April has been a challenging month for me, both mentally and physically. Under usual circumstances, I would have already kicked off my season off at an early European Cup and set a benchmark for the upcoming year, but due to the Pandemic I was unable to get out to any races or they were all cancelled. In light of this, my coach and I decided that I should give a 5km race another go and hope for better conditions this time!
I decided to do the PB5k again as it is relatively local and other people from my training group were doing it. It would have been nice to do Podium 5k, but it wasn’t worth the risk of travelling so far up North when there was a race down here. After watching the Podium race online and seeing other triathletes set some very fast times, I was very excited to see what I could run. I was feeling very fit and knew a good time was capable. I had set a time of 14.30 in my head, it was a tough ask considering I’d only just ran 14.46 a few months previous, but it was a time I thought I could reach. The field was looking pretty strong with some good depth, but unfortunately, again the weather wasn’t on my side. The rain held off, but there were still 20mph winds on this very exposed bendy course. I was gridded on row 3 in a wave of around 40 runners, and 200 overall in our race due to Covid measures. I managed to get a good start and found myself leading the race by the first big bend. It was clear from the start that due to the conditions this was going to be a tactical race as opposed to a fast race. This was a little annoying as I had come here to run a PB and wasn’t worried about where I would place. Due to this,s I decided to take on the race and led up to the first straight into the headwind. I then tucked in and let the others do some work. The group was still fairly big and no one wanted to take it on. The race was very cagey and it was clear people were prone to tangling with each other on the bends, so I made sure I was near the front and out of trouble. As we entered the tailwind section again I went back to the front and started to pick up the pace, causing the group to string out and splinter. We hit the halfway mark in around 7:17, so I was on pace for my target. I was feeling really strong and I knew that breaks in the group were bound to happen very soon, so I tried keeping myself up at the front and near the action.
As we hit the headwind there was an instant surge in the pace, and I got slightly caught out. I was stuck behind a few runners and had to come out into the wind to try and close the gap to the leaders. Two leaders had broken away and had put in a strong gap on the headwind and downhill section. I was in around 6th place with a couple of runners just ahead of me and the main group just behind. I knew the tailwind was the place to make up some positions as after that there was a downhill section, and then just the final run into the finish. I pushed hard and found myself in 4th position just before the downhill. I caught the guy in 3rd place on the downhill and decided to run as hard as I could pass him and hopefully put a gap into him. I opened up a gap of around 10 metres. I maintained this gap right up to the final 100m, where we then took a sharp right up into a small hill and then left onto the final finish. I was really feeling the initial kick now and the person behind was catching me. I managed to just hold on and crossed the line in third place, with a one-second gap to the person behind. I ran my final km in 2:43, which helped me improve on the time I was heading for. I crossed the line and had just ran a 14:17! I was really pleased with this time considering the tactical nature of the race and the windy and challenging conditions of the course. The time has put me in equal 18th place with Gordon Benson on the UK U20 all-time 5km rankings, with another year left in the age group. Hopefully, I can improve on this position in the near future.
Unfortunately a few days after the 5km I became very ill, having to stop training entirely for almost 2 weeks. Somehow I had managed to catch Salmonella. This is not ideal preparation leading into my first triathlon of the year, but I have recovered well and am now back into full training. I had a strong Winter base, and after a few sessions back I’m already feeling back to near full fitness. I have another 2 weeks of hard training to get ready, and then I’m into my first taper of the year for the Euro Trials in Llanelli! I’m really excited to get stuck back into racing and seeing how my training has paid off. I’ll keep you updated on how it goes.
Hamish
I stayed in the front pack for the first lap and tried to stay out of the wind as much as possible. After the first lap, the pace slowed slightly and everyone bunched up. We were nearing the long hill at the back of the course and I knew this was going to be a key moment in the race. I positioned myself on the inside just before the hill, meaning I had space to move so I could get the best line. As soon as we hit the hill there was a surge in pace and the group quickly splintered. Halfway up the hill, the group had quartered in size to around 6 of us with one person just ahead. By the top of the hill, I found myself in 4th place, around 10m behind the leader and with 5 other strong runners. This part of the course was very challenging with sticky mud covering the whole course. Every step I took I would just sink into the mud and have to drag myself through it. We then had to negotiate another hill caped in sticky mud. I was still in 4th place but there were now two people just in front of the group of 3 I was in. 
I was starting to struggle now, the mud was sapping energy every stride I took. However, I knew I had to try and close the gap to the leaders. Towards the top of the hill, I pushed on and we entered into the extra loop. This loop was flat and fairly dry, meaning the pace increased. I had managed to drop the two in the group and I was now focusing on closing the gap. 
I came out the loop in 3rd, I hadn’t managed to close the gap but I had put in some distance between myself and 4th place. We now had around 800m to the finish, and I really started to push on. The last 400m or so was all up a gradual hill with long grass and more mud. The gap behind continued to grow and this time I was closing on 2nd. Sadly I had left it just too late, but I crossed the line in 3rd place, just 3 seconds off 2nd! Everyone else in the Kent team also had really strong races and we ended coming first in the Team race! I was so shocked to finish 3rd at the British Champs, but I knew i had had my best race. I had prepared really well for the race, so I was extremely pleased with the work and to finally get the result I knew I was capable of.
The camp was great and was really good to see progress and know that the hard work is really starting to pay off, especially with my swimming, where we did a 400m TT and I got a 16 second PB!
I also got to try out my new wetsuit after the mishap in Jersey. Yonda were kind enough to send me a brand new Ghost II along with a few other things. I absolutely loved it, it provided enough bouyancy in the sea and I loved how the neoprene wasn’t restricting the movement of my arms. I also wore the Yonda Hydro Glides (Yonda’s Polarised open water goggles). These are honestly the best polarised goggles I have used, they fit my face perfectly and gave me a clear view at all times, without fogging up.
This meant the race would be hard, and at an ideal pace for me to get a PB over 5km. I arrived at an overcast Goodwood Motor circuit with the idea of running sub 15minutes. This would mean having to run around 2:57/km. I knew I was capable of doing this, after my good result at Southerns and hitting all the right times on the track during training. Again I had another really good start and was in the front pack straight away. I settled down into the middle of the group and felt as though I was cruising. The first km past quickly and we went through in 2:53, KM 2 slowed down and we went through in 2:58, still well up on pace. By now the front group had whittled down slightly, but I was still feeling strong. The pace picked up again this time doing a 2:55 3rd KM, going through 3km in a total time of 8:50. I started to feel it in the legs at around 3.5km, but I kept head strong and didn’t let this phase me, passing through the 4th km in 3:03. The final KM was very tough, all up hill and exposed in the wind. I dug deep, really wanting to break 15 minutes and finished the 5km in 14:46 unofficially! I was really pleased with this and am looking to see what time I can time I can do in an official 5km race and maybe one even on the track.
