On to 2015!

It seems like yesterday I was writing my last blog of 2013, saying goodbye to what are great memories of the training camp in Spain and getting ready for Christmas time with my family. In a way, I see my life as if it's a triangle. One side is my social life, the other for training/school work and the final side is racing. You have such a simple shape which seems harmless. Well, this year has been far from that. 

Mallory Park Crash

I started the end of 2013 with a foot injury which I carried into 2014 which held my training back quite a bit, and took longer than expected to recover from. For a period everything was fine until May when I came down with a mysterious illness which I couldn't find an ounce of energy to even bat an eyelid, let alone complete my 'life triangle'. Suspected glandular fever and numerous blood tests and everything came out fine until I didn't see much recovery. For a month I was bed bound quite a few times and turned out I had cystitis in my bladder. It was then where I had the most important races around the corner, and this broke my heart knowing there wasn't anything I could do about the situation. I brushed the bugs off and got back to training and headed out to a high level European cup in July, where I ended up with a puncture. I felt so completely bummed out I was so determined to get something right. The week after I headed down to Mallory park with the North West academy for triathlon training. with a loose pedal and and a quick transition I ended up with no skin down the whole of my left leg and ligament damage in my ankle. This lead to a DNS at the world junior qualifier (British champs). I was at breaking point and there was no motivation left in my body to move (not just because I couldn't walk at the time). I had one race left which seemed highly unlikely I'd be racing, but there wasn't anything else I could lose so what the heck. I trained lightly for 10 days, solo swims, a few runs and one turbo session and I was out in Nottingham doing what I love. I finished in the top 10 which I couldn't complain with. Two weeks after my season ended I found that the blood tests I had taken in May had shown I am anaemic which was a relief, but also such a massive pain for me. However September came and I've had a great few months of training and loving it. I've gained a place on the England Talent Squad and have just returned from a winter training camp in Portugal with the team which I loved and I genuinely had such a great week of training and was consistent throughout. So, maybe it wasn't a simple triangle formation this year for me, it was more of a decagon. However, I think the main thing was that perseverance is the biggest challenge I faced and I'm glad I pushed through the wall made up of 1 million bricks. I'm not writing out all of this to show that I'm the injured and the most ill athlete, but I'm writing to show that sometimes, you just have to get on with it regardless of the situation. I honestly, did not expect half of what happened this year, but even so, you just have to pick yourself up and focus on the next thing. I do so strongly believe that everything happens for a reason. I do believe that God has something in store for me, and whatever that may be, then I'm grateful for it.

ETU European Junior Cup -
Nottingham

This year, however has had its positives. I finished 3rd at the British Duathlon Champs which I was selected for the World Junior Duathlon. I finished 9th in Vierzon in a Junior European cup where I was first out of the water. I finished 3rd in the British Aquathlon champs and finished with 7th in Nottingham in a European Cup.

So yeah, no pains, no niggles, just hard, consistent training for me and I'm definitely back to my three sided shape. I hope you all have a great Christmas and a wonderful new year.

 I would also like to say a massive thanks to my sponsors; Blueseventy, Summit Physio, Chia Charge and to the help of the Bolton News, KiDs of Bolton and The Endurance Store. I'm excited to get stuck in to 2015 and I can't wait what it has in stall for me. 

Portugal training camp with the squad girls

ETU European Junior Cup - France 

British Aquathlon Champs -  London

Leah x

wetsuit for thermals

I'd pretty much written off my season due to a crash at a training day on the 28th July. I had low range of movement in my leg and suffered soft tissue damage to my ankle which for the first week was impossible to walk on. I was gutted. Considering so far my season had been nothing but ups and a lot of downs, this topped it all off. I obviously had no choice but to pull out of Liverpool (British Champs). I could hardly walk, let alone swim-bike-run. a few days before Liverpool I was walking fairly okay and was able to swim. I decided to watch the race at Liverpool to show my support. As my race set off I couldn't help but shed a tear knowing I should have been battling the gruelling conditions like everyone else.
The day after my dad asked me about Nottingham. What about it? there wasn't much point in me racing... I had scabs all over my leg, a flimsy ankle and my bike was away being repaired so I didn't have the best chance of good training leading up to the race. But I remember just how desperate I was to race at Liverpool and how much racing means to me. So, I gave it a lot of thought and my leg would have been better the week leading up to the race so up to then it was just giving myself the opportunity to train and to get moving again.
Another bump in the road: my swimming squad had finished for the two weeks as a summer break so this meant public swimming making up my own sets with the old lady who also thought she was a 'fast lane' swimmer. However I just had to get on with it, as I really didn't have much more choice.
I got back running which was quite shaky. My calf was really, really tight so this didn't help at all and I had to finish sessions early. Cross training and treadmill runs were done and I had my bike back 4 days before the race, in which I did 1 turbo session.

