David McNamee Walkers Cycling is pleased to sponsor local triathlete David McNamee, a member of the Scotland and Great Britain junior triathlon squads. David is a rising star in the tri scene and will be posting blogs with his latest news on this page. Follow his progress and gain an insight into what it takes to succeed in a hard sport like triathlon.   David McNamee uses:   LAKE CX210 custom carbon tri-shoes LOOK Keo Sprint pedals

David's Blog: July 2008

Grand Prix racing: Ever since I began racing triathlons one of the main experiences that I have been told is a must is competing in a French Grand Prix meet. So there I was all kitted out in my new French racing suit for my team US Vendome waiting for the start, watching as the big names of the sport are being interviewed for French TV. It dawned on me - this is a big step up from racing in Britain (the sponsors were abundant, the TV crews were there and drum players were aligning the course providing some atmosphere for the specatators.

The pontoon in the middle of the Seine struggled to hold all 70 athletes but we all got off together and so it began. The first 200 metres or so were all-out sprinting in the water as everyone is fighting to get ahead - it’s a physical affair and made even worse as you're attempting to gulp in water when and if i'ts possible. The Seine water did not taste nice. Despite a rough start I found myself only a few seconds behind the leader leaving the water.

Above: the wild start - 70 athletes, one floating pontoon, 3 marshals desperately holding on! (that’s French racing for you)

Quickly on the bike a big pack formed with even more joining it over the first 5k - 50 athletes in total. The pace went from steady to sprinting to hard and just went like that for the rest of the bike. However 2k from the finish it happened - someone fell as the 'crashing noise' rang out. People fell like dominoes and I ended up on the pavement but managed to remain upright even though I had to come to a stop. The bike pack had split into 4 with me in the 3rd with the people who had fallen in the 4th. In France, unless you break something you have to finish for the team.

The run was thankfully incident free as I set about trying to haul my ass past those who had escaped the crash - I did it with some success gaining 5 places and finishing in 39th - I know it doesn’t sound like much but I was pleased with it especially after the bike crash. So the next Grand Prix is in Beauvais where top 30 will be the aim.

David's Blog: Mid May 2008

Round up - 2 feet with several nasty cuts, 2 magically appearing bruises on both arms but at the end of the day who cares - I just came 8th at the British Elite Sprint Champs going up against some of the best in the business.

This weekend the action took place in Reading just outside the football stadium - sadly they were flying their flags at half mast due to their recent relegation (tough break). The format was 750 open water swim (first in 6months), 20k bike and a 5k run.

So here's the analysis:

Swim - Its been far too long since I raced open water and it showed over the opening 200 as I received more punches and elbows than I gave out - it was a sore start. As the lead canoeist went off course everyone followed which led to us hitting shallow ground where it was easier to stand up and skip along the water for a bit which also meant cut feet. However I managed to get the head in the game and fought my way up to leaving the water in the top 10 - pretty remarkable considering the beating to begin with.

Bike - as I came out of T2 it came as a surprise that I saw Tim Don (World Champ2006) just ahead and Kris Gemmel (Olympic Games bound) next to me - the mind couldn't’t quite process what the eyes saw for despite the good end to the swim I was certain I would have been struggling to make 2nd pack never mind be in such prestigious company. There ended up being a group of 10 of us at the front as I tried desperately to stay in the pack - many, many lung bursting sprints later I headed into T2 in the pack and in 4th place. An extremely fast 26.10 for 20k was achieved (46km/hour average).

Run - I tried to remain in control as the top 2 guys headed for a 14.45 split for 5k (hopefully one day I can make that 3 guys). My battle however was remaining in the top 10. I ran 16.30 for my 5k which forced me through the hurt barrier big time. I was beat to 7th by a second in a sprint finish. Overall great day in the office - some great scalps taken and a World Uni slot looking very likely!

Results are on: http://www.tri247.com/event_5100.html

David's Blog: Early May 2008

You wait all day for one British Championship to come along and then two arrive in one month! Its been a rather hectic time of late with two long road trips down to Swansea for the British Elite Duathlon Championships (incorporating my 20th birthday) followed by a trip to Swindon for the British University Championships.

Two 6th place results so what's the verdict?

Duathlon - a survival mission!! 10k run/40k bike/5k run in shocking conditions with only half the field finishing. I ended up 6th which was about 10 places higher than I expected. It was an unbelievable result aided by the conditions but if you had told me beforehand that I would finish in the top 10 I would of taken it in an instant.

British Unis - another 6th place but the jury`s still out on the performance. I had a decent bike, strong bike but an abysmal run. The legs just couldn't get going after the bike leg probably down to having a slightly different bike set up than normal. However, I am still in the hunt for a slot at the World University Champs. The battle for the places finishes in 2 weeks time in Reading.

