Mallory and Mixed Relay Cup

After Lausanne, my next race was probably the biggest of the season so far on the National circuit, held at Mallory Park. It was the last race of the super series and also doubled up as the World Champs Qualifier race, so it was important to execute a good race. I was going into the race with confidence after Lausanne, which really did give me a boost. The course was very technical and it was almost certain that a split was going to happen, so I was just hoping to be on the right side of it.
I came out of the water 2nd, but missed my bike in transition and this nearly cost me front pack. I had to dig in hard on the first lap of the bike to get onto the lead group of 3. Luckily I managed it and we got away as a 4. The gap increased quite quickly over the first few laps of 6 and continued to go out steadily over the remainder of the cycling leg.

Going out onto the first of 4 run laps my legs felt pretty tired, but after getting into  my rhythm I started to feel alright. I let a little gap go to 1st and 2nd at the very beginning, which was Livvy Mathias and French athlete Jessica Fullugar, who had won in Lausanne the previous weekend. This meant I was running solo for the rest of the run, knowing I had to limit the time I was behind the front and keep ahead of fast chasers behind me. I was motivated to push knowing that there was a World champs place on the cards and not wanting to lose it, and also a comment my mum and dad had made previously about the possibility of getting a puppy (this may or may not have been serious but in my eyes it was motivation enough to dig as deep as I could).  I was really pleased to finish 3rd in the race and also 2nd in the British Championships. It was a bit of a waiting game to see whether I got one of the spaces for Worlds and I am happy to say that I did, I have been selected to represent GB in Rotterdam in a couple of weeks time, along with Livvy, Kate and Erin. Its going to be a really good way to finish off my Junior career.

My next race was the mixed relay cup in Nottingham, representing Loughborough II. This was a really big event, broadcast live on BBC One. We would be racing teams from all over the country and even international teams, such as Canada and Australia. Our team consisted of Livvy Mathias, Barclay Izzard, myself and James Teagle on the anchor leg. We had a strong start, with Livvy passing over in 9th, coming in with a very strong pack that wasn't strung out too much after the first leg. Off next was Barclay, who again had a really good race and passed over to me in 10th. By this time in the race it was very strung out, so this meant I had a solo effort for the whole of my race. I could see a pair just up the road on the bike but I wasn't quite able to bridge the gap up to them. I worked as hard as I could and tried to work transitions as much as possible to try make marginal gains. I handed over to James in 10th, and once again he had a solo effort. He had a super first 2 legs and ran really well to bring us up into 9th place. Overall it was such a good atmosphere and experience, I really hope the event is here to stay. It was also great to see Loughborough 1 get onto the podium, a great effort from all. The next couple of weeks is just about getting some decent work in and getting ready for Worlds, which I am super excited about.

Lausanne European Cup 2017

The week started in Loughborough, with a training camp with the English, Welsh and Scottish Talent squads. We partially fitted into the Loughborough training schedule and partly did our own thing, which meant I did some sessions I normally did with the Lboro guys, but also had some other stuff just with the squad, this gave it a nice balance. It was a pretty tough week of training, and then most of us flew straight out to Geneva on Thursday morning (the 3.30 wake up was not pleasant) to get to Lausanne for the race in the Saturday. The scenery for the race was by far the most beautiful place I have ever raced. The swim in Lake Geneva, with mountains as a back drop was almost breathtaking.


  We were all so excited to race in such a beautiful setting. The race came around quickly and before I knew it we were lining up, it was a non wetsuit swim and the sun was shining. It was a big field, with 54 girls on the start list, and luckily I was number 19 so I had a pretty big selection of spaces on the pontoon. Without realising I went straight to the middle, which probably isn't always a good idea if you don't want to be caught up in the chaos that is open water swimming. Luckily I had a pretty clean start and got near the front very soon. The water was slightly choppy and the sun was bright which made sighting for the buoy pretty hard, but after a little bit of meandering and 350m later we hit the first buoy and I was sat on the feet of the lead swimmer. The dynamics of the group didn't change much in the second half of the swim and I came out the water in a line with 4 other girls. It was a short run to T1 and a small group of 12 got away together, including 4 Brits. The bike course was the toughest that I have done on the European cup circuit, with a very steep and long climb, followed by a steep descent, but fortunately it wasn't very technical. The front pack got slightly reduced to 8 going into T2 and I was happy to be among the leaders after what was a very hard bike. Setting out onto the run I found myself in 5th, but quickly overtook and was running with fellow Brit Lissie Hood in second and third. We had 3 laps to do, and half way through the first I got broke away from Lissie, but also got caught by Erin Wallace, another Brit teammate.
I was feeling really good and I stuck with Erin until the end of the second lap, where she got a few meters on me. Sat in third I was still feeling strong and it was starting to sink in that I had the chance to podium here, in my last Junior European Cup. I held onto third and once I crossed the line I was still in a bit of shock. I had been working so hard on my run and it was finally paying off. Couldn't have asked for a better way to finish my Junior European cup career. Back in England now and no time to relax as we have the World Championship qualifier race next Monday at Mallory park, so I am excited to race there and Lausanne has definitely given me the confidence going into this final race of the super series.
Also really excited to be an AMANZIGIRL for the coming season, love training in their suits and excited to be a part of their team!

