Another 2 weeks worth of blogging.
Monday 15th July
Today was just a nice recovery ride on the rollers, as my legs were feeling quite tight and my recovery tights seemed to have disappeared. Half hour nice and easy nothing to report.
Tuesday 16th July
Rest Day
Wednesday 17th July
Solo tempo ride, only a short one as I went out late in the evening, nothing done during the day as I was too tired. No point training when really tired as that's when injuries and accidents happen. I had a few mechanical issues which resolved themselves as I went along. It wast meant to be a tempo ride but ended up being mainly lactate threshold training with some tempo work. I felt fairly good after the quick blast 12.7 miles at 19.5 mph.
Thursday 18th July
Today I planned to go up to Hog Hill and race, but I chickened out in the end, for two reasons I am bad at hills and there is a steep hill on every lap. Secondly my gearing the day before was playing up and I thought that if my gears slip up a hill and end up causing problems for other riders. So I went and played a few holes of golf.
Friday 19th July
Rest day, back was pretty stiff after golf.
Saturday 20th July
Today I decided that I needed to do a long solo ride, long for me anyway. My back was still tight from golf. I Planned my route a put it into my Garmin 500. 35 miles in total with a few climbs. It was painful, I seemed to find a lot of head winds and a few of them were downhill. My legs couldn't cope but I carried on anyway and just got through it. My bike seemed to resolve all the issues it had on Wednesday. I am definitely finding it takes my legs probably about 45 minutes to warm up before I feel I can push them a little more. For the 35 miles I averaged 16.9mph which I was quite impressed with considering how my legs felt from the headwinds. It made me feel a lot better about the 100 miler I have a coming up on August 4th.
Sunday 21st July
I am learning to do recovery rides as they seem to make my legs feel a lot better. 30 minutes on the rollers nice and easy.
Monday 22nd July
Rest Day
Tuesday 23rd July
Rest Day
Wednesday 24th July
Rest Day, as you can see I have rested a lot this week. This was enforced due to my back being in agony from golf and the long bike ride.
Thursday 25th July
So I decided with the closed circuit racing coming to an end, well the ones I can make anyway. So I decided to go up to Dunton test track as I thought it was fairly flat up there. As usual my preparation was shocking for my first race. Why change the habit of a lifetime? In all fairness it couldn't be helped. Got to the track and registered, then I got my bike together and heard the whistle and headed for the start line.
I am not sure how many of us there were maybe 30-40. The race started the pace was fast, warm up was definitely required but that couldn't be helped. Instantly I found myself feeling my legs burning from a climb so much for my thought that it was flat. My aim before the race was to finish the race with the group, I knew that wasn't going to happen instantly so my new goal was to stay with the group for 5 laps. Two laps in and I was still in the group and thought if I managed to get to 5 laps was achievable.
Lap 3 it went wrong and the bend at the start of the lap I decided to keep to the inside. This was a bad idea as I got a bit twitchy being so close to the other riders and ended up on the gravel, my reaction was to come straight back on the track bad idea, I heard a few shouts realising people were still behind me I headed back for the gravel and let them all go before trying to join the group. I had lost all momentum and had to put an big effort in on the downhill section, it was into a headwind and my legs wouldn't propel me any faster and group were getting further away.
At that point I realised I wasn't going to catch them so just decided to make this into a solo threshold session. I could of easily pulled my bike up and watch the race but I have never been one to quit. The group started to catch me so I moved to the outside. Stupid as I was thinking of my old athletics days, faster people on the track yelled track so you would move to the outside. It isn't like that in cycling as people were all around me. I should of nestled in to the group but didn't and ended up losing them again bad times.
More solo riding, the group came round again but this time I was prepared, I upped the pace as they came along and nestled in the group and kept well away from the gravel this time. I stayed in for a lap and a half and then one of two break away riders crashed, we all slowed down to avoid him but I stopped, paramedic mode kicked in. He told me he was fine and to carry on, I lost the group again. It seems being out of sport I have lost my competitive edge, that will soon bee back. I finished the race in last place. 18.9 miles in an hour my HR peaked at 189 and averaged 170 for an hour. My heart must hate me.
I am not ashamed of finishing last I put in everything I could, in two weeks they race there again and I will aim to race again and stay with the group for at least 5 laps.
Post race I had a slow recovery ride home and actually didn't feel too bad, immediately after the race I rung my wife to meet me and pick me up but as soon as I started cycling again my legs felt ok I rung her back to say I wouldn't need the lift.
Friday 26th July
Rest Day
Saturday 27th July
I must learn to prepare myself better for club rides. Basically I was running late, I got to the meeting point and realised the group had gone and I had no water and no money to buy any. Someone else was late so he said lets try and catch the group. We got going and he told me to get in his wheel. He hammered it and even in his wheel I was thinking I might have to leave him to catch them and me just do my own ride. I stuck with him and we must of caught them after about 6/7 miles. He continued straight to the front of the group I nestled into the middle to let my legs and heart have a bit of a rest. A few minutes later we had stopped as someone had a puncture. A welcome break considering I had no water.
We started off towards the Blue Egg again. It was a nice steady ride until one of the category 1 riders went off the front of the group then tempo of the group went. I was comfortable sitting in the group of 8 riders who were taking it relatively easy. I arrived safely at the Blue Egg and my guardian for the day gave me some money, beans on wholemeal toast and a sprite. That was finished and it was back on the bike. I had a energy gel before setting off for a little boost.
I was at the front of the group with the club captain and we started a nice gentle pace. The pace started ramping up again and I drifted towards the back. They key I am finding is when that injection of pace comes in put a little bit more effort to hold on. I did that this time round it hurt a lot though. I got dropped on a hill but caught them back up at the top as they waited for traffic. I got dropped again along with one other and I sat in his wheel for a couple of minutes and realised he was struggling more than I was. I got out his wheel and in front of him and he sat on my wheel and I actually managed to relay him back to the group. I was chuffed with myself considering where I was physically when I started cycling. At 18 miles another injection of pace came this time I was running on empty and delved into my pockets and found an energy bar. I scoffed that down and got my boost about 10 minutes later. The last 7 miles I done on my own and as my energy levels upped so did my pace. Considering how badly equipped I was for the ride I was happy with what I had done.
Sunday 28th July
Rest Day
After racing Thursday it has shown me how far I am off the pace, the fact that I missed all of the winter training means I have had to play catch up in terms of my fitness base that's not an excuse. I am looking forward to winter training just need to work my socks off so next year I can be more competitive. I have been told that it takes up to 5 years to get your cycling legs. I'm not 100% sure what that means but when I do get my cycling legs you'll be the first to know.
