A lot has happened since I last blogged, many races and lots of training and more interesting life events.First race of the 2018 season was BUCS sprint, this is always a fun event to do and a nice way to open your season as it gets you back into the swing of racing with the excitement of racing for your university, so the atmosphere is always great. My aim going into the race was to try medal, so breaking that down into process goals was going to help me achieve this. It’s a non-drafting event, so it’s really important to stay focussed and keep the pressure on the whole race, as you don’t know what place you are or what the time differences are. I was aiming to have a really solid swim, making the most of this discipline.
On the bike, I had my new tri bars, which I feel really helped me and allowed me to get the most out of myself. With the run I felt really strong, much stronger than this time last year and this reflected in the time split. Finishing third was a big positive and great start to the season.
Next up for me was my first French Grand Prix, racing for team Tri Sud 18. The first stage was held in Valence, south of France. You’d have thought the weather would’ve been nice, but it couldn’t have been further from expected. Race day was ~8 degrees and torrential rain for most of the day. I had a really strong swim, coming out of the water 4th and made front pack, but my confidence here still wasn’t great, so sitting at the back of the bike pack n a technical course made it a hard day out for me on the bike, ending up in second pack, but once again having a strong run and finishing 22nd overall. Not a bad result for my first FGP but there is definitely more to come there, and I am looking forward to the next one. I was happy to get home to get warm and dry in sunny England after that.My third race of the season was Weert ETU cup, which was my first ever Olympic distance. I was super excited to do this, especially where I did my first Sprint distance triathlon back in 2014. I didn’t really know what to expect, I knew it was going to be tough and the 25+ degree heat didn’t help much. It was a non-wetsuit swim, and I really managed to drag the field out, leading out of the swim, with 2 other girls on my feet, by ~1minute.
We managed to work really well together but after about 14km we got caught. The course was very flat, and untechnical, which meant trying to stay away from a ~15 girl pack was always going to be very hard work.
I will admit I was doubting a good result once the big pack caught as my run hasn’t been my strongest discipline in previous years but going out onto the 10km I just committed from the beginning, trying not to think about the added 5km from what I’m used to. After 5km I was running with 3 other girls, and we were fighting for 2/3/4/5 place. I felt strong until about 6km, that’s when I could start to feel my legs fatiguing but I kept pushing and was then running in 4th most of the last lap of 4 but could feel myself fading and just got overtaken by 5th with ~300m to go.
I was still really pleased with 5th in my first Olympic distance and can honestly say that I’m excited for the next and can take away so many positives from the race.
My most recent race of the season was British Championships in Cardiff, this was my first domestic race as a senior and I was excited to see what I had, especially after some good form being shown within the last few races and training. I had a pretty clean start, getting clear water quickly and swiftly shifting over to get onto the feet of a rapid swimmer. We got away nicely, with a 21 second lead from the rest of the field. A quick T1 meant I was solo on the bike for just over the first lap out of 4,
but then got swallowed up by a big chase pack of ~15 girls. The aim now that a breakaway group didn’t stick was to just stay out of trouble and see if I could produce a good run. Once again, my T2 was really smooth and I was out onto the run in the lead, which gave me good confidence to push on. I felt strong, the strongest I’ve felt during a race probably ever. Kate Waugh managed to bridge back up to me on the first lap of the run,
but I continued to push really hard and managed to get a gap. Running down the blue carpet to take the tape was such a good feeling (first time lifting a tape!!!) and a big highlight of my triathlon career so far. Taking the win and being crowned British sprint champion was a good 20th Birthday present.
I’m now writing this on the plane to Banyoles, Spain, where I will be training for the next 2 weeks with the LTPC girls. Excited to get in some solid work and excited for the racing to come after we get back.
