New Year, New Targets

Swim

I am going to take something of a gamble on swim miles. I did almost no outdoor swimming this year (just 3 swims, all in races) so there is an easy upside to be had there by being more organised and getting to outdoor swims. Also on the positive side, there is still a rumour that Bucksburn pool might open in Q3-4 2025 which would instantly ramp up my pool access, and my ability to do swim-run or swim-bike brick sessions. Tying swim sessions in with those other sessions really maximises my time efficiency. I also have some supporting coaches working their way through the qualifications process and I am basing my plan on having at least some of them in position to lead swim sessions and allow me to get back in the water with the Aberdeen Uni Triathlon Club on at least some Wednesday nights. I have accepted that I am probably short in Q1, but I have put more in to my summer plan, and more in to the back half of the year. I have also put in the Xmas holidays when the pool is closed and the three international trips I know about as those basically turn into single-swim weeks. 

 

So plugging all that in to my spreadsheet gives me a target of 130 miles for the year. I have then decided on a 7.7% stretch target, for no particularly good reason, other than it makes that stretch target number 140 miles.

 

Bike

 

My numbers from 2024 show how much I have become reliant on short and lazy turbo trainer rides. Pedalling out 5-7miles while watching an episode of Frasier is getting me some 'Zone 2' bike time and miles, but not really doing anything for my riding, or for my basic fitness. My average miles per ride was under 9miles for the year, and my average speed has dropped to an all-time low of 11mph. I need to ride more, I need to ride faster, I need to ride longer and I need to ride outside more. My mountain bike numbers are similarly poor. I averaged less than one mountain bike ride a week, at 8.5miles and 8.9mph. I need to mountain bike more, and in particular I need to be doing more climbing and skills-based mountain biking rather than just rolling out the railway line. 

The problem with setting bike targets in miles, when I know that my overall training limitation is time, is that these become contradictory. Mountain bike rides inherently take more time for less miles and I don’t know if I have more time to give. My target for 2024 was 2,001 miles (stretch 2,101 miles) and that still seems like a good target, despite missing it by nearly 15% in 2024.

I have built those 2,000 miles in a similar way to the swim set, with lower numbers during holidays / international race trips, but higher numbers as I try and do another version of my percentage riding of the Grand Tours. Over the last 4 years I have done between 25% and 27% of my miles on the mountain bike. I want that to be over 30% but am not entirely sure how I can make that work. I am going to write it in to the targets for now and just hope that I get an early warm spell to let me get night rides in during Q1, or a summer where I want to spend time out on the mountain bike in the evenings. 

 

Run

My average run speed is over 10 min/mile (actually 10:31) for the first time since I moved to endurance training, (ignoring 2018 when the entirety of Q1 was aquajogging on my broken ankle, and Q2 was rebuilding my ability to run at all). My average distance per run has dropped under 4 miles for the first time since that rehab year as well. I can lay some of the blame for those numbers at the four floofy feet of my regular running buddy, whose pace, and tolerance for distance, has significantly dropped this year as old-age is definitely catching up with him. But most of it is down to whatever long-term illness has been trundling along in the background this year. I haven’t raced enough, I have done no reps sessions at all, but the low level exhaustion that has pervaded my year has been most evident in my run numbers.

An on the back of all of that I have just picked arbitrary run numbers of 1,100miles as a base target and 1,155miles as a stretch target.

Triathlon

Having failed to retain my Scottish Aquathlon Championship with a disappointing 5th place, that gets so much harder as I am in the last year of my age-group. My real aim for this year is to get close enough to the 50-54 winner to get selected for Internationals in 2026. I should also be in the medals at the Scottish Champs race every year so I have kept that medal as my target for this year and beating the 50-54 winner as my stretch target. 

I have qualified for the 2025 Euro Aquathlon Champs in Pamplona, Euro Cross Triathlon and Cross Duathlon races in Venue still to be confirmed* and the World Cross Triathlon and Cross Duathlon in Pontevedra, Spain. I should also get selected for the Aquathlon in Pontevedra, but am still waiting for confirmation. Being back in Spain for the mountain bikes will mean a heavy Spanish field, so anything in the top 15 would be a great result. 

Others

Yoga.

I am going to start January again by signing up to 30 consecutive days of Yoga www.yogawithadriene.com, but I know, again, I am not going to stick to that schedule. My base target is to do one session per week for the full year, and to have done all 30 of the YWA 2023 sessions by the first of April. That gets me to a stretch total of 69 sessions for the year.

Stretching and rollering.

I was fine with these through the year but some of those sessions consisted of 5 or 6 minutes. I am going to keep this as it was at 1/week, but try and make them into 20-30 minutes every week. 

Weights and Core. 

As always I did some at the start of last year and then faded off as the year progressed. I want to do 52 of each but I recognise that historically that has been unrealistic. I am going to set that as the stretch target, then assume that I will do 12 races through the year and not attempt these sessions in race weeks. So a base target of 40 of each, stretch target of 52. 

Targets by numbers

Represent GBR age-group at multiple international events. 

Qualify for the GBR Age-group team for a 2026 European or a 2026 World Championships.
Finish top-20 at European Aquathlon Champs.

Finish top-15 at a European Cross Champs.

Medal at Scottish Aquathlon Champs.

Swim 130 miles. 

Swim under 6:15 minutes for 400m.

Swim under 11:45 minutes for 750m.

Swim under 25:30 minutes for 1,500m.

Ride 2,000 miles.
MTB 600 miles

Run 1,100 miles.

Run a 5k in under 19:30 mins or 10k in under 40 mins. 

>52 Yoga sessions

>40 Stretching and rollering sessions.

>40 Core sessions.

>40 Weights sessions.

>50 Run reps, hills or ‘fast’ sessions. 

Stretch Targets

Qualify for the GBR Age-group team for a second 2026 European Championships.

Qualify for the GBR Age-group team for a 2026 World Championships**.

Win the Scottish Aquathlon Champs. 

Finish top-15 at Euro Aquathlon Champs.

Finish top-10 at either Euro Cross race.

Swim 140 miles.

Swim under 6:00 minutes for 400m.

Swim under 11:30 minutes for 750m.

Swim under 24:59 for 1,500m.

Ride 2,100 miles. MTB 630 miles.

Run 1,155 miles.

Run a 5k in under 19 mins or 10k in under 39 mins. 

Run another 5k in under 19:30 or 10k in under 40.

>69 Yoga sessions

>52 Stretching and rollering sessions.

>52 Core sessions.

>52 Weights sessions.

* Seriously, still no dates or venue for a European Championships!

** Some of the 2026 dates and venue have been announced and because of the locations I am unlikely to go even if selected.