Next week is the Prudential RideLondon100 so I will take it pretty easy next week, as it gets closer I am getting more nervous as I realise that I will be in the saddle for up to 6 and a half hours possibly more, I can't even remember the last time I drove for a hundred miles!! My main issue is nutrition as I seem to mess it up so I have to remember to keep drinking and eating on the bike and make sure that that I don't 'bonk'. If you want to sponsor me for a great children's charity The Maypole project the address is http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/GaryDCohen
Target for the ride finish with 6 hours minutes.
Wednesday 31 July 2013
Sunday 14 July 2013
Weeks 2 and 3
OK so I have been slacking in terms of blogging and am rolling two weeks into one in this post so it might be on the longish side.
Monday 1st July
Monday is fast becoming my tempo training day and going on the same route so it's good to see if the training is benefiting me. My legs were a bit stiff to start off with after the club ride on Saturday. I think I am going to have to start doing recovery rides on a Sunday, hopefully flush out some of that lactate to train better.
It was windy and head winds are a killer it makes things so much more difficult on your legs when you're riding solo. It felt like I didn't get a tailwind at any point but I must of I just didn't feel the benefit. I also had an issue with my Garmin 500 constantly auto stopping so some of the times might not have been completely accurate. By the end of the ride I felt good, 18 miles in around an hour.
Tuesday 2nd July
Rest Day
Wednesday 3rd July
Rest Day
Thursday 4th July
Happy Independence Day to any Americans out there, I know by the time you read this it will be a distant memory. Training hasn't been too good this week so a quick tempo ride just under 13 miles, some parts of the route I have been on before but one bit was in reverse. It was tough, some short sharp climbs that hit my legs hard but after a while they came back to me. The final climb I made up for it bettering some my previous times up it and actually having something left in the legs to push on the flat. Normally once I get over a hill my legs disengage from my brain and only come back once they have recovered enough as they know my brain will tell them to keep pushing, a sign I am getting fitter which is always good.
Friday 5th July
Rest Day, I know another one.
Saturday 6th July
Today I decided to change it up a bit and add something new. Hill repeats, thinking about it scares me even though I know I have to do them as it is great for strength work and interval training. Also if I want to race at Redbridge Cycling Centre on a Thursday night they have a hill that you have to repeat 10 times, so I need the practice. The hill I was going up is only 0.4m but averages 6% I knew my legs would burn but no pain no gain. As I had no idea how I would feel after one I had no idea how many times I would repeat so I would play that one by ear. All the climbing would be done standing and in the big chain ring. It was painful, fortunately there was a bouncer on a part of the climb encouraging me each time I went past. I ended up doing 5 repeats before heading home and found another short climb which caught me out, but I battled through it my legs pretty much wanting to disown me.
Sunday 7th July
Rest Day, This week really was quite flat but hopefully next week I pick it up.
Monday 8th July
My standard Tempo ride today. A week ago I said that I need to start doing recovery rides the day after a hard session but this time it will be done. The first part of my legs didn't want to cooperate due to them being stiff then the downhill section was into a head wind so where I would normally recover a little I was having to push to get through the wind. I had a crosswind up a hill and then a great tailwind heading back to Shenfield and then another up a climb to Brentwood which done wonders for my best segment times on Strava, in comparison to the last weeks it was fairly similar but taking into account my harder training on Saturday and minimal training last week I am glad I didn't go backwards. 18 miles in just over an hour.
Tuesday 9th July
Rest Day
Wednesday 10th July
I was thinking about the idea of attending the club time trial but it needs me to actually make a decision before the day as would need somewhere to look after my son for 20 minutes or so until my wife gets home. Seeing as I wasn't participating in the time trial I decided to add sprint training into my training. Given that as a runner I was a sprinter I was quite looking forward to this. I went onto the rollers and yes I am a baby and still using the stand but for the most effective training it makes sense.
I had a 10 minute warm-up and then into the sprints. The plan was 20 minutes which would consist of 30 seconds sprint the 30 seconds rest. I learnt quite quickly that there wasn't enough rest and the effort wasn't lasting 30 seconds so I changed the timings to 15 seconds sprints 30 rest then to 20 seconds sprint 40 rest. I was dripping in sweat and shattered it was a good workout and great for working on my leg speed my cadence peaking at 150 in the biggest gear.
Thursday 11th July
I hadn't had an endurance ride in a while so got on the rollers again and the aim keep in Zone 2 working on my endurance. I thought I might be a bit heavy legged after the previous days exploits but they were fine. As I have said before the hardest thing with indoor training is the boredom factor. Tonight I watched some of the Ashes and the the last 10 minutes I watched cycling I had recorded, I rewound it 10 minutes from the end for last 10 minutes of my ride to keep me entertained and sprinted when they did might as well get my body used to sprinting at the end of a ride. Indoor training is great for working up a sweat. This week is already on level terms with last week. The trouble for me is finding time to fit everything I want in, next week on my days off I am thinking of throwing in some double sessions, thought those ended when I had my last pre season as a footballer.
Friday 12th July
Rest Day.
Saturday 13th July
Today my aim was a longish solo ride and put in a new hill. It never ended like that as I couldn't remember where I needed to go but next time I go this way I will certainly attempt to tackle it. My dinner the previous night was a BBQ and people that know me know that I tend to just eat meat at BBQ's and then odd burger bap with my burger so severely lacking carbs. Missing out on carbs the night before affected me on in the ride. I felt like my legs had nothing to give me in terms of any increase in effort but my heart rate remained low compared to how I felt, not happy. Also, I had run out of my SIS electrolyte drink so had to use Lucozade, obviously my dinner the night before didn't help but I didn't feel any benefit from the Lucozade where I am sure the SIS would have helped me along a bit more. I covered 28 miles and averaged 17.5MPH which in context of how I was feeling was pretty good.
Sunday 14th July
Rest Day, the plan was a recovery ride but I failed to do it again. I am going to dig out the skins recovery tights (forgot I had them) plan is to sleep in them even in this weather.
Conclusion
This has been my busiest week in terms of sessions and I have enjoyed it, I am contemplating on racing this week as the series will be coming to an end soon. I am not going to sit here and say my target is to finish is the top 20 as I know the majority if not all will have been doing this for a while and some will be of the category above that I am in. It will be good to see where I am at and how long I can stay onto the main group for. If I do end up doing it wish me luck. I didn't my wife to proof this post so it is probably full of grammatical and spelling errors.
