Hello strangers, nice to be in touch again. Sorry it’s been so long but I have been tackling an endurance event far tougher than any triathlon – forget Hawaii, Lanzarote, Salford or Hell of the West! Have you tried hell of the third baby?

Baby Milo Doyle arrived 3 and half weeks ago. He is a little beauty and to be honest, since his arrival, triathlon has taken a back seat (well it would, if there was any room left in the now packed car).

OK, so I didn’t actually give birth, my nipples may not be cracked and I don’t have any stretch marks - actually that’s not quite true, I do have stretch marks on my ass cheeks, although I have never seen my own ass but I am told they are there – Sorry, lost my focus. Whilst I am just a man and useless in the birthing department, us fellas do get involved in the aftermath and trust me having three kids under 5 is far from the ideal scenario when training for triathlon.

It’s been a case of sneaking out for the odd session here and there. I don’t know if you have ever tried to wear a wetsuit under your clothes and pretend you are popping out to the shops, but the sweating is a damn giveaway!

Basically, I have neither trained nor have I slept for a month. So last weekend’s race in Athlone, the destination for the 2010 European Championships, was always going to be a struggle, but I didn’t expect it to be quite so tough. Being a bloke I refused to let lack of training and sleep get in the way of over my over inflated and basically unrealistic goals... I was looking to set records.

In fairness I set a new PB before I even reached transition. The traffic was pretty bad and I was running late so stopping for a pee was not going to happen. So I managed to fill a 1 litre Evian bottle in a 1 hour traffic jam... beat that Tim Don! (Just to let you know my Willy didn’t actually fit into the neck of the bottle, so get rid of that grin!)

Just as well I took the bottle option as I barely made registration and transition. OK so I clearly have preparation issues, and some serious swimming issues. The current was outrageously strong, in fact people were being pulled from the water just 100 metres into the swim. I struggled through, enjoying the odd scrap here and there, but it was tough and when I hit T1 those infamous night feeds really began to kick in.

I finished up with a very average time, but somehow the Big Mac, Quarter Pounder and Curly fries on the way home made it all seem OK… Especially when it’s mistakenly washed down with a litre of wee wee… In fairness, it’s easy to mix it up with the vanilla shakes! Ah yes, I believe diet is everything in this sport.

Joking aside, my confidence is down a bit after the weekend as I really didn’t think the lack of training and sleep over the past month would effect me so much. As well as that, the pressure is on as I am now a proud member of the Irish age group team for the upcoming World Championships in Hamburg. Although I was well inside the required qualifying time, most of the triathletes my age must be unavailable that weekend for me to have made it. In saying that, it is a goal I set in Lausanne last year and it feels fantastic to have achieved it. The Irish team are a great bunch of people and I am genuinely honoured to be one of them.

So what lessons have I learnt? Well, preparation really is everything, get there early, keep the training consistent, set your time goals on the course and conditions not just the distance and most importantly, have a bottle in the car with a bigger opening!

I am off to the British Open now but Salford is fast approaching. I’ll be there with my mic and hopefully my bike if the Beeb let me. We are broadcasting tri live this year which is a real boon for the sport, but does make it a hectic few days on the work front.

I am definitely racing in London, and doing so for a very good cause. Leukaemia Research is a fantastic charity which is badly in need of funds, if you fancy flinging me a few quid, no matter how little, please go to my donation page at: www.justgiving.com/craig_doyle

Thank you so much, it’s a great cause and I promise I’ll wave at you from the telly.

Cheers and speak soon,
Craig