2016 was a year which exceeded all my expectations. I sat down with my coach Mitch at the beginning of the year and we agreed that my main aim should be to finish on the podium at both the European and World Championships. These defined my two A races. Then the Castle Triathlon Series accepted me onto their elite. I decided to enter a couple with no expectations because they fitted in with my race schedule and they would be a good experience. I never thought I’d finish 3rd in my first one and win the second! After those results, I realised I was on track for an overall series podium place, but it meant I needed to enter one more race. This involved a last minute trip to Chantilly, France where I won again. That trip was incredibly fun! When I look back on 2016, these will always be my highlights:
- English National Champion
- 2nd overall in the Castle Triathlon Series
- European Silver Medallist
- World Champion
- Shortlisted for a 220 Triathlon Award (Female AG of the year)
These are the things that I learned in the past year:
Rest is important! At the beginning of the year I tried to cram far too much in, from work to training and seeing friends and family. I finally learned to say no. I still struggle with the work/ training balance but I imagine I always will as long as I want to be competitive.
Relax – I realised that relaxation wasn’t quite the same as resting. I realised that sometimes things are out of your control, but instead of getting stressed out about it, I decided to take a step back and find another way to handle it. If a meeting runs late or the traffic is bad and I miss a training session, I think of it as a chance to rest.
Will power – I learnt that if I set my mind to something, I can achieve it. For example, I managed to lose the last few kg to get down to my target weight, which improved my results.
To constantly value the incredible support I have from my friends, family and the sporting community. I know I keep saying it, but it make so much difference. I really miss racing as it has almost become my second family.
Don’t get too wrapped up in social media! It is a dangerous place and can become a bit obsessive. I have had minimal contact with it over the winter which has helped with sleeping
Nutrition- I am still learning about this one but am coming to realise the value of it to my well-being and also training.
Last year was beyond intense, so I made sure to give myself a really long, nice break. In the last few weeks I started my new training block for the 2017 race season which is exciting.
My Focus for 2017:
Work on my swimming. It still needs plenty of improvements, but I now have the backing of Funkita (an Australian swimwear company) which has given me a massive confidence boost. If they have belief that I can make the improvements I need, I should too.
I have entered a 70.3 half ironman in the middle of the year. I have never competed in a race where I’ve had to run further than 10km so this is quite a daunting prospect at this point.
I’m yet to decide what I am doing with the rest of the year. However, I hope to be able to achieve some exciting things further down the line.
All I can say is that I am really looking forward to getting back to racing for Yonda, along with the continued support of Yonda Racing, Threo, TrueStartCoffee, Everyone Active, Grange Paddocks, DP World London Gateway and Ed Kirby Physiotherapy. I am also excited to be supported by Fenland Runner wearing Alphawoolfe trainers and Copper 88 compression wear.