Some of the hardest months of my life are probably a fair summery of the last 6 months tied in with undoubtingly the greatest.
Let’s start with the good, I became a dad witch is unbelievably good and couldn’t be prouder of my little boy, he makes everything that’s gone wrong seem a whole lot better.
So a quick recap on how we got to here, I was coming off the back of some good rides and a very strong winter, confidence was at a maximum and everything was going to plan, I was destroying sessions I had done before on my road bike but getting power down on the TT bike was getting Harder and harder, frustration was building as race power was 40 plus watts down on what I was doing on a road bike ( usually about 15w anyway ) and I was even putting out less power than the year before despite being stronger. Anyway being me I carried on hammering myself sometimes having to crawl up the stairs after a session and spend the next hour in the bath, I couldn’t sleep, was in constant pain and grumpy even for me until eventually everything just went pop and I was sofa ridden for 6 of the worst weeks of my life, I was like a walking tablet dispenser but nothing was even touching the pain.
So to cut a long story short I had a ruptured disc that was protruding out far enough to trap my Sciatic nerve and it just wouldn’t go back in, the inflamed tissue around was causing more pain and it was downright shit, surgery was looking a must, but know I realized why I was
A: struggling to get any power out in the TT position, because as soon and I put the angle in my back it was forcing the disc out more and tightening up all the muscle around it = causing more inflammation.
B: Why I was in so much pain. I can’t thank the coaches at Tri Force Endurance and Function Jigsaw for working so hard to help me recover faster and get me some mobility back it’s hugely appreciated.
So where does that leave me now? The disc has slightly gone back in releasing my nerve so I’m dodging surgery for now. The muscle tissue has repaired giving me some movement back and I’m work very hard with Simon from Tri Force Endurance to build back strength and futureproof my back. I can manage a short easy commute to work and back. I’m grateful for that, I still love my bikes.
Simon and Billy H from Tri Force Endurance have stuck by me for a while now and have been a huge motivation in me getting my weight down to 70 kg and building me back up in the gym and they know better than anyone the passion I have for racing.
You most probably don’t know but I coached two rider’s last year one male and one female, I chose them on the fact they wanted results bad and had an obvious passion for cycling.
I’ve been extremely lucky to have worked, learnt and helped by some super talented people in cycling from multi national champions to aero masters and the guys at club events that give you that little bit of go faster advice, and have also learnt the difference between what I thought was training hard and really training hard and smart and love passing that on. Maybe because I like to watch people suffer as much as I did, but mainly to see the buzz after getting a result they never thought they could, and I’m extremely proud of both of my athletes for what they achieved.
So this all lead to a conversation with Simon from Tri Force that caught me slightly off guard and it went something like this.
=> Simon “how do you fancy working with us at Tri Force doing Time Trial coaching
=> Me “errrr I’m not a fully qualified coach”
=> Simon “I know, we will help and support you as you work toward your British cycling coaching “
=> Me “really?
=> Simon “Yeah we want to work with people who have a passion, experience with what they do, know like and trust and think you would be great “
=> Me “but I’m not a qualified coach “
And this went on for a bit, it is the perfect opportunity for me to learn with the guys at Tri Force Endurance as I train towards my full level 3 British cycling qualification and a road/TT specialist. I couldn’t be happier working with a team that have given me so much genuine support regardless of if I was helping to promote their brand or ready to turn my back on cycling all together. I haven’t raced for a while now and it won’t be happening anytime soon but they have kept me on track constantly no matter what and you can’t find better, more honest genuine coaches than that. They actually give a shit.
So watch this space as we are starting the new year with a new training package only open to 10 riders to start with that offers the full support. By support we mean (by we I mean Me Simon and Billy) 1 to 1 coaching, performance nutrition coaching, strength training and access to our a private membership hub that’s an awesome resource with and EXCLUSIVE members only forum. Trust me it’s a very cool package.
You see you can’t race hard and train hard if your nutrition is miles off and nothing works without constant back up, support and real qualified advice. This package we are offering drops the need of separate coaches for your racing then paying a separate nutrition coach and strength and conditioning coach etc. etc.
If you want to check the guys out at www.triforceendurance.com.These guys have a huge amount of knowledge, passion and experience. Their understanding of the BIG picture, drive and support can’t be beaten.
