European Duathlon Championships

Powerman, Netherlands
Sunday 13th April 2014

Well I can safely say that getting a silver medal at the European Duathlon Champs completely exceeded my expectations. What a lovely surprise! This might have been because I didn't have any expectations! In fact, my approach was completely different to this race and I was calm, happy and a little more ready to accept whatever will be will be.  It was also a huge surprise because the lead up to the race had not gone swimmingly to say the least and I'd like to share a few quotes with you to sum this up:

"Put the ghosts of last year to bed, this is a new season with new athletes on a new course". 

These wise words were spoken by Mark Phillips who in his sixth sense could tell a few months ago that I was not up for this race. In 2013 I had been bitterly disappointed with my race, I had been riddled with illnesses and I was frustrated by my result. I was worried that going back to race the same event in the same place would bring back these disappointing memories. Actually, Mark helped me to see it as an opportunity to be a real athlete and overcome the adversity I had faced last year.

"You run OK for a busty girl." 

It's funny that despite coming from a running background, running is my weakness. I ran on the track (first sprinting, then middle distance) from the age of 8 but I am by no means a natural runner. I did it because I loved it. I made great friends and had some great times. But throwaway comments from running coaches along the way do stick. When you're told you're too big to be a runner, you don't have the right physique or you need to shift a few kilos.....it sticks! Despite the encouragement from more recent running clubs I have joined (including the fabulous athletes at Northbrook and TRiKS), I still regarded myself as a poor runner....maybe now I will finally let go of that belief!

"It's just post-viral fatigue, you'll be fine if you rest for 3 weeks". 

I have felt rotten, as in really rotten, ever since Oulton Park and my new coach Dermot and I have had many discussions about what training I should and shouldn't do....which as the weeks went by turned into whether I should or shouldn't race. In the end we decided not to decide. I felt quite relieved by that and I packed my bags for Holland with an open mind. By the weekend I said to Dermot I felt up to racing and he simply said "Agreed" so I knew he believed I was capable of a good race despite the setbacks. This, if anything, may have been a blessing in disguise as I had no pressure, no hopes, I was just simply happy to be racing.  I also received some really nice messages via Twittersphere from Big Suz (@suzie_richards), Kate (@norwichkate) and Elysia (@elysiaridley) who also believed I would do well. (Thank you!)

The race was not until 2pm on Sunday afternoon so I had some time to ride my bike, do some yoga, and complete some crosswords on the Sunday morning whilst our friend Russell took on the long distance course. This was his GB debut and he came in just outside the top 10 in a fantastic time, which he was really chuffed with. He then made up part of the chief supporting crew also including my Mum, Mark (Jacqui's husband) and Zoe & Natalie (Phil's wife and baby!).

Number 1 fan - Mum (the others are comparing maps!!!)

New additions to our support crew - Zoe and Natalie!

From left to right: Russell, Chris, Me, Jacqui and Phil

With about 5 minutes to go to the start we huddled in the starting pen that made us seriously claustrophobic! We were packed in so tight that my nose was right up a man's armpit! I must admit I felt a little sick! I was tucked in just behind Jacqui and there was a lot of pushing and shoving going on. As the horn went off and we got away, Jacqui absolutely flew off into the distance like a gazelle and I knew that would be the last time I saw her! Here it was time for me to exercise real discipline and I remembered what I had planned with Bill & Dermot and discussed with Chris. "You're not interested in the first run!" Don't get me wrong, I wanted to run well, but I did not want to commit 100% to the speed and instead wanted to run within myself so that I could really race the bike and second run. This was hard to do with so many girls going past but I had an inner-belief that it would all come together on the day. The run was so incredibly fast but I felt good and came into T1 in 18:53.

Running fast, feeling relaxed

Out onto the bike and I was weaving past people through the windy roads of Horst. Once out of the town the bike was very much a 300m fast sprint section, followed by a 90 degree corner, then another short fast sprint section and another corner. It was time to exercise goal 2 of committing to the corners (last year I was terrible on this bike course). It seemed to be going pretty well apart from a couple of scary moments where I thought I wasn't going to make it! I felt better having spoken to Jacqui afterwards who said she too ended up in a field!  

