Last weekend I raced the Premium ETU Points race in Alanya, Turkey. I felt like I was in good shape going into the race and was really excited to get another race in before the end of the season.

I went out to the race early so that I could start to taper down at the race site. I stayed at my Aunty Bette’s apartment and was shown round by friends of hers. The weather was hot and sunny.

At the start of the race we started on the beach and swam 300 metres out to the first buoy and then 1.2km straight into the harbour. I felt quite good on the swim but unfortunately lost time. The bike course was flat and on cobbles. I worked hard on the bike and particularly towards the end the group worked well together and we maintained our position. The run included a long hill which I was pleased about as it allowed me to gain places. I went out hard at the start of the run and managed to hold it well, I was really pleased with my run but unfortunately I was too far back coming off the bike and only managed to run through to 12th.

As soon as I got back from the race I got back into training and am looking forward to a hard winter and working mainly on my swim, but also racing some cross country.

All the best,
Ritchie.

I’ve just returned from the World Duathlon Championships in Rimini, Italy. I was really excited going into the race as had not raced a duathlon in over a year and had never raced over the standard distance (10km run, 40km bike, 5km run). Not only this but as an Under 23, I would be racing in the same race as the senior elites, so this meant it would be a really hard race no matter what!

The first run started very fast but after a couple of kms I found myself in the front group and managed to stay in the group throughout the first run although it was very hard and there was a lot of surging at the front. Going into transition I was towards the back of the pack and I had a poor transition (as well as needing to change my shoes rather than wearing pyro pedals) so I just missed the lead bike pack by a few seconds and not matter how hard I tried I couldn’t get back on. Soon a group came together to form the chase but we were losing time so I saved energy for the 2nd run. I ran really well, posting the 5th fastest second run overall and finished 3rd in the U23’s so was really happy to get a good result this year!
I am going to race again in 3 weeks in a ITU Points race in Turkey and hope to get on the podium again!
Ritchie

I was very happy to qualify for the U23 European Triathlon Champs after my injury. As defending champion I really wanted to do my best to defend my title. But it didn’t work out. From the start I felt flat. I had a very poor swim and it got worse from there. I was really disappointed with this result but I think I know what the problem was. I had to do a lot of hard work going into the race to try and get into shape but I was running out of time and wasn’t able to taper properly for the race and freshen up. This came back to haunt me.

After the Europeans I went home and my good friend Jonny Brownlee came up to sunny Scotland to train. We have had a tough week of training but it has also been great fun. Last weekend we went up Loch Ness to compete in the First Monster Duathlon. This was a team duathlon in which a team of 4 people ran and biked. The team as a whole ran and biked around Loch Ness. I was on the first leg and felt that I ran and biked extremely well. Our team, which contained me, Jonny, Liz McColgan and a local triathlete, finished in a respectable second. It was a fun day out and a good training day.

I am hoping to do the World Duathlon Championships next. When I was younger I competed in dauathlon to a high level and it will be great to return to this.
Cheers
Ritchie

I raced the London Triathlon last weekend. I was really excited to race as this will only be my third race this season and also because London is such a big event.I was relaxed going into the race, i knew i had to be to get the best performance possible.

I swam a lot better than i did at nationals missing the main pack by only 20 seconds but unfortunately this proved to be too much and i failed to catch the main pack and had to settle with the group I came out the water in. We rolled into transition too far down but i still ran hard as it was a good opportunity to get a hard run in for me.

I was a bit disappointed with the result [29th] but am sure that good results will come.

I got some good news earlier this week when i found out that I’ve been selected for the European Under 23 Championships, so i will be working very hard to get into the best shape possible to defend my title.

Ritchie

Last week I raced in the National Championships in Bryn Bach Park, South Wales. It was good to be back racing, firstly and also to catch up with friends back in Wales. Training leading up to the race had been going really well even though I had done a limited amount of running due to my injury.

The day of the race was very hot so I ensured that I was adequately hydrated and I headed down the race site two hours before the start. I did my normal pre-race routine and then we were called into the water. I got a good start and after about 100 meters I was near the front of the pack but then my googles began to leak and it took the rest of the first lap to get them back on properly. So then the second lap was all about limiting the damage.

I got out of the water and had a good first transition, I got on to the bike and on the first hill I was very surprised as I seemed to have flown up it. I found someone else to work with and we took turns leading our pack. When I got off the bike, I didn’t know what to expect as I haven’t done much running. So I built in to it and was surprised when I started running down the rest of the field. I finished 10th and was content with the result and hope to build on that in the following weeks.