Reading in two weeks with a uni exam in the mean time. From now till then its all about staying healthy, getting sharper and keeping on believing.

David's Blog: April 2008

Sluggish start but in the end the job got done. That’s the summary of events in the East Fife triathlon today, taking place at the Cupar sports centre.

The swim was hectic as there were 6 to a lane, so overtaking slower swimmers was an issue which kept the pace down but I left the water in the lead which is always a good start.

So, on to the bike with an empty road in front of me, I found it hard giving it 100% on the bike for I felt I had a good bike even though I knew there were some uber bikers in the field. However I made it back into T2 in the joint lead as only one massive pair of bikers calves pulled up beside me just outside of transition.

Leaving T2 with a small lead I quickly established it and just kept pulling away on the run. It was a 3 lap affair so it meant I always had some people to track down and overtake. I ended up winning by 3 minutes but most importantly I'm fit and healthy going into the British Elite Duathlon Champs next week in Wales - it’s the big one where the biker boys calves are bigger and they can also put together a mean run.

So next week is the first major test of the year. If I survive I will celebrate my birthday the following day with some cake and a sleep for I have a 7 hour drive to contemplate after the race - whether I succeed or fail!

Results from East Fife can be found here: http://www.tri247.com/results_5098.html

David's Blog: Mid March 2008

6 days til the race season kicks off - that’s 144 hours and its ticking down but I'm feeling ready. Recently the intensity of the sessions have been increased to prepare my body for the pressures of racing. Ahead of me I have the Scottish University Championships in Edinburgh where I am aiming to improve on 3 rd from last year and then the week after is the Stirling Aquathlon. Two good early season events to blow the cobwebs away and to get me focused and prepared for the more important races ahead.

So this week there's nothing I can really do to improve my body for my first event but there's plenty that can be done to ruin my chances. Its all about learning from my early season mistakes last year so that I turn up prepared and raring to go. A positive start is the best way to set you up for a positive season. The countdown is almost done so I am away to get my body recovered as much as possible - early nights in bed will be the norm this week and afternoon napping will remain a feature of life.

David's Blog: March 2008

Back to Scotland and back to life as a student athlete - less afternoon siestas are taking place and even less lazing around post training can be achieved but the consistently high quality is still being achieved despite mother nature’s best efforts. Oh, and how she’s tried to dishearten me but to no avail.

However at the Scottish University 10k Road Race Championships the sun rose, the wind was having a brief spell away and for the first time this year in Scotland I ran minus the gloves. So what does all this add up to? Another 45 seconds off my 10k personal best and more importantly I joined the sub 33 club (32.53). But the sub 30 group is still some way away but little-by-little I will try and get there. I had a near perfect race placing (3rd) so the traditional post-race Mars Bar was deserved (no matter where the race is in Scotland the goodie bags always have a Mars). 6 weeks now remain until race season starts and I am more or less ready to deserve some more Mars Bars.

David's Blog: February 2008

Nah hablo Espagnol – I don’t speak Spanish. It’s a phrase that served me well over my two weeks in the south of Spain. My hand signals also came in handy whilst attempting to purchase anything. I was away with Cat Morrison (multiple world champion) and Gavin Noble ( 2 x Commonwealth Games representative for Ireland).

With such class in the ranks, the camp was always going to be intense and after a `break in day` it was. Most days involved at least two sessions, generally it was 3, with some long biking which often involved a duel on the hills – If you don’t want to get to the top first then you may as well stay at the bottom. There were also some threshold running and swim sessions just to keep us on our toes.

Sandwiched in between the two week camp I competed in the local duathlon championships finishing 7th overall and first under 23. The race was part of the carnival celebrations that were going on in the area but there were no festivity attitudes happening at the head of the race. I enjoyed it though and was pleased with the result – things are looking promising.

Other news is that I have been signed up to a French triathlon team to race for them in the French Triathlon League. It’s a big step up for me as the best in the world compete in them, so I look forward to the challenge. Always Moving Forward is the way to go.

David's Blog: January 2008

Winning - it’s a good feeling and one I don`t think anyone can ever get used to. In any type of sport the most familiar feeling is losing - only one person can win out of hundreds or even thousands who are in the race. However, on New Year's Day I was the winner. It was the New Year's Day Triathlon in Edinburgh which took place in the scenic Holyrood park.

Personally I felt I executed a great race. I led out the swim and left the water with a slight lead. Onto the bike leg which was 3 laps round Arthur’s Seat - a tough hilly course which suited me as I quickly put time into my rivals. Each lap I stretched my lead and came into transition roughly 2 minutes clear - all the bike hours are finally paying off. The run was just about making sure I didn't’t do anything crazy and blow up. However, I was still feeling strong so I was pretty relaxed and managed a few high fives before crossing the line 2 and a half minutes clear - job done!

