Winter Preparation and Racing Plans

Its been a while since I have done an update, spare time has been non existent since I ended the racing season in September. I’ve swam (a lot), raced, been on training camp and finalized plans for the year of racing ahead.

On arrival at Loughborough University I was taken on by coach Luke Watson, a very successful triathlete turned excellent coach. I’ve been working with Luke now since I started at Loughborough back in September. Training has been progressing really well, the main focus has been on the swimming, I've been completing up to seven sessions a week in the pool. A big increase from the four I was doing over the summer and the zero I'd done before July. Swim training has been challenging and frustrating at times but I have just put my head down and got on with it. Another big focus has been on increasing my running speed, we've used a mixture of track speed sessions with a few 5km evening races thrown in too.

Before Christmas I headed out to Fuerteventura with the University Performance Squad for a two-week training camp. The island is desolate and barren in appearance, but promised consistent weather, long climbs and time away from everyday life to focus on training, oh and one other thing…wind, lots of it. The Camp gave us all a chance to get two weeks of solid training done before heading back home for a rest over the festive break. We clocked up over 65 hours training for the duration of the camp, 36 of those on the bike. Something that I wasn't complaining about. It was great to get some solid bike hours in, during the term time I'd been focusing on the swim and run so much the bike had been put on the back burner and I'd been feeling it drop off. But by the end of the camp I could really feel the bike legs coming back. It was brilliant spending time training with the others on the squad, everyone is so easy to get on with and as a group we pushed each other in training everyday. A day of hard work was followed by some well earned chill time in the evenings, usually spent watching a film together, and on a couple of evenings we headed down to the excellent pizza restaurant in town. Everyone went home having accomplished a lot.

I’ve managed to do a few races over the winter, BUCS duathlon, 2 5km road races and a cross-country. My main competition season will start at the end of March and this is my race plan for 2015.

• 7th March Dambuster Duathlon 
• 21st March National Non Drafting Duathlon Championships 
• 29th March Elite National Duathlon Championships

• 17th May Little beaver Triathlon Olympic
• 24th May Lough Cutra Castle Series Olympic 

• 14th June Deva Triathlon Olympic age group championships 
• 28th June Wimbleball 70.3 Iron man Exmoor

• 12th July European Olympic Championships Geneva 
• 26th July Castle Howard Olympic

• 9th August Super series elite race
• 30th August Castle series Chateau de Chantilly

• 6th September Bala Olympic
• 27th September Hever Castle 70.3

Its going to be a busy year and I wouldn't be able to do it without all the support from sponsors; Colin Lewis cycles, Pedal Potential, Le Col, The Jeremy Willson CT, Pulsin, HUUB and Loughborough Triathlon.