Next race is the London Triathlon….

Ritchie

This week I decided to do something different in my training, so I came down to Leeds to train with my friends, the legendary Brownlee brothers. It’s been good fun and very hard work from the start. Yesterday, I swam 4 km, with a main set of 8 X (50 max, 100 easy, 75 max, 25 easy). Then I ran for 40 minutes in the Yorkshire countryside, as Jonny showed me the paths round Chevin Country Park.

Later in the afternoon I did some run drills and another small run. At last I feel that I have turned the corner and can start to train properly. In the evening we did a hard “chaingang” on the road - it was good to be doing some hard riding and I felt surprisingly good. This weekend we are going to the Yorkshire Dales for a bit of a break with a bit of training. I will also celebrate my 21st birthday in the Dales.

Love Ritchie

Good news!!! I started back running a few days ago! I’ve got to slowly build up the amount of time I can run and last week I did twelve minutes as 1min run/1min walk. Not very exciting, but it was a start and this is the best approach to get back into top shape and injury free!

My swimming is going very well. I swim with Arbroath St.Thomas swim club and am currently swimming around 15hrs a week. Cycling has also picked up very quickly and I feel strong already.

And as an insight to how my training, this is what I did yesterday. I did a long 3.5hr ride over one of the steepest hills I have ever climbed, it only goes on for 5km but it is so steep that it takes about 30min to climb, 14 % at a few points!
Then i stretched and did my foot exercises (very important) before getting off to the beach to run. I have now built up to 20mins of 4min 30sec run/ 30 sec walk which feels comfortable. I went straight to the pool for 6km, with the main set being 2x(15×100m @1.30) as 5 max/5 hard/ 5 steady.

I’m really pleased with how things are going and I’ll fill you in on my progression next week!
Ritch

Well, I hope that’s my injury problems over with. After 8 weeks, I can now walk, swim and cycle a bit.
I hope to start back running in a few weeks, after I build back up the muscles in my feet. And with a bit of luck, back racing in late July. For now I’m trying to keep my swimming strong and build up my fitness on my bike.

I have a scan on my foot next week so providing it shows no abnormalities, I will be able to push on.
It’s been extremely frustrating having an injury as it stops me doing what I love doing but I now hope that this trying time is over and I can get back to training and racing.

RN

I’m starting this latest blog with bad news - I’ve got a stress fracture in my right foot. I started off in a waterproof cast which enabled me to swim but after a week recuperating at home I went to the local hospital to have my cast checked because it felt tight. They took the cast off and checked the MRI scan I had done in Cardiff and because of loss of mobility they decided to put on an air boot which is much more comfortable and allows me to take it off and use an ultrasound machine to speed up the healing process but also allows me to move my ankle. The down side is that it will be 3 weeks until I can start swimming again.

The injury occurred when I went out to Crete last weekend to race in an ITU Points race and it went really well. I swam strongly (for me) and cycled up to the lead group comfortably, but by the time I had caught the leaders two athletes had broke away and they came into transition with little over a minute lead. I ran strongly and was in 2nd place with 3km left to run when I pulled out because my foot was too painful. I flew back the next day and got a MRI scan on my foot which revealed the fracture.

During the race when I had to stop I didnt feel too bad because I was doing well in the race and thought it would be fine for the Korea race in two weeks time. Unfortunately, the scan revealed otherwise. Im due to be in the cast for 6 weeks and hope to be back racing by the end of July.
I’m trying to pass the time by catching up with all the things I’ve been putting off because of lack of time…..now I’ve plenty!!

RN

I’ve spent the last 2 months in South Africa and choose the worst week to return! From hot, sunny, 40 degrees, I arrived back into Heathrow to cold, miserable weather and a car that wouldn’t start - but luckily the helpful people at the car park gave me a jump start - and apart from being tired, I got back to Swansea in one piece.

Training was great fun and very hard(!), with Tim Don, Dann Brook and Fraser Cartmell. We had some great bike rides, including one when I got three punctures, and a few snake sightings on runs which left me paranoid for the next few days!! Outside of training was great fun as well, staying with a great guy Pete Wiermier. We had no time to rest as we always had somthing to do, like hitch hiking to the beach after the car broke down on us!

I’m in great form after the last few months and have planned a few early races. I will race in Crete (mid April) as a “first race” then two weeks after I’m racing Korea World Cup which is very exciting for me as its a great oportunity for me to show what i can do against the worlds best.
I will update in a few weeks after my first race

Ritchie