Winter is Over.

Well it’s April already! This can really only mean one thing in a triathletes calendar, its race time! No longer is it winter training but now it’s race season, it’s time to step up the sessions find that last bit of speed from the winter and get ready to race.

For me I’ll be kicking off my season this Sunday with Triathlon Portocolum. It’s a 1km swim, 100km bike and a 10km run. The plan for me was always to start the season early, I’ve been training solid since last October and being in Mallorca means I can race a bit earlier than the UK scene.

This race is no doubt going to be a challenge to begin the year. The bike course ascends San Salvador twice, a brutal 5km climb with a very technical descent also! As well as this the remaining kms are pretty hard going and it’s the longest I will have raced on a bike. There will be no hiding on this course! Although there was an option to just do a 50km I I wanted to test myself, I believe I can climb well and my power on the bike has massively improved so hopefully I can show that on the course. It is also a good tester for looking at half ironman racing in the future.

Over the past couple of months I have had some really tough bike swim and run weeks where the intensity/volume of one of the disciplines increases. I have really enjoyed this, for me I feel strong and that I can push more power and speed on the bike and the run and my swim fitness seems to be in a great place.

I have worked really hard this winter and im very proud of what I have achieved day in and day out. I have trained as much as my mind body and coach have allowed me and I feel in a great place. I am of course nervous, the first race of the season is always a little daunting but I think that will fade soon after the swim start!

After the race on Sunday things will get a little hectic. I fly to Barcelona in the evening to join my coach and the G Squad group for a training camp in Callela. I’m really excited for this, although I train full time it’s going to be incredible to have a solid group of guys to push off and the have Graeme there every day. The fancy hotel, spa and buffet are also a nice treat!

After that im pretty much racing every weekend in May. I have a long course triathlon in Mallorca as well as the draft legal tri here at Best. Then it’s back to the UK to hit the age group scene and some national champ events but more on that later!

This week I will fine tune make sure everything is where it should be and get into the open water a fair bit. From the test sessions I have done I feel ready. Im hoping for a strong first race and that my legs will still be there on the run. I don’t think the distance is a challenge but staying mentally focused and keeping it controlled on the bike will be new to me.

Thanks for reading and the support across winter. A massive thank you to my parents and my coach Graeme. I couldn’t do any of this without your support. It’s been a long hard winter and im ready to see what I can do.

A few photos from around the island!