Monday 1st July
Monday is fast becoming my tempo training day and going on the same route so it's good to see if the training is benefiting me. My legs were a bit stiff to start off with after the club ride on Saturday. I think I am going to have to start doing recovery rides on a Sunday, hopefully flush out some of that lactate to train better.
It was windy and head winds are a killer it makes things so much more difficult on your legs when you're riding solo. It felt like I didn't get a tailwind at any point but I must of I just didn't feel the benefit. I also had an issue with my Garmin 500 constantly auto stopping so some of the times might not have been completely accurate. By the end of the ride I felt good, 18 miles in around an hour.
Tuesday 2nd July
Rest Day
Wednesday 3rd July
Rest Day
Thursday 4th July
Happy Independence Day to any Americans out there, I know by the time you read this it will be a distant memory. Training hasn't been too good this week so a quick tempo ride just under 13 miles, some parts of the route I have been on before but one bit was in reverse. It was tough, some short sharp climbs that hit my legs hard but after a while they came back to me. The final climb I made up for it bettering some my previous times up it and actually having something left in the legs to push on the flat. Normally once I get over a hill my legs disengage from my brain and only come back once they have recovered enough as they know my brain will tell them to keep pushing, a sign I am getting fitter which is always good.
Friday 5th July
Rest Day, I know another one.
Saturday 6th July
Today I decided to change it up a bit and add something new. Hill repeats, thinking about it scares me even though I know I have to do them as it is great for strength work and interval training. Also if I want to race at Redbridge Cycling Centre on a Thursday night they have a hill that you have to repeat 10 times, so I need the practice. The hill I was going up is only 0.4m but averages 6% I knew my legs would burn but no pain no gain. As I had no idea how I would feel after one I had no idea how many times I would repeat so I would play that one by ear. All the climbing would be done standing and in the big chain ring. It was painful, fortunately there was a bouncer on a part of the climb encouraging me each time I went past. I ended up doing 5 repeats before heading home and found another short climb which caught me out, but I battled through it my legs pretty much wanting to disown me.
Sunday 7th July
Rest Day, This week really was quite flat but hopefully next week I pick it up.
Monday 8th July
My standard Tempo ride today. A week ago I said that I need to start doing recovery rides the day after a hard session but this time it will be done. The first part of my legs didn't want to cooperate due to them being stiff then the downhill section was into a head wind so where I would normally recover a little I was having to push to get through the wind. I had a crosswind up a hill and then a great tailwind heading back to Shenfield and then another up a climb to Brentwood which done wonders for my best segment times on Strava, in comparison to the last weeks it was fairly similar but taking into account my harder training on Saturday and minimal training last week I am glad I didn't go backwards. 18 miles in just over an hour.
Tuesday 9th July
Rest Day
Wednesday 10th July
I was thinking about the idea of attending the club time trial but it needs me to actually make a decision before the day as would need somewhere to look after my son for 20 minutes or so until my wife gets home. Seeing as I wasn't participating in the time trial I decided to add sprint training into my training. Given that as a runner I was a sprinter I was quite looking forward to this. I went onto the rollers and yes I am a baby and still using the stand but for the most effective training it makes sense.
I had a 10 minute warm-up and then into the sprints. The plan was 20 minutes which would consist of 30 seconds sprint the 30 seconds rest. I learnt quite quickly that there wasn't enough rest and the effort wasn't lasting 30 seconds so I changed the timings to 15 seconds sprints 30 rest then to 20 seconds sprint 40 rest. I was dripping in sweat and shattered it was a good workout and great for working on my leg speed my cadence peaking at 150 in the biggest gear.
Thursday 11th July
I hadn't had an endurance ride in a while so got on the rollers again and the aim keep in Zone 2 working on my endurance. I thought I might be a bit heavy legged after the previous days exploits but they were fine. As I have said before the hardest thing with indoor training is the boredom factor. Tonight I watched some of the Ashes and the the last 10 minutes I watched cycling I had recorded, I rewound it 10 minutes from the end for last 10 minutes of my ride to keep me entertained and sprinted when they did might as well get my body used to sprinting at the end of a ride. Indoor training is great for working up a sweat. This week is already on level terms with last week. The trouble for me is finding time to fit everything I want in, next week on my days off I am thinking of throwing in some double sessions, thought those ended when I had my last pre season as a footballer.
Friday 12th July
Rest Day.
Saturday 13th July
Today my aim was a longish solo ride and put in a new hill. It never ended like that as I couldn't remember where I needed to go but next time I go this way I will certainly attempt to tackle it. My dinner the previous night was a BBQ and people that know me know that I tend to just eat meat at BBQ's and then odd burger bap with my burger so severely lacking carbs. Missing out on carbs the night before affected me on in the ride. I felt like my legs had nothing to give me in terms of any increase in effort but my heart rate remained low compared to how I felt, not happy. Also, I had run out of my SIS electrolyte drink so had to use Lucozade, obviously my dinner the night before didn't help but I didn't feel any benefit from the Lucozade where I am sure the SIS would have helped me along a bit more. I covered 28 miles and averaged 17.5MPH which in context of how I was feeling was pretty good.
Sunday 14th July
Rest Day, the plan was a recovery ride but I failed to do it again. I am going to dig out the skins recovery tights (forgot I had them) plan is to sleep in them even in this weather.
Conclusion
This has been my busiest week in terms of sessions and I have enjoyed it, I am contemplating on racing this week as the series will be coming to an end soon. I am not going to sit here and say my target is to finish is the top 20 as I know the majority if not all will have been doing this for a while and some will be of the category above that I am in. It will be good to see where I am at and how long I can stay onto the main group for. If I do end up doing it wish me luck. I didn't my wife to proof this post so it is probably full of grammatical and spelling errors.
Thursday 4 July 2013
Week 1 of structured (kind of) training
As I stated before my training has to fit around being a Husband and Dad and around my work, to maximise my training I have investigated this quite in depth and found that heart rate (HR) zone training is the best possible training for a cyclist. As you can imagine on the internet there is a huge amount of information to do with it but found that they are all similar. One of the articles I read which breaks it down quite simply is here http://www.bikeradar.com/fitness/article/heart-rate-monitor-training-for-cyclists-28838/
I missed the whole winter training so am effectively playing catch up which is not ideal but I have to start somewhere. I can go real in depth and geek out about the training but I may save that for a separate post at some point. I have the Garmin Edge 500 which is perfect for tracking my rides and making sure I am staying in the correct HR zone. My training will be a mix of tempo, endurance and interval rides as I am hoping to lengthen my training sessions.
