Super serials…

Oh my god… How are you?? Its been soooo long… What are you up to? We should totally meet more often….

It really has been far too long, far too long and we defo should meet more often. For serials, for super serials!!!

It has been pointed out to me many times by many people over the last few months that I haven’t updated my blog. I didn’t really need to be reminded, as every Monday since November I’ve said to myself “I’ll get a blog up this week”.  Needless to say a few Mondays have passed in that time.

I suppose I better start where the last blog left off. After Nationals I pencilled in two races in October, one in Spain and a European cup in Sicily. I recovered quickly after Pulse and was putting out some big sessions, but I had a few little niggles I’d been nursing most of the summer. They weren’t anything serious but they weren’t getting better. I keep training full Gas till mid October then made the decision to call it quits for the year, recover, refocus and get sorted for the 2016 season.

What can I say about the 2015 season… It wont be on my highlight real. Don’t get me wrong, I raced well, put myself out there and learned plenty( about triathlon and myself). But I didn’t get the results I wanted or felt I deserved. That’s sport tho, it’s hard, it’s cruel and we love it.

So what have I been up to for the last few months you ask. Lots!!!

What I’m gonna do is give a (hopefully) quick overview of my antics since November then throw in an aul photo reel off the last few months. I did promise plenty of pics of short shorts and lycra when I set this up after all!

We’re pretty lucky these days with the technology that’s available to us. Garmins, Power meters…. every metric can be measured and analysed.  Its very easy for people to get caught up in the number and forget to listen to their bodies. I’d like to think I have good balance between numbers and feel. Over the years I’ve built up a nice bit of data through my Garmin, ROTOR power meter and my internal computer on where my weakness are in races and what works/doesn’t work in training. I’ve used the data to make some changes to my training this winter. Nothing revolutionary but changes all the same. As it stands the changes are paying off. I’m very happy with where I am at the moment My swimming is better than its ever been, still a way to go but moving nicely in the right direction. Run wise I’ve gone back to what worked for me in 2013 and 2014, a decision I’m glad I made. On the bike and in the gym its all about becoming stronger, my legs might look great but they lack power!! I’m working hard to change that!(the power bit, not the looks part!)

You’ve got a good colour I hear you say… Why, thank you! I’ve been lucky to escape from some of the worst of the Irish winter thanks to Sands Beach Active, Lanzarote. A 10day camp in December and another 9days in January have really helped push training on and mentally keep me focused during these dark months. Sands Beach is the perfect training location, Warm weather, quite roads, open air pool, endless trails, full gym and numerous Olympians/world champions and professionals to train with. A shout out to Juan Carlos for looking after us down there.

On the talk of shout outs, Amphibian King have my feet decked out in the perfect shoes for every condition and session. Trails, tempos, long runs… the list goes on and so does my footwear choice!! ROTORS power meter and QRINGS are helping me every day get closer to the numbers I’m chasing and Westpark Fitness facilities provide me with the perfect training location no matter my session or the weather conditions.

Sponsors are vital in this game and I can’t thanks them enough for looking after me. I’ve been putting the work in to attract new sponsors and develop partnerships with companies for this season and beyond. Many emails sent, phone calls made, meetings had and personal contacts chased down. I’ve very recently had a very positive meeting with the guys over at Titan Experience , more info to follow in the following weeks but safe to say I look forward to working with them.

SO what’s happening for the next few months… Well training of course, that’s a given I suppose. I have pencilled in some IMRA races for February and March but will decide the morning of if I’ll take the start line. Once the bike racing kicks off I’ll be jumping into the bunch for some suffering. There is talk of another camp to Sands before the Triathlon season kicks off, no dates yet but that’s to look forward to.

I think you’ve suffered my ramblings enough for one post, thanks for reading, enjoy the pics below and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram for more regular and visual updates on all that is Neil.

Lets totally meet up again soon…