The Dog Days of summer…

This month has been about not racing, but I still ended up doing one: another low-key evening Eastleigh Aquathlon, which I couldn’t manage to win this time!

Training-wise I’ve just done the sessions I felt like, and done much less high intensity work. I’ve just been enjoying being out on the bike, running local trails and swimming, all in the sunshine. It’s been nice to fit in sessions with friends, and a couple of great rides with Kitty including the Big Wheel 21 sportive 5 miler. I have finally got sucked into Strava, which has given me a bit of extra motivation on my favourite local segments. I also rode with North Hampshire Road Club for the first time… which was fun right up to the 50 km mark when I totally bonked!

I’ve also got my GBR tri-suit, so I’ll have to post a photo of that soon! Other people have had a lot of trouble with purchasing the kit. I originally ordered the wrong size, even after factoring in the warnings about the Z3R0D size charts. Thankfully Wiggle (who run the British Triathlon Shop) exchanged it in just a day or two, and I took it down the road to Blade Printing Services who put my name on it while I waited. Great service from both companies! I feel like I need to try wearing it for a race before the world champs but it also seems wrong to do so before having actually raced for GB… Catch 22! 🙂 Perhaps the next Eastleigh Aquathlon?

With Hyde Park on the horizon, training next month will get more focused. I’ve signed up for Richard Stannard’s Aquathlon Masterclass on 3 August, to see what I can learn and hopefully meet a few other athletes who will be at Hyde Park. The same weekend is also Concorde Triathlon. Despite the fact that I’ve made a lot of progress in the last twelve months, I think I’ll be doing well to repeat my podium appearance from last time!

Finally, here’s the comparison between this month’s training, last month, and last year.