6/30/2018 0 Comments The Stress of Exams in JuneJune has consisted of A level exams, with these exams being the priority in order to get me to university, my training did suffer massively, as I cut down completely. These exams were part of a very stressful period and I'm hoping to not have to repeat it. Despite cutting down my training drastically, I still decided to race at the Cardiff Triathlon. If I had been at full fitness I would have entered the Elite race which doubled up as the Senior Elite British Championships over sprint distance. However, unsure of form I decided to enter the Age Group race, and as a result try to qualify for the World Championships in Lausanne 2019. On what was a very hot day, my race started around mid day in the peak of the heat. I watched some of my friends race well in the elite race and then I was all ready for the race breifing and then a warm up. I was ready early in my wetsuit and was really feeling the heat, as my wetsuit was absorbing as much of it as possible. Soon enough we were called down to swim start and into the water for a warm up. I got going fairly well in the swim, knowing I would be one of the faster swimmers, however I did lose my rhythm on numerous occasions, due to the usual boxing match in the water. My swim was a bit slower than I had hoped for, but I know I veered off a little and need to work on my sighting a bit more. I came out of the water and immediately tripped on the pontoon. I then got up and started the long run into transition and had my wetsuit off straight away. I had good transitions and a good flying mount to get started on the bike. I was a bit wary of my biking ability, as I am a weak cyclist anyway and I hadn't trained on at at all over exams. I was still ready to give it my all. I got dropped from a couple of groups but worked well with a couple of other athletes to keep a high pace going. My practice in the super series races of numerous dead turns paid off as I was one of the more technically sound athletes. Surprisingly my cycle wasn't as bad as I had expected but I still need to see a big improvement on it now that exams are over. I got onto the run and immediately felt awful, the lack of training was really showing, the goal of the event was now just about finishing it. I was also feeling the effects of the heat and the awful blisters that had formed. Its safe to say when I crossed the finish line I was thrilled for that run to be over. Next up I am racing at Eton Dorney and Hetton Lyons in the Junior Super Series. I know I will not be able to get my fitness back immediately, but Im looking to be flying by the end of the season. I will take each race as it comes and as always give it my all. Thank you to all of my sponsors for all of the support over the season.
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5/30/2018 0 Comments Back to Back Races in MaySospan Llanelli Triathlon (Super Series) I started off May by competing in the first round of the British Triathlon Junior Super Series in Llanelli, Wales. This was my first time racing this event, as last year I was injured for it and the year prior to that I focused on my GCSE's which started the week later. I was apprehensive before this race, as I have had to cut down my training due to revision for my A Levels in June. Nevertheless I turned up and raced my very best in order to get points in the series. Despite cutting down the training my performance was even worse than I had expected because to be quite honest I had a bad day. Prior to the event we were unsure as to whether the race would be a Duathlon or the planned Triathlon due to low water/air temperature. I was hoping for a triathlon, and was very glad on the day when this was confirmed. However was very apprehensive, as I know I do struggle with cold temperatures and struggle to race in these conditions, but I am not the biggest fan of duathlons, so I knew a triathlon would be best. The swim started with a tough beach start. Straight away from the start I struggled to get going, there was a lot of the usual violence especially round the bouys. It was a two lap swim which involved climbing out of the water, running along the beach and then running back into the water to complete lap 2. My second lap of the swim was slightly better, as I gained a few places, however I was definitely back on where I should have been, as my swim had been going well recently. I had fairly smooth transitions and got out onto the bike. I was working well with another athlete before 2 others joined us. The course at Llanelli is extremely technical with numerous dead turns per lap. On one of the turns I clipped another athletes wheel as she turned for the corner. Luckily I managed to stay upright but had to unclip, and slow right down in order to not fall off, which meant I lost that group. The rest of the bike became an effort to not be lapped, this was very difficult, as I was completely on my own. I managed to complete the bike course and then headed out onto the run. For the first km of the run I did not feel great but managed to pick up the pace and overtake another athlete. This run gave me some confidence and a slight positive after having a shocking swim and disaster on the bike. I know that all races can't be great, so knew I could learn from this occasion. Nottingham Sprint Triathlon Next up was the Nottingham Sprint Triathlon a week later. We travelled up the night before and had a restful night sleep before getting ready the next day. This race was again sprint distance, but non drafting. This was the final qualification race for this summers, AG ETU European Triathlon Championships in Glasgow. I wanted to qualify for this race, so was hoping for a good race. Prior to the event I looked at the entry