The bike was going relatively well. I knew the German Maria was up ahead of me but other than that I wasn't sure where I was coming. As I was faffing around with a gel my good friend and fellow Brit Suzy Robinson overtook me. Suzy is a fantastic cyclist and was going really well after a week of warm weather training in Majorca. Last year she caught me on the dismount line so she was having a great race to catch me a little earlier this year.  I was just about to give her a shout of encouragement when I noticed the Dutch girl Dieuwertje also overtake me, closely behind Suzy.  I had lost 2 places in the space of 5 seconds and needed to refocus. My attacking of the corners was going well until I hit a cone to do a 180 degree turn which I completely ballsed up and then took ages trying to clip my foot back in again. Refocus. Concentrate. Produce the power. I was soon approaching the twisty roads of Horst again and slipped my feet out my shoes as I approached the dismount line.  I could see Dieuwetje and Suzy having a bit of a nightmare on the dismount line and as I hopped off and ran past I saw Suzy having some sort of battle with her shoes, half attached to the bike and half itching to run into T2. 

Negotiating the corners

I racked my bike quickly, helmet off, trainers on, and despite being the last one into transition, I was the first one out. Russell yelled "you absolutely nailed them in transition!" and then another supporter yelled "come on Sam, let's do this shit!" I was buzzing from our mini race within a race, I had no idea what position we were battling it out for, or how far behind Suzy and Dierwertje were but I felt happy, positive and strong. I worked hard on the second 2.8k run. Going round the final bend I got a cheer from Greg (Suzy's boyfriend) and Jessica Earp (who had started our race but must have got into some difficulty & I thought she was a true sport staying to cheer us on), and it was only then that I allowed myself to look behind me to see clear ground. I grabbed the GB flag and really enjoyed the final stretch into the finish.

Finishing stretch

As I crossed the line and got my breath back I waited there to see who would be next. I was keeping everything crossed for Suzy, not only because she is my friend but also because I felt she had put in a really gutsy performance and deserved it. A few seconds later and I could see a runner coming into view......it was Suzy! I cheered her as she crossed the line and got a lovely sweaty hug! It wasn't until she said "Where did you come?!" that I thought, "I think we've only gone and got in the medals!!" I'd normally ask my Mum but because I wasn't expecting anything I'd told her not to bother counting the women! Maria, the German who had won, came over to give us a big hug and congratulate us on our second and third place!!! We still weren't sure if it was true or not, in fact it wasn't until ages later when we saw the results printed in black and white that we allowed ourselves to believe it! It was fabulous to share the podium with Maria and Suzy and I was absolutely over the moon with silver.

Podium Girls

The day went from great to greater when I reliased Team Mate Jacqui had defended her title to win the European Gold for the second year on the trot! She was the only woman to do this and I can honestly say she never ceases to amaze me! My other half Chris made his GB debut to finish 20th which I thought was amazing, although he was disappointed to lose 10 places on the second run. When I put it into perspective for him (he had a whole load of beers the night before....and the night before that), I think he could reflect on it a bit more positively. And finally Chris' cousin Phil had finished in 7th place in his race, which was again, another brilliant GB debut.

Jacqui on her way to becoming European Champion (again!)

We train hard, we laugh harder!

Now I know I haven't won an Oscar or anything, and at the risk of taking myself too seriously I just wanted to say a couple of big Thank Yous. Firstly to Dermot, I know I'm not the easiest person to work with and I really appreciate your help and commitment to me. Bill and Pam, thank you for having pride in how far I have come and faith in how far I can go. Chris Janzen of Triathlete Mind for getting me in a winning mind set, I am loving my new approach!! Mum, Mark, Russ, Zoe and Natalie for all of your support on the day (and of course in the lead up to the event Mum), I always said spectating is harder than racing! Mark, Jacqui, Russell & Phil for making the trip so much fun. The other athletes for making it a great event, it's always nice to catch up with friends from all over the UK and Europe too. And finally Chris, who nearly ran past me on the first 5k without acknowledging me and then ran back to say "I love you!" You have redeemed yourself! Thanks for everything you do for me.

The gang!

The European Duathlon Championships, both this year and last year, taught me that sometimes things go your way, and sometimes they don't. Sometimes you get the success you've worked for, and sometimes you don't. But if you make that decision to try, if you continue to persevere and bounce back, then one day I'm sure, you'll come out on top. 

