I did my first track season last year and absolutely loved it. The learning curve was steep and many mistakes were made but riding round in (very quick) circles with your best mates provides a euphoria like no other. It was only natural that we gave it another crack for 2019/2020. On the menu was the BUCS (British University and Collegiate Sport) Track Championships and National Track Championships. I would target team pursuit in both whilst also competing in the individual pursuit and points race. After many 7am Sunday track sessions and being perpetually stuck in Derby rush hour traffic post Wednesday afternoon track, the BUCS championships were upon us. 

The team pursuit is a 4km race from a standing start, each team composed of 4 men and the clock stops as the 3rd man crosses the line. Our line up, representing the University of Nottingham, was comprised of myself, Ollie Hucks, Michael Gill and Max Eagle. In qualifying we were a bit scrappy but still managed to record the fastest time which meant we were through to the gold medal ride off. The competition record for BUCS stood at 4:11 and that team included a current member of team GB, Charlie Tanfield. We knew we were in with a shot of breaking the record so we went out quick and managed to hold on, crossing the line in 4:08. Gold medal and new record in the bag. Winning is one thing but winning with your best mates is a feeling that is second to none.

I also raced the individual pursuit but with little specific training I wasn't sure how I would fair. Nevertheless, after qualifying 2nd I found myself in the gold medal ride off with team mate, Michael Gill. It was a close race and much to my surprise I crossed the line first in a time that qualified me for the national individual pursuit. So far, BUCS track was going exceptionally well and I had one event left: the points race. There was only one problem, I had never ridden a bunch race on the track before. In my mind, it couldn't have been that different from a road race... in circles... on one gear... with no brakes. With my extreme naivety I took to the start, 120 laps were put on the board and the gun went. My IP/TP instinct took over and I set off as though we were racing for 4k not the actual 40km! This unorthodox style seemed to work in my favour and before I knew it I was top of the leaderboard and on track for the win. I just had to survive the last 20 laps without being dropped which is easier said than done but I somehow managed it. 3 golds from 3 events, an extremely successful BUCS with the University of Nottingham men and women's teams winning overall.

National Track Championships

BUCS is a small event, and whilst our achievements were nothing to look down upon, they weren't quite the big leagues. Our nationals team pursuit quest was going to change that. Riding for the 'AeroLab WardWheelz' team, we wanted a national medal. What stood in our way I hear you ask? The GB academy, Professional track team 'Huub Wattbike' and the Wales racing academy. Our task was simple but extremely difficult, we either had to beat a nation or a professional, world renown team. Our team comprised of myself, Ollie Hucks, Michael Gill and team owner, Tom Ward. We knew we would have to ride around 4:00 for the 4k to be in with a chance so we found every gain we could including some incredible custom fitting skinsuits from impsport. Nationals was on January 26th which frustratingly coincides with our Uni exam period making the lead up extra stressful.  With our training done, gainz found and exams completed, we rocked up to the velodrome not knowing what to expect from the weekend. First up was the lesser important event of individual pursuit. I managed a PB ride of 4:21 for 4km giving me 6th place (the first non Huub-Wattbike rider), a result I was very pleased with. The IP felt very much like a warm up for the main event: the team pursuit. High on caffiene and sugar, we took to the start line for our qualifying run. Our roles in the team pursuit are so well practiced and drilled that we should be able to do it with our eyes closed. However, big events are different, nerves come into play and mistakes can be made so one must be ready for every eventuality. Fortunately for us, nothing untoward happened in our run yet we were rather scrappy and had a sub-optimal ride. We knew we could do better. We then watched the other teams qualify and 1 by 1, Huub, GB and Wales all went quicker than us. We came 4th in qaulifying which put us through to the bronze medal ride-off albeit on the back foot having been beaten by Wales in qauli. We rode a 4:08 and Wales a 4:05. Somehow we had to find 3 seconds in 2 hours so we put our heads together and tried to find a strategy that would enable this. Changing a plan last minute is never recommended, especially when you are travelling at 65kph but we had nothing to loose. With a brand new strategy and lap schedule we took to the start line, it was all or nothing. I don't remember a lot about the ride itself but I know the new plan did not go to plan and I found myself on the front with 4 laps to go having already completed my originally prescribed 2 turns. I, along with the other guys, was toast. So I dug in, put my head down and just sprinted. The guns are sounded as each team crosses the line so I was expecting to hear Wales' gun at any moment but as we drew nearer and nearer the finish line there was still no gunshot. Had the gun failed? Had they forgot to fire it? We crossed the line, our gun sounded and 1 second later Wales' was. I looked up at the board and to my disbelief we had ridden a 4:03, an astonishing 5 second improvement from our qualifying and we were Bronze medallist at the national championships sharing the podium with GB and Huub-Wattbike. What a day!

I had high ambitions for the back end of this season, targeting Victor Berlemont Nat B and the new, Bourne Cicle Classic Nat A. My body, on the other hand, had other ideas and I injured myself during a race in early July. In order to let it recover I couldn't ride my bike and as the weeks ticked by, it quickly became apparent I was no longer 'targeting' these races as much as I was trying to become healthy enough to ride them.

The week of Victor Berlemont came round (25th) and 4 days before the race I had my first pain free ride in a long time. Not wanting to do anything stupid, I just tried to build intensity and distance with each day before the race. I was apprehensive on race morning because I've never come into a race anywhere near as unprepared I was, having ridden only ~1hour/week for the past 6 weeks. To add insult to injury it was going to be an awfully hot day for bike racing ~ 33'C. The race itself is considered one of the hardest Nat Bs in the country, taking in 108 miles of a hilly circuit. Since it had been a while since I last raced/trained in the heat I was very naive when planning how many bottle I needed. I decided I would only need 2 bottles handed up to me and I devised a cunning plan and froze my bottles the night before to ensure I was drinking ice cold water during the race. Our helper (Sam Hucks) wasn't arriving till 2 hours into the race which we thought would be fine. The race began and all was well in the world, I was content to be back in a peloton, the sun was out and my injury wasn't causing any issues. Time began to tick by and the temperatures rose, before I knew it I had already drank both of my 750ml bottles and at this point we were only 1 hour in! The next hour my throat gradually became increasingly dry to point where breathing starting to hurt. fortunately, after 2 hours, Sam was there to hand us some bottles. My saviour! That was, until my cunning plan of freezing bottles unraveled and I went to take a drink but nothing came out....they were still frozen! It was another lap before I could get a normal bottle and by that point I was already on a downhill trajectory to getting dropped. Sure enough, a lap later at the top of the climb I was distanced from my group of 10 and that was game over. Half the field had already dropped out by this point so it was clear I wasn't the only one struggling. Whilst I was disappointed not to be able to race like I wanted, I was just happy to be back in the mix again and to be riding my bike.

This season has clearly not had the high ending I was planning but I have some exciting projects for this Winter on the track and some very exciting plans for next years road season so stayed tuned!

Racing ambitions have been somewhat curtailed this month due to an unfortunate injury that was picked up, ironically, during a race. Despite that I've still managed a TT , 2..ish road races and managed to gain my 1st Category license.

Earlier in July I did a spare of the moment evening 10mile TT on a course I had raced in April knowing it would be a useful indicator on my progress through the season thus far. In April I managed a 19:52 and in this TT I came home in 19:24 which I was very happy with as it shows things are going in the right direction.

Next up was a Regional A road race that was part of the East Mids RR league. I am currently leading the league which makes racing slightly harder being a 'marked' rider. I tried my best to split the field over the climbs and force some breaks but everything I tried was neutralised. Midway through the race I was sprinting up a little rise in the road and felt a twinge/sudden pain at the back of my knee. I eventually forgot about it with the all the adrenaline in my body and continued on. A group of 5 were eventually allowed to roll off the front on the penultimate lap and they quickly gained a 1.5 minute gap to the bunch. In the final 5 miles I jumped out the bunch solo and made an attempt to catch the break. I got to within 10 metres of the group of 5 but ran out of road so had to settle for 6th. Despite the slightly disappointing result, 6th was still enough to get the final few points I needed for my 1st Cat license. 

The knee niggle from the race continued to plague me when riding so I took a couple days off the bike before my next race, the Didcot Phoenix Nat B. This was a 90 mile race in which I had company of friends/teammates Ollie and Gill. We started the race with the idea of riding conservatively, knowing it was a long race and I was carrying a niggle. Despite this plan, Ollie was in almost every single move from the start and somehow, just 15 miles into the race I found myself trying to bridge solo to a 2 man break up the road. I guess our 'conservative' racing needs serious work. Regardless, I reached the small break and we started to work well but the gap to the bunch was staying around 30 seconds. 20 minutes later I look behind and see Ollie and Gill bridging over so our 3 man break now became 5. We worked well together but  50 miles into the race and our lead on the bunch was still small. The impetus from our break was beginning to fade as my bad knee began to hurt and to our amusement another rider had his own knee swell up after being stung by a bee. at mile 60 the bunch had a flurry of attacks and a large injection of pace which led to the demise of our breakaway attempts with 25 miles of the original 90 still to race. As soon as we were caught the race was stopped for a couple of minutes due to an incident with a horse and I decided to pull the plug as I had spent a lot of my energy and my knee was not feeling great. It was still a very fun race but I think we should stick to our plan next time rather than get caught up doing attacks with 90 miles still to race.

I have some big races planned for late August/ early September so I plan to get my body fixed as soon as possible, get some good training in and then hopefully try and do something special.

