So, it’s 2016! It’s come around very quickly and to kick it off I just won my first race of the season! I thought this would be a good opportunity to reignite my blog.
I’ve been rather quiet over the winter. I have heard a lot of people mention ‘the Blues’ following a big race and I thought this didn’t apply to me. Well, apparently I was wrong….. I spent a week in the US on cloud 9 after theWorld Champs in Chicago, coming home to a fantastic welcome from friends and family, but then it was all over. I had work and many months of winter training ahead of me, which was a struggle to get my head around for a while. The extremely short periods of daylight and miserable weather of winter certainly didn’t help! At least I know what to expect now and will hopefully be ableto prepare myself for it a bit better.
One highlight of the Winter has been the announcement of me becoming a member of the Yonda Racing team. I consider it a tremendous honour to be part of such a great organisation that includes British Elite Duathlon & Triathlon Champion Mark Buckingham. One of the best perks of me joining the team is being able to race in their snazzy gear!
Throughout the winter @ACS_Mitchel focused my training on long, slow endurance work which was a refreshing change from my peak race season schedule. The best part of this was being able to stop at the Tally Ho in Barkway for coffee and cake on my weekend bike rides. As good as the cake was, the opportunity to sit in front of the lovely warm log fire to dry out and warm up was equally welcome. This phase of my programme also included completing my longest ever run, 24km. I know this wouldn’t be considered a huge amount for marathon runners, but it’s a lot more than I’m used to. These training sessions gave me lots of time to think and enjoy the beautiful Hertfordshire & Essex countryside. My new favourite route, when it’s not too wet, is running along the Flitchway, an old railway line.
deliberately stayed away from any form of racing this winter as I’ve enjoyed the training and lack of pressure. I’ve also spent a lot of time working on my swimming. Stortford Tri have been extremely helpful, and I even managed to get a session with Paul Newsome from Swim Smooth, which was amazing. However, swimming is a weekly roller coaster ride for me, and can be incredibly frustrating as there is no quick fix.
I’ve now started my peak training phase which has been a bit of a shock to the system. However, I am now really looking forward to this 2016 season, and hopefully the warm/ dry weather!
I would finally also like to thank my existing sponsors @ACS_Mitchell @edkirbyphysiotherapy @profileprotein @truestartcoffee and @paddockcycles who all provide an essential part of my training and race preparation. I couldn’t do it without you guys.