But none of this mattered because all I wanted to do was race. I love racing. The atmosphere and the thrill of it all. So race day came and I was really quite relaxed and ready. Everyone was more than surprised to see me kitted up with bike in hand and some thought I was crazy. But honestly the pains had gone and there wasn't anything to stop me now from racing.
The swim for me was quite good. I found it quite a slow pace which I was happy with, and managed a top 3 out of the water. My T1 was quite slow however managed to make front pack and god knows how I managed to stay with the pack for the entire 4 laps. I apologise to Kate and Meg for my lack of contribution, however my legs were about to drop off any minute which showed on the last element - the run. My crash happened because my shoe unclipped whilst dismounting, so this made me extra cautious of my dismount this time round. In T2 I racked and my bike bounced off which made me panic. So try number 2 and it stayed, then moving on to my shoes I was fiddling with them for which seemed like a lifetime. I was last out of T2 in my group. My run really wasn't my aim at all and I just wanted to finish the race. This made me relax too much and when I was caught by team mate Sarah, I realised I had to start moving if I want this top 10 finish. I was being chased down by an italian and it came down to a sprint finish which I won, and overall, I finished 7th.
I took 7th with a huge beam on my face, I couldn't actually believe I did that after all the trouble. I admit the field wasn't big however its quality, not quantity and the girls were absolutely amazing out there. They always say don't do the 'what if' but really, if I hadn't gone too slow out on my run then who knows? If I was fit, who knows? But I'm taking everything in my stride and feeling so positive about the winter training. So I'm happy with my race, yeah it would have been nice to have been top 5 after hanging on for dear life on the bike but hey, I wasn't even going to race, so I really can't complain! My run I admit was shocking, but I can only get faster I suppose.

A long blog, but this is my official season ender and it has (surprisingly) ended on a high for me.

the wetsuit has been put away and is being replaced for the gloves and head warmers. Will keep you updated on the winter training season

Leah x

Derwent Epic Events

Last weekend I headed to the better part of the north; the Lake District to compete in The Epic Events Series, the first one of the three races was held at Derwent water.

I was helping out there on the stand for the day, so got there pretty early and was I glad about that. Such an absolutely stunning day. The sun was out which complimented the lake perfectly. The public from the town came down to watch parts of the races and it was generally a very busy day. There are three swim distances to choose from:
The 500m swim
The Mile swim
and for those feeling adventurous; the 3.8km.

I chose to swim the mile, as its near enough the perfect distance for my type of racing at the moment. For my race the weather was still gorgeous and the water was the nicest I've ever swam in; not too warm or too cold. I was greeted by England Squad athlete Jordan Hull, who was too swimming the same distance to me. My race had just over 377 people so due to the big numbers we split in to three waves. I was fortunate to be given a really lovely pink hat which was easy to spot from afar.

So we set out and I managed to hold on to Jordan for around the first 400-500m before he stepped on the gas and left me. I got out in front straight away and made sure I established a strong lead over the other girls. I was soon to be caught by two other boys, who I managed to draft for a while to then soon be left (again).

I then settled in to quite a nice pace which was probably a bit on the slow side, however with being in no-mans land I couldn't really bring myself to speed up.
Going in to the finish there was a bit of a mix up which unfortunately cost Jordan the race... Due to being where I was in the lake I was the first person to be told to go the right way which didn't change my overall position. I saw Jordan come around the buoy and after telling him I'd have to give him a sprint finish pre-race it was going to actually happen! He easily cruised past me however so not much of a sprint, but a leisurely finish which secured me 4th overall and the first girl across the line which I can't complain with. The course was a lot longer than previous years and managed to take off 2 minutes from my last time so I was quite happy with this.

A big thanks to Blueseventy for their amazing products, especially the wetsuit. Also Summit physio for the great support given to me, it is really appreciated.

