‘FULL COMMITMENT, EVERY RIDE’
“Lockdown has been a great time for me to reset my mind and body”
I’m back, checking in again, and the big news since my last report is that lockdown is finally lifting, meaning that UK cycling is slowly returning to normal. It’s nice to see, though I have to admit, I haven’t stopped at any cafes yet – I fear I’ve lost my cafe finesse! It’s a habit I’ll get back to once things are back to normal completely; in the meantime, the home cafe – AKA kitchen – is always free, so will remain my option of choice for the foreseeable future.
I’m back to training at pretty much full-gas, but I’ve moved my focus towards getting stronger for next year. If any racing happens at the tail end of this year, I’m viewing it as a testing ground and a little bonus. I believe the pandemic will have a knock-on effect for next year, making things feel slightly different in those early-season races. Lockdown has been a great time to reset the mind and body, and it’s allowed me the time to form a different outlook on how I’m training, why I’m doing certain things, and how simple changes can have a large impact in a good way. I’m looking to make every ride high-quality, maximising the effect of everything I do. For example, if there are five efforts to do, I’m now doing everything I can to make sure all five are carried out as close to perfection as possible. And after the efforts are done, the same mindset is applied to everything – from the ride home, to getting to bed on time. How can I nail the efforts, recover better, fuel optimally, analyse the data more smartly? – everything is under the microscope. My approach is all-ornothing’; training needs to involve grit and commitment. If it was easy, everyone would do it.
The only racing I’ve done recently is the Cycling Weekly Club 10 TT on Zwift, and that was a bit of a disaster, as I joined the event with hardly any time to spare and forgot to choose a TT bike from the virtual garage. Doh! Despite averaging 5.5w/kg, I didn’t even make the top 30 – that virtual air sure is draggy!
I’ve just finished a block of training and am now in an easier week; by the time you read this I’ll be in Andorra for some altitude training with Ag2r pro Harry Tanfield. I’m looking forward to a solid few weeks to further improve, and I’ll be making the most of it. Right now, I’m off to do a ‘lap of the M25’, following the minor roads closest to the motorway – it’s a route that caught my eye on Strava earlier this year, and I’ve convinced Canyon-dhb rider Alex Paton to join me. The sun is shining, and who doesn’t love a meal deal or three?