I planned to join the club run on Saturday but on my way to the meeting point I realised I forgot my cycling shoes. I came home and decided to go out on my own within a mile I had a puncture and my tyre had split. A new tyre was required and meant no riding for the day. Sunday I didn't go out as I was shattered for some reason, so rather than train tired and risk injury I had a day relaxing.
Monday 24th June
After having the weekend off I felt fresh and my legs felt good so I went out on a tempo ride with some lactate threshold training mixed in as well. I went out for 18 miles on a route I know well. I had a technical issue the first few miles as I was unable to change into the big chain ring but that rectified itself. I felt good throughout the ride the small climbs that are on my route were tough as usual but I am learning to like them. I averaged 18mph which I was happy with, the wind was not a factor, I had a good stretch after then got myself ready for work.
Tuesday 25th June
Rest day.
Wednesday 26th June
I decided that now was a good time to pop my time trial cherry. Glendene run a time trial every other Wednesday. It is two laps of a 5 mile course, I set myself a target of 30 minutes to finish the course. I decided to do a recce of course in the car. I started to get nervous driving down to the course, sad I know. I got to the course and it had more bumps in it that I had hoped for but it didn't look too bad.
My preparation wasn't great I had 4 and a half hours sleep. My fluid intake during the day had been pretty shocking as had my food intake. I ate half a carb bar as I arrived at Navestock, paid my fee to enter and cycled down with a few others to the start line that was my warm up again not ideal. My number was 11, chatting away with the rest of the riders it took my mind off what I was about to do. The rider ahead of me went off 1 minute and it would be me.
I had changed my cycle computer around so I knew what my average speed was, what a stupid idea that was. My plan was set off steady on the first lap and then try and pick up on the second. I heard 10 seconds it snapped me out of it, the countdown reached the end and I was off. I set off like a greyhound and killed myself my legs they were already begging me to stop. Obviously I didn't and continued on my way. The bumps were more intense than I had expected, my position on the bike was far from aerodynamic, I just wanted to get through it, I attacked the climbs and tried to recover on the downhill sections. It was tough and knowing that I was just under 20mph was frustrating, I saved a little bit for the final run in and finished with a time of 30:07. I was happy to be so close to my target. I was shattered though, it was one of the hardest things I have put myself through. After downloading the data from my computer my HR peaked at 208 and averaged 178 for the time trial, so my next time trial I will build up my pace and attack the downhill sections as well as the up hill ones.
My target for the next 10 mile time trial is 29:15.
Thursday 27th June
My legs didn't feel too bad but I didn't want to over do it, so I got the rollers out for an hour recover/endurance ride. I am not going to lie riding on a indoor trainer is dull compared to riding out on the road, maybe I will play some of the cycling I have recorded on Sky to keep me going. My hour on the rollers made me realise that I need a turbo, my previous roller sessions I had been in a medium gear. This time I was in my biggest gear and keeping a cadence of 90 and just about managing to maintain my HR at 150, it seems my fitness has improved quicker than I expected and the lack of resistance means I can't do any meaningful intervals. So the rollers are out and a turbo is on the way in. I felt good on this ride, I think I also need a fan as within a minute I start to sweat like i'm in a sauna.
Friday 28th June
Rest Day.
Saturday 29th June
Today I made sure that all my kit was in the car so I didn't miss the group on the club run. The night before I had quite a carb heavy dinner.
We set off from Blackmore at 09:15 and headed up to The Blue Egg in Great Bardfield. I was feeling a lot more confident with my fitness and my bike handling so I went a bit further up in the group and found it easier as catching up with those in front after a corner required less of an effort than being near the back. We hand a couple of punctures in the group which probably helped me stay with the group and even take part in the group sprint at the end which I managed to keep pace with.
Unfortunately because of the two punctures we had in the group I had to leave earlier than the group as I had things to sort out at home. One of my clubmates offered to leave early and show me back. The difference of riding on your own/in a pair to riding in a group still astounds me. We headed off and had a good ride windy at times and that's where we were missing the group as you can 'hide' from the wind. The trouble with leaving early to come back was we were like the carrot. The faster riders of the main group would be racing to catch us up. They did, with about 3 miles to go. I tried to hang on the back but they were just going way too fast for me to pick up the pace and maintain. A few stragglers passed me but I managed to finish on my own with a bit left in the tank.
It seems silly but I can feel myself progressing and when I look back on my ride history on Strava I can compare my performance then to now. At times I even think that I am cycling within myself and that I could kick on sometimes in the group rides, but then the others would be able to kick on a lot more than I can. The aim is still to compete in some races towards the end of the season, I could race now but know that I would not be able to keep up but that said they to a Go-Ride race event at Dunton Test track which would be nice a flat so the pace will be high but it will be a good test, my weight is just under 75kg so still some work in that department.
Next week I have nothing planned in terms of time trials or races just training but you never know I may find something that I can compete in. If you want to follow me on Strava search Gary Cohen and if you are on twitter my add is G_D_Cohen.
Also a special thank you to my wife for one putting up with me and my training and for proof reading most of what I type as my grammar can be pretty shocking at times.
I missed the whole winter training so am effectively playing catch up which is not ideal but I have to start somewhere. I can go real in depth and geek out about the training but I may save that for a separate post at some point. I have the Garmin Edge 500 which is perfect for tracking my rides and making sure I am staying in the correct HR zone. My training will be a mix of tempo, endurance and interval rides as I am hoping to lengthen my training sessions.
I planned to join the club run on Saturday but on my way to the meeting point I realised I forgot my cycling shoes. I came home and decided to go out on my own within a mile I had a puncture and my tyre had split. A new tyre was required and meant no riding for the day. Sunday I didn't go out as I was shattered for some reason, so rather than train tired and risk injury I had a day relaxing.
Monday 24th June
After having the weekend off I felt fresh and my legs felt good so I went out on a tempo ride with some lactate threshold training mixed in as well. I went out for 18 miles on a route I know well. I had a technical issue the first few miles as I was unable to change into the big chain ring but that rectified itself. I felt good throughout the ride the small climbs that are on my route were tough as usual but I am learning to like them. I averaged 18mph which I was happy with, the wind was not a factor, I had a good stretch after then got myself ready for work.
Tuesday 25th June
Rest day.
Wednesday 26th June
I decided that now was a good time to pop my time trial cherry. Glendene run a time trial every other Wednesday. It is two laps of a 5 mile course, I set myself a target of 30 minutes to finish the course. I decided to do a recce of course in the car. I started to get nervous driving down to the course, sad I know. I got to the course and it had more bumps in it that I had hoped for but it didn't look too bad.