Oulton Park Duathlon

16th March 2014

Sprint Distance ~ ITU World Qualifier

We (Chris, Mum, Jacqui, Mark, Alister and I) travelled up to Chester on Saturday afternoon to stay with my friend Jess so that we didn't have quite as far to travel on race day. Now for those of you who think I'm ditzy....you probably haven't met Jess! She decided last min (and I mean last min) to register her intent to qualify for the GB Age Group Team. I then got a call from her on Friday afternoon asking "what the hell is the BTF?" and "Do I just make up a membership number?" After a few frantic phone calls she managed to get sorted. I then got a text off her on Saturday saying "Don't worry about a thing about staying here...it's all under control".

Jess & I

Famous last words!  Here is a picture of us the night before the race realising we didn't have a bed so carried it from one of Jess's houses to her other one (don't ask!). 

Carrying a bed by moonlight through the streets of Chester!

For breakfast the next morning we ate cereal out of mugs and when we sent the boys out for milk and butter the night before they returned with a couple of beers!!! It was all rather strange....but we wouldn't have it any other way!!

Enjoying the City Walls of Chester

One word to sum up duathlons = HARD!! I had won this event last year in 1:11:07 and wanted to have a little run out to go through the motions before I finally start some speed work. It was SO cold and SO incredibly windy which seems bizarre as once we got back to Sunny Stourport on Severn it was bikini weather! Anyway, the race went like this:

* First run "This hurts, I don't like this, I need to stop. Ooh there goes Jess. There goes Jacqui. There goes Chris. Wait for me!" Try and just run under 17 mins as that will equate to a 19 something 5k. Job done.

* T1 "Just have a little rest". My bike is racked next to Jess' but she is on it and has no time for a natter!

* Bike "Why am I cycling on the spot?!? This is ridiculous. I must have punctured. Should I get off and check?"

* T2. "I am never doing a duathlon ever again! EVER!"

* A huge cheer from Anna.....apparently I was coming third overall despite thinking I was about 300th!!! "Ooh that's nice". 

* Second run "This still hurts. Keep going". Wooosh there goes Charlotte Taylor. "Where the hell did she come from?" Super Speedy! 30 seconds to the finish line and another lady on my shoulder. No next gear for me. Woosh there she goes. Cross the line. About to tell everyone how much I hate duathlons and that.....ooh jelly babies and milkshakes, must get stuck in to eating...so easily distracted. 

Sam, Chris, Ali, Mark & Jac -
Our club was well represented 

So more to the point, my team mate Jacqui came THIRD OVERALL! She is a legend. If she ever gets round to updating her blog you'll be able to read it HERE (but don't hold your breath). My other half Chris (who trains 2 hours a fortnight) qualified in the 35-39 Age Group!  Super proud of him!  I finished 5th overall (2nd in Age Group) and have also qualified although I will need to learn to love duathlons before I commit to going! Alister & Mark also from our very small club are also in with a great shot. And Jess.....in her first ever event.....made it too, taking the final slot in our Age Group! Super chuffed and super proud of her!

Jac on the podium!

So....the positives? A great day out. My run is still surprisingly OK despite mostly steady/base training. Super to see so many familiar faces...Lydia, Sarah, Aaron, Craig, Mike, Ian, Ellie &bump....far too many to name, but it's the people that make the racing fun to be a part of! Fab to see Jacqui on the podium and great to have such great support from everyone.

Introducing Anna, Craig & Mum -
Just some of our supporters!

Things to work on? Well.....quite a few things. But this time last year I had pretty much peaked. In March? Yep! So careful training now means I have a great engine to build on and lots more to come.  

What's next? The European Duathlon Champs in Holland. So maybe my parting thought of "Never doing a duathlon ever again" will have to be put on hold....just for a little while longer!

Maxifuel Duathlon

5k / 20k / 5k

Organised by F3 Events

So a few months ago my friends (& speedy cyclists) Suzy Robinson & Kate Scotter and I arranged to get together for some training and a catch up. Suzy offered to be the hostess with the mostess and we went to stay with her in Oxford (or was it Cambridge?) for the weekend where she would wait on us hand an foot. But there was a catch....? We had to race with her at the Maxifuel Duathlon at Dorney Lake!! My first thoughts were "no way, never, what...in February?" but I figured no-one else would be mad enough to race this time of year so it might be a nice easy chance to blow away the cobwebs.

