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!
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 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.
Onwards and Upwards.
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