My preparation wasn't great I had 4 and a half hours sleep. My fluid intake during the day had been pretty shocking as had my food intake. I ate half a carb bar as I arrived at Navestock, paid my fee to enter and cycled down with a few others to the start line that was my warm up again not ideal. My number was 11, chatting away with the rest of the riders it took my mind off what I was about to do. The rider ahead of me went off 1 minute and it would be me.
I had changed my cycle computer around so I knew what my average speed was, what a stupid idea that was. My plan was set off steady on the first lap and then try and pick up on the second. I heard 10 seconds it snapped me out of it, the countdown reached the end and I was off. I set off like a greyhound and killed myself my legs they were already begging me to stop. Obviously I didn't and continued on my way. The bumps were more intense than I had expected, my position on the bike was far from aerodynamic, I just wanted to get through it, I attacked the climbs and tried to recover on the downhill sections. It was tough and knowing that I was just under 20mph was frustrating, I saved a little bit for the final run in and finished with a time of 30:07. I was happy to be so close to my target. I was shattered though, it was one of the hardest things I have put myself through. After downloading the data from my computer my HR peaked at 208 and averaged 178 for the time trial, so my next time trial I will build up my pace and attack the downhill sections as well as the up hill ones.
My target for the next 10 mile time trial is 29:15.
Thursday 27th June
My legs didn't feel too bad but I didn't want to over do it, so I got the rollers out for an hour recover/endurance ride. I am not going to lie riding on a indoor trainer is dull compared to riding out on the road, maybe I will play some of the cycling I have recorded on Sky to keep me going. My hour on the rollers made me realise that I need a turbo, my previous roller sessions I had been in a medium gear. This time I was in my biggest gear and keeping a cadence of 90 and just about managing to maintain my HR at 150, it seems my fitness has improved quicker than I expected and the lack of resistance means I can't do any meaningful intervals. So the rollers are out and a turbo is on the way in. I felt good on this ride, I think I also need a fan as within a minute I start to sweat like i'm in a sauna.
Friday 28th June
Rest Day.
Saturday 29th June
Today I made sure that all my kit was in the car so I didn't miss the group on the club run. The night before I had quite a carb heavy dinner.
We set off from Blackmore at 09:15 and headed up to The Blue Egg in Great Bardfield. I was feeling a lot more confident with my fitness and my bike handling so I went a bit further up in the group and found it easier as catching up with those in front after a corner required less of an effort than being near the back. We hand a couple of punctures in the group which probably helped me stay with the group and even take part in the group sprint at the end which I managed to keep pace with.
Unfortunately because of the two punctures we had in the group I had to leave earlier than the group as I had things to sort out at home. One of my clubmates offered to leave early and show me back. The difference of riding on your own/in a pair to riding in a group still astounds me. We headed off and had a good ride windy at times and that's where we were missing the group as you can 'hide' from the wind. The trouble with leaving early to come back was we were like the carrot. The faster riders of the main group would be racing to catch us up. They did, with about 3 miles to go. I tried to hang on the back but they were just going way too fast for me to pick up the pace and maintain. A few stragglers passed me but I managed to finish on my own with a bit left in the tank.
It seems silly but I can feel myself progressing and when I look back on my ride history on Strava I can compare my performance then to now. At times I even think that I am cycling within myself and that I could kick on sometimes in the group rides, but then the others would be able to kick on a lot more than I can. The aim is still to compete in some races towards the end of the season, I could race now but know that I would not be able to keep up but that said they to a Go-Ride race event at Dunton Test track which would be nice a flat so the pace will be high but it will be a good test, my weight is just under 75kg so still some work in that department.
Next week I have nothing planned in terms of time trials or races just training but you never know I may find something that I can compete in. If you want to follow me on Strava search Gary Cohen and if you are on twitter my add is G_D_Cohen.
Also a special thank you to my wife for one putting up with me and my training and for proof reading most of what I type as my grammar can be pretty shocking at times.
Thursday 20 June 2013
The last couple of weeks
In my quest I decided that I needed to utilise my time at home when my son in sleeping. So instead of sitting on my backside watching tv, I can sit on my bike watching tv while training. The world of indoor bike training is a lot bigger than I thought. I had a pretty small budget so that made the market some what smaller.
The two categories of trainers I was looking at were turbo trainers and rollers. In the end I went with rollers and found a set on eBay with a stand. The reason I went with rollers is because I can just put my bike on it and ride, as well as improving my pedaling action, core strength and the bonus of getting comfortable with my bike. The turbo trainer you have to attach your back wheel and when time is valuable the quicker option made sense, the only downside being the set I had bought had no option to increase the resistance but I am sure I can work around it.
I had watched some youtube videos and some disasters on them. From the research I had done if you didn't use the stand it is best to put the rollers in between a doorway so you can quickly gain your balance again. Unfortunately I haven't got a doorway suitable for this so I improvised with the high chair on one side. This worked, but transferring my hand from the high chair to the handlebar was proving challenging without losing balance. In the end I managed it and kept my balance for 15 minutes before getting over confident and coming off the side. Fortunately I didn't injure myself.
Slowly but surely things are coming together. Sunday 26th I joined a couple of club mates on a ride up to High Beech, Epping. This time I had an isotonic drink and two energy gels. I had two weetabix and two slices of wholemeal toast for breakfast lessons 1-3 learnt. The ride was good and full of hills and they dropped me on each one and waited for me on the top. Although I hate hills I know I need to do more for my legs to get use to them.
I was given some advice on the ride in regards climbing hills. Anyone that has done a fair amount of cycling probably knows this but me being pretty much new to this had no clue. If the hill is a long one you want to sit back in the saddle, hands on top of the handlebars and relax your arms and shoulders. Why? you may ask, standing up a while climbing a hill incorporates your arms more and uses up vital oxygen needed for your legs, the relaxing part is for your chest to expand as and fill your lungs as much as possible. So far it has helped and that fact that it improves my stamina through spinning my legs is a bonus.
I have since been out on another club run, in general I felt a lot better although I was dropped on a hill because I thought I was in the small chain ring when in fact I was in the big chain ring and run out of gears. Then when I caught up they began the charge to the cafe and there was no way I was going to keep up with them. On the way home they averaged 21 mph over 30 miles, I bother trying to keep up and averaged 17 mph but was happy that I didn't get to the point of having nothing left in my legs.
Slowly but surely I am improving. What I haven't told you so far is some of the cyclist in the group are twice my age and wipe the floor with me. I can't think of many sports where a person in their twenties with a decent level of fitness is unable to keep up with someone in their 60's.
