Well it’s been two months and I really have let the side down in updating my 3 subscribers on what’s been going on. In fairness I could summarise right now and say “not alot” and save you a several minutes of reading but here goes…
Once I had my consultant review in early January, and given the green light to proceed with training etc. I was keen to contact Dominic Schils and let him know that I was coming to his winter (February) training camp in Mallorca. The details had yet to be finalised but Suzy was keen to book my flights, my bikes on board and we managed to book a stay at the Hilton Stanstead Hotel the night before the flight and immediately after I landed as it was at 10pm and she didn’t like the idea of me travelling home in the small hours. She’s toyed with me and the fact I’m leaving her for 10 more days, added onto a 12-day stint back in 2022 she’s now keeping a tally for future trips without me!
In the buildup to Mallorca I was keen to get some new fitness in as all I had been doing was Zones 1 & 2 because of the uncertainty of there condition of my knee. Now that was (kind of) out of the way I was keen to do some other zones. In reality the low zone riding have set up for a huge base of fitness that I keep waffling on about with my athletes – “Zone 2 is king” I tell them as it paves the way for upper zone work and the mitochondria required to do the more explosive stuff.
Without even thinking about it I entered the Ely & District Hardriders 25 25 Mile Time Trial which I had done last year – although it does show I was a “DNF” due to me going off-course in the last mile and failing to pass there timekeeper – I won’t make that mistake again. Indeed I didn’t as the course was changed to the “old course” that I knew from years ago on the Witchford Bypass near Ely. The there & back course suited me as I could just hold a rhythm and keep it there for the whole distance. I had set a workout on my Training Peaks platform for just over 1 hour so it gave me a target power setting to hold or exceed. As long as I kept the yellow LED on my Wahoo bike computer to the right of the target I knew I would be doing ok. With that on a very flat and windy course I knocked out a 58:06 to get 7th place on the day.
The Cycling Time Trials new “Late Entry System” allows the organiser to accept entries within the closing date period of they wish to do so, so on the day there were a few extra entries that I had not looked at. Anyone who knows me well know that I don’t like surprises so to find a couple of riders who have had an impact on my mental health in recent years wasn’t the best as I signed on. Nonetheless I just stuck to the plan and did what I had to do. What also distracted me, in a good way, was a Hashtag rider who had never done a 25 mile TT before attending this event, I encouraged them and wished them the very best in their ride and that seemed to help me in my preparations. The Hashtag rider did really well and came in just over 71 minutes – not bad considering the conditions. The other rider – well they did a late “56” so I was please I got that close considering the one & a half legs I’m using.
Back into a week of light training and Suzy & I headed off to Stansted to stay the night before my 8am flight with Ryanair. I’m not the best fan of this operator and I don’t think I’m alone in this opinion but I didn’t have a choice as other operators weren’t starting their flights until March or even April. Once sent on my way through security after the usual issues with bike bags Suzy went straight to Cambridge where her employer is based. I made friends with a guy from Leicester who runs a orthopaedic/injury clinic. He noticed my Challenge Roth rucksack and said he was doing it – we chatted, I took him through the “Assist” speedy security as I was walking with my crutch and he bought me a coffee in the departure lounge where he met his wife and their son who didn’t have the usual bike bag delays. As it happened we wee both headed to Mallorca and as is always the case I must’ve noticed him at least a dozen times before we went out separate ways in Palma Airport.
By this time I had connected with one of my athletes – Matt, who was going to the same training camp with his girlfriend. This is really how I got to find out about the camp and then was offered to come. After a brief phonically with Alan – the camps’ support driver, we were picked up and headed to the Helios Hotel at Can Pastilla some 5 minutes from the airport. I’ve only once stayed on that side of the island so I was excited to try new routes that I’d rarely had tried before – being based in Alcudia as a rule I’d normally be 100km plus into a ride before getting into this area so maybe not as fresh as I could be if I stayed around there, so I was looking forwards to challenging myself on the local climbs and hopefully getting a few PR’s on the climbs. That said, in the back of my mind was still concerned with how my knee was going to hold up and also I was also training with a racing team so the standard of riding was going to be alot higher than I would normally be riding with – and I didn’t want to feel like I was holding them back.
