August Blog

The last few weeks have been quiet for Angus and I, as we haven’t raced since the 1^st July, so no race reports this month! After a few build weeks we’ve got in some good quality sessions ahead of World champs in less than 3 weeks’ time.

Speed work

To help Angus and I get our fitness back and keep motivated we’ve been adding in some different sessions to try and get in a bit of speed/race prep work. On the 10^th August we did the Alford 10 mile TT and on the 26^th August I did my first Parkrun.

Alford TT

After a few wet days at the start of the week Angus and I hadn’t cycled yet so on Thursday (10^th August) we planned a double bike day. On the Wednesday before we went swimming and then travelled to my parents in the afternoon. After a quick catch up with my parents Angus and I wanted to make the most of the clean air in the Lincolnshire countryside so did a tough run set as I struggle to get any pace into our sets in Nottingham without constantly using my inhaler. My mum and Rob (my brother) decided to come along for the run too where Rob was on my heels for most of it and mum did her own thing as part of her marathon training. The set Angus and I did was as follows:

10 minute warm up

quick stretch

2 x 2 minutes sprint with 2 minute recovery walk/jog

6 x 1 minute sprint with 1 minutes recovery walk/jog

10 x 30 second sprint with 30 second recovery walk/jog in between

15 minute cool down jog

Afterwards we rolled and stretched using our Active Kits from Function Jigsaw.

On Thursday morning (TT day) we woke up very sore from the run and hoped that an aerobic bike would loosen off our legs a bit. We rode for an hour and a half on quiet country roads, something I definitely miss.

In the evening Angus and I were still feeling achy and sore. We both was unsure how the TT was going to go but we looking forward to doing as even though we were sore the weather conditions were better than last time. My brother Rob and sister Tory also came along to do their first TT. Rob was the first of us to go, then Victoria, then myself and Angus last. I watched Rob and Tory set off, they are both much better at bike handling then me even though Rob is 12 and Tory is 14 so they both were held up at the start and I chickened out and started myself without being held up.

I struggled at the start but it helped having Rob and Tory ahead because it made me want to catch them. It took me until 4 and a half miles to catch Tory who was laughing as I went past, taking it seriously as usual haha! Then I saw Rob go past the other way and he looked like he was going pretty fast as I cheered him on. After the turn around I saw Tory on the other side on the road and she was still laughing so at least she was enjoying herself. I was tired and kept getting out my saddle a lot to keep going. I saw Angus briefly as he had only just started as I was nearly finishing.

With less than a mile to go I knew if I kept pushing I could beat my time from the last TT I did but it was going to be close.

I finished in 28.18, a 42 second PB with sore legs. I was really happy with that and can’t wait to do another to try and beat that time again. Rob did 32.34 and Tory 36.16, both good times for their first TT, as Rob was tired from the run too and Tory spent most of it laughing! Glad that they are both enjoying cycling and Rob hasn’t lost his confidence after breaking his wrist in a crit race in May.

Angus did another fast time of 22.30 and was only 9 seconds slower than his last time. Great effort after a hard day.

Parkrun

Angus and I have been meaning to try the local park runs and finally got round to registering and getting out of bed on a Saturday morning. It was both of our first ever park runs and we got there early to do a warm up and then stood together near the start. There was 400 people so it was busy and the paths were very narrow, we got a bit boxed in before the start as most people arrived late and just stood at the front. That was more of a problem for Angus than me but I didn’t like all the people around so was glad to start. It was a two lap course and soon strung out but took Angus 1km to work his way to the front where he then lead for most of the 5km.

The pushing and being cut up and blocked in throughout the race reminded me of school cross country which I definitely wasn’t used to anymore. I was a bit put off after the finish but now I want do definitely do another. Angus lead it until the last 800m and ended up coming second by 10 seconds. We’ll definitely be back as it’s a good way to do some fast running and best of all, its free!

Thanks for reading! Next month Angus and I have two races planned, a local sprint where we are racing to be the best tri couple and then the most important one of the year, World Triathlon Championships in Rotterdam.

Emily