The past 2 weeks has also seen me taking part in a 10k in Ayr. It was a windy affair but I ran pretty well and managed to break away from the group I was on over the closing few kilometres to claim 3rd overall. A decent result and I`I am continually improving over the distance.So now its countdown time till I go to Spain for a training camp. It will be good to get away from the cold for a bit and get some long rides in underneath the sun.

David's Blog: December 2007

51 kilometres of running races. Its how I have spent my last 4 weekends. A race a week - 3 cross countries and a half marathon. The best result was the Ayrshire xc championships last weekend where I finished an impressive 3rd overall and won the under 20 category by nearly 2 minutes. Also I was part of the Irvine team who won the prize for best team - not bad for a days work. Its results and performances like that which makes Winters training all that more easier. Away from the race season I have also been on BBC Radio Scotland last Saturday morning as I was at the opening of a new sports venue in Stirling. The interview went reasonable well but what was only 2 minutes of talking felt like a lifetime - it even felt longer than the last 10 minutes of a 2 hour turbo session - enough said.

Training wise it's been a fortnight of change - with no high performance coach currently in placed at Stirling I have been forced to find myself another coach with the financial help of the Central Institute of Sport. Its good to have someone else writing a programme of training for me - something to follow which tells me what to do, when to do it and how to do it.

When things get tough the training plan motivates you to keep going.

On the agenda for next week is 22k in the pool, 12 -14 hours on the bike (a mixture of outside on the roads and inside on the turbo watching some films as I go - the films of choice will be Anchorman and Stalled Nights) and 6 - 7 hours of running. It will be a hard week but it's what allows me to keep on moving forward.

David's Blog: November 2007

What and why? Over the previous few weeks I have came to realising a key ingredient to having a successful Winters training. When the alarm goes off in the morning stay in your bed for a few extra minutes and ask yourself the following - What training am I doing today? And most importantly why am I doing it - what is my aim for the session. Once you have answered this its time to get up. For me this takes place generally at 5.20 in the morning but it applies to everyone. If you just go into a session without knowing why you are doing it then how can you achieve what you need and want to?

So on that note the last couple weeks of training I have aimed to make it SMART training. It saves doing `junk` training which has no real benefit to moving your performance forward. The training is going well with about 25-30 hours a week getting done which has included 3-4 key quality sessions where I push myself to the area known as `red-lining` which is when you get to the point that the lungs are bursting and the limbs are aching. Its cruelty to the body but its all about adapting your body to allow it go faster.

The last key session of the week was done yesterday morning- a bike/run session with the multiple woman's World Elite Duathlon Champion. Its always good to train with someone who has achieved so much in sport and it pushed me that little extra percent. The aim was to learn to run hard off the bike which meant following the World Champ round a 2.5k loop holding onto her tailcoats- she may be a female but one of the best runners in the sport (respect earned)! I held on….. but it was TOUGH! Into the next two weeks of SMART training it is and I have two running races coming up- Kilmarnock Cross Countries and Buchlyvie Half Marathon.

David's Blog: October 2007

The Ultimate Enemy - Illness! It all happened last weekend. I go to bed as normal on Friday night but wake up in the little hours of Saturday morning thinking "WOW – it’s like a Turkish sauna in here". The rest of the night was spent drinking water and trying to catch some shut eye but instead was spent watching BBC News 24 (it wasn’t fun). Day breaks and I stupidly feel like I should still go out for a run so I get the gear on, try and eat, then head out. Within minutes my body aches and before I get into any sort of a rhythm I am heading home, struggling to keep moving.

Round 1 goes to the flu and it was almost a complete knockout blow as I spent the rest of the day in bed scoffing flu pills for the life of me and deciding to take the rest of the weekend off. Round 2: My body ached all the way through Monday’s swim, bike and run sessions but they were all done slowly and reduced in time to allow me to fight back against my enemy. By Monday night I felt much better and ready to get back to business the next day. Round 3: In the water at 6 I am feeling ready for action. I get down to business thinking I had the illness on the run. However, in the last half hour, out of nowhere, I get sucker punched by it as I am reduced to slowly crawling up and down the pool following the blue line. The rest of the day I take it easy, this time making sure I am fully recovered.

So, fast forward almost a week and I'm on the start line at the Ayrshire Cross Country Relay Championships (4000 metres all out on Irvine moor). The race goes extremely well as I record the 4th fastest split of the day and bring my team in 2nd after the first leg. It really was a week of extremes. What have I learnt? Sometimes you really do need to listen to your body when it’s telling you to stop. However, when you’re feeling well that same body is capable of things you never knew.

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