I’m sitting here now and trying to remember the days one by one but it’s safe to say I can’t unless I look at my Strava or Training Peaks. We had landed on the Friday and there was a local race that some of the riders were taking part in on the Sunday so the first day was short route taking in Randa (Cura) which is one of my favourites on th island. Keeping it controlled I rode up the 5km climb and pushed where I could but made sure I still had enough energy to ride home. When I got back to the hotel I downloaded the data and realised I was only 12 seconds off my all-time PR on that climb – result.
The next day was almost the same thing – whilst the racers were off racing in the south of the island the rest of us headed out to the east taking in another monastery climb – San Salvador. This climb isn’t one of my favourites as it’s quite disjointed and bumpy so a big old rider like me can’t get into a rhythm. The group I had ridden with to this climb had split up along the way so I was only with two other rides by the time we hit the bottom of it. Once climbed we stopped at the cafe at the top for a coffee & cake (as you do) and rode back into a strong westerly headwind to get home pretty spent. The data told me yet again I was only 12 seconds off the all-time PR on that climb – I think I might be beginning to like this one and add it to my favourites!
The following days consisted of a few new routes and some of which I had ridden before many years previously and riding in a group (mostly) spurred me on to being better and not just staying comfortable up the climbs. Again, I feared everyone waiting at the top of the climb for me and getting cold so I was keen not to be the last one up there. As it turned out I held my own quite well and managed to PR all climbs on that side of the island throughout the week including Soller “The Dark Side” which had been really tough for me in previous visits to this island.
Riding with current racers has spurred me on to perhaps revisiting the Uk road racing scene – albeit in minor appearances over the summer perhaps. The Interbike team and family were absolutely amazing in welcoming me to their training camp and I owe them quite alot in supporting me during those 10 days I was with them. I discussed with Dominic and Patrick the current UK racing scene and how it’s really hard for race organisers to find officials/commissaires for their races. That said I am now in the process of renewing my commissaire status so I can help the local scene making sure their events go ahead.
There’s part of me that still wants to race but if the race can’t go ahead without officials then I’m more than happy to step up and officiate. I’m also keen to help Dom & Patrick out at their races as they are a great family and a great team. I think I might even race in their colours for 2026 if I manage to find the time to race the occasional circuit race or regional B.
The flight back home was smooth enough and we landed late in the evening. It was good foresight that Suzy booked a hotel as I was extremely tired and probably would’ve fallen asleep on the way home if I had to drive home straight away. I met Suzy as we came out of arrivals and we headed straight to the hotel. On the downside I had been subjected to a few riders over the 10 days who were suffering from a cold and as soon as I got home this set in and for a few days I struggled with my breathing and keeping my heart rate down. Additionally I had possibly given this to Suzy and whilst writing this blog she has only just got over it some 3 weeks later. It could’ve been the dreaded Covid as she lost taste and was permanently blocked up. She could’ve caught it from attending her workplace and mixing with other “Patient Zero’s” whilst I was away but it all points to me and mixing with some people on the holiday who were ill.
Since then I’ve got back into my swimming – to start with, especially with my breathing issues it was really hard rot get back into the swing of things – swimming in treacle was a phrase I used more than one occasion. I’d also picked up a hamstring injury – picked up from Mallorca waiting for a rider at the top of a climb and subsequently getting cold. It’s calmed down now but I can feel it’s still there. A few massage appointments with Jennifer Sophie Sports and I’m sure I’ll be right as rain.