Next is England talent camp leading up to Geneva for an ETU junior cup

Leah x

Thumbs up after the race...

By the Summit Physio Stand

In to the finish in my Blueseventy wetsuit

ETU Junior European Cup - Vierzon

It's been quite a drag up to my first triathlon of the season. I started my season off end of March in the British Duathlon... But now the season has truly kicked off for me.

To start my tri season I headed to Vierzon, France for the ETU Junior European Cup.

I travelled down with other athletes... which for me was a 19 hour journey from home to the hotel! Talk about shattered! Not to worry though, I had good lie in on the Saturday morning. Saturday was the course familiarisation and briefing. I headed out with my friends and did 3 laps of the bike course to get a good feel of it and to notice the more technical parts of the course. The bike had a slight hill for around 200m then the rest was a bit twisty turny and one 90 degree turn. I then did an easy run which was around the run course. The run had one quite huge hill in it, which you ran up twice. I didn't really mind the hill, it was quite nice to have something different to a flat course. To finish I did a swim recce, I looked along the pontoon to where I thought the best place to start. The swim was literally all one straight line to the other side of the river. I did a quick wetsuit change at the other end and then that was my course familiarisation done for the day. We had our briefing and got out race packs then it was time to get a good rest before the big day.

The morning of the race I was actually really, really nervous! I don't usually get big nerves, I put it down to it being the first race, just wanting to get it out of the way in the best way possible!

I was number 5, this gave me a good choice when being called out on to the pontoon of where I wanted to start. It was raining before the race and the winds were quite high, the current was going to be against us during the race.
Everyone had lined up on the pontoon and at this point I was suddenly calm and relaxed, even the heart beat didn't make me nervous! Now the funny part:

As the women said 'on your marks' usually the hooter is quite long and loud. In the briefing they said if there was a false start, depending on how many people false started, would depend on if they restarted the race. In the race, the hooter was really quiet and short, because of this, I was the only one left on the pontoon when everyone else started the race. I heard someone say false start but I was so confused, I watched my race dive in and I was just a spectator on the pontoon. Someone had false started but because it was only a few people the race carried on. So, whilst stood there like a bit of a lemon when my race had well and truly got under way, I just had to dive in and do what I do best; which is the swim! I literally dodged my way through the field and after a blistering 150m, I found myself at the front and pushing the pace... I think I was so scared of not making the pack from being left behind so early in the race!
I was out of the water first, and out of T1 3rd. For the first lap I worked with a french athlete which was good, but it wasn't holding the chase pack of 12 behind off. We got caught after the first lap of 5km and then we stayed together for the rest of the race. For the hill, I lead twice so I could take it at my own pace and to stay out of trouble! The ground was wet so this just made me extra cautious, especially when athletes to my left went down on a corner!
Going into T2 I felt quite good and for the duration of the run I genuinely felt okay, I just got in to a slow rhythm which I couldn't get myself out of. I had a few stitches but you just have to run through them which I tried to. In to the last 300m I literally flew in to the finish, not realising how much I had in reserve and finished in 9th place.

I was happy with my result. I didn't expect much from my run, however, even though you get told not to, I had the 'what if' in my head of if I'd just picked my rhythm up like I did for the last bit.
I got a top 10 which I can't complain with for my first race of the season and I will take the positives in to my next race and work on my negatives... and actually start instead of being an up close spectator!

Well done to Megan who did ace and finished 7th! great work on the bike and strong running.

I would like to thank Blueseventy for the support of my new wetsuit... really worked a treat for me!!

Next race for me is the Aquathlon held at Hyde Park.

Update soon

Leah x

The season is under way!

FINALLY. After months and months of waiting around and getting last minute preparations done, the season has arrived!
The first race of the season is the British Duathlon Championships which was held at Rockingham Race circuit, Corby. It has never been held there so it was quite a new and quite a nice change of scenery to start the race season off.
Admittedly I haven't been up to full running fitness. I actually only got back running around two weeks ago and I was more than nervous before the start of the race. I felt like I also had to perform, with coming second last year at this event I did feel a tiny bit of pressure, but I'm pretty sure I needed that to get the best out of the race.
The thing about the duathlon, for me and for a lot of others out there racing today, is that the results you get from it doesn't really matter. From a triathlon perspective, a duathlon is completely different from a triathlon, so although you still give 110% in to every race you do, it isn't a fair indication of where you are compared to everyone else at the start of the season. The swim in the triathlon is such a crucial discipline and you need that to be with a chance of really performing at the top level. I am no way slating duathlon's, they are great races to get some good hard running and biking done and I've always liked them, that's why I do them!

