Well after an eventful winter I am now just under 4 weeks away from my first big race of the season which will be 70.3 New Orleans. I have 2 weeks left of hard training before I start my taper and despite the worst weather this winter in the UK for years I think I have made progress under the guidance of Fiona at Tri Europe http://www.triathloneurope.com/. Having the benefit of a season already behind us of working together we have been able to really concentrate on what we know actually works for me.
My track record thus far in any Ironman branded race has not been good. Last year I raced Austria when I shouldn't have after suffering a nasty cough and chest infection, in hindsight I should have never got on the start line and at UK I still wasn't in great shape but couldn't finish due to mechanical failure. But its not been all doom and gloom as I finished the season in the prize money at the Home D Ferro in Ibiza and mixed it with some big names in Lisbon so I know i can do it, third time lucky I hope!
Ive recently linked up with a new swim squad. In recent years ive let my swimming go with it being less important in long races. But now i'm racing as a pro I really need to be as competitive as possible so I have upped my game and been swimming with some very fast youngsters. Its certainly paying off and I am swimming times I didn't think were possible whilst training for two other sports. During the second Tri Europe camp I put myself on the line and did a 400m time trial in my wetsuit and was surprised though delighted to swim 4:46 with no dive! My previous best which was with a dive was 4:58 so i'm hoping this will pay back a lot of time over 1900m.
Despite having a couple of weeks off running due to a slight niggle with my achilles I seem to be still running better than ever and am confident I have at least maintained if not improved upon the 32:42 min 10k I ran at Christmas. I was honoured to be picked to run for Hertfordshire but unfortunately had to decline due to it not fitting in my schedule.
In action during the North Road Hardriders
The North Road Hardriders was my first competitive outing for the team this year. It was a big eye opener to see how competitive it was, some of the best riders in the country turned out for what has been a very well established race and now classed as a classic. I rode 90sec quicker than last time I rode this course in 2007 which is of course progress, but a little disillusioned to finish 20th! My time would have been good enough for 9th in 2007 so that just shows you the class of field this year. Anyway I can hide behind the fact i'm training for three sports and not one!
Testing at the University of Essex
Lab testing has showed that I am able to produce more power than last year though am not quite as efficient in terms of oxygen up take and heart rate which we think is down to not being able to get many miles in on the road due to the harsh winter. Hopefully this is set to improve with the better weather, lets face it the weather can't have got any worse!
So on the whole i'm happy and optimistic about New Olreans. I realise i'm probably going to be one of the few pros with a day job and am not going to be challenging Macca and co but I do think I can be competitive and my dream of securing a slot for the world champs is possible, what will be will be!
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