Has summer finally arrived?

Well here in the UK it seems we are finally getting a little bit of consistent nice weather! Last week I had a week off work and although I kept up my running and weight lifts I took a break from boating and had my 22nd birthday party mid week. So it's been great to hit training hard this week, and I'm quite sore for it! So far this week I've done three runs, three weight lifting sessions, four days at work, 16 miles of intense cycling, kayak sprints and a 7 mile intense paddle from Ross in an hour. I think tomorrow will be my rest day!

Last weekend I went on a none paddling camping trip to St.Davids with Jessica which was great! No surf but the sun came out so we had plenty of fun. I got to wear my new Nookie boardies which are now my favorite boardies! They are a fantastic fit and look pretty swish! I haven't used my full length strides yet as it's been hot! but after trying them on I know they are going to be spot on for the Sickline.

This week made it exactly three months until the Sickline in October, it's creeping up very fast! I'm currently reading Brad Wiggins's new book about winning the Tour De France in 2012. It's a really inspiring book and for anyone who is into competing or sport it's a great read. It's made me realize that although I've been training hard, now is the time to push it harder as I don't want to go into it wondering if I could have done more. I want to go there knowing that I prepared the best I could and that means whatever result I get I know I gave it my all.

This week is definitely a step up and I intend to maintain it if not push a little harder. The new addition of a 7 mile intense flat water paddle turned out to be great and I think it will benefit me big time with endurance. I'm not saying I sprinted for 7 miles but I put on a pace I knew I could withstand but that still hurt a lot! So this July is going to be a big training month including the beginning of August. I then have a two week holiday to the States where I will be hiking and hitting the gym there. Then it's the last and most important month... September, I will need to make sure I'm at my peak. With this dry summer and not being able to paddle abroad it's becoming more apparent that I'm probably not going to get on much serious whitewater before the Sickline, this is concerning. But at the same time it's just pushing me to focus on my fitness. I may not be as well practiced as some of the guys out there but I will make sure I can paddle just as hard.

Enjoy the sun everyone! See you on the water.