How wrong was I?!? When I saw the start line in the week, the field was stacked!!! The event was also to host the Oxford Vs Cambridge Varsity Race. There was also super speedy and ex-international hockey player Natalie Seymour, and the Age Group World Duathlon Champion Eloise Du Luart, along with at least 10 other GB Age Group athletes who have all raced at a high level, a whole host of Thames Turbo Athletes and even the legend herself.....Dame Kelly Holmes (cue major excitement!)

So anyway we rocked up at 8am in the morning and did a whole load of faffing and with 1 minute to go to the start I was still in the queue for the portaloo, missed the whole of the race briefing and had a mad dash to make sure I didn't miss the race.  There I found Kate....who had forgotten to put her timing chip on! More faffing before she decided to race without it and then the horn went off and I didn't have a clue what I was doing. That said, the first run went relatively well. Having done no speed work whatsoever (that's right Neill Crump, I am not faffing about with zone 6 training just yet!) I expected it to be a shock to the system but it was OK. Unfortunately for me the run was a whole 250m long according to my garmin (fellow athlete Alan also thought the same, you can read his blog here) so the time on paper looks disappointing but not to worry at this time of year. 

I came in off the first run in 7th place and hopped on the bike. I was keen to check out the bike course as I have never raced here before and after a rather tentative first lap I soon got into it and enjoyed the battle against the wind. I also enjoyed riding my bike for the first time this year and getting used to the new position thanks to my bike fit at Speed Hub (thanks Tim!). I must have over taken most of the girls quite early on but it took me part way into the third lap to catch Eloise.  I knew I'd have to put as much time between us as possible if I was to stay ahead of her on the second run. I finished the bike a little too fresh but was so happy to clock the second fastest bike split of the day, behind speedy Suzy (who beat most of the men aswell)! 

Suzy, Kate and I at the end (I have so many layers on I look like the Michelin Man!)

Pink trainers on in T2 and off on the second run. Legs OK? Yep. Snot everywhere? Absolutely! Sore hip and back? No. Fabulous! Let's crack on! So I ran with a guy from Leeds & Bradford tri club and had a little chat "Guess what...I'm coming second!" I said to him. "No way! That's awesome," he replied. "I know, but Elo is catching me," I said. To which he replied "Well stop chatting and run harder!". 

So by this point Natalie was absolutely storming the field. She had led from the start and she was on it! I had a comfortable lead on Elo....or so I thought.....but your legs can only move so quick when you've done no speed work and with just under 1.5k to go she caught me and gave me a cheer of encouragement.  I stayed with the Leeds & Bradford tri guy (friendly Northerner) who told me he had punctured in the race which was a shame. He kept my feet ticking over to help me finish only 20 seconds slower than my first run, taking third place overall to complete the podium trio.

Podiums and goody bags!

It was great to catch up with Natalie and Elo at the finish and it's fab to see these new athletes coming through and really throwing their markers down as the ones to watch! You can read more about Natalie's successes and adventures here and Elo's here. (Good luck for the rest of the season girls!). My friends Suzy and Kate came in not long after us and had both done really well following various injuries and stress fractures! They were closely followed by Dame Kelly Holmes who was full of smiles after puncturing at this race here last month.

So this is the highlight of my year so far.....my super talented friend Rowena Cole is an amazing (and I mean A.M.A.Z.I.N.G) track runner and she has been part of the On Camp With Kelly (OCWK) set up for years whereby she has been mentored and supported by Kelly to help her realise her potential. She had text Kelly in the week to say I was racing so when I told Kelly I was a friend of Rowena's I got a super lovely (and super sweaty!) hug!!! (Thanks Kelly, and thanks Rowena!) The thing that was so nice to see was this Double Olympic Champion had time for everyone! She was having her photos with people, chatting away, motivating and inspiring. I will never forget that!

I'm hoping now to get cracking with a bit of speed work and that my hip and back will continue to play ball. The venue, sunshine and race organisation was absolutely spot on. Would I recommend an F3 events race? Definitely. Any lessons learnt from the race?  Take your own portaloo!

