AS preparation for Bolton Ironman on July 19, Joe and Andy Settle headed to Callella in Barcelona for the Barcelona half Ironman race on Sunday.

The race comprises of a 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike ride and 13.1 mile.

But before they left, they held a question and answer session on social media with some followers about the challenge that lies ahead.

Q What convinced you to do an IM 70.3 in the warm, beautiful sun kissed Mediterranean sea instead of something more local?

Whilst it seemed like a good idea at first I am actually wishing the swim was in a lake.

My Mallorca triathlon camp experience in the sea in March was awful due to the freezing cold and taste of sea water but hopefully the better temperature will help this time. Also the date of the event is perfect to prepare for the big race in Bolton on 19th July 2015 whilst we should be fit enough to complete Barcelona in a respectable time.

Q How will you descend the steep hills of Barcelona without falling off your bike ?

Thanks for reminding me of my accident in Mallorca which was caused by me being over confident and inexperienced trying to catch a Pro Cyclist whilst descending Sa Colobra.

I will learn from the crash when on the bike in Barca and take my time descending. See you next year Nick whereby I will tackle So Colobra.

Q What charity are you and Joe supporting ?

We have different charities, Joe is supporting PSPA (Progressive Supranuclear Palsy Association) as regretfully his grandfather pasted away over Christmas with this disease.

I am supporting Prostate Cancer UK due to my grandfather being affected by this disease before he past away in April 2013. We are both still short of your targets and would love to hit this target. Both our just giving pages can be found by searching our names on the Just Giving Website.

Q In your view, what are the top three key things for success (pies?)?

Hard-work, sacrifice and pies! Seriously the biggest ingredient for this event is having the ability to break the event down into small segments. I treat everything mile by mile on the run, 10 mile sections on the bike and 400m on the swim and set myself small targets for those segments.

Q Have you learnt anything about yourself on the journey so far? What are you planning to do to celebrate your achievement?

I have learnt so much about myself since the start of this journey. The primary thing is the importance of mind management and how amazing the body is at handling extreme circumstances. I have also learned how selfish I can be with practically everything other than my training being put as a secondary element of my life. I plan on celebrating my achievement by having a pint with my brother on the finish line and yourself looking back and laughing at the disasters I encountered during my 12 months training including, crashes on the bike, 5 punctures in one day and broken chains! I will then be flying to Malta to have a relaxing 10 days in the sun whilst no doubt planning my next journey!

n Andy and Joe will be back next week with a report on their highs and lows from Barcelona