Monthy Updates
February - Learning at Race Speeds
February half-term gave me the chance to step away from school and spend a full week immersed in training with the National Triathlon Centre at the University of Stirling. From Monday to Friday I trained alongside the group, and one of the biggest positives was realising that the work I’m doing at home isn’t far away from their training load. It was reassuring to see that I’m on the right track. What stood out most, though, was how much easier it is to focus purely on performance when everything is on your doorstep — no long travel between sessions, no wasted energy, just train, recover, repeat. It gave me a proper insight into what daily life could look like if I reach my goal of being there full time, and it definitely sharpened my motivation.
After a few weeks away from racing, it was straight back into it at National XC. Preparation wasn’t perfect off the back of a different training environment and a full-on week in Stirling. The legs weren’t spectacular, but they were good enough to put together a solid race, which I was pleased with given the circumstances.
Another big step for me lately has been diving properly into cycle racing. I’m used to competing individually through swimming and running, where it’s largely about your own pacing and execution. Cycle racing is a completely different challenge — positioning, awareness, reacting to moves and racing aggressively within a bunch. To push my triathlon performance to the next level, I know I need to become more confident and skilled on the bike, especially under pressure.
That’s why I lined up at L’Enfer du Linlithgow, a race that’s become a bit of an early-season staple for Scottish riders. It was a new experience and a steep learning curve, but exactly the kind of environment that forces improvement. With triathlon season just around the corner, these experiences — training in a high-performance setting, racing hard off imperfect prep, and stepping into the chaos of bunch racing — all feel like important building blocks for what’s ahead.