Date: February 28, 2025

February took my brother and I up north to Thurso for a weekend of surfing. We spent all day Saturday getting tubed at the main wave in town called Thurso East. When the swell dropped on Sunday we headed west to the scenic beach of Torrisdale where frigid peat stained rivers meet the sea. After the surf we headed to The Store at Bettyhill for a heat up and a delicious stew before driving home. The exposure to the cold over the two days led to me getting a bit of a cough which unfortunately knocked my training for a few days. 

Being ill is one of the most frustrating things for an athlete, especially when you feel ok, but not well enough to train. It is always the same – you’re worried that all previous fitness has gone down the drain and you are back to square one, but it turns out a few days off training because of a cold isn’t enough for you to completely detrain. Once you do get back into full swing, you realise your fitness is still there and you get a boost of confidence when things start going in the right direction again.

When I got back to training, my coach started to implement some race specific workouts such as brick sessions to get the body prepared for the first few races of the season. A big part of my training schedule is strength and conditioning and over the winter I have found myself becoming really strong in the gym which I feel has transferred to swimming, cycling and running. Next week, my gym sessions are being cut down to allow my body to absorb the training before my first race. Right now my main goal is to stay consistent and sharpen the racing tools before the season begins.