Following on from my 3rd place finish at the British Triathlon Super Series Performance assessment weekend in Nottingham, the first week in April was quite light in training. I enjoyed some easy mountain bike rides on a few new trails close by my house and spent some time in surfing too since I had two Scottish National Surfing comps coming up.
With my bike and multiple bags in hand, I headed to Stirling on the train during the Easter break for a training camp with the Next Generation squad. The main focus of the camp was to do benchmark testing.
Day 1 started with run lactate testing in the labs. This was my first time doing such testing which involved running 3.5mins intervals, with each interval increasing by 1k/h pace. Blood samples were taken at the end of each interval until my lactate reading reached 4mmol/L. After testing we hopped in the pool for an easy 3km swim followed by some additional gym testing.
Day 2 was a 5am wake up call with a swim testing session of 5 x 300m, best average. I was quite frustrated with myself as my arms felt tight which hindered my performance slightly. All was forgotten once I indulged in a full breakfast at the swimming pool cafe! The afternoon saw us head out on the bikes for a 3min and 12min power test. My legs felt strong and I was able to hold 396w for 3mins and 316w for 12mins. We ate more food and enjoyed a well deserved rest until we were back out for a short evening jog.
Day 3 was a big volume day by all accounts. We trained for over 6 hours; a 5.5km morning aerobic swim, 110km bike ride with some cornering practice and finishing the day with a 12km hill run up Dumyat. We were all excited for supper that night.
I returned home on the Friday to take part in the Junior National Surfing Competition being held at my home break in Fraserburgh. The conditions were fun and after a full day of fierce competition I won the under 18’s title.
The following weekend my brother and I headed to Thurso to compete in the 50th anniversary of the Men’s Scottish National Surfing Competition. The sun was out, the waves were over head with building swell in the forecast. It was a tough watch for my parents since myself and brother Gabe were drawn head to head in a semi final heat with myself coming out on top to secure a place in the final. During the final all athletes secured double figure scores which hasn’t been seen in a Scottish final before. I was delighted to come 3rd in such a high standard event and to make my first national final.
It’s now heads down and final push towards Llanelli Super Series and the first of my exams!
