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Firstly I am sorry for the lack of blog post last weekend but I needed to focus on my exams; which are now finally over… until A levels wooo :│ These mocks basically determine our predicted grades along with our progress over the year.
I need to brainstorm some more blog post ideas for the summer but Emma (also known as fruitsandroutes) and I have an exciting collab blog post coming soon… I thought it has been a while since I have done my Friday Fives so here we are…just on a Sunday. Although I wrote this on Thursday I didn't get round to finishing it for Friday, sorry about that. 1. Cycling Being injured can suck but this injury has made me at work at new disciplines and I have found a love for cycling. I had wanted a road bike for a while so when I finally got enough money in the spring I was excited to go out for a spin. Since joining tri club I have gained confidence on the bike and found new routes. On Friday I actually did my longest ride…60km! I really enjoyed exploring and I can say that it was one of many long cycles to come; the next milestones will be 75km and then 100km. The one thing I need to work on is my fear of cycling down hills fast, I really don’t like it and feel like I am going to fly over the handlebars. I also need to find a nice long loop to cycle because I had to combine the routes I had done before. Grace (racewithgrace) and I were saying it would be nice if we lived closer so we could cycle together because both of us usually cycle on our own (apart from when I cycle with tri club). 2. Boston Tea Party Boston Tea Party recently opened in Chichester and although I have only been twice I am a big fan. If you have never heard of the café I would highly recommend looking it up, the menu is so good. It is one of those cafes/restaurants where you can’t decide what to have because everything sounds so good. Beth and I went for a catch up/her birthday last week and we both had the BBQ Jackfruit baguette. Neither of us had had jackfruit before but it was so good but looked ridiculously like pulled pork not going to lie. Alice and I then went on Thursday too after our exams. 3. Aldi peanut butter Ok this is so random but my mum has been buying the Aldi peanut butter recently and it is so good. It is 100% peanuts and there is crunchy or smooth, I have had both ;) ! It is much cheaper than the branded ones and don’t get me wrong I absolutely love Pip & Nut and Meridian but it is nice to know that there are cheaper options that taste just as good. 4. University open days I am not sure this is something I am loving or hating. I have only been to Exeter and Bath so far but have another 3 in the next week. It is all very exciting to think that you are deciding where you will be in the next few years but it is also quite stressful sorting out UCAS applications and admission tests. I lost hope on medicine for a bit because I thought I would never get in so I considered physiotherapy, sports and exercise medicine and sports science but I know being a surgeon or the TeamGB medic is my ultimate goal so I am going to try and not lose hope. I know that sounds a little cringe but I think doing what you enjoy is the most important thing. Life may take you in different directions but just roll with it! 5. Running I am so happy to be back running again. Although I have been able to run for at least a a month and a half 'properly' (as in I can add some distance now), I do miss the freedom of being to just go out for a run. I have to plan which days I will run because I have to make sure I only go twice a week (max. three times a week), but all I can say is that it is 100 times better than not running!!! The weather is gorgeous at the moment too so I love running by the water in the early morning <3
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Last Sunday I took part in my first triathlon and I absolutely loved it! I came into the race with little to no expectations, I just wanted to enjoy it. I started triathlon club in mid-april with my first swim session (I wrote a blog post about starting triathlon if you haven't read it). Since being injured I have further developed my interest in swimming and cycling. My race didn't actually start until 11:20am but you had to be at pool side 15mins before the start for a briefing, I also wanted to work out transitions and set up etc. After a big bowl of porridge, I put the bike on the car and left, arriving at 10am. I wasn't very nervous for each part but I was nervous about transitions and how I would fair off the bike into the run. 10:30am: headphones in, music on and time to watch some of the races (it was in waves). They put in a new system in for the swim- a snake swim which meant you swam two lengths of the pool and then went under the lane rope to swim 2 lengths in the next lane - we repeated this 6 times before getting out. I wanted to check this out before going in as I was quite confused.