Tiszy 2017

I went out to Tiszaújváros the week before the race, along with Issy Morris, in order to get used to the heat and prepare well out there. More people joined us during the week and by the end there was the rest of the Brits who were racing staying in our same apartments. Tiszy is different to most ETU cups as it has the semi and then final format. This is super tough racing, especially in the hot and humid conditions of Hungary. I was in semi final 1, whilst the other 2 Brit girls, Issy and Olivia Mathias, were in semi final 2. I had a very good swim here, getting about a 10 second lead over the next person. Out onto the bike and I wanted to push hard to get a bit of a gap. There was a large chase group behind me, I couldn't count how many but only top 14 qualified and I wasn't certain there wasn't more than that. I got off the bike with just over 20 seconds on the chase pack and ran tempo for the first lap, got information about the rest of the race and whether or not it was safe to ease up for the second, so I could just get through into the final with minimal effort.

 I felt very strong during this semi final and was happy to finish 1st, which gave me good confidence going into the second day. We did an easy spin in the evening and prepped well for the next day. In the final I was ranked number 2, so had a lot of choice on the pontoon, so I chose the same place as I'd chosen the previous day, number 17, as it had treated me so well the day before. It was a violent swim, I got closed in by both of the people next to me and had people pulling my feet and dunked all before the first buoy. I went round the first buoy in 14th place and then had to start trying to make progress through the field starting from there. In the end and after a big effort I managed to exit the water in 5th. Unfortunately I just missed the front pack and was in the large chase group, where minimal cooperation was happening, so the front pack just kept making time on us. Going out onto the 3 lap run I was feeling frustrated with my race so far and the first lap wasn't that great, but going onto the 2nd and 3rd lap I started making really good progress through the field and sprint finished to grab 11th place in the end. Even though the placing wasn't quite what I was hoping for, the performance itself made me proud. The key thing I wanted to work on was my run and this race definitely showed that I am making steps in the right direction. Next up for me is Lausanne ETU cup in few weeks. Hopefully this will be a really fun and good race, with a massive GB contingent on the start list.

End of first year

After having Easter at home, I went back to Loughborough a week earlier than most in order to prepare well for BUCS sprint triathlon, held down in Calne. I was super excited for this as it was also going to be my brothers first triathlon (excluding kids triathlons when we were teeny). I went down to Southampton to see Eddie and stay with him a couple of nights before so I was nearer to the race location and that way didn't have to get up at 4am on the morning of. I had a solid swim, with it being in a pool I felt confident as this was essentially my number one sport before taking up triathlon. Out of the pool and set off onto a 22km non-drafting bike leg. It was a windy day and at some points very lonely on the course, only seeing 2 other athletes the entire time as I was one of the first set off in my wave. I had my bike computer on for this race, which I found useful as it gave me an indication of speed and if I started to drop or ease up, it would nudge me to push on. In from the tough bike and just a 5km to go. This was lonely as I didn't see another athlete at all for the entire run, which made it hard to properly race but I kept trying to push myself as much as possible. I was really pleased to finish 5th in my first BUCS tri, still got a couple more years as yet to see what else is to come. 

After BUCS, up next was Llanelli triathlon 2 weeks later. A race which I love but also know is gonna be tough no mater what. Here my swim start was terrible, fully awful! I had to work my socks off to get back to the front of the race and past quite a lot of the field. After the first lap the field was pretty close together, being able to see this with a running exit and entry between laps. On the second lap there were 3 of us off the front and the pace went up and this is were most the damage was done to chasing competitors. After a slick T1 there was 2 of us away, Olivia Mathias and I, onto the bike with roughly a 15 second gap to the chase pack. It was a very windy day which made the breakaway extra hard work, but we tried our best to keep away and after the 5 laps, we had a time gap of about 50 seconds to the next group. I went onto the run and felt better than I did the previous year, but still felt pretty flat. This may have been down to an extremely tough bike or I just didn't have my best run legs that day. Either way I finished 6th in the end, after a fast group of runners stormed through. I was pleased, not thrilled, but content with this result. It shows I had made progress from last year and that things were definitely going in the right direction, just needed to get more work done and keep focused. After this race I then had to have a slight change in focus from sport to exams, with it being my first year of uni and first big set of exams. I was meant to do Leeds aquathlon at the beginning of June, but unfortunately I had to pull out as I had a crash the week before and had a little niggle which prevented me from being able to run and kick in the pool.

