7/31/2019 0 Comments Positive Start to JulyAfter Eton Dorney I headed back to Nottingham for a hard solid block of training to act as a 2 week training camp. I knew it was going to be tough but I was feeling positive after Eton. I started the week with some normal training but increasing my long run to an hour and a half. I did a few technical bike sessions and speed work to help me on the bike and normal swimming and then headed to coventry for a 3km track race on the Wednesday. I had not tapered for this and was not expecting anything good having raced a few days before and undergone normal training since. I was treating it as a training run trying to get some speed in. I had no idea how to pace it so was just having a go. I managed to hit 11:57, definitely not a fast time but all things considering I was happy, especially as the race was running over 1 hour late so we were all cold for the start.
After this race I got straight back into training, a main point of this training was to get a lot of miles in on the bike. This was important for me as cycling is a weak point for me. My body was coping well to start off with and reacting well, however towards the second week I was starting to really hit fatigue. All of the miles had really exhausted my legs. I headed back home for a few easy days then a couple of normal days before tapering for Hetton. Once home I had blocked sinuses for a few days which was quite bad causing alot of dizziness upon movement. I took it easy hoping it would pass. A few days later I started to feel really rough, we started the journey on the Thursday evening to Hetton where we were stopping in Leicestershire for the night to break up the journey. I woke up on Friday morning with a severe fever, swollen glands and feeling very rough. Luckily we were only about 35 minutes from my GP at Uni in Nottingham so I managed to get an emergency appointment that morning. I was told I had tonsillitis, and to rest up and drink plenty of fluids. I was gutted, I had completed the best block of training all year and worked really hard and put everything into it. I was in excellent shape but had to make the trip home. I spent the next week resting up feeling awful, I was struggling to keep food down, sleeping awfully at night but a lot during the day. I haven't felt that rough for a while and I'm still recovering now. Despite having finished antibiotics and feeling a lot better it has wiped me out a lot and meant I am struggling with training. At the moment I am just listening to my body and hoping I will get back to normal health and fitness as quickly as possible. Its been a frustrating season but it has taught me to listen to my body and to be resilient. Thank you for the support.
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6/29/2019 0 Comments June UpdateJune has been a very busy month with finishing University exams, finishing uni and racing twice. I raced in Leeds at the next round of the Junior Super Series. In no way was I in shape for this having had a lot of time off due to illness/injury/exams. I decided to give it a go so I could get race starts for the rest of the season and also hope I would cope over the shorter super sprint distance. We stayed overnight in Leeds before the race and woke up, had a good breakfast then headed to Roundhay Park. I was excited to be back racing as this was my 1st super series race of the season, however I was worried about my lack of form. I went into the race looking to do my best and get the most out of it. I had slightly poorer than usual swim which was expected and then got out onto the bike and straight up the hill. I was trying to work with another athlete but it wasn't really working and I ended up being dropped. Towards the end of the bike I was joined by 2 other athletes so worked with them for the rest of the bike. I got a good dismount ahead of them and headed out onto the run. I felt good at the start of the run and went out onto the hilly course giving it my all. Sadly I got stitch which meant I had to drop the pace slightly. Overall I am happy I finished, worked hard and enjoyed the race. It also really motivated me for the rest of the season. Bananman Triathlon- Eton Dorney
I headed into racing at Eton Dorney with some better swim fitness, some improvements on the bike and some consistency running. Again not at my best but looking to build on fitness from 3 weeks earlier. I headed into the swim, feeling a lot happier that the water was a lot warmer due to the warm weather. I got a good start on the swim but my group slightly veered off route at times, which added on a few seconds. I wasn't feeling particularly fast but exited the water about 5m off the back of a large 2nd group. I had a good transition and headed out onto the bike just behind the group. I couldn't quite get onto the group having been just off the back, so worked solo for 1 lap. Then I was joined by 1 other athlete and we worked well to catch 2 other athletes by the end of the 4th lap on the bike. My cycling still needs to be improved alot, but this was a big improvement. I didn't feel great on the 1st half of the 1st run lap with slight stomach cramps/stitch, however that disappeared and I managed to pick the pace up well. I had a decent run and I'm happy with my race overall. Ive seen progress since BUCS, and I'm now ready to work hard this summer before Hetton and Mallory in September. Thank you very much for all the support. 6/6/2019 0 Comments May Update- BUCSBUCS Sprint Triathlon was my only race in May and I was hoping for it to be a good one. Having struggled a lot with Asthma and being ill I eventually got back into training but picked up a minor knee injury as I managed to irritate my patella tendon. This has set me back quite a lot as it has meant I have had 2 months of very little and inconsistent training. Anyway having had all of these issues I knew I wanted to just go to BUCS and enjoy being back racing. Onto the race. I went home the night before as the race was only an hour and 20minutes away in South Wales. This meant I didn’t have a 4:30am start. I arrived and placed my kit in transition and then waited around before warming up. I did a good warm up and then went towards the start. I knew this was going to be a tough race as I am in awful form at the moment. I started the swim and got punched and wacked as usual and then got into a rhythm. It was good to be wearing my new Zone 3 Vanquish Wetsuit as this was so much more flexibility and comfortable than my previous wetsuit. The swim felt okay but not particularly brilliant then went onto the bike and went backwards. 5 Laps of the bike and up a steep hill. My lack of bike fitness meant it was a very poor bike fit from me but I did enjoy it. Got onto the run and was hoping to get going. I was happy with my run as I managed to get going. I had a decent run split considering my current fitness. Onto Leeds super series race on Saturday. Looking to just enjoy racing even though I’m not fully fit at the moment. Just getting back enjoying training and doing my best. Thanks for all the support. |