The not quite end of Season.

After my last blog post i thought i had put this season to bed and was hitting winter training and relaxing a little. However i was quite wrong! I have entered my definite last event of the season! BUCS duathlon on the 24th of November.

This race should be really interesting and fast. It takes place on Castle Combe race circuit so flat, closed circuit which should be very smooth. The race is a 2 mile run, followed by a 10 mile bike then a further 2 mile run. All around the track. The event is BUCS so i will be up against many other students from across the country which should make it very interesting. There will be guys of elite racing level to just your average student. But i am looking forward to racing against people in the same life positions and just to have one final blast of the year!

I am now a few weeks into my training with coach Graeme Stewart. I can honestly say it is the best decision i made, every day i will check Training Peaks and look what i have to do that day. It's always different, fun but also challenging. Some days i will work all 3 disciplines other days i will just do a long steady bike. I am really enjoying the new challenge and pushing myself harder and harder. I am in the pool more than i ever have been, i used to do around 1-2 sessions a week in the water now I'm swimming about 4/5 sessions a week. Every session is thought out and i am doing new drills, technique work and fine tuning every aspect of my sport.

Using Training Peaks and various watches and computers on the bike and running Graeme can analyse my data and we can compare it to similar sessions to see where improvements are coming. Training peaks is a great tool and i am just getting used to being able to use all the features!

Training this hard isn't easy i wont lie. Im pretty hungry all the time and usually in bed by 10pm. But i can feel my body changing and improvements coming already. I have fresh motivation and knowing that you have someone to tell me what to do and to check if i am doing it is very helpful. Im also really enjoying the routine, knowing when i will train, when im hungry, when i need to sleep, which locker i need to use at swimming otherwise things go wrong (slight OCD). I feel once you use a routine your body gets used to it and begins to respond.

For the next couple of weeks i will keep training hard leading up to this Duathlon. I am very excited to race again but i think after this one the season will definitely be over and the winter miles begin. I have also gained myself a job at Evans cycles and i believe with them it will help me go in the direction i want too and also i may be able to afford some winter kit! But thats another story.

Thanks for reading, i will report back after the race.