This month's training has been put on the back-burner as I take my University exams and as a result my race form has suffered slightly. Due to being slightly fresher I've still been able to place well in shorter, more punchy, races but I've been lacking the depth needed to contest the win in bigger races such as Nat B's.

So far, I've raced 3 Regional A races and 1 National B (Thames Velo RR). In the Regional A races I have come 2nd, 5th and another 2nd. It's frustrating that a win has still eluded me thus far this season but I'm hopeful that can be changed in the near future!

Thames Velo Road Race

The Thames Velo RR was on the 12th May and it is, in effect, my 'local' Nat B. It's on a fast rolling circuit which I know extremely well so I was looking forward to smashing it round for 3 hours. In the morning I wasn't feeling great, having raced the day before and having been ill the week prior I wasn't too hopeful of my racing prospects. Despite this, the sun was out and I was on my bike so I was ready for a fun day. From the gun the pace was extremely high causing the bunch to string out and little splits to occur. After just 10 mins of racing a group of 8 had managed to gain a small 20 second gap on the bunch. Sometimes when racing you just 'know' when a move is going to stick and I had that feeling in this instant. Even though the pace was high, I attacked the bunch and bridged solo over to the break. It was an extremely hard effort which took a lot out of me but I was pleased I committed and went with my gut. We quickly pulled out a margin of over 2 minutes and it was evident the winner was going to come from our group. 65 miles in I began to suffer a little but knew we only had 15 miles to go. However, cohesion in our group started to fade as some people were not pulling turns leading to the inevitable attacks to begin. It was at this point where my lack of form showed as my legs didn't have anything to give. I followed a few initial attacks which thinned out our group slightly but after a few hard efforts my legs were toast and another attack from a NoPinz rider was the nail in my coffin. I was inevitably swallowed up by the bunch on the last lap and came home 24th. So close to a good result yet so far. A good learning experience though as it shows I can do the hard bit of the race but I just need to improve in back end to finish the thing off.

I'm optimistic that with a good training block under my belt I can really achieve some solid results in road races so I am eagerly looking forward to the summer.

I've had a very busy race schedule the last month taking in 1 foreign national, 3 National B road races, 1 Regional A road race, 3 time trials and 1 crit. It started very well with a 5th place at Coalville wheelers Nat B and some good time trial results. A spell of illness then hampered any notable results and my focus shifted towards the biggest race of my cycling career to date: Rutland-Melton CiCle Classic.

CiCle Classic

The CiCle Classic is a UCI 1.2 race meaning the majority of the 180 man field were professional with teams coming from USA, Netherlands, France, Germany, Spain and Latvia, along with the large English contingent.
The race is unique in the British racing scene. It is 125 miles long and punctuated by many off road sectors. These sectors vary in difficulty from light gravel roads to something you would only want to take a monster truck over..... or at least it felt that way!
Since it is a team only event, I was fortunate enough to be able to guest ride for Bryan Steel Academy, an opportunity I am very thankful for!

This was my first experience racing on closed roads in such a competitive field and from the off it was evident how different this is to what I have experienced before. In normal British road racing, moving to the front of the bunch is simply a matter of nipping round the outside and slotting back in towards the pointy end. Once there, it is easy to maintain your position. The CiCle was a whole different ball game; I spent the first 2.5 hours of the race trying to move up the peloton to avoid crashes and the concertina effect felt at every road narrowing (of which there were many). When I finally reached the front of the peloton it didn't last long and 2 minutes later I had been swamped finding myself back where I started mid pack. It goes without saying that this aspect of my racing needs practice!

Anyway, the race itself was great fun, flying along narrow lanes with barely enough room for 3 a breast made it a very exciting ordeal and half the time I found myself riding on the grass verge! I was comfortably in the leading bunch coming into the 2nd passing of the Somerberg sector at mile 100 and then my luck ran out. I punctured and a slow wheel change meant the bunch was already half a mile up the road. There were quite a few other riders who had been dropped or had punctures themselves so we formed a mini grupetto and rolled round the final hour together. I crossed the line in 66th. Not a result to write home about but it was a great learning experience and I'm proud to have finished. It gives me an idea of what I need to do in order to be competitive in these larger races and hopefully, come next year, that will be the case!

The crowds were amazing and the support they offered made for a great atmosphere around the whole event. I will certainly be back next year to try and conquer the 'hell of the East Mids'.

In the next month I have my University exams so racing will take a back foot for a couple of weeks giving me time to refocus and hopefully put together some good training to attack the summer season.

The weather is beginning to change and the road season is officially underway. I've already raced a few TTs, Crits and road races with some decent results. First up the TTs:

Shef Rec 2up
myself and Ollie Hucks travelled to Sheffield to take in the 25 mile flat parcours on a very windy day (50mph gusts). Being small and light these conditions aren't really our 'specialty' but we gave it a crack and came 2nd by just 25 seconds.

BUCS TTT
The next TT was the University Championship 3up team time trial. Being near Bath, this was a fair trek, so we travelled down the day before and did a course recon in the afternoon. The roads were predominantly lanes used for agriculture so they were in very poor condition. I even had a chainring bolt rattle loose and fall out whilst doing the recon, a sense of foreboding perhaps? We had a very strong team with different individual strengths so we were well prepared for the 22 mile course. We started fast and were working very well together, we knew the time checks for different points on the course and so knew we were well up on the course record. Everything was going smoothly and with 4 miles to go we were 1 minute up on the record. Then, the ever recognizable hiss that no cyclist wants to hear came from my back wheel. Puncture! Knowing we had ridden very quickly to that point I decided to carry on riding the punctured wheel, something I now regret after 4 miles on hole ridden tarmac on carbon rims ends up expensive! We still managed 4th place but knew we could have had the win. A disappointing result to say the least.

EMRRL 2/3/4
The first round of the East Midlands road race league was the day after BUCS TTT so I wasn't sure how my legs were going to feel. The race was 57 miles and took in 7 laps of a draggy but overall relatively flat circuit. On the first lap a break of 2 managed to sneak up the road and get 20 seconds on the bunch. On the second lap I, thanks to the help of some friends, was able to roll off the front and bridge to the 2 men up the road. We were working well as a 3 and were able to open a gap of just over 1 minute on the bunch but I could tell the other guys were starting to struggle. By mile 25 both of my breakaway companions had been dropped leaving me solo but with a good gap of 1.5 mins to the bunch. Not being one to shy away from a challenge, I settled in for the 32mile TT that stood between myself and the win. I was holding the gap well for the first 20 miles but with 12 miles to go I began to suffer, my position was deteriorating and my power dropping. Shortly after, a moto then came by my side and told me I only had a 30 second gap. What I wasn't sure of is whether this was to a break or to the bunch. To my delight, on a straight road with 10 miles to go, I looked behind and could see 2 riders in hot pursuit. I instantly backed off as I knew I would be caught by them regardless. Once we were together we worked the remaining 8 miles to the finish and I ended up 2nd in the sprint. I was absolutely spent but happy with the result.

I'm very happy with my form at the moment but it is easy to get carried away and want to race everyday so I'm having to remind myself that  we still have another 6 months of the season i.e the whole season left.
The focus for the next month is on Nat B road races, the fields for which are extremely strong making for some very hard racing but hopefully having more experienced riders around me will raise my game. Come back to the blog in 4 weeks time to find out if I get spat.

Winter. Winter is normally the time most athletes hunker down and put in some hard work before the upcoming season. For me, as a triathlete, it used to be the hardest part of the year, training alone and often in the dark, with next season's races feeling like a lifetime away. This year was different. With a new direction and new focus as a cyclist, I had so much to try and so much to work on. I can say, with 100% certainty, that these past 4 months have been my most enjoyable as an athlete. Read on for why....

BUCS HILL CLIMB

The University Hill Climb Championships were held on Mam Tor in the Peak District. It's around a 7 minute climb so it suited me rather well. Despite this being my first 'official' hill climb, I had, of course, ridden many climbs full gas in the past. Hill climbs aren't particularly interesting, you ride a hill as hard as you can. However, what makes them special, or at least this one special, is the atmosphere on the climb. All the students who have already ridden their race position themselves on the climb and cheer everyone on. Whilst it doesn't make the climb any easier, it does lead to some good pictures.

I had a good ride and finished 6th out of ~200. The event was great fun and I left thinking about how to go quicker next year. This amounted to looking at lighter bikes, lighter wheels and lighter saddles until I checked my bank account, remembered I was a student, and was left with the saddening conclusion that I would have to train harder.

CYCLOCROSS

I thought it would be a great idea to ride a few cross races to help improve my bike handling. I was also very naive as I thought I'd be able to do quite well in them since they often include a bit of running. Anyhow, I acquired a cross bike and entered a few of the local league races. Sparing you the details of each race, I took out my fair share of barriers and course tape, crashed multiple times, buckled my wheel and 'rode' half a race with a rear wheel essentially seized by mud. It was good laugh and I approached it as more like riding round a park with friends than racing. I'll definitely be doing next years cross season.... although I do hope to be a bit more competitive than this year.

