Bahrain Olympic Day Fun!!!!

Well over the Memorial day weekend the Missing Links had some fun in the sun, literally enough to cause heat stroke.  None the less we braved the elements and made the best of it. A big "well done" to Matt Ahland for sticking in there! So there was a 25-27 km road race then a 5.3 km run. the bike race started at 1530 and was 100+ degrees, the hottest part of the day. then after a good baking the run started at around 1700, still hot! As usual it was all fun and games before the events!

All quiet before the show!











The paddock area was nice and cool. The floor was so clean you could......not eat off it but fine to rest on!

The bikes taking it easy before the ruckus.










After the race, which Matt and I ducked out early on for numerous reasons, Brandon and Gareth (placed 13th overall) took a nice long break. They were of course waiting on Matt and myself to finish the 5.3km race.

  


Yeah its a tough life at the BIC on Race Day!














The big issue I had with the Olympic day run was the fact they ran out of water on a 100+ degree day. It was tough and lead to some serious cramps for me. So my run was less then great and I was very angry.

A lot of people just walked it in....







After the run we got together and celebrated with cheers and smiles!!!!

Great job everyone! Until next time........ Keep moving forward, no fears, no strings......

Big News!!!

Ok everyone so thisis the big news. I have had about two dozen people tell me how I inspire them. Well I want to take that positive energy and pay it forward. I am working on setting up a Charity event using my IronMan taining and event. My concept is simple. For every mile I complete in the IronMan on Dec 10 2016 the sponsor will donate. The IronMan is 70.3 miles. I am working on the charities the money will go to and how best to set it up. Please note 100% of the donations go to the charities as I will pay for all my costs. Gareth Sayers is helping work on a video as my promotion. If anyone has experience with this type of thing please send me a message. Stay tuned for the offical roll out!!!! 

Biathle in Bahrain!

The Missing Links ended the season with a quick but very tough Biathle. Yeah I never heard of one either. It is a 1 mile run 200meter swim and then another 1 mile run. Brandon and myself was joined by FIT Bahrain and then a special suprises guests! Jeremy, Curtis, and Matt showed up!

We all watched as the kids race kicked off. Yikes those youngsters were fast. Then the older kids and 40+ had there sepaerate races. The 19-39 race was last in the series and by then we all had a good fear of the whole thing built up. Never the less we lined up and took off!

Before I knew it the first mile was down and i had set my personal record for the 1 km and 1 mile.

The the swim was ok with a 6 min 200 meter effort. I am consistant with a 3 min/100m time.













That is where the energy ran out. The second mile was terrible but I pulled through. Matt and I crossed the finish line together!

It was a good day! So many friends showed up and we had laughs and smiles for hours. 

This does it for the winter season here in Bahrain. The next event might be a 10k race in Dubai but the big one is the IronMan 70.3 right here in Bahrain!!!!

Big News Coming!!!

There is some big news coming out of the Missing Links camp......stay tuned!!!!!!!!!!!

Oceanic Triathlon in Fujarah UAE

Well folks it was a great time to remember! Brandon and myself had a quick but fun trip. There was donkeys, camels and gale force winds!

Packed up and ready to go knock out a triathlon.

Mr. Eric Caes was kind enough to lend me his fabulous bike case for this event. WOW it was easy to use and kept everything absolutely secure and safe. Thanks Eric it was much appreciated. During the Spinneys my read hanger was bent on the way home.












Brandon and I left for the airport at about noon and got checked in quickly with no extra baggage fees! Unfortunate they confiscated Brandon's bike multi tool. They let me through with mine, who knows. Anyways we grabbed a quick bite then settled in to wait for our late flight.

We were about 1.5 hours late and that really cut into the travel time and traffic situation in Dubai. None the less we are endurance athletes we stuck it out. Picked up the van and some sketchy directions from a local cleaning guy. Off we went. If the UAE had a "Harlen County" we found it. With no data or formal directions we drove in the general direction that we remembered from the last map we saw. Almost got taken out by a random Donkey walking down the interstate. Yeah, it really happened. We finally showed up to the hotel at about 10:30pm. After checking in and putting the bikes together under car park lighting we made it to the room and ordered a little food at about midnight. Both of us had some serious sinus issue and didnt sleep well. The 4 hours seemed to go buy very quickly. Again we like the endurance so we got up and started to prepare. What is a swim cap?

HopaSports put on a good show and was there late to make sure we got our grab bag and settled in. Good folks right there.














It was a perfect weather when we went outside. Calm and the temp was great. We got set up in the transition area and walked around and talked to others. Everyone was super nice and even ran into some FIT UAE folks.

After glad handing and meeting everyone we had one last check of the station and time for a selfie!

After that they had us meet up and went through the race brief. Very detailed and very good. Again it was a well put together event. Smiles all over! The water looked ike a plane of glass, perfect....to perfect as it turns out!

We lined up and made ready the infamous swim cap.

The course we were on was only a 375 meter swim, it seemed like 450. Brandon swam closer to 500 as he went off course a bit.

After the swim the skies were dark and the wind was getting crazy.

We didnt pay any mind and got the bike kit on and got to the business of triathlon! right out of the transition and the bike mounting area there was a hill, and that was hard on the old heart rate.



From the bike through the run the wind was so bad they shortened the long course and the wind had blown away most of the stuff in the transition area.  Hats, glasses, clothes..you name it and it was scattered to the wind. All that mattered was you kept going. Had to get to that finish line!!!

34 mins! I was hoping for a faster time but my sinus infection kept me humbled. Brandon nailed the ride and run!

Very Happy!

Brandon nailed it!





Of course after we had to have a walk about, to check the wind damage.

Once we found our socks and compression gear it was time for some breakfast and stardom!!

After the breakfast we broke down the bikes and loaded up the van. What a great time! On the way home we drove through the desserts and spent a little time at The Cycle Hub and then the Dubai Mall. Until next time.....Keep moving forward! No Strings and No Fear!