadful tourist 'village' Ngong Ping at the top of the cable car. An awful affair. 
Other than that, spectacular views all around. Was even able to see the buildong of the Hong Kong - Macau freeway that is being built. 

Star Ferry

The Star Ferry has been running across Kowloon Bay since 1888 and is a must - do when visiting Hong Kong. It is very inexpensive. Like many tourists we took it to Victoria Harbour for the less than spectacular 'Symphony of Lights' show which runs every day at 8pm. 

   



  

Hamburg: St. Pauli - More than a Football Team

"Why have you come to Hamburg?" asked many of the young people I met on the Alternative Pub Crawl of St. Pauli on Thursday night just after flying in from London.

"I've come for the St. Pauli game" was my standard reply which produced an array of bemused and confused responses including the most popular "for a football match?" 

And there it was I suppose, a response highlighting the strange nature of my trip. I had travelled to Germany to see a second division team with a reputation of not being very good, at all. But I wasn't there just to see a football match or a football team. I was there to visit a football club, an institution and an ideology of how football should be done. 

St. Pauli is a unique club. Within the last few months I had read articles and a book on this club that had captured my imagination and encouraged me to cash in some air miles and travel to Hamburg and experience it first hand. 

St. Pauli are famous for having a left wing fan base which does not tolerate any form of discrimination. This reputation was forged in the late 1980's.   

"An alternative fan scene emerged, built around left-leaning politics, social activism and the event and party atmosphere of the club's matches. Supporters adopted the skull and crossbones as their own unofficial emblem. St. Pauli became the first team in Germany to officially ban right-wing nationalist activities and displays in its stadium in an era when fascist-inspired football hooliganism threatened the game across Europe". 

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FC_St._Pauli)

A good example of the club's outlook is demonstrated with this season's away kit which incorporates the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LBGT) rainbow flag in the kit itself (on the sleeves). They also ditched their normal shirt sponsor for one game this season in favour of replacing it with the message "No football for fascists". It was with all of this in mind that I wanted to visit the club and experience St. Pauli first hand. I managed to buy a ticket on-line with less than a week to go but note that demand is very high, even for this second tier club. Website here:

Arriving on Thursday for the Friday night game I booked myself on the Alternative St Pauli Pub Crawl (@AbroadHh on twitter) which as it turned out was the first one ever. A great 8 Euros spent with a great bunch of locals, tourists & students which visited a number of local pubs/bars located not too far away from the infamous Reeperbahn red light area. 

Game Day

I spent the morning taking a trip through Hamburg's docks on the river using the public boat service which was covered by my travel pass (Every 15 minutes the ferry number 62 travels from Landungsbrücken to Finkenwerder) and then visiting the St Pauli fan shop located on the Reeperbahn for some purchases. I then headed to the 'Millerntor' to collect my ticket before the rush later.  

The atmosphere pre-game outside the stadium was one full of happiness and beer drinking, purchases of Astra beer being very easy from the multitude of shopping trolleys full of them in the car park. As I edged closer to the ground I could hear punk rock music blaring out from the stadium and I could also see 2 large trucks collecting clothes and shoes for refugees. It was so encouraging to see the St Pauli's famous social activism in action. I nipped into the club shop and saw 'Refugees Welcome' tee shirts for sale too. Brilliant. 

Eventually I entered the Millerntor and was reminded about what English football used to be like. Non-stop singing all around the ground and flags being waved. You can even drink beer in your seat in the stadium and most people were. The people sat next to me were charming, a young man on one side of me and a mum taking her seven year old son to the Millerntor for the first time on the other. Not surprisingly, they could both speak English well and we chatted all through the game. With five minutes until kick off and most of the 28,000 (yes 28,000!) in their places, bells sounded and the teams were about to enter... to AC/DC's Hell's Bells no less. 

  
Unfortunately St. Pauli couldn't deliver on the pitch and somewhat surprisingly lost to a struggling Frankfurt team who totally deserved the 3-1 victory. But this was never about the result for me, it was about experiencing St. Pauli first hand. And its was good. Very, very good.