Time to swim; i got a bit distracted in the pool but when I got out and was running to transition, i settled into the race mode, chucking my googles at my mum and dashing to put my trainers on. Helmet on and time to ride. 33km ride lets go! I thought I would probably do it in 1 hour 20. I didn't do the race with my Garmin so had no idea of my pace for the run or the cycle. Half way into the course I was greeted by the delight of the hill; I don't mind hills that much but I did have a few issues with my gears (which eventually resolved). I had cycled the course before on my own so roughly knew the route, where the hills and potholes were etc. Oh my golly there were a lot of potholes, of which I managed to avoid; one of my main worries was getting a puncture and having to stop (lets just say I am very bad, actually awful at fixing punctures). With less than 10k to go I thought I had taken a wrong turning because I couldn't see anyone else and the only sign said Olympic distance triathlon, which was actually the right way but I just got a little panicked. I loved the ride and looking back I think it was my favourite part of the race, which I wasn't expecting to be honest. Into transition and I felt awful, I hadn't drunk anything on the ride (biggest regret) and it was now midday, I was very dehydrated and had low blood sugar so basically coming into the run I felt awful. Previous to the race I had only done one proper brick session so I wasn't really used to the dead legs off the bike. The beginning of the run was sore, I felt very weak and I wasn't sure I would be able to run the whole 5k. After the first 2.5km, there was a water station; I cannot explain how much I needed and appreciated this. I began to feel a little more comfortable and felt I had a strong finish. As I came over the line I was so shakey and felt quite sick; a mix of exhaustion, dehydration and low blood sugar. I was met by my family and Alice (who had ran from her house -10k away- to come and cheer <3) I then went to get my timings and was happy to have finished with a time of 1:39:39. I mentioned earlier that I was expecting to do the cycle in 1h20min but when I got my timings it turns out I did it in 1h09min. Seeing as cycling is my weakest area I was very happy with this. My family had to get back home and I said I was 'happy' to cycle home (I didn't really mind either way but I knew they had to get back!) because Alice and I wanted to stay and watch the awards, as well as have some of the free fruit haha. They did the awards for the podium finishers overall (both female and male). Well done to Leo who came 1st male and 1st overall. They then did the awards for 1st in age category... I was so surprised to get an award at my first triathlon, placing 1st U20 female (even if there were only 3 U20 females :)). I think Alice was more excited than I was to be honest, jumping up in excitement. Overall it was such a good day and I can't wait to take part in my next triathlon. I am currently at K2 whilst writing this, waiting for Alice's race. Adidas and prodirect shoot
When ProDirectRunning asked me if I was around on the 16th of May to shoot with them and Adidas there was no doubt in my mind; it was such a cool opportunity that I wouldn’t want to turn down. I was the youngest person there which was a bit daunting and I was quite shy but I gradually ‘came out of my shell’ and really enjoyed the day. The Solar Boost are much more comfortable than I expected ; they are so light compared to my other trainers which is perfect for speed sessions and races. (I am actually wearing them for my triathlon today)I caught the train up to London with my mum, just as we got on the train (literally hadn’t been on it 5mins) I got an email from the organisers saying that they were delayed by an hour which meant we had an hour to fill when we arrived in London which wasn’t an issue particularly as we went to a café in brick lane which was really nice. It was then time to head to the Adidas studio, I had know idea what I was meant to day or do but when I came in an adidias ambassador met me at the door and made me feel welcome and explained the plan. Soon later we headed out for a run after a technical talk (which was really interesting, hearing about Adidas’ __________) After a few warm up shots, we carried on to a park to get some running shots. Overalll I had a really good experience and am thankful to prodirect and adidas for the opportunity. |
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RACE RECAPS TRAINING BESIDES RUNNING SELF CARE BACK TO SCHOOL OVERTRAINING THINGS I AM LOVING LATELY TRIATHLON NEW YEAR Month/year
August 2023
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