Bella Bayliss's Blog

In 2 weeks time Team TBB Gran Canaria, (Dan, Stephen and myself) will race Ironman Lanzarote.
Ironman Lanzarote is one of my real favorites because hills/volcanoes, heat and wind test physical fitness and mental strength. No bike packs are formed, little advantage is given to anyone by drafting on the bike. I like this because fair results are the outcome.
This year, rookie Dan will race after his great race at Challenge Fuerteventura last month. It is great to see Dan improve. Last year he came to train with Stephen and I in Ibiza for a few weeks. He was quite new to the sport, had talent but not much experience for it, now with a good few races and great training under his belt he is really improving! Have a great race in Lanzarote Dan, …but dont beat Stephen again! ha ha!!!

Dan last year at Challenge Fuerteventura

Dan this year at Challenge Fuerteventura!

Stephen is ready for Ironman Lanzarote, his training is all there, he just needs to show it at one of these races coming up. I know he will perform at one of the races, we will just have to see if it will be Lanzarote or another race down the road!

Stephen getting some miles in on Lanzarote a few years ago.

I will also be racing. Hopefully Stephen and I will start healthy and fresh, unlike Challenge Fuertaventura where we were on our last legs as the gun went off.

We all hope to feel better for Ironman Lanzarote, ..not ill like in Fuerteventura!

Winning in Lanzarote in 2009

I love Lanzarote, I know the island well as we have spent a fair bit of time training there and two of my really special Ironman wins have been in Lanzarote so I am definitely looking forward to the 19th of May.
Unfortunately the prize money on offer is minamal, I dont know why but TeamTBB Gran Canaria will be doing our best anyway.

Charlie is not preparing for Ironman Lanzarote, he is keeping his eye in for golf competitions!

Ok, time to go ride up some mountains here in Gran Canaria so I am as ready as possible for the volcanoes in Lanzarote!

Yesterday I raced Challenge Fuertaventura. My first race back after having Charlie last year. The days leading up the the race I was excited but a bit nervous too. In the end my nervous-ness was overshadowed by whether I would get to the start line or not!
For the 3 days leading into the race Charlie was not well. He cried and needed alot of comforting through the 3 nights leading into the race. Then the afternoon before the race Stephen and I got to experience what Charlie was feeling, …a stingy sharp sore throat. Not nice. With Charlie still crying at midnight before the race, I really wondered whether I would be racing but I continued to go with the plan of racing.
Once the gun went off, the racing all came back to me. I swam well and biked well for 50km managing to hold the 2 minutes that Emma Kate Lidbury took out of me in the swim. After 60km of hard riding in the hills and wind my leg muscles reminded me that they are not as strong as they used to be, ..yet! So at 70km I had to back the pace right off to try to recover a bit for the run. I lost time here and girls past me. Erika Csomer rode into the distance and Lucy Gossage flew past me but I had to recover and do my thing and just let them go.
I ran the 21km, it was not impressive running, but I got to the finish line and it was so so good to be back with Charlie.

Charlie is improving now, thankgood ness. He had been a poor little thing. Stephen and I have sore throats and a cough but we will make sure we recover well.
It was really good to see Dan race so well! I saw him in 2nd on the out and back on the bike, and on the run he was still racing strong in 2nd! Some prize money much needed in Dans wallet!!

No photos for this blog at the moment

Yesterday Stephen and I had a break from the usual full-on day where one of us is always out training while the other is with Charlie, instead we had an easier day, altogether! That has’nt happened for a while. The 3 of us enjoyed doing things at a slower pace for once!
It was a good day for an easier day as it has rained for the first time in 5 months! ..not alot, it did’nt even water the plants properly, but it was a bit of rain.

but the rest day started after a little swim!!

we had time for coffee after the swim!

later in the day my mechanics came around to do some small adjustments on my new Cervelo P3!

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and my boys did some resting on their rest day!

today it is back to work! Me on my new Cervelo P3 with Campagnolo groupset and wheels, 3T bars. All feels so good and so fast!

In a weeks time it is Challenge Fuertaventura, my first race back after having Charlie. I am excited and nervous! Wish me luck!

Two weeks ago here in Gran Canaria summer arrived! Suddenly the day and night temperatures went up a few degrees. Although for Stephen and I it was already summer but the locals dissagreed, they would tell us it was winter and cold!
We do really appreciate the great weather here, it makes training very easy. Gran Canaria seems to be the place to come if you want warm and sunny every day!

