Archibald has woken up and smelled the coffee
KATIE ARCHIBALD has come to terms with most difficulties during lockdown, but few adjustments have pleased her quite like her new approach to meal-prepping.
The Milngavie cycling star found it tricky to adjust to the postponement of the Olympic Games when it was first announced, as goalposts were shifted and athletes were forced to adapt to the radical change in their schedule.
And Archibald was ready to hit the ground running in Tokyo, having soared to team pursuit glory in Rio in 2016 and scooped silvers in the event at the previous three World Championships.
Caffeine and meal plans replaced pedals and velodromes and Archibald says those changes have helped her adjust to the ‘drastic’ setback.
“The answer to how I’ve found lockdown is usually swayed by how I am in the moment, but I’ve just had a big coffee and I feel brilliant!” the 26-year-old, one of 1,100 athletes on UK Sport’s National Lottery-funded World Class Programme, said.
“But there have certainly been days of self-pity and frustration, as it’s been such a drastic shift of our ambitions and plans.
“But if you contrast that to the wider picture of what society is adjusting to, that bigger picture of what we’re interacting with is the leveller.
“I’ve got into my meal prep – do you know how exhausting it is having to pick what you eat every single day when you’re at home?
“That hit me and my boyfriend straight away – I didn’t realise how often I grabbed a panini from a coffee shop or a jacket potato at a velodrome!
“I’ve got a right good system now – my friend runs a company
that makes pre-prepped meals, and they deliver our lunches.
“We have a set dinner routine, with five dinners a week planned out, one takeaway and one dinner round at my mum’s.
“It’s nice to get into that routine, although I’ll be heading straight back into the coffee shops as soon as they all reopen!”
Archibald has been in lockdown in south Glasgow with partner Rab Wardell, attempting to remain in tip-top condition as her pursuit of Tokyo glory – fuelled by National Lottery funding – intensifies.
Archibald excels in the team and individual pursuit events but was also targeting a spot on the Team GB team in the Madison, despite being pipped to those places by Elinor Barker and Neah Evans at the recent World Championships.
The versatile Archibald is relishing an extra year of preparation and reckons the lay-off has given her the best chance possible of taking the most ‘important’ Games ever by storm.
“I’m more consistent than I’ve ever been, and in physiological terms, I think you’re going to see a step up for hundreds of athletes,” she added.
“The Games bring people together, and the pandemic has given different nations a shared sense of responsibility.
“The global feeling of engagement that only the Olympic Games bring is a really big strength, and with the backdrop of the pandemic, it will be more important than ever.
“And the National Lottery is what creates the Olympic team – cycling being such a successful Olympic sport for Great Britain is literally only possible because of people buying National Lottery tickets.” - No one does more to support our Olympic and Paralympic athletes than National Lottery players, who raise around £30 million each week for good causes. Discover the positive impact playing the National Lottery has at www.lotterygoodcauses.org.uk/stories/trackto-tokyo and #TracktoTokyo #NationalLotteryAthletes