Swole is the goal In this mid-month blog entry I’ll be talking about my goals and aims for the 2017 triathlon season. In terms of progress and achievements, 2016 was a brilliant year for me, I received a lot of support from a lot of different people and my progress couldn’t have happened without them. Here is a list of some of the things I’ve achieved:
To summarise, I completed more than I ever believed I could and even achieved some pretty decent times/positions. Every event and race is an opportunity to learn what I can do physically and mentally and I’m going to use the valuable experience I’ve gained to hit 2017 where it hurts and achieve some great things. Plan for 2017- The Bath Half Marathon- Sunday 12th March I’m running this race simply for the experience, I’ve been told that there’s such a brilliant atmosphere that it can pull you to the finish line and (hopefully) a Pb. Target time- 1.24.99 Oldbury sprint triathlon- Sunday 30th April My first sprint triathlon of the year, a pool swim, hilly bike and fast run. Last year I won the U20 category and came in the top 15 overall. This year I’m hoping for another age group win but to finish in at least the top 10, maybe even top 5 overall. Target time- 58:59.99 Wootton Basset Sprint triathlon- Sunday 14th May This will be the first time I complete this race which is apparently very fast. Looking at the times from last year, I’m racing to win, and I’m aiming for the fastest swim and run. Target time- 58:00.00 Westonbirt Sprint Triathlon- Monday 29th May My first ever triathlon in 2015. Pool swim, 23km bike and a fast and flat run, there is always some good competition here and I know the certain individuals I’m aiming to beat. A top 5 position would be ideal! After finishing the triathlon in 1:06, I told people that one day I would complete this race in under 60 minutes. They laughed and told me I was too ambitious, but now I have the opportunity to prove them wrong. Target time- 59:59.00 Dusseldorf Sprint triathlon- Saturday 24th June The European Sprint championships, this will be my first race representing Team GB. This is what every training session has lead towards. Every path leads towards this race and it’s my chance to prove what I’m capable of. I’m aiming for a top 10 finish overall and first GB athlete in my category. I have no idea what the course or conditions will be like but I’m aiming to finish as close to 60 minutes as possible. Target time- 59:59.99 Cotswold Aquathlon series- May 18th , June 1st , June 29th , July 13th and August 10th I will aim to do as many of these races throughout the season as possible. It’s a 750m swim followed by a 5km run. Target time- As close to 29 minutes as possible. LPS Events Cotswold Standard distance- Sunday 5th August This will be my first standard distance event and I know the course well. It’s very flat and very fast so I will be hoping for a fast time (even though I will have a middle distance tri the next week) Target Time- 2:30.00 Cotswold Classic- Sunday 13th August Stepping the distance up a level. I completed this race in 2016, it’s a flat and fast course with the chance for a big Pb! Last year I finished in 5:35 with a 2 hour half marathon to finish. This year I’m going to aim for a much faster time and use my experience from last year to make the most of it. Target Time- 5:10.00 Cotswold 5km swim- Sunday 20th August Swimming out of my comfort zone with this. Just doing it for fun and to see what kind of time I can finish in. Target Time- 1:15 Cotswold Sprint Triathlon- Sunday 3rd September I was 3rd U20 and 11th overall in this race last year. Its a very fast cycle and a slightly off road run with the potential for a good time. This year I'm going for the top 5 overall and 1st U20. Target Time- 59:59.00 Looks like 2017 is going to be a busy year.. Thanks for reading, please share my blog on social media, I would appreciate it! #bigthingsarecoming I now have a personal Facebook page- Luke Campbell Triathlon My twitter and Instagram tags are still- @lukecampbell246 Please like, follow, comment and share my social media accounts! My email is [email protected], send me a message if you need any help with training, nutrition or have any feedback. Of course a big thanks to everyone who has helped me out so far this year, without their help, I wont be able to achieve all of the big things I have planned! Pedal Potential Performance cycles South West Swim Kurio Compression NDJ FITNESS
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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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