Final Frontier
This marks the last Thursday before I enter testing week at Leander. Somewhere in the back of my head plays the Star Trek opening credits theme, and in front of me there’s an erg screen which is as close to the final frontier I’ll ever get. I know this first week will be tough. I have to hit performance targets but also not risk blowing myself out; there’s not point going all guns blazing on Mondays 30min test and then claw my way through Wednesday and Fridays respective 5 and 2k’s.
I have stuck to the pre-season training programme religiously, even adding two extra weeks on prior to help give myself the best chance fitness wise. My running and cycling have come on, and I’ve run a 5 and 10k PB in the past month and hit an all-time average watt high on HRC’s less than reliable watt bikes over an hour. My paddling speed in the single does not seem to be improving; however my heart rate over the sessions has dropped significantly – which I’m taking as a good sign! Across my UT2 work I’ve managed to drop just over 5 splits and although my heart rate is now doing strange things over the course of 55mins I’m silently praying that humidity is my main enemy.
I’ve been lucky enough to train with some of the other girls, which has caused my 30min r20’s to improve drastically in the past week. My coach has already started to encourage me to get the splits lower and has helped set me different erg pieces to help me achieve this. It’s nice to be pushed, but I can’t help the niggle in the back of my head which is just pointing out he’s pushing me because I’m going to be so much slower than the rest of the group. I have a huge challenge in front of me, and although I look forward to playing catch up and really seeing how fast I can go it’s also a bit daunting.
Last night we met for our first squad meal. A lot of the team aren’t moving down until this weekend, so it was only the locals (plus early arrivers) but it was a lovely opportunity to get to meet everyone in a more relaxed setting. Soon we’re going to be racing against each other for a space in the boat, but I don’t think this will get in the way of some great friendships which will hopefully form. I can already see myself fitting in well here – which only helps me get excited!
The more excited I am the less the fear bothers me. I’m setting myself some tough goals and will push myself to the edge to achieve them. As I’ve said before the fear of being slow should never stop you from trying. As much as you think they will, people won’t judge you for doing a slow time, they’ll just be with you every step of the way as you challenge yourself to better it.
Natalie x
