Finally I have finished potentially my last ever exams, so I decided it was time to write a few sentences on how the past few races have  been ticking along alongside, so here we go…

Windsor duathlon: A solid first run saw me onto the bike in the chase pack, where I worked well in the group, closing the group to the leaders to just 15 seconds. Dropping my chain coming into transition meant I was slightly down on the group. A second solid run, just a few seconds down on my first meant I came in in a good position, and even had the energy to have a sprint finish with fellow LTPC athlete, Dave Bishop. He just got me this time but I will be back. I felt this was a major breakthrough race for me, as I really thought my run moved on over the winter and this race showed hopefully good things to come.

Eton Dorney duathlon: A bit longer this time, but a 33: 30 10k first run set me up with a minutes lead on a freezing cold April morning. Onto the bike and I was going well, but coming into t2 my hands were so cold I couldn’t take my shoes off on the bike, so full chopper mode ensued, as I ran into transition wearing my bike shoes, and fumbled with my helmet and trainers for a good couple of minutes, where the athlete in second ran past. Coming out of T2 I was about 45 seconds down. I pushed hard on the 5k run, and closed the gap to about 5 seconds, but didn’t have enough in the tank to quite take the win. Overall I was disappointed to lose the win the fashion I did, but once again the processes were good, just one mistake cost me.

BUCS sprint: one of my worst races to date last year, where I crashed and went the wrong way on the run, but this year was a different story. A solid swim, where I was lucky to get a tow most of the way from other guys in my lane meant I had an easy time, and out onto the bike feeling good. I was pushing hard at the start, but as I passed athletes, I soon noticed I was pulling a bit of a train with several sitting on my wheel, despite the race being non drafting. As the race progressed this changed from a nuisance to a real problem as occasionally other athletes would pull past, meaning I had to slow down to 10m gap and then accelerate to the front again, as they would immediately slow down and with no draft busters on the course, the situation behind me was described by some as ‘a better working back than in some drafting races’. With about 5k to go I attacked to try to lose the group , and I managed to get a small gap going into transition. Once again, the work on my run showed as I had a solid 16:30 run, to get 10^th overall and a marked improvement on last year.

Big east standard triathlon: This was the first race I did just 2 years ago, so it was nice to return this year. I had a 4 minute lead out the swim and built on that over the course of a tough bike. The run is always the bit that I remember, as one of the hardest I have ever done, due to the fact that it’s all the way along a windy sea wall, but this year it was hard for a different reason. I spent over 2k going the wrong way, and after fighting my way back through thick overgrown footpaths I found that fortunately I had enough of a lead to still take the win. A nice hit out leading into BUCS Olympic

BUCS Olympic: This was one of my best results last year, and I was keen to try to get on the podium again if I could. The swim was a repeat of last year, coming out of the water on the feet of Ali Rogers, but there the similarity ended. With a strong field, it was quickly into a situation of a non-drafting pack working hard. I was pleased with how I felt and came off the bike in third. Quickly out of transition and I caught the two ahead of me, but I knew I had some strong runners behind. All too soon I heard Sam Wade come alongside me, and we continued to run side by side for the rest of the fast flat course. I crossed the line in third, really pleased with my performance, only to find that I had incurred a drafting penalty. I felt that this was a little harsh, as not all the people in the pack had been given a penalty, when it was clear to most what was going on, but hey obviously I just hadn’t dropped back quick enough that one time there was a marshal nearby… Anyway, I ended up in fourth due to this, which was disappointing, and doubly so, as the two minute penalty also meant that Loughborough missed the overall team win, but it was still nice to come away with some silverware.

Blenheim Triathlon: With speculation leading up to this event, building it up to be one of the strongest fields ever, I was looking forward to race, and fortunately race morning didn’t disappoint. All of the big names turned up which was great to see. (Incidentally, this is the way I think it should be for the top level of British racing, with the best guys and girls racing regularly against each other. This is only going to happen however if there is a structured and well managed series of races – let’s hope that all the talk will turn into action next season and we can see some real forward momentum around this. )

Anyway back to the race, and I was pleased to emerge from the water, just on the feet of Brownlee, about 5 seconds back. Part 1 complete. Now my aim before the race was to really push up the hill to ensure I made that front pack, however my legs had other ideas, and after a painful struggle up to T1 I entered just to see the first few athletes leaving. This meant that I spend a large part of the first lap riding solo, until I met up with a couple of other athletes who had been dropped, and we worked well, until we were caught by the much larger group behind. Frustratingly, very few members of this group were prepared to contribute, so I found myself working hard with a couple of other guys, and slowly we were closing the gap to the lead pack. Coming into T2, we were about 10 seconds down, so onto the run, and I was hoping that my strong running of late was once again about to come, however, maybe due to exams, and the added stress that brought the past few weeks, it looked like I was just lacking that last 5% that would have got me the result I should have, however all things considered, I was happy to cross the line in 14^th.

So what’s next? Well, I’ve got Windsor triathlon this weekend, and another chance to dust off the TT bike, and then onto a couple of European cups in Holten and Tartu at the beginning of July, before I make the short trip to Derby for the Jenson Button Tri.

In the meantime, it’s just a case of enjoying this nice weather while it lasts, and ticking off the training blocks with no other distractions in the way for the foreseeable future. Now I've got a bit more time on my hands, hopefully I can keep this updated a bit more regularly,  and hopefully keep them a bit shorted, but I always say that and never do… there’s always hope.

Until next time