list and there were quite a few super series athletes racing, so it was nice to see some friendly faces, but I knew it would be tough competition. In comparison to Llanelli the conditions were completely different. It was a boiling hot day (Really should've worn suncream!). The organisers hadn't allowed much time in between racking in transition and race start so it meant I had a quick warm up and then I was straight into my wetsuit. I started off the swim on the front row in the deep water start as I knew wanted to be one of the athletes to the first bouy. I got going quickly and started swimming well, however my goggles were steaming up quite a lot and with my poor eyesight I was struggling to see the bouys, so continues to follow athletes around me. In the last 150m of the swim I managed to pick the pace up and overtake a few athletes in front. I had very smooth transitions and got out onto the bike. I knew there were some girls a lot stronger than me on the bike so I started to work hard straight away. It was a 4 lap course and I really enjoyed it. I managed to keep a strong pace throughout and went onto the run feeling good. I started the run at a very strong pace knowing I would feel better after the first km, when the jelly legs had worn off. I managed to pick up the pace throughout the 1 lap 5km run course and overtake some of the men that had flown passed me on the bike. One lady in a different age group came by me and I managed to stay with her, but she kept on motivating me and telling me to keep picking off the people in front which really helped, as I managed to run a big PB of 20:50 at the end of the triathlon. I was thrilled with this, as I had also managed to overtake some people in my age category. This run time was also around a minute an a half faster than the week before. It shows with more self belief I can improve my performance massively. Overall this race went very well, I am awaiting my official confirmation from British triathlon but my percentage from the winner means I have qualified for the European Championships this summer. It was very nice to finish like this before having a break from racing to focus on my A Level Exams in June. I will next be back racing at the Cardiff Triathlon at the end of June, in order to hopefully qualify for the 2019 ITU World Triathlon Championships in Lausanne, Switzerland. I am very excited for exams to be over, as I have a jam-packed summer full of racing, training, a holiday, training camp and then if all goes to plan getting ready for university.
Once again many thanks to my sponsors and my parents, who without their support, none of this would be possible. In the middle of April we drove up to Loughborough University for the British Triathlon Performance Assessment weekend. This weekend consisted of Workshops on sports psychology & injuries/robustness to name a few in the morning on the Saturday, before completing a pool based 800m Time trial in the afternoon. Sunday then consisted of the Bike/Run (continuous). I knew that I was capable of swimming around 10:20, so when I finished in 10:27 with very little prior experience in pacing the 800m, I was thrilled. This meant I was in an good position going into the Bike/Run on the Sunday. We were lined up on the start line in our swim time order and would sprint into T1 to start the rest of the triathlon. I was starting with 2 other athletes at exactly the same time so knew it was essential to get a good T1 and mount my bike quickly in order to be in a good position for the start of the bike and hopefully get into an effective group. I had an excellent T1 and my mount was very quick which meant I had caught up people up to 8 seconds ahead of me on the swim.
The biking ability was incredible this year with the leaders cycling over 2 minutes faster than the previous leaders from the year before (on exactly the same course and in similar conditions). I knew the bike was going to be tough as I still need to work on my cycling. I stayed in a group for 2 out of the 4 laps of the bike and then worked with another athlete for the rest of the 20km. I had to work very hard on this so knew the run was going to be tough. I had a good T2 and got out onto the run at good pace. the run consisted of 4x 1.25km laps. I worked hard on the run and managed to pick it up on the last lap overtaking 2 people. I know with a bit more training I will be able to hold the pace for the whole 5km and not drop off in the 3rd lap. Overall I finished in 36th place. I was happy with this from my current form. I need to work a lot on the bike and a bit more on the run to stay in contention with the leaders. However I did achieve goals of a swim PB, excellent transitions/mount and had a decent run, being able to pick up the pace in the last lap. I will next be racing in Llanelli in the 2nd round of the British Triathlon Junior Super series, which is also European Junior Championship Qualifiers. Giant 3DMA Bike Fit. Last week I managed to get a bike fit on the brand new 3D system at the Giant store in Bristol. I knew I needed my position on the bike changed so I could get a more aggressive, aerodynamic and efficient position, in order to further improve my cycling. Thanks to Paul Skinner at Giant as this fit was excellent and I am looking forward to using this aggressive position in races. Many thanks to Pedal Potential who funded the cost of this bike fit and without their support this would not have been possible. Thank you to my sponsors and support team; Pedal Potential, who without the funding my bike fit would not have been possible, and 5 Valleys Physiotherapy and Sports Injury Clinic who sort out all of my injuries and allow me to be race ready. Thanks also to Everyone Active/EA Sporting Champions. |