New Addition to Team Banks......

On Saturday we welcomed a new member of Team Banks into the fold....not precisely a Banks but part of the "clan". So without further a do we bring Emily Rose into Team Banks. Sarah's sister Helen gave birth in the wee hours of Saturday 27th December to a healthy 7lb 1oz baby girl....both mum and baby are doing well. We shall see how long Mum lasts though with the current onslaught from family flying in from across the World (Sarah flies out tonight and her parents flew in from Spain later in the day on the 27th....good timing eh!) Unfortunately I cannot go back to the UK with Sarah but she is on strict instructions to spoil her rotten!



I promise I will get back to some triathlon related posts soon :-)

The UK.....Report #1

We are back in the UK and after three days of cold, windy and wet weather (a typical English Summer!) we are off to sunnier climates to visit Sarah's parents in Spain. So far the days have been pretty hectic and even though it has only been three days we have seen so many people and caught up on the latest going's on in and around Southend-on-Sea. I've also managed to workout (certainly helped with the jetlag) and squeezed in a swim at my old school pool yesterday....definitely an experience that was, with no swim lanes and a general free-for-all in a 20m pool!

The best thing so far....getting the entire Team Banks together, including nieces (one of which we were seeing for the first time!)



Adios......

What's with all this Tapering!......

Since Friday its been taper time in the Banks household, even Sarah uses it as a good excuse to do less running! After all she needs to prep for the race as well, esp. with the Team Banks parents being in tow (What top is he wearing?, this is him...no it's not!, he should be through by now, perhaps he has had a puncture!)

So yesterday I was hoping for a nice leisurely club ride and perhaps just a few intense pick-ups to get the legs going.....well when I turned up I knew that a "leisurely" ride probably wouldn't be the order of the day! The group was strong and with no road races at the weekend, everyone was ready to hammer from the get-go!

It certainly was a fast ride and arriving back at home, the entirety of the ride including the warm-up (from home to the ride), club ride, and warm-down (from ride to home) was a season best and 6 minutes quicker than the fastest so far! Not bad for a ride just over 2 hours......Fortunately I felt good and the legs weren't blasted too much! You always know it's a good ride when you finish and someone shouts "Thanks for that, I almost threw up!"

Besides the ride yesterday, the taper has been going well, more time on my hands meant that the bike got a clean and I got another 1/2 an hour in bed this morning before heading down to the pool. Although in a freaky/stalker kind of way someone recognized me after wondering if I swam competitively, asking my name and stating that they knew my name from the triathlon race results.......[they do triathlons as well and will be at Eagleman this weekend!...see told you stalker alert :-)]

Just a quick update on the status of Team Banks....they are currently up in Gettysburg looking at the Civil War stuff and the grass at Chez Banks is getting long. I think they are shirking their responsibilities ;-(

Team Banks are in the Building......

After a long trip from England (including an unexpected night in Newark Airport), Team Banks has finally arrived in Bowie. Yep, my parents are in town for the next three weeks and will be able to serve as Team Banks sherpa's as I prepare for Eagleman in 10 days time.

So what does being a Team Banks sherpa entail for the next week or so :-)

Prior to race day.....

1) Keep on top of the grass cutting and other Iain related yard work.
2) Do plenty of shopping....(aren't the prices so much cheaper than the UK!).
3) Visit Gettysburg!
4) Relay various stories about the UK....such as $9 for a gallon of gas (and you think we have it bad!).
5) Watch a baseball game at the Bowie Baysox.
6) See what new donuts are available at Dunkin Donuts :-)
7) Try and convince me that I am too skinny and need to eat some donuts.....
8) Go running (Dad) and go to the gym (Mum) to work off the donuts eaten.
9) Escape the grey English weather and bask in the sunshine of Maryland!

In all seriousness it is great to have them here as it was way back at Thanksgiving that we last saw them! They love just being with us in America and enjoy spending our day-today lives with us (well mainly Sarah as I'm not sure they would enjoy coming to work with me or the triathlon training).

And besides we need to have here Dad to get the professional video of the race. Not that Sarah's isn't professional....(it's a big hole I'm digging myself into so I'll just stop!).

Team Banks pictures to come, if they allow me to post them.