Back to the swimming – I’ve made a concerted effort in going swimming first-thing at 8am and then going to the gym afterwards. In the past I’ve always gone to the gym early and then gone back to the gym for a swim later in the day but this hasn’t worked well as I’ve got too comfortable at home and sacked a few of these sessions off. This new way I’ve got it done before I’ve really properly woken up and also it’s all done in one visit. I’ve also kept the sessions down to 2000m or thereabouts as I don’t think I’m benefiting from anything longer than that right now. Hopefully when the warmer weather arrives I’ll be able to go longer in the open water leading into the 2nd half of my season won I need to go long.
Weight training has taken a new turn. I’ve taken a bit of my own advice to my athletes and have started to periodise my strength work and I’m definitely stronger than when I just used to go in and do a few exercises randomly and come home. My nutrition has still alot to be desired and I’m not really having an all-round nutritional plan. In th back of my mind I’m keen to drop a bit of weight leading into Mallorca in April as climbing is a hell of alot easier if you’re 5kgs lighter. Conversely I don’t want to lose power to this needs to be constantly reviewed. I know weight loss/gain is a contentious issue amongst cyclists and endurance athletes so I”m keen to lead by example, especially when informing Hashtag coached athletes so I need to find a middle ground where I’m happy I’m giving my body what it needs and not starving it when it needs it the most. My first point of attack is to make sure I’m giving myself alot of protein as that is always the priority when losing fat mass – something that people forget as they restrict all their macronutrients.
As far as the cycling is concerned I’m still putting the occasional “silly ride” and knocking out 200km in a day. After a few easy riding days I’m playing around with some sweetspot work – CinnamonBuns I call them on the Hashtag platform. These have a serious bang for your buck without extreme fatigue so I’m trying out a few rides I will eventually pass onto my riders in the future. I’m currently leaving the hard threshold and V02 work to the racing – I’ve booked in a few Time Trials before we head back to Mallorca so it’ll be good to see how I fare in comparison to where I was over a month ago pre-training camp.
The next one is tomorrow afternoon – a random 21 mile TT near Bury St Edmunds. I did it last year with fairly good results and punching in my conservative numbers on MyWindsock it seems I may better last years’ performance by a couple of minutes – we’ll see, I’m not getting ahead of myself just yet – these events are simply tests to see where my fitness currently is and where my weaknesses are. Then there a few 10 mile TT events in the next few weeks before packing my bags and headed to Mallorca for my 312 prep. Coincidentally Interbike have a few riders out there whilst I’m there, they’re doing a 3-day stage race the week before 312 – part of me wants to try my hand but the other thinks it might be too much when I should be tapering – the constant dilemma for most cyclists who want to train hard and rest easy before race dayAs far as the Hashtag Coaching is concerned I’m a little overwhelmed with how well things are going. We recently had a social meet-up and over 20 athletes showed up doing either the organised run or two different paced rides that were on offer. Some just turned up for the social bit at the end and it was amazing to see how well we all got on with each other – supportive and positive about the season ahead. I received a few message from some “Hashtaggers” afterwards and congratulated me on being the tiny acorn at the start of this ever-growing group of people. Looking back to when it all started over two years ago I had no realisation that things would be this successful. My style of coaching treats everyone as an individual and no two plans are the same – I’ve probably said it before but I absolutely hate generic plans and coaches charging near to £200 per month for the privilege. Hashtag are a quarter of that price and they get unlimited contact with me and constant daily updated schedules. There’s an interesting part of the Hashtag Community in that a very high percentage of the group are women. Normally alot of sports are male-dominated but Hashtag are completely different – I can only put it down to making it a safe space to be coached and to talk amongst each other with nothing but support and encouragement. Perhaps my participation or complicit behaviour in my distant past in male toxic environments have taught me what not to do when supporting and coaching athletes. I could babble on about how toxic it was but that’s not what I’m about these days – I only associate to almost the polar opposite of that behaviour these days.
Well, I think that’s about it for now. I’ve probably missed a thousand things out from the past two months and I’m sure someone will message me and tell me what I missed – I’ll make a point in my next blog to mention that!
Onwards!!!!!