Tag: pankhurstcycles; pankhursttoby; theguardian; wildswimming; australia2018; goldcoast; triathlongirl; cycling; agegrouper;

by on

With less than 3 weeks before I race and exactly 2 weeks before I fly, I have found this week extremely hard, both mentally and physically.  I am getting a little nervous.

I have struggled, I won’t lie.  Early morning wake ups to get the training in before my day starts as well as losing my mojo just a little bit.

Training on the bike and run on my own has taken a lot of motivation this week – there have been some strong words said to my little self!  Swimming with Tri20 helps – my swim buddies!

Despite feeling a little flat this week, my training is still on track.  It seems to have all come together nicely.  Today, I ran an easy 5km – and it felt super comfortable.  It wasn’t fast, but previously, for me to maintain that pace, I would have had to work super hard.  The training works.  Put in the time, and the results will come.

I don’t have a coach – I am my own coach which is sometimes hard but I have stuck to my programme religiously.  I can do this!

I am writing this as the second coat of paint is drying in the hallway – using my time efficiently.

I wanted to thank my recent sponsors who have been extremely kind and generous – thank you!

Tonight I am off to the O2 to see Britney Spears – come on.. admit it…who is reading this, and remembers Britney… come on.. I know there’s plenty of you!

Enjoy your bank holiday!

Miss V – GB Athlete

 

 

 

 

 

 

by on

Just under 4 weeks to go before I race the World Triathlon Championships in Australia!

I still can’t believe that I am heading out there.  The suitcase has come out of the loft and a little pile of stuff is starting to accumulate in the corner!

Training has been going well, very well – I feel strong in all 3 disciplines.  My swim has improved both wetsuit and non-wetsuit which is good as it might be a non-wetsuit swim.  My biking is strong whilst keeping my heart rate nice and low which will leave me enough energy for the run.  The run has improved – I was never fast but I have been working on speed and I think I have cracked it.  Just a few more weeks to work on transition ad staying fit and healthy.  So exciting!

I am taking this thing seriously.  So seriously, I was crying on the phone to Garmin early last week as my Garmin watch failed on me, the battery wasn’t charging.  After a few phone calls and online chats, they were still unable to help me, despite the watch being in warranty, as they were unable to replace my watch with like for like as they are out of stock.  I was advised to contact them after Australia.  My watch is like someone’s phone – I can’t live without it.  I need it to understand my heart rate, my speed, distance, interval training, rest periods etc.  An extremely kind friend helped out – thank you – you know who you are 🙂 !  So I was back to my training in less than 48hrs with a watch!

As many of you know, I run my own Personal Training business so it was another exciting week last week, picking up my new business car.  It makes more financial sense for me to have a business vehicle – so I upgraded to a Honda.  It’s a sensible and practical car.  The best bits – it has heated seats and enough room in the boot for Percy (in a crate) as well as all my kettlebells!

So, that was last week… and if you know me well, I will already be thinking about what I will do after Australia!  Yes, roll your eyes – I know you are!

It’s  fitness focussed – it doesn’t include biking, running or even swimming.

I am going to qualify in Freestyle Fitness Yoga so that I can teach Stretch and Relax classes – there seems to be a big demand locally!

banner

Don’t laugh, as I know some of you will, as you don’t think I can calm down enough to teach something like that let alone have flexibility to teach.  So, there’s my challenge – I will do this!

It’s Monday morning, a PT client has already been trained, just eating my breakfast, off to teach a Kettlebell class and go for my Monday run.

Have a good one all!

V (GB Athlete!!!!!)

 

 

by on

Today has been a crazy busy day, but a great day.

Today was not your typical day, but in some ways it was, everyday is very different in my life.

It’s a Friday, which means morning swim at Bradfield College with my Triathlon Club, Tri20 at 5.55am – poolside.  I love my morning swims with the club.  Today’s session was all about speed.

Quick turnaround, and ready for my very first Personal Training client, that I signed up just under 2 years ago, at 7.15am.  She works so hard during our sessions, I love seeing her progress so much.  It’s a short and sharp workout today!

8.00am appointment with my Chiropractor Charley Henkey.  Charley’s a good egg.  I suffer with lower back / hip issues, and she pops me back in place so that I can carry on training.

Quick zoom home to walk the dog around the block and eat some breakfast before heading to Pangbourne for 10.00am to meet a photographer, freelancing for the Guardian.

They are doing an article on Wild Swimming and were looking for some swimming ‘models’ – I was successful in my application so spent 2-3 hrs swimming in the Thames, near Lower Basildon whilst the photographer took some action shots.    Admittedly, it’s the first time I have swum there, but it was truly beautiful.  A secret little hideaway and I will be returning.

Zoom home, grab a quick bite and then back out to train 2 clients with Kettlebells.  Both work so hard, a true inspiration!

And now to a very exciting bit of my day – this bit is about bikes.  I have a lovely red Boardman that I race on but it could do with some upgrading and today, the clever people of Pankhurst Cycles upgraded some parts without it costing me an arm and leg.  They switched over some major components from another bike (which were better) and put them on my red racing bike.  I picked it up this evening.  My little red racing bike is all sparkly with some super speedy bits and I can’t wait to cycle on it tomorrow

Second walk with Percy, water the plants… and now I am sat behind my laptop doing some admin, writing client programmes for next week and typing this.

Just a normal day in the life of me.

Miss V