My 2 smiley boys!

Charlie is not so interested in posing for the camera with me, he would prefer to eat my sunglasses!!

After a year of freshening up and having a baby I am ready to come back and win some races with TeamTBB!

I am going to put to the test, having a baby and “coming back”. I am not sure how much strength I have gained from having had a baby, but I do know that each day is like a strength session even without the training, because there is so much to looking after a little baby! All Mothers know what I am talking about!

We have just begun to offer Charlie some solid food!

it can be a messy business!!

Baby Charlie is now 6 months old, he is a happy lively little boy. The more he can see each day and the more jumping on Stephens and my laps, the better!
Stephens and my lives are of course a bit different to what they used to be. Now Charlie is Number 1 and we come 2nd. But we are so happy, Charlie makes us both very happy and would not want it any other way.
Each day is very busy! While one of us looks after Charlie the other is training, it works well and we can get all the training in we need but each day is a bit like a puzzle, ..it has to be sorted and planned the night before so that each day runs smoothly and efficiently.
The 3 of us are based in Gran Canaria right now, it feels like a 2nd home for us. We are very happy living and training here and Charlie loves it too.

Laura, one of the athletes I coach, Charlie and I before the start of the Gran Canaria half marathon.

My first race will be Challenge Fuertaventura. Last year I went to watch Stephen race. I was 28 weeks pregnant and I had a lovely pregnant tummy, I can remember our time at the race perfectly.

Playitas, Fuertaventura. Venue of Challenge Fuertaventura. 28 weeks pregnant and in my favorite pink dress that I wore for almost all my pregnancy!

I rented a mountain bike and watched as much of the race as possible. I remember the saddle on the bike was a “racing saddle” of some sort and I had a sore bum for days after!!!
Stephen and Dan both gave me a fun race to watch but this year I wont watch!
Granny and Grandad Bayliss will also be there to look after Charlie while Stephen and I “give it some” in the race!
I look forward to seeing many of you out there racing Challenge Fuertaventura on the 14th of April!
Bella

Stephen and I have just spent 3 and a half weeks in Ibiza, it flew by and now its time to move on.
We were very happy with our time in Ibiza, of course both of us winning the race at the beginning of our stay was perfect. Then staying on and training for ironman Cozumel has been faultless. The island of Ibiza had so much to offer us.
We stayed in an apartment on the edge of Ibiza town, (this is the biggest town on the island). Although it was the offseason for the tourists everything we needed was open. The clubs and pubs (which Ibiza is mainly known for were all closed, but Stephen and I did’nt mind too much about that as our training plan had not got much clubbing scheduled!!)
In Ibiza town there was a choice of 3 swimming pools and I think we rode on every road on the island. About 90% of the island is really quiet, beautiful and has perfect smooth roads for riding on.

We will definitly go back to Ibiza soon…

Ibiza continued its great consistancy of brilliant races for me yesterday as Stephen and I both won the Ibiza ITU long course world series race!
Winning is not easy and for us both to win on the same day is very difficult! However we have done it before! But not for about 2 years. As much as we can “dream” about both winning on the same day, actually doing it is very difficult.

At 5am we woke up to a tropical storm. Well, actually I knew it was doing this as it kept me awake most the night as it battered the hotel. I took a look outside and over transition, bikes were blown about, trees blowing sideways and rain washing everything out. …I quickly stepped back inside!
This continued all morning but the rain eased up about half way on the bike.
Its funny, the day before the race we were talking to the race directer and he told us it never rains in Ibiza!! …well yesterday made up for that!

The usual calm sea was rough. I was’nt really looking forward to getting in it! But Stephen said I would be fine! so I just got on with it.
During the first lap I thought they would’nt send us in for another lap, ..but they did, during the 2nd lap I thought they would’nt send us in for a 3rd lap, but they did! I did’nt envy the weaker swimmers yesterday.
I came out the water with a bit of a slow time, and 3 and a half minutes down on the first girl. The bike was windy and wet. The first corner we turned was into a strong headwind and up hill, but no problem, I just got on with it. My favouride part of my day was seeing Stephen leading the bike AND looking strong and looking like he was attacking the race!
The bike course was out and back and every time I saw him he looked better and better. THAT is the Stephen I want see. I know he can race like that. So that was my favorite part of my day, seeing Stephen on every lap in the lead!
After 10 km on the bike there was 20km of roller coaster roads. It was very slippy because of the wet weather, people were struggling to stay on their bikes. Unfortunatly I saw too many crashes yesterday. I wish every one who came off a speedy recovery.

