May training… Funny… Or tragic!

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• onJune 7, 2016
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Victoria Stears – #thetrilifereporter – month 4

May was a bit of a funny month for me. And by funny I guess I sort of mean tragic. Balance is one of those things I always struggle to find, and now that the month has finally come to a close I feel comfortable enough saying out loud that I well and truly fell into the trap of overtraining. In addition to my regular training schedule, I decided it would be a fantastic idea to introduce a run streak during May (because…#EveryDayMay).

It isn’t easy combining a run streak with triathlon training because as much as I hate to admit it, rest days really are an important part of developing as an athlete. And unfortunately, I learnt that the hard way…through injury.

May started off so well for me and my training; the temperatures were increasing, the sun started to make a regular appearance and I felt strong. I finally felt like I began to make some gains in my swimming and even managed a sea swim one evening. The sea swim was huge fun but it made me realise just how different it is swimming in open water with a wetsuit on – I definitely prefer open water swimming and I currently don’t feel anxious at all at the prospect of a crowded swim start (I’m a waterbaby, through and through) but I can clearly see already that my stroke is just not strong enough in open water to put up a good fight. At the moment I think it is highly likely that I’ll be nearly last out of the water in my races – I’m trying not to let this worry me too much though as this year is all about enjoying my races, rather than putting too much pressure on myself.

Cycling was a huge success this month. I managed to get out on my Bianchi a lot – and also developed the confidence to cycle by myself for the majority of my training. This was quite a breakthrough as I usually only feel comfortable cycling on the roads when I have my husband with me, but this month I developed a strong sense of independence and I absolutely loved it. I may even go as far as saying that cycling has taken over as my favourite discipline…(although I’m very fickle and will change my mind on a monthly basis). Either way though, I loved my cycle training throughout May.

As for running, well it started off great. But then I developed a hamstring injury which left me completely side-lined. I ran every day up until the 24^th where I was forced to take a full rest day due to illness – I was already suffering with my hamstring issues by that point but continued to try and run on it, until I realised that the only way it would heal is to really slow down and take some time off. So running was a bit of a disaster, but I’m hoping that June will be more successful.

There were clearly a few lows during May, but I think my passion for cycling and my first open water swim of the season far outweigh the injuries and running disasters I experienced and I’m looking forward to seeing what June will bring.