TRACK
Track is what most of my Winter has been revolving around. I was roped into it by Ollie in early October and after a few sessions of acclimatizing I was hooked. We had one goal to begin with: BUCS track champs team pursuit. We first had to establish the team of 4 that were going to be riding. After a couple of weeks our coach (Bryan Steel) had decided it was going to be Michael, Ollie, Joe and myself.
Team pursuiting on the surface is simple, 4km, 4 riders and the time is taken on the 3rd rider to cross the line. But beneath the surface there are so many aspects that go into a fast time. Aside from equipment, the logistics of the best way to utilize 4 men is the biggest area for improvement. This involves figuring out the length of turn on the front each rider should do. There are thousands of different iterations you could have, making a pursuit of the perfect order which engrossed us all. Every time we went to the track we were excited to try a new plan we had devised the previous day. Most would fail, but occasionally something would work and we would have a 'breakthrough'. We would all be thrilled until we were reminded us that this 'breakthrough' was probably worth less than half a second. Regardless, we had great fun as a team having a common goal to work towards. We trained hard and fortunately got the result we wanted. At BUCS we were able to qualify fastest with a 3:10 3k and we were up against Derby in the final. We ended up catching Derby which meant we won the Gold! We were on for a 4k time of 4:11 when the catch was made. A week after the event we began discussing what we wanted to do with track for the remainder of the season. We knew we had a good team and we were doing competitive times so we decided to enter Nationals under Nottingham University. Nationals was more of an afterthought than a long term target and our training and preparation reflected that given we already had other commitments e.g. exams, work e.t.c. Despite this, in training we had knocked out some decent times and we were expecting to be competitive, aiming for a time of ~4:11. Unfortunately this did not materialize on the day. We had 2 bad rides as a team and we were way off the pace. Whilst we were all gutted we knew it just had to be used for fuel for the fire next year. Nationals was a great experience nonetheless and I will look back on my first track season very fondly.

PERFS PEDAL RR

Perfs is a National B road race in Portsmouth with a rich history and some notable past winners including Sean Yates and Alex Dowsett. The race is 46miles and is raced on a circuit that has everything to test a rider: climbing, exposed crosswinds and technical sections. In true February fashion it had rained all last night and continued to rain throughout the race which led to some very sketchy riding.
​
Kick off was at 11am and the pace was high from the start. Every rider in the 85-man field wanted to show their Winter form which further increased the twitchiness in the Peloton! My focus for the first few miles was to stay upright and remain at the pointy end of the race. Fortunately, the race began to string out after the first climb and the following long exposed drag on top of Portsdown hill came as the first test and began the whittling down of the field. On the 2nd lap of 5 a split lead to a break of 5 getting away. Since 2 Canyon riders were in this move, the rest of the Canyon team were neutralising all moves and then trying to break away themselves. I chased down a fair few attacks and tried many times to get away myself but few people were willing to work. On the penultimate lap we took a tight hairpin and 5 riders, myself included, attacked out of the corner and pressed on down the descent that followed, establishing a gap to the bunch. We all worked well as group apart from the Canyon rider who sat on as his team had 2 riders up the road. The miles quickly ticked down and before I knew it, we were on the finishing circuit. Due to my lack of experience I found myself on the front for the last 2km and I couldn’t make anyone come through. We all left the sprint till quite late and I managed to hold onto 4th in the group giving me 9th overall. A result I am very happy with and it gives a good starting point for the road season ahead. A big thank you goes out to everyone involved in putting on the event, It was superbly organised!

I also managed to fit in my first time trial (boxing day 10.5) and a week escape to Calpe for a short Aerobic block of training but I'll spare the details.

I've worked hard and improved my cycling significantly this winter I'm exiting it with a very fresh mindset which is something I haven't before achieved as I normally feel somewhat drained after a winter's training. This year has taught me a lot in this regard, especially about trying new things when you have the opportunity. It helps keep things interesting and exciting and therefore the hard yards feel 'less' hard when you know it is something you want to be doing. And right now, riding my bike is all I want to be doing.

Before I outline my thoughts on my 2018 season, I'll give a quick racing update since my last blog. I've raced my first 'proper' race, a Nat B in Sheffield, and a local crit race to round off my road racing for the year. 

Sheffield B38/underpin road race E/1/2/3

I didn't know what to expect in this race. I had had 10 days off the bike with illness, loosing 3kg in process (put back on before the race) and the parcour was challenging, to say the least. It was comforting to have teammates in the form of Ollie Hucks and Tim Jones also taking on the days 65 miles and 7500ft of climbing. I was very active in the first 45 minutes, following moves and staying at the pointy end. This was was quite naive of me and displayed my inexperience as I had never raced for 3 hours before. Regardless, a break of 7 was established and I wasn't in it. The bunch continued chasing and the gap to the break wasn't growing until the 2 hour mark when the remaining impetus in the bunch fizzled out. Our paced slowed and riders started attacking in ones and twos. Unfortunately I wasn't able to make it into any of these moves. I was still in the, now significantly depleted, bunch and we came to the final hill in the race on top of which lay the finish line. I, again showing my inexperience, went early from the bunch. The 15 previous times up the climb suddenly manifested themselves, seizing my legs and I came to a grinding halt. 4 guys then breezed passed me, leaving me just outside the points in 22nd. A result I am proud of off somewhat limited training.

​Harvey Hadden crit 3/4

I was 1 point away from 2nd cat and this race was to be my last race of the season to pick up that final point allowing me to enter some higher standard races next year. The crit is our local University circuit so I knew it well and there was plenty of support which is always welcome. I attacked with another rider from the start and we quickly opened a 10 second gap in the first lap. The other rider then dropped off on lap 2 leaving me on my own with a small lead on the bunch. Not being one to give up, I quickly set about increasing my lead and trying not to think about the hour of racing I had left. For 25 minutes my gap to the bunch remained at 30 seconds. Undeterred, I put head down and focused on time trialing my way to the finish. Fortunately the bunch stopped chasing, allowing me to take some more time and I had a near 2 minute lead 40 minutes in. I then knew, barring any incident, I could take the win. I pushed on and managed to catch the back of the bunch at 45 minutes, as a consequence, last lap is called, so I rolled off the front to get that all important finishing photo (which is sadly yet to be released)

2018 Season: my thoughts

​This year has been the hardest year yet. Not Physically, but mentally. I am a triathlete and I haven't done a triathlon for over a year now. Recurrent injuries have prohibited me from proper run training/racing for 8 months, thus leaving swim/bike training feeling shallow and pointless since I had no goals to aim for. There is no other way to say it; It has been a struggle. I did some light hearted cycle road racing in may and June, without a racing license, and loved it. It gave me renewed motivation and I realized I wasn't that bad. Through June and July I took a mid season break to gain some perspective. I went to Australia to visit my sister and we road tripped down the East coast. On my return I thought I'd give a bit road racing a proper go for the last few months of the season, so I bought my racing license, entered a few races and I haven't looked back. I've had the most enjoyable racing I've ever had in my sporting endeavors but the niggling thought remained in my mind that I was, technically, still a triathlete. JUST LOOK AT THE NAME OF MY BLOG!! But I have to follow what feels 'right' and I will now be a 'cyclist' for the foreseeable future. Saying this feels like a weight off my shoulders and I am seriously excited about 2019 season and beyond.

I want to thank everyone who has helped me in my Triathlon exploits to date. Specifically my coach since day 1, Perry Agass, who has guided me and taught me so many valuable lessons on our near 4 year journey. Perry, thank you.
ETE, who have supported me greatly over the last 2 years- if you ever want to give a sports camp a go, hit them up!
​Finally, Pedal Potential, who have provided me with unwavering support since 2015. I am extremely thankful for your belief in me!

I'm very much looking forward to the future. Here's to 2019 🍻.

I write this from a lovely rustic cottage in a small Yorkshire village called Haworth. Unfortunately, my bike's derailleur hanger broke at the end of yesterday's ride so if I can't cycle, I might as well write about cycling!
A lot has happened in my sporting world since the last update. I've raced 2 road races, 3 crits and have been on a family holiday turned training camp with ollie hucks. It's been a good month.
I'll be detailing 2 of the races here: Oxonian CC ORRL on 29th July and HHCC Bovingdon Bomber crit on 1st August.

Oxonian CC ORRL 3/4

It was a miserable day, persistent rain and a very strong gusting wind, but the conditions are the conditions and all competitors have the same to deal with over the race's 56 miles. High Wycombe CC had a strong contingent out so from the off we knew it was going to be good fun. Despite the rain, of course. Our warm up consisted of a 50 metre cycle from the comfort of the village hall to the start line. Admittedly not the most comprehensive warm up but perhaps the smartest given we had forgot to bring rollers/turbo. The race started promptly and the first 30 miles were relatively uneventful. Halfway round the 3rd lap of 4; I attacked up the climb and push the descent extremely hard. I managed to open up a gap on the peloton of 10 seconds by the time we were back on flat ground. Knowing this was an all or nothing effort I went to work on time trialing my way to the finish which was in 20 miles time. I was feeling reasonably good and I managed to open the gap to 49 seconds quite quickly. However, I then turned a 90 degree corner and was presented with a strong headwind for 4/5 miles.

Despite being on my own with no shelter, I managed to maintain my buffer to the, now substantially depleted, group. I didn't ease up but once on the home straight with a powerful tailwind I knew I wasn't going to be caught. It was a great feeling coming across the line on my own and taking the win. This feeling was compounded when my teammates came across in 3rd, 5th, and 12th. A good day out for the club all round.

HHCC Bovingdon Bomber 3/4

This is a local Criterium race round an old airfield. The circuit is a short 1km with a very tight hairpin coming after a little rise. After 20 minutes of racing myself and another rider managed to escape off the front and opened a reasonable gap. We worked well together for the rest of the race continuing to increase our margin. We agreed early on to work together till the final lap which we began with  ~1 minute lead. I was on my breakaway companion's wheel and I stayed there until 300m before the line when I unleashed my sprint, came around him and took the win.

Having bought my racing license just 6 weeks ago I'm now 1 point off 2nd cat. Hopefully I can find this annoying point and get my teeth stuck into a National B race before the year is up.... wish me luck!

