Training has felt off for a while, I’ve not felt like I’ve been making progress since my injury at the start of the year. Swimming has felt awkward, i’ve been exhausted and too tired to train but in the past couple of weeks things seem to have taken a turn for the better, finally.
The big, positive changes I saw physically and mentally happened after my first event of the year – the St.Neots Triathlon on 5th May, which I completed with the lovely Heledd Marshall Roberts and Rachel Miller, both from BRJ Run and Tri Club and who I did the same relay with last year!
Despite having had an incredibly bad and horrible sickness bug the week of the race, I was given some great feedback and told I looked good and strong when swimming, which gave me a huge confidence boost. Rachel and Heledd both performed well, Rachel ending her cycle with one hell of a sprint and Heledd making everyone jealous by how easy and effortless she made running look!
Times:
Swim – 37.01 min
T1 – 1.48 min
Bike – 1.45.04 hr
T2 – 53sec
Run – 46.44min
Finish Time – 3.11.33
The following week of training wasn’t great, I was still recovering from a nasty sickness bug and I was trying to catch up with everything from when I was ill too. I was also, all too well aware that I had my first 3km event of the year the following week!
In January I was put in touch with a fabulous group of ladies via BBC Cambridgeshire who were doing Burghley as a fundraising swim. It was their first open water swimming event. We met a couple of times but there were lots of nerves about on the day. They all did incredibly well, they all enjoyed themselves and most importantly they raised £4418! Even better was that they all said they want to keep open water swimming (and have).
Burghley swim was a HUGE confidence boost for me too. I took on the 3km swim and it was my longest open water swim of the year so far. I had some nerves over not knowing the accessibility and I was concerned that I was going to be well over the 1 hour mark which was the time I were swimming this time last year. In the end, accessibility was poor, if it wasn’t for my TriRide there was no way I would have got to the entry point, it was a steep slope in that I struggled with using my crutches. The exit was on the opposite side of the river and looking at it at the start had me incredible anxious that I wouldn’t actually be able to get out at the end. Despite that, I gave the swim my all and when I finished I took my timing chip off and got someone to run up the hill with it to cross the timing mat so that my time was as accurate as possible.
It was a challenge getting out, I got half way up the hill side stepping using my crutches and then had to go up the rest of the hill backwards using my TriRide because it was so steep, even doing that I embarrassingly needed a shove to get up over a small step at the top – not ideal but I couldn’t have cared less when I realised I had completed the swim in 1 hour and 1 minute, not only that I was 14th Female and 1st in my category!
The confidence boost from the 3km was so desperately needed. It was also a kick up the bum to start really focusing my Bristol Channel training. I am pleased to say that since then my head has definitely been more ‘in the game’ and focused on what I am doing.
Since I got my head back in the game my training has been going well and feel so much more productive and efficient. Whereas last year I had a different focus each week and worked in 5 week cycles (Technique, Consistency, Speed, Endurance, Recovery) I am tending to start the week off with a technique session, then a session on building consistency and ending with a distance swim and do that for a couple of weeks. I then have a week where I focus more on open water swimming before starting the cycle again. However, I do intend on going back to having a different focus each week after my intensive training I have next weekend.
I’m now averaging about 13km a week and that is going to gradually increase as the distance I swim in open water and at Peterborough Lido increases each week. This weekend after coaching at the lido, I did my first 5km of the year and I surprised myself doing it sub 2 hours.
Next week is going to be busy, I am heading to Wales for some intense sea swimming training. Its going to be the first proper sea swimming I have done since my English Channel Swim and I can’t wait!