Watford Half

The first weekend of Feb arrived

Which meant my first trot of the year

So off we went to Watford Half

With my Mum in tow to cheer.

Preparation for this had been dire

As I'd developed a dodgy hip

So my run mileage and training

Had taken a massive dip.

The goal originally was sub 1:30

Which I still think I can do

But with set backs thrown into the mix

I had to settle for something new.

The best I could do for training

Was ditch my trainers for the bike and pool

Chris told me if I did the half marathon

I would be a real fool.

Time and effort was invested into physio

And I was just keeping everything crossed

That I could at least make the start line

And all would not be lost!

So the new plan was to run 5k

Or 5 miles at a stretch

And when the hip pain came I would stop

And chill out on a bench.

I would sit and watch the others

Have a mars bar and a beer

Then I'd stroll back to the finish

It was a really great idea!

So off I set at a speedy pace

I heard people cheer my name

The first mile markers quickly passed

But the hip pain never came?

Yet another great action shot taken by my Mum!

So I just kept running to see if it did

Trying to enjoy the day

And around mile 8 it suddenly hit me

I'm going to have to run the whole way!

"Pleasantly undulating" the handbook said

More like "evil and vile"

My lack of running really showed….

…..my legs ached with every mile!

Course profile!!!

But I trotted round and made the finish

And felt a huge sense of relief

It's amazing what your body can do

With a bit of faith and belief!

I finished in 1 hour 36 in the end

The distance was a test!

And although originally I'd hoped for more

I knew I'd tried my best!

Birthday Blog

Disclaimer: this is just a load of waffling with a few pictures that made sense to me!

I've just celebrated my birthday and am now in my final year of my twenties, which also means the last year of the 25-29 Age Group! When I first turned 25 I was only just beginning to understand what a triathlon was and thought it was rather glam and rather exciting! I still have the same enthusiasm that I had then but I have also come to value other things a lot more as well.  For example, I do love training, but I also love having a clean house and succeeding at work and spending time with my friends.  It's hard to sometimes find that balance and succeed (in your own way) at everything you want to succeed in.....being today's modern woman is tough! 

When I first got involved in triathlon I also thought, "How exciting training for 3 different sports!" Now I think "It would be much easier to train for one!" I often read through social networking about how much people are loving training and they can't wait to get up at 4am to do their 5k swim. That is great to hear, but in all honesty the few times I do set my alarm for a morning swim I feel more like this:

It has, however, been a great honour  to race for Team GB every year in this Age Group and it's been lovely to see some of the girls I started with go on to (&succeed in) elite races, and it's nice now to see new faces coming into the sport.  I feel like an old & wise lady that has many a tale to share!!! One thing I have learned is to not get disheartened when all goes wrong! For example, I am supposed to be running the Watford Half Marathon next weekend but a little thing called injury has got in the way. I've hardly run at all this month, I've done no speedwork whatsoever and my hip really hurts from the outset.  I'm still in two minds what to do (I know what the sensible option is) and it made me realise that the reality can greatly vary from your plan!

Another thing I've noticed since racing triathlon is how expensive it's getting! I went to enter a sprint distance race the other day and it was a whopping £71.50! For an hour of racing!?!? I enter the races (reluctantly) because I love competing, and there are some good companies out there who do actually care about the athlete and give some good value for money races.

I've also noticed (or maybe I've just become aware of it more) of a lot more Facebragging than there used to be! I have probably also been guilty of this but there seems to be a common need to post about every single training session, and everything that has been consumed, and all the recovery clothing that is being worn. I sometimes get exhausted just reading about it! I think the biggest learning curve then is to focus on what you are doing and not worry about everyone else. Come race season the results will do the talking and as long as the journey along the way is enjoyable that's all that matters!

I've also learnt that as the years have gone by I've really had to up my game to compete with the best age groupers. Holding down a full-time job, running a functional home, making time for your nearest and dearest and triathlon training can be pretty tough (as you already know!)! I remember in 2012 I did the odd day in the year where I trained twice a day. I thought I was the dogs bollocks and that nobody else would ever dream of doing that. How naive I was! I realise now that training twice a day is the norm for many athletes. Thankfully I've insisted on training smart and not judging my training based on how many hours a week I'm doing.  I also insist on plenty of rest days and time for normal things!! But it has opened my eyes to just how much triathletes train. It's also made me more accepting of my performances.  The circumstances and opportunities for Age Groupers to train varies so much from person to person so the only person you can judge yourself against is you.