I rode well and actually started the run with a good 30 minute plus gap over the next girl. For me that was nice since I am not running like I used too! I ran the best I could but it was’nt so fast especially towards the end. My legs are not springy like they were in years gone by! But I still came accross the finish line in first place. A double Bayliss win! Yeahhhh! That is what we love to do! If feels very special and we will enjoy our win here.
A huge thankYou to Emma for supporting us ALL day, and every day! You are the best.

Today I raced the TriStar222 race here in Sardinia! The race was a bit different to any thing I have done before, as it consisted of a 2km swim, 200km bike and a 20km run.
About 2 weeks ago I did’nt even know where Sardinia was! When I learnt there was a race here I did some investigating and found that Sardinia is an Italian island just off Italy and when I arrived I realized quickly that it is a very beautiful place.

TriStar are a fairly new triathlon organisation who are trying hard to develop a great new range of races. I was impressed with this race. I think they found a great place here at Connigione, Sardinia.

The sea was lovely, clean and warm, but wetsuit swim. The ride took us on a 1 loop 200km course around the top of Sardinia. I was really impressed with the great roads for cycling and very scenic too, ..not that I really had time to notice the view!
The run was a 4 lap course along the coast and into the small town of Connigione.
The field was small but a good few pros had entered.
I was first girl out the water! Team mate Diana Reisler was not far behind me, ..she has been training hard!!
After 20km Diana caught me on the bike, we rode fairly close by for about an hour. It felt like we were out on a training ride together! However she was very strong on the flat parts of the course and rode into the distance. I could not go with her.
I worked away with the ride best I could. At about 140 km I was caught by Karen Gerber. She was also riding strongly. I rememered that she was the girl that whizzed by me on the bike at Ironman UK in 2007, however she did not run far at that race and I beat her.
TOday I was able to stay close to her till the finish, and I was able to run a bit faster than her to take 2nd place. Diana also ran strongly and won comfortably. Well done Diana. You have obviously been training hard, ..it showed today.
THe race took me about 8 and half hours. So a good training day and a small pay check too.

I go home now and will prepare for another race. I am “home alone” this week while Stephen is racing in Hawaii. GO STEPHEN!!!!!!

About 6 weeks ago Coach and I sat down and thought about the second half of my race season. Since I was not having the best of years and experiencing a bit of an injury for the first time we decided to adjust my races a bit.
We decided to withdraw from Hawaii. I got a little of my money back from my entry, ..the rest went into the WTC “charity box”!

Coach suggested I race Ironman Wisconsin on Sept 12th. I got excited and got myself organised to race. I entered, ..I think I am race number 54!
Me being me, (too organised for my own good) I bought flights!
My friend Emma (who is also ultra organised like me) organised to come out to support me race!
If anyone ever needs 2 very hard working, very efficient and ultra organised girls to work for them, …you know where to come!
However, 10 days ago Coach and I realised that racing is still not the best option for me right now. So although I could leave tomorrow for Madison, I am not.

I may race again very soon, I just have to see how things are.

All the best Jocelyn and Brandon, who ARE racing Wisconsin this weekend!

Embrunman 2010.

Yesterday I raced Embrunman for the 5th time.
I knew the day ahead would be long and challenging, and it was!
We woke up to a calm and dry morning, pheww! As the day before had been a total washout. The race would have had another real challenge to it dealing with heavy rain and possibly snow at the top of the Col!

The girls started the day at 5.50am in the dark. This year with Teresa being there, she took off with the lead kayak which has the light on. And left me in the dark to navigate. Dam. I did try to stay with her but I lost her very quick with the combination of the dark and her speed.

I came out the water with Alexandra Loisson and Isabelle Ferrer. We then seemed to stay pretty close on the ride. Except Ferrer was very fast at decending so would leave me on the technical decents.
I worked away and tried to ignore that Tereza was taking chunks of time from me all the time. My race was most likly to go for second now.

I managed to start the run in 2nd with about 6 minutes in front of the others. But after 21km on the run Ferrer past me and at 35km Loison past me. I held onto 4th in ugly style! My legs were so done.
Well done to Teresa on a strong race! and well done to James on his strong performance too.
Well done to Stephen for his 5th place, Scott for 7th and Brandon on a hard day at Embrunman and his 13th place.

I will continue to work away and aim at going onwards and upwards!