Review of January As its coming to the end of the first month of 2017, I’ve decided to start doing an end of month review where I go over the main things that have happened. Occasionally I will do an individual upload for significant events and races. Saturday 7th January Today I was planning on doing the Gloucestershire Country Cross Country Championships where I would be attempting to qualify and race for Gloucestershire in Loughborough. I had been looking forward to this race, it was supposed to be a fairly fast course. Anyway, I woke up and for some reason decided to print out the signup sheet beforehand and actually read the ‘small print’ which stated that I needed to live or have been born in Gloucestershire for me to be able to represent the county…uh oh. Simply, I wasn’t allowed to race. Luckily it was a dry and clear day so I figured I would benefit from a 10km tempo run which I completed in 38:08 it was an unofficial Pb which I’m happy with but I know I could improve on in a race. Sunday 8th January I made my monthly visit to Jason Tait at South West swim in his endless pool. The session was very beneficial and we worked on rotation and arm extension. I am now swimming up to 4 times a week and I know that these sessions will help me progress a lot in terms of my speed and technique. Similar to the last visit, I decided to cycle home but on a different route which probably wasn’t the best idea, I got very lost, found a few dead ends and then joined a chain gang which carried me for around 5km before I turned off, got lost again and then made my way home. Although I do enjoy finding new places to cycle, I much prefer knowing where to go. Sunday 14th Jan The Performance Cycles Sportive, I was opting for the 45 mile route, very flat and very fast. It was a wet day with a continuous drizzle and light winds. I cycled the 10 miles to the event location, signed up and got ready to go. Everyone set off and I set myself in a strong pack averaging roughly 20mph, I was feeling good until I needed to pee…very badly but I also didn’t want to get dropped. (Luckily) someone dropped their pump so I decided to stop with 2 others, pee and jump back on the bike. When we were going again I turned to one of the other riders and said “We’re gonna have to work hard to get back to that group!” he replied with “I would rather stick to this pace but I’m up for it if you lead.” So I set off hard and after around 5 minutes look behind and I’ve completely dropped the other riders, so I was stuck on my own with a lot of time to make up. Eventually I worked back up to the group and just sat on their wheel. Everything was going great until roughly mile 40 where I suddenly bonked really badly, I had eaten nothing all ride and now I was feeling it. My vision started to get blurry and I couldn’t stop shaking, I knew my way back but I didn’t want to get dropped so I really struggled to continue and finally made it to the finish after 2:30 hours of riding averaging just under 20mph. I quickly ate around 7 pieces of cake, 2 bacon buns and drank two cups of tea roughly half full of sugar and started to feel a bit more awake. Luckily dad came to pick me up, I had lunch and then went to bed. It was a well organised event with a great route so definitely worth the money paid. Although it was a horrible experience for me, I am planning on doing the next one and any other local sportives. Saturday 21st January It was Saturday which also meant Parkrun day and I was going for a Pb. I was both physically and mentally ready and I had told everyone on strava about how I was planning on a PB so no pressure... The day was very very cold but of course I was still there in shorts and vest, treating this as seriously as possible. Conditions were perfect, looking around the start line there was only one other runner I was concerned about, Ethan, I used to train with him at Swindon Harriers and knew he could get sub 17:30. We both went off hard and dropped anyone trying to hang on, continually upping the pace. With 1km left it seemed like Ethan was struggling so I tried to break away from him which was met with a huge surge of pace from him who sprinted off ahead of me. I was on for a Pb but I wanted the win more. With every step I was gaining on him, the distance to the finish was decreasing and I was getting closer and closer to the back of his heals. 30m left and BANG, I flew past him, running as quickly as I could to claim the win and a new Pb of 17:20. The run was great and my tactics did work out but I know I still had some left in the tank and that I will break the 17 minutes soon! Saturday 28th January Parkrun again. 15 minute warmup, parkrun, extra 2x 1km reps and then warm down. This week was slightly warmer than last but my legs were tired and I knew I still had two intervals to complete afterwards. I started off slow and progressed into it, two frequent parkrun runners were leading and I sat in 3rd for the last 3km of the run finishing in just over 19 minutes. After 5 minutes of slow jogging I headed off to complete the 1km efforts accompanied by Otto Copping, a Team Bath runner. We both had tired legs but managed to clock in two 3:30kms which isn’t bad. Sunday 30th January After today, in the last week I’ve ran 51km, cycled 118km and swam 8,150m. This has definitely been my best week of training and I’m hoping to get some more solid weeks of training in before the season starts again. Bristol Aztec West 5km 31st January Today was a big day, I was going for a massive Pb and the Aztec West 5km was the ideal place to do it. On Sunday night I had felt brilliant, what could go wrong? Funnily enough lots of things. And those things happened. On Monday I woke up feeling really ill, nasty cold and a sore throat, not ideal. Later on in the day I went for a run without warming up properly and pulled my left Achilles, which I’ve had problems with before, which left it very uncomfortable up until the start of the race. I had taped it up with KT Tape and wore calf compression socks to keep it strong. Now all I could do was hope for the best. The race started and I had to go off at a fast pace, I was aiming for sub 17 minutes despite my injuries and cold. The rain was dreadful and the wind strong but I tried to stick with a fast pack of people. 1km completed and I over took Chrissie Wellington, undoubtedly the best female athlete to have lived (in my opinion) and I didn’t stop. At this point my Achilles was giving me grief and my throat was very raw but I had a target I was going for and I wanted it very badly! 3km completed in 10:18 which is a decent time in itself, now I only needed to run two 3:20 kilometres and I would be well under 17 minutes. It didn’t happen, I crossed the line in roughly 17:05 which for me was a massive disappointment and I was gutted but still a big Pb. At least now I know I could get under 17 in ideal conditions. Maybe next month. http://www.bristolandwestac.org/events/aztec-west-fast-5k/ Update on Achilles- I’ve had it looked at and Nick Jones gave me a brilliant massage which I feel has helped me out. I’ll be resting it for the next few days and hopefully my illness will also clear up as soon as possible. Of course a big thanks to everyone who has helped me throughout January, I know lots of progress will be made this year! Pedal Potential Performance cycles South West Swim Kurio Compression NDJ FITNESS Thanks for reading! #bigthingsarecoming Follow me on- Instagram- @lukecampbell246 Twitter- @lukecampbell246 Strava- Luke Campbell
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