Next up would be my first ETU cup of the year, Holten. This is one of my favorite races and I was super excited to be on the start line for my 3rd and final race as a Junior here. Seems like a repeating record here but  once again my start wasn't great. I need to learn to be more aggressive when getting off the pontoon and with my first 20 strokes. Once I found clear water I started making progress through the field and quickly found myself at the head of the race, with a couple of meters on the rest of the field. Going out of T2 there was just one other girl and I to begin with and we tried to have a go at a break but pretty soon got swallowed up by the big pack of chasers behind. It was a wet day and a technical course, this put me on edge a bit as my confidence was still a little bit knocked after my crash the previous month. 2 girls saw an opportunity and made a break off the front and they held it, I was disappointing to miss this but i wasn't in a good enough position in the pack to get onto the wheel. I was relieved to have made it round the bike safely and in a good position. Onto the run I felt strong, probably the best I've felt in a while. I found myself with a Russian girl and we were pushing on well together, I'd found a decent rhythm but at 2km got a bad stitch, I tried to push through but found myself having to ease up to try and get rid of it, this is where I lost the Russian and found myself running on my own for a while. I kept trying to push on once the stitch eased up and with about 1km to go it completely went and I really tried to dig in. In the end I finished in 10th. I was pleased with this as I think I executed a decent race, but ideally I would have liked a higher placing and the race ti have gone a bit more my way. This weekend just gone I did the Lord mayors 5km in Norwich, this is a fab race through the streets of Norwich on closed roads just before the Lord mayors procession. It's a tough race, going up a steep and long hill 2 times, round the roundabout and then down the hill again. After a big week of cycling in Holland with my family and plenty of running, I was aiming to just have a hard run and enjoy that electric atmosphere that the race undoubtedly always provides.

 

Performance assessment weekend 2017

Now at the end of second semester of my first year of university and its starting to hit me how quickly the year is going and soon enough I will be sitting my end of year exams and having summer. With summer quickly approaching, also means the arrival of the triathlon season and that kicked off partially this weekend just gone at the Triathlon England Performance assessment weekend. This consisted of an 800m swim Time Trial on the Saturday and a 20km bike to 5km run race on the Sunday, starting at your swim time (e.g. I was 13 seconds slower than the fastest swimmer, so started the bike-run 13 seconds after they did). Saturday also consisted of talks and informative sessions: about physiology, nutrition, selection policies and I also gave a presentation as Female England talent squad captain, along with the male captain Alex Yee, about the ETS from an athletes perspective. Hopefully we gave a good insight to the amount of support we get from the programme, as well as a little peak into all the fun and good experiences we get up to. I was happy with my swim, being 15 seconds faster than last year and finished ranked second fastest swimmer. This left me in a good position going into Sunday, with the possibility of a breakaway on the cards. I had a very smooth first transition, and soon found myself past the first swimmer, and out front on my own, I knew Liz Hood wasn't far behind me on the swim and knew I would soon find her with myself on the bike. We worked well together to maintain a 40-50 second lead on a large chase pack of 8 going into T2. I felt pretty tired off the hard bike, very heavy legs and heavy breathing but slowly got myself into a rhythm. I had a solid run, nothing special and I know I can definitely run better than that and it is just about getting into race mode again, but managed to hold onto 3rd still, which I am very pleased with after not having the best of seasons last year. It has definitely given me some of my confidence back and I am excited to crack on with the next month of training before BUCS sprint triathlon and then Llanelli. I have the next 3 weeks at home, out of the bubble that is Loughborough and spend some quality time training and relaxing with my family and friends, but I am certain after these 3 weeks are up I will be itching to get back to Loughborough and into my normal routine and studies again

