Training update

So quite a bit has happened since my last update. I've now completed my first four week block of base training which overall has gone pretty well.

At the end of last year I had specifically been working on changing my running technique as it was always something that I knew had slowed me down. I was a clear heel striker which is quite obviously a very inefficient way to run, essentially braking yourself with each step you take, the video below gives a nice explanation:

All the work and painful calves at the end of last season are now paying off, as I feel massively more effortless when I run, and my speed is also picking up with the same effort which is a fantastic feeling. I even managed to pick up a 10k pb on a recent training run without too much extra effort. This even included a pretty big hill so could have been even faster! 

In bike news I sold my Boardman bike recently. It was a great bike but was not ideally suited to my body shape. I bought it based on the normal size for your height method which seems pretty common nowadays. I decided I did not want to make the same mistake again and so invested in a bike fit with Ten Point in Amersham. The whole process from start to end was absolutley brilliant. Every small change was talked about and explained to me, and we worked for almost two hours through the F.I.S.T fitting protocol to get the perfect position. (Check out Slowtwitch.com if you want to know more). After this process I was given the crucial stack and reach figures that were most suitable for me and we went through some bikes that might be a good fit. I had been secretly hoping Cervelo frames were within my range and happily they were almost perfectly suited to me :) As a result I've decided on the new P3. Pictures to follow!

Training wise the bike has also been going well, and my power is now starting to come up. My 20min power has even improved on last years best, which is encouraging at this point of the year! 

Swim training is the weak point at the moment, and I've missed a couple of sessions recently. I'll be hoping to pick this up this week and start to see some improvements hopefully. I've always held reasonably good swim fitness so its not something I'm too concerned about at this point of the year.

Thanks for reading guys, train strong!