So the plan for my blogs now is to update weekly with my training plan, how training is going and once I start to organise myself I will add my current food and drink intake and hopefully we will see how I am progressing. I think now is a good time to set a goal for the current racing season. The first is to earn a point in a road racing event from what I have seen from some of those that race in the same category it is going to be tough but there is no point setting a goal that is easy to achieve.
I have found out that I have a place in the 2013 Prudential Ride London-Surrey 100 and will be raising money on behalf of The Maypole Project, if you have any spare change to donate please click here.
The two categories of trainers I was looking at were turbo trainers and rollers. In the end I went with rollers and found a set on eBay with a stand. The reason I went with rollers is because I can just put my bike on it and ride, as well as improving my pedaling action, core strength and the bonus of getting comfortable with my bike. The turbo trainer you have to attach your back wheel and when time is valuable the quicker option made sense, the only downside being the set I had bought had no option to increase the resistance but I am sure I can work around it.
I had watched some youtube videos and some disasters on them. From the research I had done if you didn't use the stand it is best to put the rollers in between a doorway so you can quickly gain your balance again. Unfortunately I haven't got a doorway suitable for this so I improvised with the high chair on one side. This worked, but transferring my hand from the high chair to the handlebar was proving challenging without losing balance. In the end I managed it and kept my balance for 15 minutes before getting over confident and coming off the side. Fortunately I didn't injure myself.
Slowly but surely things are coming together. Sunday 26th I joined a couple of club mates on a ride up to High Beech, Epping. This time I had an isotonic drink and two energy gels. I had two weetabix and two slices of wholemeal toast for breakfast lessons 1-3 learnt. The ride was good and full of hills and they dropped me on each one and waited for me on the top. Although I hate hills I know I need to do more for my legs to get use to them.
I was given some advice on the ride in regards climbing hills. Anyone that has done a fair amount of cycling probably knows this but me being pretty much new to this had no clue. If the hill is a long one you want to sit back in the saddle, hands on top of the handlebars and relax your arms and shoulders. Why? you may ask, standing up a while climbing a hill incorporates your arms more and uses up vital oxygen needed for your legs, the relaxing part is for your chest to expand as and fill your lungs as much as possible. So far it has helped and that fact that it improves my stamina through spinning my legs is a bonus.
I have since been out on another club run, in general I felt a lot better although I was dropped on a hill because I thought I was in the small chain ring when in fact I was in the big chain ring and run out of gears. Then when I caught up they began the charge to the cafe and there was no way I was going to keep up with them. On the way home they averaged 21 mph over 30 miles, I bother trying to keep up and averaged 17 mph but was happy that I didn't get to the point of having nothing left in my legs.
Slowly but surely I am improving. What I haven't told you so far is some of the cyclist in the group are twice my age and wipe the floor with me. I can't think of many sports where a person in their twenties with a decent level of fitness is unable to keep up with someone in their 60's.
So the plan for my blogs now is to update weekly with my training plan, how training is going and once I start to organise myself I will add my current food and drink intake and hopefully we will see how I am progressing. I think now is a good time to set a goal for the current racing season. The first is to earn a point in a road racing event from what I have seen from some of those that race in the same category it is going to be tough but there is no point setting a goal that is easy to achieve.
I have found out that I have a place in the 2013 Prudential Ride London-Surrey 100 and will be raising money on behalf of The Maypole Project, if you have any spare change to donate please click here.
Wednesday 5 June 2013
My First Club Run
Glendene is the name of the cycling club I joined, based in Navestock just outside Brentwood. The club night is on a Wednesday so I went down there and met some of the members. My first thought was I am carrying too much weight compared to these guys and girls.
My plan was over winter to get myself fit and be in good condition for the cycling season. Unfortunately this didn't happen due to work but not one to completely write things off I changed my diet. I have never been out of shape but in October last year I was 81kg at 5'10, 2 weeks ago I weighed 75kg my target is 70kg.
18.05.2013 was the date of my first club run. My sleep the night leading up to it was patchy, as it always is when I am looking forward to something in sport. My head filled with how to stay in the bunch and not make too much of a fool of myself!
The morning came my breakfast was two slices of brown bread toast with margarine, my first mistake. I was slightly late but I was lucky they were waiting for me. The club run is up to the Blue Egg Cafe in Great Bardfield and back again.
We set off from Blackmore a group of about 20. In my jersey I was carrying spare inner tube incase I got a puncture and one bottle of water in my bottle cage, my second mistake. It was my first time riding in a group. I was nervous, trying to stay in someones wheel without crashing into them and holding a good line so the person behind can stay in my wheel. My fear was getting dropped by the group on hills as me on any kind of hill was always a struggle, but I got to the Cafe with the group even participating in the group sprint. I'm not going to lie I was chuffed 35 miles in total and not dropped once.
We got into the Cafe and I was just going to drink fluids, but someone said to make sure you eat somthing for fuel. I had a slice of beans on toast, I didn't want to eat much more as I didn't want to feel lethagic, my third mistake and my last mistake was not to stretch at the cafe.
We got back onto our bikes and headed home, it was going to be about 30 miles back. Instantly I got cramp on my inner thighs. I tried shaking them off and it worked but anytime I tried to stand up and climb the cramp would return. As the ride went on I was finding it more difficult to stay in the wheel. Then someone said we have 14 miles to go, encouragement that I needed, but then it happened my legs gave up on a hill. No matter how small a gear I went in they were offering nothing in return. I had been dropped in a horrible way. One of my clubs mates pushed me up one of the hills. I must buy him a drink the next time I see him. The rest of the ride was painful at one point I was doing 10mph on a flat. My legs had well and truely disowned me. The club captain stayed with me and lead me home, while the main group raced away. He spoke with me about the importance of fuelling myself right which from mistakes 1-3 I failed miserably. Mistake 4 was just me being an idiot. I have never done any sport for this duration before and it showed.
I got back to Blackmore and went straight into the shop Lucozade, Cheese Sandwich, Snickers and water was what I bought, my body needed fuel and needed it fast. I devoured it all within about 10 minutes.
I was dreading Sunday and Monday as I feared severe DOMS but they weren't too bad. I had a pint of milk on the Sunday as I read that milk helped reduce DOMS. Whether it was the milk that helped or not I was just glad a could walk relatively normal.
Hopefully my second outing on the club run would be slightly more successful.
Wednesday 29 May 2013
Introduction
Warning this first entry is a lengthy one.
I decided to create a blog about my trials and tribulations as I try and get myself into road racing. So you may be asking yourself what makes me any different from anyone else in the same situation, in all honesty probably nothing. You're either going to be interested or not.
