Nearing the end
In his final training diary, Jamie Wilkins explains what he has learned along the way and how he’s using his restored fitness
After five months of hard training I’m as fit as I’ve ever been, which is all the sweeter because last year was a write-off and left me completely out of shape. My 40th birthday is now just days away and I feel fantastic. I’ve wasted no time in making it count, either: I recently won a category 1/2 criterium solo having lapped the field and a week later placed seventh in an insanely mountainous gran fondo. I could hardly believe it was me doing it.
The fierce Pyrenean climb of Hautacam has served as a barometer of my progress. It’s 10 minutes from my door (yours too if you visit our guesthouse, escapetothepyrenees.com) and nothing demonstrates the combined benefit of weight loss and training as clearly as your best time up a mountain. Untrained and overweight, it took me 71 minutes. I set the goal of going 25 minutes faster, which I achieved last month, with my weight and power back where they should be.
For this final diary entry, then, I wanted to see just how fast I could go, and maybe crack the top 20 on Strava. To that end, I borrowed a superlight Canyon Ultimate CF Evo, made sure I was well rested, had enough caffeine to give an elephant the shakes, and let rip. My time of 42min 47sec is faster than I could have hoped for, and was good enough to put me 11th on Strava. I’m chuffed to bits.
Looking back over the past five months this diary has, thanks to the expertise of
trainsharp Cycle Coaching, shared some valuable advice. While returning to fitness is always faster than getting there in the first place, the condensed journey highlighted some key lessons that anyone can apply.
First, you earn the greatest reward just by getting started. Month one produced by far the biggest improvement to my time on Hautacam: 15 minutes after just four weeks. You can achieve amazing results by committing to between four and six hours of consistent and structured training per week.
Second, there are easy wins with weight loss too, and you don’t need a radical diet. Start by simply cutting out what you know you shouldn’t be having. I lost over 10kg and all I did was eliminate biscuits while increasing my riding.
Third, don’t push the weight loss too far. As coach Chris put it, 71kg turned out to be a knife-edge for me – as soon as I dipped below that I’d get extremely tired. You need to be sensitive to how you feel to find your own ideal weight rather than chase an arbitrary number that may not be sustainable.
Fourth, remember the importance of recovery, including sleep – one bad night can undermine several days of training. Recovery is a broad topic and applies to what you do in the hours after a hard training session, on the days in between those sessions and on the easy weeks that separate training blocks. All are important and it’s one of the most critical ways in which a coach can help you.
Chris’s summary of my journey should act as motivation to anyone looking to take on something similar: ‘You’ve proven to be a fast responder to training. I think this is down to a combination of being a good natural athlete and also your mental strength of being able to push yourself very hard and nail sessions repeatedly while also maintaining discipline with your diet and lifestyle.
‘Even a rider new to training can make serious gains if they have the motivation, application, a clear plan and, ideally, a coach. When you know someone is going to look at your files it gives you accountability and can help you knuckle down even when you may not feel like training.’
I hope this diary has been in some way inspiring. Structured training isn’t for everyone but if you have any desire at all to be fitter and faster then I urge you to try it. The results are there for the taking and feeling strong on your bike is the best thrill of all.
Diary: Month five