BUCS Biathlon, 9 Mar 2024

Having just come off the back of an injury my aims for the race were to finish it pain free and get some more race experience.

The day before I did some race style starts in the pool and a short shake out run. On race day we took the bus to Oxford. I did a long warm up for the run, and some hip activations too. I ran the 1500 in 5:48 - slower than I’d predicted but still happy to have run pain free with little training leading up to it.

There was then a bit of a wait before the swim, filled by a cool down and fuelling for the swim with bananas and a gel. I did a 10 minute warm up in the pool and few practice dives before my heat. I set off a bit fast with the first 100m done in 1:24. My pace slowed for the second half but I finished in 2:59, very happy to be just under the 3 minute mark.

It was a great day and I was happy with my performances. I also felt I learned a lot. My aims for the next race are to get some more confidence in tumble turning, manage my pacing and implement the slight changes in my running form that were highlighted in recent my gait analysis at Catenary.

Zoe Palmer