“Happy New Year Sevenoaks. I have had a non stop December and Christmas period and it didn’t quite go how I hoped. I wasn’t able to see my parents since the summer and truly miss my friends and family in Kent. I cannot wait to finally be able to get back home and visit everyone. I took the tier systems into account and trained straight through Christmas and New year, putting away the biggest December of training I’ve ever done. That included two weeks training in Monte Gordo (Portugal) followed by competing at my first 20km race in 12 months, at the Portuguese National Championships.
It was so good to get out racing and it was even better to win! It had felt like a very long time between racing so I was pleased to remember how to do it! We had to socially distance as we warmed up, spectators were asked not to attend, but some did but they kept distance between each other and it was quite nice to have a bit of a crowd. We wore masks until we were stood on the start line, again socially distanced with our race time not activated until we crossed the start line, to make sure no one was at a disadvantage. The Portuguese federation handled it brilliantly.
The flight back was quiet, the airports were deserted but the training camp had gone well with over 230km done in 13 days finishing off with the race – so December was a good month sport wise.
After getting back from Portugal I spent my Christmas with my fiancé’s family as we were still in tier 2 back then, so could visit them on New Year. It felt normal (ish) and was a little break from this awful reality we find ourselves in still.
To my surprise on Christmas Eve, TV personality turned kids fitness class instructor Joe Wicks found out just how fast I walk a 5k in (18:20) and if you follow him on Instagram you’d have seen him giving race walking a go and singing my praises. You can find the highlights of this on my Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/s/aGlnaGxpZ2h0OjE4MTY5NDI3MzAyMDcyMDM2?igshid=1rdzioebh3qau
To shine some positives on my new year, after one training camp in South Africa was cancelled I was told that I am able to get away training to Dubai for some heat work which will be vital ahead of the Tokyo Olympic Games! I certainly hope those Games are able to go ahead. My entire sporting career has been building to these Olympics, so I’ll never get this opportunity, at this age and in my peak fitness to do it again.
Throughout this next lockdown, I want to remind people that you’re allowed to go out for your hours exercise and so I’m encouraging people to walk! Walking is so good for you. It’s low impact exercise, free to do, great for your physical and mental health. It’s also just a chance to get out in the fresh air, away from the house, think things through, evaluate situations and if you feel comfortable to, a chance to meet one other person for a little bit of social interaction. Going for a walk this winter could be crucial. I hope this helps encourage you to keep motivated to stay healthy in this tough time.
If you want to keep up to date with my training I’m doing an Olympic season Vlog which can be found at https://youtube.com/c/TomBosworthTV and you can also check out my updates on my Instagram/Twitter accounts using: @TomBosworth or search #TomWalksFast.
I hope you and your loved ones are able to stay safe and keep going through this latest lockdown and that as the spring months come, life starts to return to a very new normal.
For more info on me, or if you want to arrange a school/work visit (when life returns to normal) or become a sponsor please do get in touch via my website at www.TomBosworth.com.
