Year: 2014

  • Mumbles Duathlon 2014

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    Sam
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    Third place! Overall. And 2nd veteran 40 athlete! And I got 2 lots of prizes! I like this vet 40 lark. I haven’t done a duathlon for a couple of years but I like the Mumbles course. It’s a very local race for me, and although the run is flat the bike course is nice…

  • Just keep swimming

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    Sam
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    Two races done in 2 weeks and I’m still in my base training phase. Not bad! This weekend we had the Swim Wales Open Masters Age Group Championships (I think that’s the full title); my first solely swimming race of any kind since primary school! I entered the 1500m and ended up in the same…

  • Preseason spending

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    Sam
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    I was in Urban Cyclery today (they’ve kindly moved to new premises and are now my new local bike shop) and realised that after doing quite well with money over the winter with Christmas and kids’ birthdays and whatnot, spending has started to really kick off in the preseason preparation. It’s a crazy time of…

  • Llanelli half-marathon 2014

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    Sam
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    That’s the first race of the year done! The Llanelli half-marathon is a good, early part of the year, running benchmarking test for me, although I don’t think it’s entirely comparable with the old course. I’m not sure about the new course; it’s not that quick, it’s nice enough, but it’s not great for spectators.…

  • Next block

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    Sam
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    This year feels different. I’ve been really enjoying lifting in the gym this winter, setting new personal bests in the back squat and deadlift, and both at weights that I’ve been trying to lift for a few years. I’m heavier this winter, which might help, and it looks like I might be heavier all year…

  • Sub-conjunctival haemorrhage clearing.

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    Sam
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    Day 0. Day 2.

  • Exploding eyeball

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    Sam
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    If this is the only injury I get this year, I’ll take it. Check out my eye. How did I do that? I’m in a maximum strength development lifting phase in the gym at the moment and I’m in the last week of an 8 week block. Last week I was struggling a bit in…

  • Mid-winter testing

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    Sam
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    Mid-winter testing sucks. I know I’m heavy, I know intellectually that I’ve lost last summer’s fitness, and I know I’ve got a lot of work to do to be ready to race, but measuring it sucks. I’m sure it hurts more than when you’re fitter, and the numbers can be depressing. My functional threshold power…

  • 2014

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    Sam
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    The new year has hit, and I’ve been doing my usual winter jobs of repairing, replacing and renewing triathlon kit and getting some plans together. Who needs New Year’s resolutions when you have plans? I’ve qualified for the European Triathlon Age-Group Championships in Austria in June, and I decided to enter Xterra England in August…