​I've recently returned from Australia where I was visiting my sister. We embarked on an East coast road trip from Cairns to Sydney and it became evident rather quickly that fitting in training was going to be a struggle. I 'exercised' where I could but I have effectively taken something that resembles a mid-season break. Whilst fitness was lost, Motivation and drive was gained so I was longing to restart training when I arrived back in the UK. So much so that I touched down in London at 5:10am and by 6:45am I was heading out for a run. I've now completed around 2 weeks full training and I'm not too far from where my fitness was prior to down under. This has been proven by a few little bike races and I finally purchased a proper race license so it will be interesting to see how far I progress by the year's end. 
Here's a brief synopsis of these little bike races:

Milton Keynes Bowl cat 3/4

I entered this for a bit of fun and it did not disappoint. Being my 4th time on a bike in 3 weeks, expectations were running low, but Sam Hucks was joining me for the smash-fest that was inevitable. Wanting to use it as training session, I had planned to be as active as possible. This was going well, until, in my peripheral vision, I saw 3 riders going off the front. I waited for someone else to respond and no one batted an eye lid. 10 seconds passed. Still nothing. I consequently attacked and gave chase to the 3 riders. I caught them quickly and we had a 15 second gap. Prior to the race I hadn't taken note of the colour of our race number. So I thought I was in a 4 man break from my race. That was until they began shouting at me, when I realized I had in fact bridged to a breakaway from the E/1/2 race running concurrently with mine. Feeling like a muppett with my tail between my legs I was then quickly caught by the actual riders in our race. After a few more attacks we were soon on the final lap. 1 guy was away and clear so we were sprinting for 2nd. I was well positioned until the final corner which I took too wide and lost a lot of speed. I was soon swamped by those behind me and ended up10th over the line. Still, a fun race with some takeaway points and not too bad given the recent time off.

​Hillingdon 4th Cat

Again, this is just another midweek criterium. I was slightly better prepared for this race with a few more days training than the previous crit. My plan was to race tactically and cross the line first as I'd finally purchased a race license so a win would promote me out of chopper category. By the second lap, however, tactics and race craft went out the window, replaced by maximum enjoyment in the form of attacking at every opportunity. After 30 mins this quickly became tiring so I sat in the wheels and waiting for the 3 lap to go board. When 3 laps to go was announced, the pace was lifted and, as expected, everyone  tried to move up. I was left around 10th wheel with 2.5 laps to go, I thought it was now or never and launched an attack down the outside, opened a small gap on the bunch and began a 2 mile TT effort. Much to my surprise I was able to extend this gap and even had time for a celebration at the line. Whilst a Hillingdon 4th Cat Crit isn't quite as prestigious as the Tour de France, I'm still chuffed with a win. Plus, Geraint Thomas was a 4th Cat once.....

Many of you who haven't read my previous blogs this year may be wondering 'Seb's TRI Life has turned into Seb's bike life... what's happened?'  A one word answer is all that's required: Injuries. So whilst I can't run competitively at the moment I might aswell do something competitive. That something takes the form of bike racing.

📷: ​https://www.facebook.com/FrankieSnellPhotography/

Since my last blog I've finished my Uni exams and found time for a couple more bike races. As I'm just 'playing' at some road races I'm yet to purchase a full cycling race license meaning I cannot accrue points so the standard of competition remains the same. As a result, it's easier for me to place highly in races..... (I'm not complaining). 

First up was the Nick Clark and Ginger Smallwood Road Race on the 3rd June. The route was mostly flat with a kicker up to the finish line and we were to take in 9 laps of this 4.2 mile circuit. As I'm doing these races purely for fun I decided from the start I would be as aggressive as possible. I consequently found myself off the front for the first 15 minutes before being reeled back in by a fresh peloton. Attacks were being made all the time and I followed almost all of them but nothing stuck until ~50minutes in when a solo rider made and maintained a gap of 15 seconds to the bunch. 3 riders, myself included, attempted to bridge the gap to the rider out front but we were determined not too bring the bunch with us. We were quickly caught and then myself and another rider countered were able to bring the gap quickly.  With the peloton still giving chase the 3 of us worked well together averaging ~28 mph and we managed to establish a decent gap. We took this gap right to finish where I found myself on the front with 400m to go. The road surface on the finishing kicker was extremely poor, hence leading out the sprint may have been advantageous as I'm able to choose the best line. Despite this, I was pipped to line in the final few metres but still very happy to take second in a well respected race. Later I found out there was a very bad crash in the bunch which our breakaway likely benefited from, sadly it comes with the territory of racing but I hope the riders involved heal quickly. 2nd place won me £60 making the day even better until I got back to my car.....As I went to leave I couldn't find my car key. To cut a long story short, 3 hours later my car was on a recovery trailer with me in the passenger seat still clueless as to where my key could have gone. A mistake I dearly hope not to make again.

The next race was a small, 1 hour long, midweek Criterium at the Milton Keynes bowl. I was Joined by Sam Hucks, HWCC. Our race plan, which we carefully and meticulously crafted on the drive over to the bowl went something like this: attack as hard as we can from the gun and hope to finish ahead of the others. It started extremely well, I initiated the attack, sprinting over the slight rise on the circuit with sam following on my wheel. A third rider bridged across quickly and I stayed on the front to try to force a gap to open to the bunch. Within 15 minutes with had a 20 second gap. Sam was struggling on the night and dropped off the pace but was replaced by another rider who had managed to bridge on his own. The 3 of us then worked together and very quickly gained a large lead on the bunch. by 35 mins we had lapped the bunch and so we sat in the wheels to cruise round till the sprint which would be confusing as 3 of us were a lap ahead. Sam attacked the bunch on the bell lap looking to try and salvage 4th place, I followed hoping to secure the win. Sam opened us up a 3 second gap but I then found myself on the front with 600m to go. Not wanting to wait for the bunch and have to accelerate again, I decided to go for a long sprint. I just about held everyone off and was able to get my hands in the air for my first win. Happy days.

I'm now going to Australia to visit my sister who is on a work placement so racing over the next 3 weeks will be limited. Nevertheless I hope to make up for it once I'm back! 

If you've followed my previous blogs you'll be aware that I've struggled with some running injuries lately. Unfortunately this means I can't race a Triathlon until I'm all fixed up. So, not being one to put hard work and good fitness to waste, I entered a couple of bike races.
Having always loved cycling, and being a relatively strong cyclist compared to other Triathletes, this seemed like the logical thing to do. Providing you don't crash, they're a great way to have some fun and get some decent training in at the same time.

The first race I did was a local Category 3/4 road race league. Due to my lack of experience road racing, Ollie, a fellow High Wycombe CC club mate, was to be my domestique/helper/coach/adviser. The race was 35 miles round a flat loop that was ~15 mile cycle from Uni and was scheduled to start at 7:00PM. Having been optimistic with our timings, we were forced to race to get to sign on in time, so Ollie sat on the front and motored us to race HQ, arriving just in time. I felt surprisingly comfortable and relaxed during the race, staying at the front chasing breaks and making breaks whenever an opportunity arose. Unfortunately nothing stuck and it was inevitably going to end in a bunch sprint. I found myself on the front with 500m to go which was not ideal, I bided my time waiting for someone to open their sprint so I could follow their wheel. At about 250m to go, someone opened  the taps and I latched onto their wheel, once I'd gathered enough speed I went to overtake but unfortunately the line came 10 metres to early. Still, 2nd place is not too shabby at my first attempt.

The next race on the calendar was Banbury Star Road Race, part of the central road race league. This race was longer, more competitive and a more challenging parcours. It took in 3 laps of a 15 mile circuit, each time with an ascent of edge hill, a punchy climb, with pitches nearing 20%. Ollie and Sam were also racing so it was set to be a fun day. We knew the race would go to pieces on the climb, especially with the added incentive of a King of the Mountains prize and hence we ensured we were well positioned at the foot of the hill. On the first ascent, a break of 6 escaped, including Ollie and I, but we were reeled back in as fresh legs still existed in the main bunch. The next lap and next ascent was an identical story, the same 6 got away over the top of the climb and we were slowly brought back in by a chasing peloton. Once on the final lap, I didn't want to miss a race winning break so I stayed right at the front of our significantly reduced bunch. We had just turned the corner before alp d'edge hill when Sam came alongside me and shouted 'OLLIE PUNCTURED!'. Shit. He was out of the race. We proceeded to race up the climb and 6 guys, myself included, had a gap on the bunch over the top. No doubt Ollie would have made this selection and challenged in the final if it weren't for his untimely puncture. We continued to push on and the gap to the bunch was growing, evidently they were some tired legs behind and they could not get organised to chase us down. The final mile composed of a tight left corner on a descent followed by a slight incline and then a 'wall', flattening off 20 metres before the line. I was leading our group coming into the left hander, taking it fast, I made a little gap between me and the other breakaway riders,  so I thought I may aswell give a long range attack a crack. I laid down some power and as the road slowly pitches up I began to sprint. The road continued to increase in gradient and my power began to wain. I hit the final kick up to the line and I blew up. I was immediately passed by 4 of the other riders and I crawled across the line in 5th place. Sam, Ollie's brother and a Junior, came in 16th beating some quality riders in the process. 

Whilst I'd prefer to be getting results in Triathlon, some road racing is a refreshing change and something I hope to maintain in the future.

I've just finished a month long training camp in Cyprus. Whilst there was some good training banked, there was also my fair share of ups and downs, teaching me many things about setbacks and how to deal with them.
If you didn't read my last blog, I was in Cyprus training alongside my coach's squad who are based out there in spring. In addition to this I'm part of ETE race team, who run training camps out in Pafos. 