My name is Gary 29 years old, born in East London and now living in Essex. I work full time and when not at work I am a Dad and Husband. After being completely sucked in by the greatness of the London 2012 Olympics, I decided to set myself a goal. Brace yourself it is a massive goal. I decided that I wanted to be an Olympian. I know crazy right? Some of you will now be thinking this guy must be on something but I can assure you that I have never touched any drugs.
Let me tell you about my background before you think I am completely delusional. I grew up participating in every sport going even if I was rubbish I competed in it and just tried to be the best I could in whatever sport I did. As a kid the sport I participated the most in was football, my Sunday league team were brilliant from the age of about 6 it didn't change much and by the age of 11 we had pretty much won everything that we could enter. At 8 years old I was Tottenham's books, I enjoyed my time their but at the age of 13 I knew I wasn't in their plans. So I asked to be released so to go on trial at Watford.
The trial didn't work out the way I wanted it to and the then Youth Team Director at the time told me I would never make it as a professional footballer. That hurt but it made me more determined to prove him wrong, 2 years later I was back on trial at Watford, the trial lasted an age because the Youth Team Director changed mid trial so everything was up in the air. John McDermott was the new Youth Team Director and wanted me to come in for two weeks over Easter holidays and train with the current Under 17s. I was excited. 6 weeks before I came on for the Under 17s playoff match within a few minutes I was back off the pitch with an ankle injury. They don't nickname me touch tackle for nothing, my first touch was never the greatest but this time it landed me in a spot of bother. It took me past the defender towards a rushing goalkeeper, like my whole life I fully commit to the challenge. My ankle was in agony and I couldn't walk and the keeper was limping around. I came of worse as he played on.
The next morning my Dad took me to the hospital and they took an X-Ray of my ankle, it was good news it was just badly sprained. So I reported the findings to the physio and looking forward to my two weeks training over Easter but as it grew closer my ankle was still they same. So Watford paid for an MRI scan for me, which revealed I had a hairline fracture of my right tibia, I needed at least 6 weeks in a cast. I was gutted, I thought that was it they wouldn't want me now. No way to prove myself to be worthy of a YTS contract. John McDermott came to me and offered me an alternative. Train as I had been with the Under 16s on a Tuesday and Thursday and see where that takes me. I was delighted, that summer I worked hard and trained full time until I went back to Sixth form. Ashley Young followed this path too a year after me and look at him now.
I spent two years doing this under the guidance of David Hockaday and then D-Day came and I offered a 1 year professional contract. They were going to offer me two at first but the few months leading up to the decision my performances hadn't been the standard I had set. I know the exact moment when I started to struggle. During one of the school holidays I was about to start training with the youth team and David called me over and told me I was training with the Reserves. I was over the moon, I had trained or played with the majority of players before but the title of the reserves scared me and I was like a rabbit in headlights and that affected me for a few months and lost me a second year, but I was appreciative of my year and the day got better we were playing a behind closed doors match against Arsenal as they wanted some of their First Team players to have a run out after injuries before a game at the weekend. Seamen and Adams played, I came off the bench and was marked by Adams it was an honour.
That season didn't go to plan and and I knew I wasn't going to get my contract renewed. The then manager Ray Lewington called me in his office. A senior player stood outside as I walked in singing 'There maybe trouble ahead' I get banter but that was just unprofessional another person to prove wrong. Ray told me my contract was not to be renewed, but he told me don't give up and always play with you heart on your sleeve. I never forgot those words and use them in life as well as in sport.
I left and joined Scarborough, then onto Gretna in Scotland, on loan to Workington where I helped them gain promotion to the Conference North via the playoff. Then my final professional team was Grimsby, got to the playoff finals and beat Derby County and Tottenham in the League Cup and I picked up the young player of the year award. Not bad for someone who was not good enough to be a professional. The next season I spent injured and left at the end of it.
The next winter I decided I wanted to try American Football, I tried out and got in as a running back. I loved it and meant my natural physical side could come out without getting into trouble. I played for the Essex Spartans, a lot of us were new to the sport but in general we did well considering. I picked up the MVP award. I have always tried to be the best I can be in whatever I try and so far it has served me well.
I went back to football playing Semi-Pro for St Albans, I found it tough playing football part time and working full-time. In my second season I won Goal of the Season which can be found here at 1:44. Shameless plugging I know.
Up until last year I hadn't done much in the way of sport, I had even got lazy going to the gym. Then an opportunity arose to take part in a charity boxing event for LeeBrownEvents. I couldn't resist I had always wanted to do it, so I put my name down. 3 months preparation, not much but it was 3 x 1 min rounds.
I trained hard with my old school friend and a lot of sparring with him, even if he was 3 stone heavier and 6 inches taller. I learnt to take a punch in that time. He then arranged some sparring with another school friend who had had a few fights. Being the competitor I am I thought it will be a good marker for to see where I am. In my head I thought I would be OK. I wasn't I got hammered every punch he threw landed, every punch i threw hit thin air. I accepted my beating but didn't give up probably should of done. His boxing coach then verbally hammered me, the main part being that I would never be in any condition to fight in such sort time. I went back the next day for an hour long training session with the coach. He couldn't believe how quick I picked up what he was teaching. A week before the fight I sparred with my mate again, it was even and I have managed to make him throw a few air shots. If you want something bad enough you will find ways to achieve. Fight night came and it was a massive buzz which you can view here.
My family has a sporting background too my Dad competed at two Olympics for TeamGB in the 400m and my Mum also ran for GB in the 100m. My Auntie also Ran for GB in the 100m won a World Championship Silver and competed in the Olympics. You can't ask for better role models when it comes to sports or being a good human being.
This has gone on longer than I had expected, so back to my goal to become an Olympian, I needed a sport football was out the window, athletics was also out the window as I didn't think me knees would be able to take the impact. I had always rode a bike but during the Olympics they cycling was phenomenal and so the love affair began.
I have told friends, family and work colleagues my aim. Why? Well the goal I have set is at the top of the mountain and I will more than likely fall short, but goals aren't meant to be easy to achieve you have to challenge yourself at all times to be the best you can. If I can inspire at least one person I have told to aim high for a goal and achieve it this blog will be a success. For me to achieve my goal I need to work hard and dedicate as much as I can to it while working full time and being a good Husband and Dad. It is going to be difficult and at times I will probably want to give up but I am determined to push myself as hard as my body can tolerate and only time will tell on where this next sporting adventure will take me.
