GRAVES SITUATIONS: On course for a bumpy ride

Enjoy a drink in the garden of your local, or perhaps a nice stroll with your beloved?

Wonderful. Except I did neither.

Instead I sweated my way around the Maltby Sprint Triathlon bike course.

On the day (Sunday, May 14) there will be two laps of a 12 kilometre course through Stainton and Braithwell.

But I pedalled through the pain barrier to complete just the one lap.

I might (and that’s a very big might) have been able to complete another but I decided against it.

I need a bit more time in the gym to build up my stamina and put a little more strength in those poor legs of time.

To be honest the course wasn’t quite as daunting as it seemed when I drove round.

There are a few hilly bits but plenty of time to recover in between.

So for those 60-odd of you who have already signed up for Sunday, May 14, and don’t know the route, my advice is simple: “Don’t worry, you’ll be fine.”

I definitely feel I’m making progress although I’m not losing the weight I thought I would.

However, my son — who knows about these things — assures me it will happen eventually.

I’m back in the gym at Maltby Leisure Centre after its refit and it certainly is an impressive place now.

So much so that when I went on Monday evening it was packed.

I’m indebted to those nice people there for making the facilities (including the pool) available to me as I prepare for the triathlon.

The Sprint distance is the ultimate challenge, consisting of a 400m indoor pool swim (16 lengths), a 24km bike ride on country lanes around Stainton and Braithwell and a 5km run around the Manor Fields.

The Super Sprint event is half the distance — 200m/12km/2.5km — making it ideal for novice competitors.

A free duathlon event has been organised with a maximum of 100 places available for children aged 5-14.

It will be in the form of a run-bike-run on the playing fields outside the leisure centre and will give children the chance to try out the sport while the triathlon is taking place.

Claire Duffin, race director at HUUB Events, explained: “The aim of the first Maltby Triathlon is to introduce the sport into the local community and to attract seasoned competitors to a new venue.”

To enter the triathlon or sign up for the children’s duathlon visit www.huubevents.com