Cyprus is increasingly becoming a destination for sport holidays with very good pool and running track facilities complemented by some tough yet enjoyable mountainous cycling. The best part of Cypriot roads for cycling, in my opinion, is that they are relatively quiet, juxtaposed with the busy climbs of renowned destinations such as Mallorca. 

By the end of the camp I'd deposited some big hours in the pool and I was leaving a stronger swimmer than when I arrived. I also managed to piece together some good quality bike sessions leaving me better equipped in this respect as well. Running, on the other hand, was limited to say the least.
Without boring everyone to death with specific details, I somehow have 4 different niggles in the space of 4 weeks. Leaving my run training significantly compromised. I made the best I could of a bad situation with some aqua running and 'shuffling' to keep things ticking over. But these issues just sent alarm bells ringing. It's not normal for an 18 year old who is running very little mileage to get injured repeatedly. Clearly, my body is significantly under conditioned to take the demands fast running places on it. The reason for being so under conditioned? A combination of my genetic makeup and poor rehab following old injuries. The result is all my muscles, tendons, ligaments and bones have lost their conditioning with regard to running. Therefore instead of my body returning energy into a running stride through the elasticity of tendons, I absorb most of it. When you consider that this force is around 5 times your body weight, and you take a stride 180 times every minute, that equates to your body dealing with a mass of 54 tons or absorbing 529200 newtons of force every single minute. In other words, it's no surprise I get injured. To resolve this, the next 12 weeks will have a focus on rehabbing properly to make my body healthy again before, hopefully, coming back a stronger, more efficient runner.

Another setback I had whilst on camp was a little tumble off my bike. I was doing a Triathlon race as a bit of training and was going to pull out after the bike as I was injured running. I was 38 mins into the 40k bike leg when I rear ended another cyclist at around 30 MPH. Not ideal. Fortunately, I crashed 'well', tumbling and rolling rather than a bit hit and slide so I didn't have any major injuries but I was pretty beat up and had a bit of cosmetic damage. The most saddening thing about the experience was that I snapped my seat post and buckled my front wheel so I had to borrow my coach's bike for the rest of my time on camp.

Sport is tough sometimes, especially Triathlon, but the challenge of overcoming seemingly impossible obstacles is what makes this sport unique and is the reason I love it. The next couple of months on my rehab to running will be a case of 100 steps backwards, 101 steps forward. But nothing is worth having if you don't have to fight for it.
Thanks for reading.

I finish this blog from a terrace in central Pafos, Cyprus with the sun beating down making it impossible to read my laptop screen. It's a very pleasant 22 degrees and I've just returned from a 3 hour sunbathing session whilst riding my bike. I'm on a month long training camp during my Uni holidays, joining my coach's squad who are based here during the early part of the year. I'm also part of ETE race team, ETE are a training camp company operating primarily in Cyprus.
Some may say I'm on a prolonged holiday, others, albeit fewer, dread the idea of swimming, cycling and running being your life for 28 days. I'll run you through a typical day for me and allow you to make your own mind up.

March 26th training day:

We swim every morning, bar Sunday, in a fantastic 50m outdoor pool. The thought of swimming in the warmth with the sun on your back is glorious. Unfortunately, for this week only, the pool timetable had other ideas and we are forced to swim 2 hours earlier at 6am. March 26th- My alarm went off at 5:15am, a quick coffee and snack later and I was on my bike for the short 5 minute morning commute to the pool. All thoughts of a sun soaked swim are out the window, it was pitch black and cold.

As soon as I, reluctantly, jumped in, all thoughts seem to dissolve away and I became present in the moment of the session. 6K and nearly 2 hours later we're permitted to escape to the shelters of the warm showers. The reward then sets in as we watched the sunrise knowing we've already swum 6K. The serotonin quickly wears off and I was left ravenously hungry, breakfast then turns into a banquet of calorie dense food to recover and then fuel for the next session of the day.

Today, session number 2 was some time trial bike efforts. 10:30am rolled round and it is was time to get ready and head out to our typical TT effort location: a new and almost empty dual carriage. We had 2, ~ 30 minute efforts which took us up and then down, a small hill with some carriage-way flat TT'ing book-ending each effort. The final effort was ~15 minutes on the carriage way, on already tired legs. No records were broken but for the first tough bike session of camp things were looking good for the next month. Again, to further boast that I woke up early in the Uni holiday, we were done with a 6K swim and >2hrs ride with 1.25hrs of effort by lunch time. A big lunch was had and I headed straight for the sofa which was screaming my name. I quickly succumb to a semi-comatose state but I still had a 30min easy run to do to see the day off. Problem is, after 2 training sessions one's ability to leave the sofa becomes similar to an arthritic 90 year old. Somehow, I still managed to get up and out the door for a 30 minute run, returning home straight to dinner prep for a meal enough to feed a family of 4. After dinner, I watched a bit of TV, wrote this training day and I'm about to go to bed. This leaves me with one question for you to decide on: am I working hard or hardly working?

My last blog post was an astonishing 6 months ago, when I'd just finished an amazing month long training camp in the Swiss Alps. In the interlude between my linguistic masterpieces, my Triathlon career has been on a fairly lumpy roller-coaster. I've had some great highs, but also my fair share of lows over the winter months. In this blog I'll go through everything that has happened since that magical summer training camp: Injury, moving to University, great blocks of training, more injury, cross country races and as always, my future plans.

End of 2017

My 2017 season ended in the worst way possible. I had to pull out of my last scheduled Triathlon (Castle Series) due to a recurring running injury. The feeling of severe frustration was exacerbated by the fact that my swimming and cycling form was the best it had ever been. I was looking forward to a final hit out, in a competitive race, to end the season knowing I had progressed well. Instead, 2017 closed out with a bitter taste in my mouth; I was injured and I hadn't been able to show the fitness I knew I had. It took a while to get my head back in the game and to stop feeling sorry for myself. A bit of reflection time was in order. Fortunately, I was moving to uni the next week which provided the perfect opportunity to press the reset button.

UNIVERSITY

I started at the University of Nottingham, studying Economics and Maths in October. Nottingham is a great place to train, being near the Peak district provides some epic rides, there are ample places for running sessions, a local 1 mile closed road cycle circuit and some decent pools. I would struggle to imagine a better set up. Balancing training/studying/social is difficult, but hasn't been much different to the demands I encountered in school. All in all, I'm very happy with my new surroundings and I'm looking forward to the next 3 years based out of Notts.

INJURY

As I previously discussed, I finished 2017 injured. This was a suspected lower leg stress fracture and it finally cleared up by late November. In the mean time, I'd been consistently training my bike and swim and was starting to feel stronger again. In December my running volume and intensity progressively increased and then one day in early January I went for an evening 45 minute jog. Upon my return home, I was immediately struck by an intense ache in my left hip. A little niggle, a tight hip flexor perhaps? I didn't think much of it and over the next few days the pain gradually subsided. Later in the week I did a couple of run sessions and it flared up again. Out of fear of creating a bigger problem I stayed off the running for a week and half and then went for a couple of easy jogs at the end of January/ start of February. In the meantime I had, as always, been pushing the bike and swim. The 3rd February was the BUCS (British Universities and Colleges Sport) cross country championships. I desperately wanted to do this race as it was going to be the most competitive cross country race I had ever done. Being a first year I was also interested in how I would stack up against the other. I did this race, *report down below* but my hip flared up AGAIN. More rest and 3 weeks later I'm sat here after just racing the National Cross Country Champs and It now feels back to 100%. So, fingers crossed that's the only injury I will have in 2018.

RACE REPORTS

I have done 2 cross country races which I will report on, BUCS xc and National XC. Both off next to 0 running training. So whilst I was lacking running muscular conditioning, I still had decent transferable fitness levels from cycling and swimming.

BUCS XC has a mens A and B race, 10k and 8k long respectively. I was racing in the A's. This year the event was hosted by Brunel University so in order to avoid a long drive on race day we went down the day before and stayed nearby. The course had a huge variety of terrain, steep gravel climbs, flat fields, water jumps and a shed-load of mud. I had no idea where my running form was, and with BUCS being a very competitive race, saying I was apprehensive would've been an understatement. The gun went and 350 athletes sprinted round a muddy field on a typically rainy, British winter day. I had a decent start, apart from a couple of trips and stumbles, finding myself in around 70th position as the field began to stretch out. I was feeling reasonable but I didn't want to blow my doors off too early so a fellow Nottingham alumni and myself started to slowly work through the field. We came to the water jump the first time which was a bit sketchy but I dealt with it better than some of the guys in this video of the B race (watch it till the end!)