So with that wisdom I will wish you all the best in being completely fabulous in whatever it is you would like to achieve. And I'll wish myself a happy final year in my twenties Age Group!

Just Keep Swimming

As a kid I did every sport going. That also included a short spell in a swimming club when I was about 10 years old. Unfortunately it didn't last long. Constantly having to wear a verruca sock wasn't a good look! The other youngsters in my lane also used to sprint to catch me up and yank my foot underwater until I was close to drowning so that they could swim over me and finish the length first. It is also not natural to want to train for a sport where you can not breathe! So after a few months I told Mum I wanted to join table tennis club, trampolining club and high board diving club instead and that was the the end of my short lived swimming career.  When I started swimming again at 24 I couldn't remember how to do front crawl and had to start from scratch again, starting with just a length at a time.  All I remember thinking was "why on earth did I ditch swimming for table tennis club?"

I quickly realised the most important thing about learning something new is being able to laugh at yourself. Check out this video below of me being mega serious thinking I am absolutely nailing the tumble turns.....no wonder the lifeguard used to kill himself laughing!

When I first started triathlon Mum could pick me out amongst the other hundreds of swimmers because I was the one who had the incredibly fast arms but didn't seem to be getting anywhere!  Over the years I have been able to improve my swimming.  I'm never going to be the quickest but I'm gradually decreasing the gap between my own time and the lead swimmers time, this can be seen in the latest championships I have done, starting in 2010 a whopping 3 minutes 50 seconds behind the lead swimmer in my age group and decreasing that this year to 48 seconds. Granted, every race is different and it depends on who is in the race but my geeky stats table below shows I'm stepping (or swimming) in the right direction....

	My Swim Time	Time I’ve lost to the lead swimmer in my AG	Average Swim Time	Time over average swim time
September 2010, World Triathlon Champs, Budapest Position after swim – 17th Finishing position – 11th	13:28	3:50	11:42*	1:46
June 2011, European Triathlon Champs, Pontevedra Position after swim – 11th Finishing position – 7th	13:07	2:43	11:09**	1:58
June 2013, European Triathlon Champs, Alanya Position after swim – 5th Finishing position – 1st	12:43	0:48	12:13***	0:30
September 2013, World Triathlon Champs, London Position after swim – 18th Finishing position – 7th	11:53	1:42	11:02****	0:51

* Taken from top 10 finishers

** Taken from top 8 finishers

*** Taken from top 3 finishers

**** Taken from top 10 finishers

One of my swimming highs this season was definitely coming out of the water with the lead pack(ish) at the British Champs. What a great position I had put myself in to start the bike leg.  However, last out the water at Liverpool Elite (with the canoe bringing up the rear) and also 28th out of the water at the European Champs in Turkey (giving myself a hell of a lot of work to do) made me realise that I need to crack this swimming business.

With 3 compulsory non-wetsuit races this year, it's time to learn more about technique!

To help me in the right direction I contacted my friend and swim coach Jai Evans.  Jai has been coaching swimming for 20 years and has been around the world to coach every standard of swimmer from non-swimmers and novices, through to competitive and professional athletes.  I met Jai when we raced in Belgium earlier this year and over-hearing him talk to others about swimming I thought "there's nothing this guy doesn't know!".

Jai is convinced there is a great swimmer inside of everyone (even me!). Rather than break the stroke down and isolate movements, Jai has helped explain how the whole connection of everything I do impacts on my stroke. He has got me thinking about my body position, taught me to swim more effortlessly and even got me humming when I swim!  The speed is starting to come naturally without thinking about it. Last week I clocked a 400m PB (5:43) and a 600m PB (8:58) which by the fast swimmers standards is not speedy by any means, but compared to where I started, it's a massive improvement.

The following photos taken from swim video analysis also show the progress I've made.

The above photos were taken about 6 months apart but show the same point in my stroke. You can see on the left hand pictures that I have no high elbow under the water thus no catch and I have no real sense of body position in the water, my head is all over the place and I'm often losing balance in the water. The pictures on the right show an improvement in both of these things.

