British Championships.

After returning home from Switzerland i had a massive come down and suddenly became very unwell. For the first week back at home i was struggling to leave bed, keep my eyes open and was constantly in a dangerous state of dehydration. There was no motivation to train or do anything other than a very easy jog. When i tried to train i would feel sick and completely wiped out. I was a bit silly in the heat after the race with a long ride and believe i flushed my system of essential minerals and this led to me feeling this bad.

This sickness continued for two weeks and training was minimal and i was feeling nothing like i was pre Geneva and was worried i was almost completely burnt out. However with British championships coming up decisions were being made. To race, to rest or to take some time out. As you may know i am a little stubborn so i decided to try and train and that i would try and race. I ignored a lot of advice from people a lot smarter than me but i suppose it was always my decision.

So a couple of weekends ago i turned up at Liverpool, not feeling 100% at all and to race the British Championships for the second year.

Finish time - 2:02
1500m swim - 22:11
40km bike - 1:01
10km run  - 33:23
Position - 4th in AG 20th overall

The swim start was fast and pretty hectic from the beginning and i was struggling from the start. I felt very tired as soon as i started swinging my arms and just didn't feel very fit in the water, Im not sure if this was the sickness or the lack of training but the swim just felt a struggle. I came out the water later than i would have hoped and just prayed i had something for the bike and run.

Out onto the flat fast 4 lap bike course i was immediately flying, the legs just felt fantastic and like they were rested and ready to go. I was pretty surprised but just put the head down and enjoyed the feeling! I had a guy near me on the whole bike who i knew was a strong cyclist so my goal was to always keep ahead of him and just keep the power high. Occasionally he would get ahead but i pulled him back and just kept on the front hammering the power. I knew i was having a very strong bike and was going beyond my limit but after the weeks i had i wanted to give the race everything and really see what i could do. Once again there were a few instances of people sitting right on my wheel and drafting. Its becoming a bit of an issue now and if im burying myself to sit at 300watts and they are tucked in it is a joke.

Onto the run and i was feeling tired but good, if the bike had been much longer i would have blown up but i was ready to go on the run. I knew the course from last year and just set out the run as hard as possible, my parents and sister were being incredible with the support and i felt really strong on the run. I caught a few more guys and really pushed to finish as high as i could. With it being a 2 lap run i tried to negative split the second lap and leave everything out there.

I crossed the line 4th in age group and quite honestly couldn't believe it! After having such a horrific couple of weeks and not feeling up for the race this was a massive result, 10 spaces higher than last year. It is a shame though as i really think if I was at my fittest i would have made that podium, maybe a better swim would have put me there. But i can't dwell on that for me it was a massive result and the lift i needed after a post Geneva comedown!

So since the British Champs i have been preparing for this weekend which is the Scottish middle Distance champs in Aberfeldy. It's going to be a real test for me to see how i perform over the longer distance as this could be something i may focus more on next year. Training has been up and down but this week seems to be getting better. Im really motivated for this race and have nothing to loose so come Sunday i'll be a man on a mission.

Thanks for reading and all the support as ever.