2018 race season starts tomorrow....

Uni work has been a bit crazy the last couple of months for Angus and I so we haven’t had that much time for social media, blogs etc so we thought we’d just sum up what we’ve been up to ahead of our first Tri of 2018 tomorrow! :O 

Swimming

Starting with the first and best triathlon discipline, swimming (Angus rolls his eyes). We’ve been swimming for Leander Swimming Club and really enjoying it! It’s been a great way to get us back in the pool regularly after our non-existent winter training. I think even Angus will agree that we’ve both found our love for the water again and are starting to see some speed again. We’ve been fitting in between 3 and  5 swim sessions a week ranging between an hour and an hour and a half. After exams are out the way we want to up that to 5/6 sessions a week in the pool and start doing some longer swims including some open water swimming too! 

Emily

I have taken part in Varsity swimming (NTU vs UoN) and Nottingham masters county champs and this has given me a good indication of how my swimming is doing over the shorter events. Varsity took place on the 25th April and I swam 28.8 for 50m f/c and 1.02.9 for 100m f/c. Nottingham masters county champs took place on the 13th May where I swam 2.15.9 for 200m f/c, 1.02.0 for 100m f/c and 28.5 for 50m f/c. So some improvements seen in just a matter of weeks! I’m still way off my pbs from my swimming days but I do less than half the training so pleased with where I am at the moment! Thanks to Zone3 for my new racing swimsuit!

Angus

Angus has been working hard in the pool but hasn’t yet got the confidence to race at the single discipline, yet! However he did take part in the Lincoln Detasimons Aquathon on the 16th May where he swam a PB for the event, coming in at 10.30 (800m open water) and won the Aquathon overall! 

I am so proud of the progress he’s making, this month Angus has starting tumble turning during training and diving off the block. Still some timing issues with his turns when going faster but the progress he’s made is brilliant. Not only that but Angus has been improving his stroke and reaching more as well as rotating his shoulders more to make the most of his long arms - still lots of work to improve his catch which will definitely improve his speed more! In training Angus has got some great PBs, including breaking 2.22 for 200m and 30 for 50m!  I’ve got to take some credit for his progress being a great coach 💁🏻‍joking!

Cycling

Getting out on our bikes for an hour or so has been a really great revision break especially on the days we’ve had some sun 🙌🏼 We’ve been trying to fit 2/3 cycles in per week but the last couple of weeks it’s been 1/2. Over the last couple of months we’ve both changing positions on our bikes. I have got my aero bars back after Angus and my Grandad (ex-cyclist) moan how un-aero I am. I ditched them due to my inability to cycle in a straight line when on them and hardly using them but Angus helped me massively with my confidence more than anything and I now don’t see why I ever hated them. I can go down on them straight away, cycle in a straight line and even change gears without getting back up. Hopefully by getting more aero I can start cycling faster this season :D 

Angus had also improved his position with changing his handlebar extensions and a few other aspects of his setup which will hopefully let him bike even faster this year :) 

Running

The last and least favourite event (both nod in agreement). Running has been frustrating for us both the last couple of months. After injuring my knee in January I’ve had to be very patient with my running. Angus has supported me massively and helped me be patient as at the start I tried to rush getting back running. We starting from running for just 1 min and built it to running for 10x1 min. Then 2 mins etc and this has taken a while but sometimes you have to go backwards to go forwards. The last couple of weeks I’ve been running 3k continuously pain free and last week even managed a park run, making it the longest run of the year. However it wasn’t fully pain free so I’ve taken a week off, iced and hopefully I can run during the tri tomorrow! 

Strength & Conditioning

A key part of triathlon is the S&C training that goes alongside training for the three sports, ensuring the body is strong enough to withstand the stresses put on it from training and racing. We’re lucky enough to be supported by FKPro who make suspension trainers that we can use to assist with our S&C training and make the most of the time available. Although this is often the first aspect of training that gets neglected when time is tight, we’ve managed to get a few S&C sessions in using our FKPro over the last couple of months and are really seeing the benefits of it - we look forward to progressing our S&C training over the coming months and use the FKPro more to ensure we can stay injury free as much as possible.

Sponsors 

We would both like to thank our sponsors for all that you do for us and the support given to us so far - we hope to do you proud with our racing over the coming months :)

Massive thanks to,

-Raceskin, who design the coolest kit that’s brilliant quality and super fast to race in! We can’t wait for our Team Emgus suits to arrive - They look amazing! 😍

-Raw Sport, yummy plant based protein that helps us recover after hard sessions and races! 

-Zone3, for your comfy, flexible and fast wetsuits!

-FKPro, for helping to progress our S&C training.

-Sunwise, for keeping the sun out of our eyes and looking stylish whilst cycling and running!

-Sockmine, who’s socks are so comfy and have kept us blister free during all of our training.

-Pedal Potential, for helping us to fund our racing

-Pic’s Peanut Butter, the best tasting peanut butter ever!!!

First triathlon of 2018...
Tomorrow Angus is racing in National Standard Distance Triathlon Championships and I will be competing in BUCS Standard Distance Championships.

Thanks for reading :) 

Emily (&Angus)

Team Emgus