I carried on working through the field and picked up my pace on the  second lap as I was still feeling good. Well, as 'good' as you can feel when very close to your limit! With 1 mile to go, I found myself in a group of 6 guys. By this point my legs were quite beat up and I knew I wan't going to be able to have much of a sprint. I don't know how I rationalised it in my mind but I consequently decided it would be a great idea to kick from the group and go for a long range attack to ensure I beat the guys nearby. A decision I began to regret 600m from the finish when the final section of deep mud sucked all my momentum and enabled the others to reestablish contact. Once we had cleared the sticky brown stuff all that was left was a 250m grass straight to the line. I tried to sprint but my legs weren't too keen on the idea. Fortunately, the other runners near me were equally knackered and we just filtered through the finish line. I came through in 40th, and was the highest placed Notts athlete. A result I was very happy with, considering I'm a first year and hadn't done any proper running for quite some time.
​

After BUCS my hip flared up once again but I was patient and it cleared up before the National Cross Country Champs on the 24th Feb. A race which I love and this year it was on my favorite cross country course.... the beast that is Parliament Hill. The route is 10k long and characterised by continuous short steep climbs, (and of course, descents) renowned for some of the worst mud after heavy rain. On race day it was cold so the ground had hardened somewhat, little did the heath know, thousands of runners were about to change that. When it was time for my race (Junior men) 6 waves of younger age groups had already taken to the Heath, trampling and churning up the course, leaving it suitably slippery. I lined up alongside my fellow Wycombe Phoenix teammates and eagerly anticipated the gun to initiate this epic race. The start is a 500m straight, up a climb which is increasingly steeper as you progress up it. It certainly shocks your system and tells your body to switch into race mode. All the descents had deep mud which literally absorbs all your energy with every foot strike. As a result there was nowhere to rest as even on the downhill you have to forcefully drive your legs to keep moving. By the halfway point I was hanging. Badly. My legs had no power left and each uphill became an ascent of Everest.  I pushed to my limit and managed to hold onto my position to the line despite someone else's best efforts on the finish straight. I came across in 16th place which, for the National Champs, is a very solid result.

Cross country season is now over for me. Next on my agenda is a long Easter training camp in Cyprus to put some very hard work in ahead of my first Triathlon of the year. A big shout out to my coach, Perry Agass (TriSutto) for helping me through these recent injury riddled times. I must also thank my supportersETE (Highly recommend you check them out if you fancy a training camp!) and of course Pedal Potential who enable a huge roster of young athletes do what we do! 

Thanks for checking out my blog- come back in a months time for some more bedtime reading!

For the last Month I have been training at altitude in the beautiful Swiss alpine town that is St Moritz. This training camp concluded with a Castle Series race in France on my way back to the UK.

The period in St Moritz was hugely useful for me to claw back some decent fitness after my slow start to the season. To have a long period of time under the watchful eye of my coach, Perry Agass, is invaluable with regard to my fitness and technique. My swimming and cycling certainly came on in the 4 weeks and my running rehab after injury continued to progress well.

As I said, this extended time in Switzerland was invaluable and it couldn't have happened without the generous support I receive from ETE and Pedal Potential, for which I am very grateful.
​

RACE REPORT

The penultimate Castle Series race was in Chantilly, France taking place mostly around the grounds of the Chateau.

Despite a heavy training block I was feeling reasonably fresh and ready to race. I arrived with ETE team mate Matt Leeman, on Friday night after a 10 hour car journey and the only restaurant open was a domino-esque pizza place... not ideal but we had no other option. Saturday was quite chilled just sorting bikes, registering, checking out the event site and a pre- race ride and run. Everything was well in our World.

We woke up at 5am and headed over to the Chateau. The sky was looking ominous but we were too engulfed in the result of the Mayweather vs McGregor fight to pay any attention. Once this was over, our focus shifted to the race and 30 minutes before the start, the rain began to fall. accompanied by a couple of lighting strikes. Again, not ideal for racing but the conditions are the conditions. I found a tree to hide under to change into my wetsuit and swiftly headed over to race start where it was evident my race was to be delayed as the backmarkers of the previous wave were still scattered around the multi loop swim course. After a bit of a  wait my wave kicked off and I was swimming well. The 1500m swim went by pretty quickly with no dramas to report, a solid swim for me coming out the water around 1.5 min back on the leaders. In T1 I briefly lost my bearings after accidentally running into a marshal,  but I found my bike and was seamlessly away. Starting the bike alone is something I am used to, so as always, I put my head down and began my 30mile TT effort. The course was undulating with no hills meaning it was relatively fast. I saw the 3 leaders together coming in the other direction to me after a turnaround point, they all looked strong, but I did my best to catch them regardless. The rain had made some of the roundabouts a little dangerous and led to Matt crashing and eventually having to DNF. I had my fair share of sketchy moments but I managed to stay upright and ended up averaging 26.1 MPH for the 30mile bike course which is a good ride in a Tri for me. 15 seconds off the fastest bike split meant I had made up a little time to the leaders when starting the run. This was always going to be where the real test was as I had been rehabbing a relatively long term injury. Fortunately in the race this didn't bother me, but it was clear my running form was not where it used to be. The run was more about surviving than my usual hunting, but I managed to hold my position and crossed the line in 4th having been beaten by better guys on the day.... Chapeau!

On the 23rd July I did my first triathlon in over a year. That's a long time to be away from the sport and it hasn't been easy. A road which seemed to throw obstacle after obstacle but I'm finally back in the game, I raced, it went well and I can't wait to race again!

Race Report

Castle Howard Triathlon which is part of the Castle series, took place on Sunday 23rd July. I made the 4 hour car journey up to North Yorkshire on the Saturday and was settled into my B&B by early afternoon. Being stationary, especially sitting for a long period of time before a race is never a great idea, so to loosen up I went for a short little spin on the bike course for the following day. Planning to do about 45 minutes to get some blood flow in my legs and to see a little bit of the course; it seemed a great idea, nothing could go wrong. That is until I realized some of the direction signs for the race had not yet been put up and I'd missed a critical turning. Long story short, my mini pre-race spin ended up being a much longer affair than planned. Not a great start, but that will teach me a lesson for next time. 

After that minor blunder I grabbed some dinner, went back to the B&B and went to bed as it was an early start in the morning. My alarm went off at 5 AM and after a couple of coffees and a bit of breakfast I was on my way to the race feeling very excited to get stuck back in. I arrived with plenty of time, registered, sorted my transition and had a look at the swim course before going all the way back to my car to drop all my bags off and to put my wetsuit on. It was at this point when I began to miss my bag carrier *parents*....
After a brief briefing from the organisers we were in the water and ready to go. This race was a 1500m swim, 45km bike and 10.5km run, floating on the start line I had no idea how I was going to perform but I couldn't wait to reach that finish line in front of the stunning Castle Howard. 

The horn sounded and we were underway. I had a decent start and was in my own little rhythm pretty quickly whilst the best swimmers were disappearing out of my sight. The 1500m seemed to go by pretty quickly with no issues apart from a slight foliage problem in the lake with some rather overgrown weeds. Regardless, I survived and was out of the water but had lost about 3 minutes over the 20 minute swim to the leaders. After a long uphill run from the lake to transition I was breathing pretty hard but managed to get my Blue Seventy Helix wetsuit off seamlessly. I was quickly on my bike and felt 'in the zone'. I knew I had to make up time but this bike course suited me perfectly: long at 46km, and very hilly, so I set to work. I took quite a few places early on, carrying my momentum over the hills, recovering on descents and using my clip on aero bars at any opportunity. I was loving it and finally came into transition after 1h11m (fastest bike split) and now in 3rd place after coming out the water 19th. The run was always going to be difficult for me as I simply haven't been able to run properly for so long due to injury. It was quite a hilly run on mud/grass/gravel which was tough to deal with after a hard bike but I took it  in my stride, made my way into 2nd place and before I knew It, it was all over.

Overall second place, a result I am very happy with, after having very few expectations leading into the race. There are 2 more races in the Castle Series, Chateau de Chantilly and Hever Castle. I can't wait to do these and hopefully improve on this race result after some good quality training in August on camp in St Moritz with the TriSutto crew.

This race prompted me to reflect on my triathlon exploits and that I am so grateful for all who support me, notably ETE, Pedal Potential, Perry Agass (coach), Marlow Sports Therapy and of course, my bag carrier *parents* ;) 

Thanks for reading!

I completed my final exam on the 26th June and within a couple of hours of finishing I was in the pool and training hard which was subsequently followed by a turbo training session. Some celebrate their 13 years of School with a heavy night out, but this is currently the last thing on my agenda after the past 6 weeks of longing to be out on my bike, wind in my hair, sun of my back and no worries in my head. Whilst I did my best to maintain a good training load over this exam period, fitness has undoubtedly suffered as I simply wasn't able to give training the mental dedication it required for gains to be made. For example, a normal day consisted of a morning exam, go home, sit on my arse revising for another 6 hours, then try to smash out 2 training sessions. Obviously, by the time it came train, I was mentally exhausted and my body had been sedentary for the majority of the day. This meant my training turned to 'exercise' (which greatly frustrated me) then add in a splattering of sleep deprivation and this perpetual cycle of fatigue is created.  
Despite the loss of fitness, I am thankful for the challenges the exam period has thrown at me. I have learnt a lot about balancing a very heavy workload with training which will undeniably prove a crucial skill in years to come. Having said that... THANK GOD IT'S OVER!

Moving forward, my first triathlon, the Castle Series' 'Castle Howard' is in a few weeks time. Hopefully I will be able to achieve a couple of consistent weeks training and put on a half decent show there. Following that, I go to St Moritz, Switzerland for the entirety of August. St Moritz is the perfect environment for training, being stuck up a mountain at 1,822m altitude there is nothing to do apart from training whilst marveling at picture postcard scenery. With first class coaching by the Trisutto team, St Moritz is conducive to huge fitness gains. 
On the drive back from Switzerland at the end of August fellow ETE racing teammate, Matt Leeman, and I will go via Paris to race the 'Chateau du Chantilly Triathlon' which is another race in the Castle Series and after spending a hard month up a mountain, we should be on fire.

I am excited for what the next few months may bring and I am highly motivated to work my arse off to get there. I am essentially a full time triathlete for 12 weeks although others may take a different view and just call me unemployed. This does have some truth to it, so I wouldn't be able  do what I do without the ongoing support from Pedal Potential And ETE tricamps. Thank you.

