Doing what you like as and when

This past week has been about enjoying some well deserved time doing what I like and when I like. It finished off with a break to the Norfolk coast with my lovely girlfriends from university days. I had raced my absolute heart out at Chester triathlon (Deva) and felt really deflated afterwards as I knew that my two main goals for the racing season had been achieved. I had raced hard at Dambuster and Deva and last Monday I was feeling really down about things. I then decided after discussions with some good friends and Will that it would be good to just do what I felt like in terms of training. Also with a weekend away coming up I knew that I would have little opportunity to train anyway. I did however manage a run on Saturday morning which was glorious in the sunshine and around the country roads of Blakeney. Anyway after my run I was pleased to see that the British Triathlon website had been updated with the latest people to have qualified for the World Triathlon Age group Championships in Auckland. My name had a Q next to it! Just that little bit of news was encouraging and even though I am unsure as to whether I will even go, it was the best news for me and greatly cheered me up and gave me my mojo back!

Today was the start of another big block of training and began with an early morning swim. Getting into the pool again was great and I have the motivation now to train hard and enjoy myself with a few more goals on which to focus on before the end of the season. I have outlined these below- 1) Take part in an Off Road triathlon and try and smash it to place well. 2) Bedford Mini Triathlon- come in the top 5 female category. 3) Beat my previous records and times from the past club relay events. 4) Beat my previous London Triathlon (2010) times Having evaluated what I have already done this season I decided that I can focus on these goals, even if they are smaller than my other ones as it gives me more motivation to go for it. I think I want to make October the fun month of doing what I want as and when I feel like it, so if I go to New Zealand then that means extending my season above and beyond what I think my body can cope with. I am just about managing with the help of will's coaching plan and my great sports therapist Cheryl who keeps my body in check. I have done so much more than what I expected of myself and I am pleased to bits with my efforts. I have also been looking forward to 2013 and what I feel will be my major goals. I know that this is far off yet, but having qualified for the Europeans and gained a coveted London marathon place, I have a couple of events to aim for which are my main priorities. I think that it is good to have in mind what you want to achieve and have goals for your season as well as goals for your individual training days and training weeks and blocks. Had I trained last week, I would have felt even worse and I think I needed the break mentally and physically. Giving yourself the chance to take a step back and evaluate is a good thing. I didn't feel guilty about not training as I made a specific point knowing that I wasn't going to train to give myself that rest. I wasn't going to lose any fitness but if I had another few weeks off then certainly I would have lost form.

So this Thursday is my first ever go at an off-road triathlon at box end in Bedford which I am really looking forward to. I think it will be a challenge but I am fit as I will ever be! I will let you all know how I get on! Happy training! Kerry PS Sorry the font has changed, I can now update you on the move with my new IPad courtesy of my job!