Anyway moving on. So without having much run fitness I knew I was going to have to do this race tactically. I knew the strength of the other runners in the field so I had to play to my strengths which was the bike. I've really worked on my bike over the winter; being out of running since the beginning of December I've been able to work on my other two disciplines, so I suppose I've gained something from the time I've had out.
The race set off at a pace I didn't expect. I thought it was going to be a lot quicker than it was. Although I was nowhere near the front runners, I was quite surprised at the speed it set out at. I set myself towards the back of the field, and my aim was to go quite easy on the first run (5km). Most people would see that as a bad move but I knew there were a few strong cyclists where I put myself so I saved as much energy as I could on the first run to really get a hard bike in. I feel that the harder the bike, the better I run off it strangely! 5km had passed and I ran 19:22. By no means fast at all, the lead junior 2 minutes ahead of me going on to the bike. I just had to keep my race plan in my head and on to the bike I really got my head down and latched myself to a woman who was absolutely smashing the bike. Each lap we were closing down and just before the last lap we had caught the leaders out of my age group. This is exactly what my tactics were. From working on the bike up to the group there were now 5 junior girls in with a chance of a medal. However, in the last half of the bike I could feel cramp emerging in both of my calves and I was in quite a lot of pain. I tried so hard to stretch my legs on the bike and had to move to the back of the pack but I had no joy doing this. It felt like every time I stepped on the gas my legs were telling me to stop by giving me such horrible shooting pains. I only had around 800m to go off the dead turn so I didn't want to get dropped so close to the end. Off the bike I thought it had gone, however once I tried to get into my stride my legs were persistent on not letting me. I ran past my dad who was shouting at me to move my butt, but all that I could respond with was a whale-like call saying "cramp." I ran past my coach, at this point the cramp was so bad that my legs made me look like I was attempting to do Irish dancing. They were everywhere. I couldn't pull out though. All the hard work to get to the last bit, to stop wasn't an option! 300m into the run there was still no joy, but I just had to get my head down and get on with it. I got to the first corner on the run which started you out on to the big loop which was 2km long. A twisty-turny course and quite undulating I found the run such a mental battle at this stage. You was able to see runners out on the course due to it being so open, so although it was a disadvantage to see who was in front, you could also see the chasers when going around corners. After about 400-500m of attemptive running, the pain in my legs had died down and I just thought to work on my technique and by doing this, it eased the pain. I didn't really know where I was position wise with around 1500m to go - we race with the senior ladies so the only idea I could get was to look at the numbers of the athletes ahead of me. After about number 145 the other numbers were senior ladies. I then saw a junior girl around 20 seconds ahead, I was so sure she was in second place, which meant I was in third. Turning the corners I could see the other junior girls chasing which made me work that little bit harder. Going on to the last 800m or so I could see my dad through the railings and he confirmed I was in third. I could see a girl behind chasing me down, but knowing I was in third I wasn't going to let it go and I finally got in to the stride I so long waited for and give it all I had and had a strong finish.

So, I finished third today. Being completely honest I can say that I did not expect to podium at all, that a top 5 I would have been over the moon with. I've honestly never been in so much pain on a run but I know that I can always push that little bit harder in a race if I need to. My tactics really worked today, with putting the work on the bike I had more to give on the last run which payed off.

Well done to the girls Bronwen, who won and Sophie in second place today. The race was great and most certainly a hard one!

Thanks to Summit physio for the support and for getting me on the start line today. Thanks to my great sponsors Blueseventy for providing me with the best kit too.

I'm so glad the first race is over, I find it's always the worst one! You just have to get it out of the way and now it's to focus on the triathlon season, it's going to be a busy one!!

Next for me I am going to Welbeck for a training camp with the England Squad, along with team Scotland and Wales. I'm really excited for this camp, I love the atmosphere and everyone is so lovely and are great to get along with!!

Content after receiving an Easter egg!

Bronwen, Sophie and I at the presentation

Happy Days!

Receiving my medal!

More to come soon,

Leah x