Apologies for my lack of posts….A fortnight ago I went along to Edinburgh Triathletes winter training weekend. This is annual winter training weekend ET organise every year. I previously went two years ago. Friday evening, I headed over to Bridge of Earn in Perthshire. Friday night was spent catching up with everyone, eating pizza and have a cheeky glass of wine.
Saturday morning commenced with an early morning run, I’m currently not running at the moment, so spent an extra hour in bed! At 9.30am we went off for a group ride, two groups were formed based on ability.
Photo credit: Euan Batten
We headed off into the rain in the beautiful Perthshire countryside. After ten minutes we were all soaked but that didn’t dampen our spirits! After an hour of cycling we had a Pit stop at Loch level larder. I had my ‘go to’ cycling snack, a sausage bap and hot chocolate (this time I had a chai latte but basically a hot milk drink). Highly recommend this cafe, I have been many times before for lunch and afternoon tea.
Photo credit: Euan Batten
After our stop we continued the ride. A few minutes into the ride Paul had to stop for a puncture so a few of us in the group had a plank off competition. The girls won, sorry Pierre! Look how much mud we have on our bottoms! The ride was only 28miles but quite hilly and wet so I glad to get back to the lodges and put on dry clothes!
Photo credit: Euan Batten
In the afternoon Richard, one of the coaches, conducted a ‘Q&A’ type of talk answering all questions on everything triathlon. We submitted questions in advance of the weekend. Richard covered questions from kit, coaching, racing and training, giving tips and advice. I found this really interesting and useful. I particularly found his advice on improving my times on the bike helpful and will use this in my training and racing. It also made me really want to buy a time trial bike!
Late afternoon we had a swim session at Strathallan School swimming pool which was very cold! The focus was on technique and good form. We were practicing tumble turns, rotation, push offs, streamlining and posture. This was good session, breaking down our swimming technique to build on form to swim more efficiently and effectively. ‘Swim well before swimming fast’.
In the evening we all went out for a meal at a local restaurant, followed by a couple of drinks at the local pub.
Sunday morning, we were back in the pool for a 9am start. We warmed up with a few lengths and continuing good technique. We were then divided into four groups and started racing! Sadly, all my good form went out the window whilst racing (game face)! Individually, I came second in my heat but in our team relay we came last. I had lots of fun diving off the blocks, however need to practice sprinting, I’ve not raced competitively since I was a child.
I headed home after swimming. The rest if the triathlon club completed a mini duathlon in the rain, followed by a short trail run.
The weekend was great, I loved the relaxed nature of the weekend and socialising with other club members. Big thanks to Mike for organising the weekend and Richard and Euan for coaching!
Jenwaar