While many of us indulged a little too much over the Christmas break, GIANTS midfielder Lachie Whitfield was preparing for the club’s dreaded 3km time-trial.

The talented 21-year-old and his teammates resumed pre-season training today after spending a well-earned fortnight with family and friends.

Whitfield was among the best performers in the race, finishing fourth behind elite runners Tom Scully, Josh Kelly and Adam Tomlinson.

Although it might seem like a tough way to kick things off, Whitfield said it was a good motivator throughout the festive season.

“I could think of 100 things I’d rather do but we all know it’s coming and need to do the training to be ready for it,” Whitfield said.

“It’s tough especially when you go home and hang out with mates but we’ve got a program we need to stick to so we can come back in good nick.

“Keeping fit is pretty integral knowing that we’ve got a couple of big month coming up before games.

“It feels like the hardest part of pre-season is behind us and it’s exciting knowing that games are just around the corner.”

Before the time-trial kicked off around Tom Wills Oval players were split into two groups for a staggered start.

Eventual runner-up Josh Kelly led the first pack around the course while the second group included Whitfield, winner Tom Scully and third-placed Adam Tomlinson.

“It was good to watch Sculls run off from our group but Tommo and me had a good battle until the last lap,” Whitfield said.

“Everyone put in a great effort and really pushed each other right to the last post.”

The GIANTS first official hit-out of 2016 will take place in the NAB Challenge against the Western Bulldogs on Thursday, February 25.