I decided to create a blog about my trials and tribulations as I try and get myself into road racing. So you may be asking yourself what makes me any different from anyone else in the same situation, in all honesty probably nothing. You're either going to be interested or not.
My name is Gary 29 years old, born in East London and now living in Essex. I work full time and when not at work I am a Dad and Husband. After being completely sucked in by the greatness of the London 2012 Olympics, I decided to set myself a goal. Brace yourself it is a massive goal. I decided that I wanted to be an Olympian. I know crazy right? Some of you will now be thinking this guy must be on something but I can assure you that I have never touched any drugs.
Let me tell you about my background before you think I am completely delusional. I grew up participating in every sport going even if I was rubbish I competed in it and just tried to be the best I could in whatever sport I did. As a kid the sport I participated the most in was football, my Sunday league team were brilliant from the age of about 6 it didn't change much and by the age of 11 we had pretty much won everything that we could enter. At 8 years old I was Tottenham's books, I enjoyed my time their but at the age of 13 I knew I wasn't in their plans. So I asked to be released so to go on trial at Watford.
The trial didn't work out the way I wanted it to and the then Youth Team Director at the time told me I would never make it as a professional footballer. That hurt but it made me more determined to prove him wrong, 2 years later I was back on trial at Watford, the trial lasted an age because the Youth Team Director changed mid trial so everything was up in the air. John McDermott was the new Youth Team Director and wanted me to come in for two weeks over Easter holidays and train with the current Under 17s. I was excited. 6 weeks before I came on for the Under 17s playoff match within a few minutes I was back off the pitch with an ankle injury. They don't nickname me touch tackle for nothing, my first touch was never the greatest but this time it landed me in a spot of bother. It took me past the defender towards a rushing goalkeeper, like my whole life I fully commit to the challenge. My ankle was in agony and I couldn't walk and the keeper was limping around. I came of worse as he played on.
The next morning my Dad took me to the hospital and they took an X-Ray of my ankle, it was good news it was just badly sprained. So I reported the findings to the physio and looking forward to my two weeks training over Easter but as it grew closer my ankle was still they same. So Watford paid for an MRI scan for me, which revealed I had a hairline fracture of my right tibia, I needed at least 6 weeks in a cast. I was gutted, I thought that was it they wouldn't want me now. No way to prove myself to be worthy of a YTS contract. John McDermott came to me and offered me an alternative. Train as I had been with the Under 16s on a Tuesday and Thursday and see where that takes me. I was delighted, that summer I worked hard and trained full time until I went back to Sixth form. Ashley Young followed this path too a year after me and look at him now.
I spent two years doing this under the guidance of David Hockaday and then D-Day came and I offered a 1 year professional contract. They were going to offer me two at first but the few months leading up to the decision my performances hadn't been the standard I had set. I know the exact moment when I started to struggle. During one of the school holidays I was about to start training with the youth team and David called me over and told me I was training with the Reserves. I was over the moon, I had trained or played with the majority of players before but the title of the reserves scared me and I was like a rabbit in headlights and that affected me for a few months and lost me a second year, but I was appreciative of my year and the day got better we were playing a behind closed doors match against Arsenal as they wanted some of their First Team players to have a run out after injuries before a game at the weekend. Seamen and Adams played, I came off the bench and was marked by Adams it was an honour.
That season didn't go to plan and and I knew I wasn't going to get my contract renewed. The then manager Ray Lewington called me in his office. A senior player stood outside as I walked in singing 'There maybe trouble ahead' I get banter but that was just unprofessional another person to prove wrong. Ray told me my contract was not to be renewed, but he told me don't give up and always play with you heart on your sleeve. I never forgot those words and use them in life as well as in sport.
I left and joined Scarborough, then onto Gretna in Scotland, on loan to Workington where I helped them gain promotion to the Conference North via the playoff. Then my final professional team was Grimsby, got to the playoff finals and beat Derby County and Tottenham in the League Cup and I picked up the young player of the year award. Not bad for someone who was not good enough to be a professional. The next season I spent injured and left at the end of it.
The next winter I decided I wanted to try American Football, I tried out and got in as a running back. I loved it and meant my natural physical side could come out without getting into trouble. I played for the Essex Spartans, a lot of us were new to the sport but in general we did well considering. I picked up the MVP award. I have always tried to be the best I can be in whatever I try and so far it has served me well.
I went back to football playing Semi-Pro for St Albans, I found it tough playing football part time and working full-time. In my second season I won Goal of the Season which can be found here at 1:44. Shameless plugging I know.
Up until last year I hadn't done much in the way of sport, I had even got lazy going to the gym. Then an opportunity arose to take part in a charity boxing event for LeeBrownEvents. I couldn't resist I had always wanted to do it, so I put my name down. 3 months preparation, not much but it was 3 x 1 min rounds.
I trained hard with my old school friend and a lot of sparring with him, even if he was 3 stone heavier and 6 inches taller. I learnt to take a punch in that time. He then arranged some sparring with another school friend who had had a few fights. Being the competitor I am I thought it will be a good marker for to see where I am. In my head I thought I would be OK. I wasn't I got hammered every punch he threw landed, every punch i threw hit thin air. I accepted my beating but didn't give up probably should of done. His boxing coach then verbally hammered me, the main part being that I would never be in any condition to fight in such sort time. I went back the next day for an hour long training session with the coach. He couldn't believe how quick I picked up what he was teaching. A week before the fight I sparred with my mate again, it was even and I have managed to make him throw a few air shots. If you want something bad enough you will find ways to achieve. Fight night came and it was a massive buzz which you can view here.
My family has a sporting background too my Dad competed at two Olympics for TeamGB in the 400m and my Mum also ran for GB in the 100m. My Auntie also Ran for GB in the 100m won a World Championship Silver and competed in the Olympics. You can't ask for better role models when it comes to sports or being a good human being.
This has gone on longer than I had expected, so back to my goal to become an Olympian, I needed a sport football was out the window, athletics was also out the window as I didn't think me knees would be able to take the impact. I had always rode a bike but during the Olympics they cycling was phenomenal and so the love affair began.
I have told friends, family and work colleagues my aim. Why? Well the goal I have set is at the top of the mountain and I will more than likely fall short, but goals aren't meant to be easy to achieve you have to challenge yourself at all times to be the best you can. If I can inspire at least one person I have told to aim high for a goal and achieve it this blog will be a success. For me to achieve my goal I need to work hard and dedicate as much as I can to it while working full time and being a good Husband and Dad. It is going to be difficult and at times I will probably want to give up but I am determined to push myself as hard as my body can tolerate and only time will tell on where this next sporting adventure will take me.
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