It has been a rather eventful month but more for negative reasons than positive ones. Coming into May I was quite excited as I had 2 races on the calendar (both running): Marlow 5 mile and Highgate Harrier's 10k night of PB's. The former, for a bit of fun, and the latter, to try post a very solid 10k time. I'd also had a solid period of training in April so I was in good shape to get this season underway. 

Marlow 5 Is a local race for me and attracted a field of 1000+ runners, which sounds impressive but in truth I would describe it as the jogging world championships. This means that usually there isn't a huge amount of competition at the pointy end. This year, however, was the most competitive it has ever been with the top 4 crossing the finish line within 16 seconds of each other. I really enjoyed sprinting round my stomping grounds whilst dueling it out with a few other runners. A group of 4 formed within a couple hundred metres of the start and stuck together till around 1 mile to go. It was here when the early efforts of the race caught up with me as I attempted to raise the pace for the finish line. Sadly, I didn't have the legs on the day and I came 3rd in a respectable 25:43, just 8 seconds from the winner. This beat my time from last year by 1:14 so it shows that good progress has been made.

After the race, I had a couple of easier training days and then succumbed to an infection. To play it safe, I took 48 hours off to allow my body to defend itself. When I resumed training it felt as if I'd taken 2 years off, not just 2 days! Regardless, I carried on for a few more days, still keeping training relatively light to ease back into things. There were 2 weeks between Marlow 5 and the 10k track race and over a week had already been wasted. The race was on Saturday and I went out for my last run on Thursday evening. During the run I must have unknowingly rolled over on my ankle because the following day I was hobbling round the house with a pain above my left foot , feeling sorry for myself. I had to pull out of the 10k. This was really hard to do as, despite how crazy it sounds, I was dying to run round that track 25 times as fast as I could.

With that put behind me, I went back to focusing on training and exams. The former was again short lived due to an intensely tight feeling in my left calf. It was painful to stretch and to walk on leading to another couple of days of missed/botched training. Fortunately, one of my ETE racing teammates, Laura Fidler, came to the rescue. She is also a Physio and has helped me to get back on track. 
I now hope that this streak of inconsistent training will come to an end as it greatly hampers any fitness gains and does not facilitate a healthy mind nor body. Consistency really is key. 

Some of you reading this who haven't read my other blogs may be wondering 'You are a triathlete why aren't you doing Triathlons?' I feel that by using this month as an example, I may be able to explain it better. As I am primarily a triathlete I have pressures and expectations when competing in Triathlons. Thus, if I pick up any injuries, niggles or even become ill, I would be paranoid about this affecting my performance at the next race. This is a normal scenario for an athlete to be in and it is something you learn to deal with as you mature. However when it occurs at the most important period in my academic life to date (A-levels exams) then this combination of stresses can be potentially overwhelming, leading to more problems and decreased performance, academically and in races. I hope this addresses that question, but don't worry I will be competing at the back end of the year, as part of the Castle Series which I am very much looking forward to. 

Thank you for reading.

I recently arrived back from another stint in Cyprus training under ‘Trisutto’ and ‘Elite Training Experience’. I’ve been asked many times by friends and family ‘what’s the point of a training camp’ and I only could give a mumbled answer of ‘better weather’ or ‘training with like minded people with lots of coaching input’. Whilst these reasons can’t be overlooked; they aren’t the true motive that warrants going to a different country for an extended period (not that I really need a justification to jump on a plane to Cyprus). It’s in fact the focus on training, the extra time for recovery, commonly known as naps, and the removal of all other stresses in your life enabling you to channel 100% of your energy into your next session.

Instead of doing a typical review and ‘day in the life’ blog of my time in Cyprus, I will try to summarise my experience in numbers. Here it goes:
- 16 days
-60 miles running
-512 miles cycling
-48k swimming
-50.5 hours training
-3kg of hummus eaten
-4 jars of peanut butter demolished
-1.6kg granola
-3.2Kg Greek Yoghurt
-1 sub 16, 5K run in training
-3 seconds per 100m faster when swimming in my Blue Seventy wetsuit.
-33 hours schoolwork
-6 AM, the time of our morning swim, 6 days/week
-Averaged 3 sessions per day
-2 ice creams (I had hoped for many more)
-30 coffees
-Countless hours sleeping
 
I hope that provides an insight but It could’ve just been summarised in the classic 4 words: eat, train, sleep, repeat.
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I’m now coming into Race season which somewhat annoyingly coincides with my A-level exams. Because of this I won’t be doing any triathlons till after I finish my last exam on the 26th June. Once I complete this I will compete in Castle Series races at Castle Howard, Chateau de Chantilly (France) and Hever Castle. I will however, compete in many run races before and during exams, some fast 3K track races, some 5k road races and some other local races. I am feeling in good shape after Cyprus and can’t wait to battle it out and chase PBs. Follow my twitter for race results as they come in thick and fast.

​Whilst you wait another 4 weeks for my next blog masterpiece, please enjoy these photos from my recent training.

I've been on a training camp, I've done my last cross country race, It's warming up and daffodils are flowering. This can only mean one thing... winter is over. This is my favourite time of year as the days get longer giving a welcome boost of extra sunshine and vitamin D, whilst fitness really starts to increase after laying solid foundations in the Dark depths of winter.

This blog will primarily be a review of my February training camp in Cyprus.

On the 10th February I set off to Cyprus for an 'Elite training Expeirience' (ETE) training camp. One of my favourite things about Cyprus is to be able to swim in an outdoor pool with the sun on your back, it makes those hard 2 hour swims just slightly more manageable and in true Perry Agass coaching style, there were many. It is also a nice change to have some training partners to share the pain with, specifically Matt, Daz and Laura. Over my 10 days on camp I definitely progressed with my swimming and I would hope so after staring at that black line on the bottom of the pool for about 15 hours.

The cycling was great too, with some very specific TT sessions on an empty dual carriageway enabling some very fast interval sessions balanced by a couple of mountainous rides. The most memorable of which was an out and back up Mount Olympos accompanied by Matt. We set off from sea level at a pleasant 17 degrees wearing short sleeves with just some arm warmers in our back pockets, a rather naive clothing decision with retrospect. The ride was only 90 miles but mount Olympos peaked at 6500 feet so the going was slow. The ride up was smooth sailing, we hit snow at 4500 feet but as we were working we stayed pretty warm. We cruised through the small ski village at 5500 feet and finally summited after 3.5 hours of riding. we took some pictures, had a flapjack and began the descent. After seconds of freewheeling in -5 degree air with no gloves and just one layer we became very cold forcing us to reevaluate our plan. We had spent too long in the death zone and wouldn't make it down without some gloves, we subsequently bartered with a roadside ski-wear salesman and bagged a pair of cheap gloves. These were just enough to let us operate our brakes so we resumed our quest back down to thicker, warmer air knowing that every 100metre descent meant around 1 degree warmer. After a few miles we stopped again when we saw a sign for hot chocolate. We were craving a hot drink in our hands but instead we were presented with literal 'hot chocolate' A.K.A melted chocolate. It didn't quite hit the spot but the small business owner saw our blue lips and pale faces and feeling sorry for us she fetched us an electric heater which was very welcome. We finally manned up and hopped back on our bikes to finish the ride. A good day in the saddle and definitely worthy of 'Epic' status for a triathlete. I can't wait to do this ride again in April when it will hopefully be slightly warmer!

​Whilst in Cyprus alongside the swimming and cycling I also managed to bank some solid run sessions mainly focusing on speed work which is where my weakness lies. Cyprus is a unique country and hence their running track doesn't follow the normal standard of 400m, instead they went for a 425m track. Either that or the bloke in charge of the tape measure royally cocked up. 

Overall I had a fantastic time with great people which makes tough training that bit easier. I will be going on another ETE in April and I cannot wait!


Just a week after I returned from camp I had the English National Cross Country Champs. As I have just moved up an age group I am now the youngest of 3 years so I was not expecting a top result but I did want to test my fitness after the camp. In my usual fashion I started the race conservatively and worked through the field as the KMs ticked by. The race was slightly longer than most which suited me as I have a good aerobic system but lack the running speed due to having to train 2 other sports. There were some very muddy stretches (see pictures) but I managed to stay upright and come home in 25th place. I was happy with this and I've another 2 years in this age group so I am excited to see how high up the order I can reach. Top 10? Hopefully, Top 5? Maybe, Podium? who knows.

I'm alive! The last blog post I wrote was 5 months back and I wasn't in a great situation. I was struggling with a knee injury I picked up in July but little did I know it would plague me for the rest of 2016! However I can now confidently say that I am pain free. I've been training properly for about 8 weeks now, despite a virus' best intentions over the Christmas period which had me bed bound and coughing like I Smoke 3 packs a day. Setbacks aside, my fitness is coming back, I am loving training and I am excited about the opportunities that 2017 provides.

Following a great training camp in September (Gran Canaria) with a new tri camp provider 'Elite Training Experience' I am delighted to announce that I will be involved with them in 2017. I will be joining them for 2 camps both of which are in Paphos, Cyprus which has some great tri training facilities and most importantly, great weather!! They have big expansion plans and are currently crowdfunding so if that's of interest have a look here. Alternatively, if you want some fun in the sun with some high quality training take a look at their website. Personally, I am fed up with wearing gloves, hats, jackets and by the end of every bike/run session, a layer of mud on my legs. I cannot wait to fly out in 4 days!