Uni Life

 Its been a while but finally found time to write about what I've been up to and how university is going. Since September I have been living, training and studying in Loughborough. It was a hard transition into the training centre and living in Halls but one that I feel went quite smoothly. Moving into a place full of strangers is a very daunting thing to do, but its crazy how quickly you make friends when you're living with people 24/7. To start with it felt as if I was on a training camp, staying in accommodation and would be leaving
after a week or so to go back home once it was done. It was hard to get my head around the fact I would be there for 11 weeks before I was to go home again, but those weeks absolutely flew by and it seemed like only a couple of weeks before I was back home in Norwich. The training load is probably what made the time go super quick, I was tired most the time as the amount I was doing compared to back in Norwich was a lot more, but it is really enjoyable being with a solid group and I have much more time to be able to get the training in, so I can get it all done during the day so my evenings are pretty free. So far this winter I haven't done any cross country, not even county champs which felt weird, but the one race I have done and really enjoyed was BUCS Duathlon. This was my first experience of a BUCS event and it didn't disappoint. It was great to be able to have my brother and parents there as well, with it being Luke's first duathlon I was happy to be there and watch him race. I was really pleased with my race, I had a strong first run, coming into T1 just inside the top 30. Out on the bike I started working through the field and managed to get myself into the top 10, having the 4th fastest bike split. I kept working hard on the 2nd run and finished up in 11th place, which I was very happy with. We managed to get 3rd team in the girls competition, and overall Loughborough got top Uni.  Just before going home for Christmas I headed out to Rio Maior, Portugal with the rest of the England Talent Squad for a week of warm weather training. It's the third time going to this venue and it is always as good every year. The area has great cycling routes, running trails and a fab 50m pool, so perfect for a camp. Now I'm back in Norwich enjoying Christmas and some well needed recovery time and preparing for another solid block of training to come in Loughborough.

Sweet and sour end to the 2016 season

Next race for me was Liverpool triathlon, which doubled up as British Champs and World Champ qualifiers. We had 6 weeks between the Bananaman tri and Liverpool, so this meant 6 weeks of hard work. During this time I also went to Sheffield for ASA Nationals with City of Norwich SC. Here I was part of the 17+ yrs 4x100m IM relay, swimming the butterfly leg. It was nice to be back in that environment one final time after being with the club for so many years and finished on a high, swimming a strong leg.  I was looking forward to Liverpool, as I always enjoy the course and race, especially being in with the senior women as well, making it a more interesting race. Not so much this year though. I had a terrible start in the swim, being 3 people back at the beginning and got madly caught up. I did manage to make my way through and around people and eventually got myself back up to near the front of the race, but didn't manage to get back on to the very front few swimmers, which meant I ended up in the chase bike group, which I was happy with, as it was just Sophie Coldwell and Jess Learmonth out front. Unfortunately, I didn't have the legs or the lungs to stay with this group on the day, being dropped back to the second pack and after that just lost my head. I finished the race after a painful but character building run. Just one of them races to forget about and move on. 

 Final race of the season was at the commonwealth games venue at Strathclyde park, Glasgow. I put in a really strong block of training between Liverpool and this race as I wanted to do my current fitness justice. We went up to Scotland on the Tuesday before the Sunday race day in order to have time to recover from the ridiculously long drive and acclimatize to the crazily cold temperatures up there. The race was early on Sunday morning with a 9am start and my race being the first of the day. I prepared well and felt good leading up to the race. I was very pleased with my swim, although I didn't get the best start, which is pretty standard for me due to not having as much speed as others, but then managed to make my way through the field and onto the feet of the lead swimmer. After about half way through the swim, us front 2 managed to get a bit of a gap on the rest of the field and this continued to grow for the remaining metres. The nature of the course meant it was hard for a breakaway to stay clear, as a result of this, after the first lap of 4 Emer Wintsch and I were caught. I tried not to let my head drop and keep working hard to make it an honest race. A few attacks were made but nothing stuck and the group was working well to catch any threats. I made a few tactical errors and in hindsight this probably made the cycle a lot tougher for me than it should have been. I went into transition close to the back, again making a silly mistake which had a big impact on my race. I started the run behind the lead pack and felt like id left my running legs 300 miles away in Norwich. I struggled through a bad stitch but was pleased to finish 8th overall after a tough race and long season. 

After the race I came down with a bad cold which summed up the race and the how tired i was and i am very grateful to have some time to rest and recuperate now before getting back into hard training.

During all the build up to my races I also received my A Level results whilst on an ETS camp at Leeds, I was over the moon to get into my first choice university, Loughborough, to study Human Biology and this was the main aim for this year to get to Loughborough. I am really looking forward to making a fresh start here and having new challenges come my way starting in October. 

My swimzi XK keeping me warm in the cold Scottish
temperatures.

Thanks to my sponsors for supporting me through an up and down season but their help made it much easier: Zone3, Precision Hydration, Carl Goose sports massage, SportsAid (Howes Percival)  and Swimzi.