This most recent filming shows a much more streamlined body position in the water. The picture below also shows more control in my rotation.

(The bruise on my leg is courtesy of Jacqui after we fell off our bikes a couple of weeks ago!)

So between now and when I next go and see Jai again I'm just working on mastering what I've been shown and trying to maximise my potential as a swimmer.  I've done a bit of research on my own and as I don't go to any coached or group swim sets, I've been thinking more carefully about planning my own swim sets.  Luckily I've been able to drag my training partners Anna and Jacqui in to help me complete them and I'm really enjoying the variety and challenges these swim sessions are giving us.

If you're interested in seeing Jai for some specific swim feedback of your own he can be contacted on swimjai@me.com and his new website will be up and running soon too so watch this space! Thanks for reading, happy training.....and just keep swimming.

1:29:59

So that's the number that is driving my winter running at the moment!

1:29:59

It's been a while since I have done a stand alone half marathon, maybe 4 or 5 years. The last half I actually did was at the end of a half ironman last year where I ran a 1:41:59. Running through winter is something I love to do. We have loads of nice places to run near home - Wyre Forest, Malvern Mountains, Nature Reserves, commons and the countryside.  So I thought what better way to motivate myself to get the winter miles in than enter a half marathon.  For some reason I had decided I would love to do a half again, I am blaming my sister who raced at the Birmingham Half where I went to spectate and thought "ooh this looks like fun!"

This was the last half marathon I ran,
I obviously didn't try hard enough as I am still smiling in the last 100m!

So my good friend Stu started on the case of finding half marathons for me around February or March time. After trawling the internet, finding lovely half marathons in cities such as Berlin and Munich, I settled on the grand location of Watford! Pay day came, the race was entered, and now it was time to set a goal. For this I turned to my friend and training partner Jacqui and our conversation went a little something like this.

Me: "Jac I've entered a half marathon"
Jac: "Which one?"
Me: "Watford"
Jac: "Fab, I'll help you with your training."
Me: "Great. I want to run a good time."
Jac: "What time do you want to do?"
Me: "1:29:59.....or less"
Jac: {pause} "Oh. That's quite fast."
Me: "No I think it will be fine.  How hard can it be?"
Jac: "It's sub 7 minute miles"
Me: "No it's like two 10ks at 45 minutes, that would be OK."
Jac: "It's quicker than that, it's longer than two 10ks"
Me: "Oh. So how quick would I have to run the two 10ks?"
Jac: "More like 43 minutes."
Me: "Oh, that's quite fast."
Jac: "Yep"
Me: "What does that work out at per mile?"
Jac: "About 6:49 minute mile pace."
Me: "Oh. That's very fast" {feeling slightly deflated}
Jac: "Yep. You could always have a range instead of one specific time."
{Pause}
Me: "No, I want to do 1:29:59"
Jac: "Great, well lets get cracking...."

And with that both Jacqui and Stu have helped me with my run training to help get me started. Who'd have thought running could be so fun! Tempo runs, progressive runs, negative split runs, interval runs, hill runs, fartlek runs....the list goes on! Best of all I am really enjoying it!

My first cross country in years....another run & still smiling

If I'm totally honest, my first thought was actually, if I can't break 1 hour 30, I'll forget the long runs and just enjoy some Christmas films and put my feet up instead. But actually I love a challenge. Hitting my target is, quite possibly, a bit out of reach, but thinking big and working hard is something I'm very good at.

I'm definitely not a natural runner. Do you ever ask someone a question hoping that their answer will fill you with confidence and positivity? After a good run session the other week I said to Chris "What do I look like as a runner?". His response was "heavy." Haha! Not the response I was hoping for but I know what he means, I am heavy on my feet and sometimes I sink a bit into my stride. So that's lead me to concentrate a bit more on my core strength and read up on run technique. It's amazing after 20 years of running that you still continue to learn more!

So now I've said it out loud (or written it in black and white), it makes the goal a little bit more real (and scary!).  I'm also very much hoping to change my own perception of myself as a runner and actually start believing that I can and will run well.  So 13.1 miles of pain, here I come. If you have any training tips of advice to help me along the way they would be greatly received.

Bring it on!