Last week, I competed in my first race of the season, the Southern cross country Championships. It's a very challenging course taking place over the London alps (Hampstead Heath park) and with thousands of competitors running throughout the day in various races, it tends to become extremely muddy.  Fortunately for us, the rain gods kept it dry so by the time my race came around conditions were bad but not as horrific as seen in previous years. I had lots of uncertainty regarding my fitness as I'd done very little run training, leaving me to rely solely on my aerobic capacity from cycling and swimming to pull me through the 8km race. 

I started very conservatively dropping back to 30th place as I was told to respect the course and I didn't want to be overexcited, go out too hard and blow up by 5km. After the first few hills I was feeling ok and I started to move up a couple of places on the descents, still playing conservative but many people had gone out way to hard, leaving them with a long, painful, demoralizing race, as it allowed me to further pick off some of the stragglers. The first of 2 laps was completed and I had moved up to 16th place, It was then when I knew I was running reasonably well, despite my initial reservations, so I committed 100% and went to work. I picked off people one by one and there is no better feeling than blasting past someone, hearing their labored breathing, heavy footsteps and groans of agony fade as I plough on and pick my next target. By the 2km to go mark I was struggling myself but I was feeling reinvigorated after 6 months of injury; my fitness may not be great but my motivation was high and after a 5 minute slog with a few slips and trips, I was on the finishing straight. I wound my pace up and I was enjoying the final cheers of the crowd until took a glace over my shoulder, $£%! there was someone on my heels, I changed into 5th gear and gave a sloppy sprint and dip for the line. I felt like Usain Bolt but probably looked more like a granny tripping over a curb, I also realised that dipping did nothing as my timing chip was on my leg...not my head!

I crossed the line of the Southern Champs in 8th place, with just one person my age ahead of me. A good first race back all things considered. I'm looking forward to some consistent training and eager to see what 2017 holds for me.
Onwards and Upwards.

As the title suggests this blog will primarily be about the details of my injury that has plagued me for the last 10 weeks. Using my very limited medical knowledge I will try and inform (without boring) you of my injury demons which led me to pull out of Worthing Triathlon. This blog will also be more bloggy and less visual as I think most of you won't want pictures of my knees and glutes. But as always, I will start with update. 

UPDATE
If you read my last blog you will be aware that in August I went on a training camp to St Moritz run by the one and only Brett Sutton. It was here where I had the privilege to train alongside many Pros including Nicola Spirig whilst she was just 1 week out from the Olympics. She went on to win silver after igniting the race, essentially leading the whole 40k of the bike and seriously challenging the formidable runner that is Gwen Jorgensen. It was a real insight and possibly a once in a lifetime experience to witness her incredible mental resilience and some of her crazy training sessions whilst on 'taper' for the games. Amid this, all the Pros at the Trisutto camp were exceptionally kind and welcoming towards me, what a great atmosphere is was and a week I will never forget. 

I was picked up from St Moritz by my parents and we then drove to the Oztal valley in Austria where we would stay for another week. On the second day I woke up at 5:30 in an attempt to ride my first HC and make it back for breakfast in time. HC, for those who don't know, means a mountain that your car would struggle getting up. This particular climb was only 6 miles long but an average gradient of near 11% with a 2 mile section at 14% meant for a very slow morning ride. Whilst I was riding as easy as possible it still took me 1 hour to cover the 6 miles, and for those who are less mathematically inclined I will help you out, that equates to an average speed of 6 miles per hour AKA disgustingly slow!
Besides training, we were enjoying the summer in the Alps and all it has to offer, what an amazing place it is. But before we knew it we were back on a plane to the UK and fast forward 2 weeks to present day as I writing this, now back at school, post-holiday blues spring to mind.

INJURY DEMONS
​
Back to the chase. As I have mentioned in a previous blog I have had some minor knee pain when running and cycling. After being plagued by this annoyance for 2 months we realized this wasn't something that will just 'go away'. By this point I had already seen a few physios but to no avail, time to step up and take this more seriously. My dad had knee problems in the past so we were aware of a great specialist in Windsor. It was him whom I went to and following an MRI and a couple of X-rays he diagnosed me with medial Plica syndrome. Which sounds very serious but in reality it is simply inflammation of some useless tissue (fold in lining of knee joint) However, despite the actual source of pain being minor, it is what causes the Plica to become inflamed which is where my problem lies. This problem was presented very visually for me by a physio who drew a small tracking line on either kneecap. I then stood in front of a mirror and jogged on the spot, my right leg and knee tracked almost vertical which is normal, my left....not so normal. the leg internally rotates and the knee bends inwards.

This is happening every time I bend my left leg, every run, every stride, every cycle, every pedal stroke. Furthermore I have multiple other small issues which have not yet caused pain but nevertheless are present. Here is my all inclusive injury tally:
-Medial Plica Syndrome
-Fat Pad inflammation
-ITB friction
-Weak left VMO

So yes, my leg is pretty messed up. But the next question.... how do I fix my broken body? The fix is something 99% of the population could do with improving: GLUTES!! the muscles which were meant for Humans' stability and control but in modern life have turned into overqualified cushions. In my case specifically the gluteus medius and minimus which are in control of abducting the leg.
Thankfully I finally know what's causing the pain, I also know what is causing the cause of the pain and I know how to fix what is causing the cause of the pain. Simples. I now have been given a barrage of arse aching exercises to cure me of my lopsidedness, so for the next 6 weeks sitting down is going to be rather painful.

Before I end I must say for an injury like this to come around it's timing was impeccable. I have achieved all I wanted to achieve this season, It has not affected any major races and it means I will hopefully be firing on all cylinders to start winter training on time. Thank You fate. I want to also thank everyone who has helped my knee and I get back on track. Pun intended. Every person I have seen has been very helpful and has played a part in curing my wonkiness. Including PEDAL POTENTIAL whose support has helped me fix this problem quickly. A small road bump in our quest of world domination.

The very exciting thought in this saga is that if I can race the way I have raced this season with only 1 functional leg, I wonder what I can do if both are working properly...... we will find out in 9 months, stay tuned!

I am currently out in St Moritz with the Trisutto squad for a short training camp. In this blog I will talk about my incredible experience of pro life, on my first day in this beautiful place. But first, a quick update on a somewhat quiet July.

UPDATE
July was relatively uneventful, however I have had a couple of tough weeks attempting to restart full training from an easier rest period. More mentally taxing than physically, which I find the most difficult to overcome as unlike physical fatigue, you can't simply rest and be prepared to smash training again a day later. The difficulty is the unknown, the unpredictability, the uncertainty. Fortunately, I have broken through this spell and I'm now firing on all cylinders....well, almost; My left knee has recently been causing some issues when running and cycling, significantly impacting on my training but thankfully, dare I speak too soon, it seems to be improving. 

A DAY AT TRISUTTO CAMP
I am in the scenic, alpine, relaxing, holiday resort that is St Moritz but relaxing I am not. Instead, I am gasping for breath at 1850m whilst tearing every muscle fiber in my body, from an athlete's perspective that beats relaxing any day of the week (apart from friday....that's rest day)  When we arrived my Coach, Perry Agass, and I went to St Moritz's home Triathlon. It was here we witnessed the Olympic champion, Nicola Spirig, compete in a Duathlon and win, then upon finishing put her wetsuit on and 4 minutes later compete in the Triathlon....... and win. She will be racing Rio in 11 days, Crazy stuff.
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​Anyway, I will run you through my Monday which was a solid day of roughly 4 hours training.

Sunday night I had everything ready for morning training, It saves getting up earlier and I'm not much of a morning person...
5:55AM- Alarm goes off, I wake up and have a small breakfast: granola, yogurt, fruit e.t.c and of course washed down by a coffee. Swim training is at 7 every morning and the pool is a 5 minute walk so we left the apartment at 6:35 as you do not want to be late for a session with Brett Sutton. 

The main swim itself was a 100m session of various intensities and it was during this where I earned my TriSutto nickname 'Harry' This name stemmed from Harry Wiltshire, a triathlete with an iconic swim stroke which I am now attempting to emulate. The following exchange ensued:

After completing the main set I was then given another 40x50m to do, which I was still chugging away at whilst all the other pros got out the pool. It was then when Coach Sutton announced 'If you want to go to the Olympics you're swimming like shit!' I couldn't help but smile. Once I was finished I had been swimming for towards 2 hours and my arms were pretty dead. It was then back to the apartment for some more Breakfast and an Olympic catch up.

After a few hours I headed out for a 2 hour ride where the beauty of the Alps really showed itself. I couldn't help but stop for a minute on a descent to take some pictures.

Although I have been on numerous training camps, St Moritz is by far the most stunning. Having said that it is also one of the toughest as recovering is not easy at altitude!

My ride's aim was primarily to test my dodgy knee so I took it easy to begin with, however, I didn't anticipate the steepness of the climb I descended and there is only one way back home. Up. Although I was in my lowest gear it still wasn't 'easy'. Lesson learnt the hard way: respect the Alps and make easy rides flat.... or get a granny gear.

Fortunately throughout the ride my knee was fine so it is looking promising on the injury front. Only thing left now is to test the running which I will be doing today (I am writing this on Tuesday) fingers crossed.

Training was finished by the afternoon so we had some lunch and went shopping to fill up the fridge. Upon returning I crashed out in front of the TV (Olympics) and called the family. Before I knew it the evening was here and we started cooking our athlete master chef dinner, a stir-fry. It was a pretty good one if I say so myself, eaten out of a large Tupperware box and a salad serving bowl gives an idea of scale.

The day was over. I have already learnt so much in just 48 hours so I can already tell this week is going to be incredibly useful and a great experience. A full week summary will follow. Watch this space!