Wednesday 9 December 2015

getting back in the swing


Can’t believe it’s been nearly two months since my last blog and the signing off of the racing year.

The last two months have been crazy with moving house and day after day of trying to get so much work done on top of day to day work and training and just general life.

In part training has suffered but we have managed to limit the hit and planned in my two weeks off the bike around moving (which turned into nearly 3 weeks) but being the way I am it wasn’t a case of do a few bits then put my feet up and enjoy, its been a complete renovation of room after room and stupidly long days which inevitably lead to me getting ill and missing yet more training and meaning extra off the bike strength work has gone out the window.

To be honest I don’t think it did me all bad, the complete shut off from the bike and training gave me a mental break and ended up with me desperate to get back to training rather than thinking how to fit it in and the fact I was pretty much dead on my feet trying to juggle a million things, I don’t need a ton of sleep and I’m always up early but when it’s a constant stream of late nights and early mornings I really struggle.

Training is back into full swing now and it’s bloody hard but massively rewarding, I haven’t lost my strength on the bike but I’m feeling the fatigue of everything but il soon get back to getting my best sessions out.

Moving has put me back onto the old roads I first rode on and its been a massive boost riding routes that take me back to times when getting up tog hill once was a major achievement let alone the six times I did it last week , and getting lost out in the middle of now where and trying to find my way back to a road I know only for that to turn into my favourite training route.ive nailed down a perfect sweetspot route now and pretty much can time most rides to get back home just in time to hit the length of session.my commute has gone up double the length and is bloody hilly but its keeping me on my toes and I’m loving being on the bike.

I’ve always generally had a fair bit of spare time ,but with moving and having a little one on the way racing and training have become something I need to justify and make time for and that has really fired me up to make sure I’m putting everything into ever session and really focus on making the sessions count.

 

My mission was to get a turbo den set up by now but the garage is still full of all sorts of stuff and the list of jobs indoors takes priority so its ideal really that the weather has been fairly kind and warm at least to get everything done on the road at the moment, I’ve just got to clear some space and finish building the turbo tt bike and I’m ready to go for some sessions in the tt position which should really build my strength up and something I really missed last year.

 

So many thinks seem to be happening at the moment with planning for next year, pretty much everything is changing but more about that in the next blog, but some really great things in the pipeline ,but for now I need to focus on getting back to and go beyond last year , getting my race weight sorted ( about 5-7 kg over at the moment woops ) and just work on me , I’m leaving all the other bits of equipment,nutrition,skinsuits,getting aero  etc. etc. to the people who know what they are talking about and trying to clear my head of worrying about every single detail and totally focusing on what I’m doing and what I can control.

 

So how does the rest of December look, basically I need to get back into the routine of training hard and recovering well, at the moment we have no cooker connected and I broke the fridge / freezer moving it around the kitchen so life has been takeaways and microwave food which really isn’t helping me recover well or feel great generally but luckily Alan Murchison at newly formed Performance Chef is going to help me get back on track and help improve my performance and recovery through nutrition which is an area I’ve made big mistakes in this year and its cost me a lot in many areas.

 

I’m going to try some new courses next year and race abit more local , I’ve stuck a entry on for the TOC crono and really want to ride the thruxton event , I’ve also been helping two riders out with some free coaching which I’ve loved and would love to do more of in the future ,but for now its about focusing on my racing and making me a better rider but its great to see others improving and feeding off the buzz they get from hitting their goals and setting targets. The key for me next year will be enjoy it and everything will nicely slot into place, I spent way to much time this year worrying about way to many silly things , what people might think , was I letting myself and others down if I put in a bad race , blah blah ,blah , but thankful I know the people I’m working with next year have my back 100% and that’s all that matters,im genuinely gutted to not be working with some great people from this year and one of the most genuine people I’ve met in racing , but things change and opportunities to progress and be pushed harder and have extra motivation have to be grabbed, and whilst I’m still slightly shocked and honoured to be given the opportunity I have next year ,I’m the hungriest I’ve even been in any sport to prove my place but more about that in the next blog in the new year.

 

For those that enjoy the blog and my ramblings, part 3 of the podcast with mark Florence and the cycling time trial podcast will be out very soon, and I’ve done one of the Velouk Xmas specials with Larry which should be on the site soon, for the people who are bored of me going on apologies