Raindrops

Flecks of spittle fling from my lip.

Every blink smears a foggy sheen on tired retinas, receding ever more reluctantly.

Ninety minutes in and sodden feelings begin to seep through cape, jacket, skin. Finding reddened flesh.

I look at nothing but see much, flitting past in peripherals. Damp fields, the drip from a hawthorn branch gliding downwards, impossibly slow, as I slither past. 

Profiles of faces in cars, warmer than mind but pale, lifeless. Bleak.

A gnawing permeates taut muscles, ancient pains twinge in a knee from seasons past. Core temperature drops, as do shoulders, and I know I have at best a handful of miles left in me. Welcome back.

                                    I'm home.

Today is the first day of the rest of your life

So it’s that time when I have to start riding my bike again. I’ve been playing for a while now, perhaps too long. The first week back to training is always truly terrible but it’s a necessary evil, so come Monday: je vais rentrer entraînement!

Every year I try and do something extra to push myself up another level. Two years ago it was getting a proper coach; last year it was stretching and foam-rollering; this year it’s going to be the gym. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a little nervous at the thought a few days ago. The gym and I have a love-hate relationship: I love leaving and I hate going. Having the upper body of an 11 year old girl we’ve never been the best of buddies, and adding into the equation the fact that I’m a sweaty devil you have a recipe for embarrassing disappointment.

The only bit of equipment I knew how to use.

This year though it’s going to be different! Yesterday I had a great meeting with Chris and Sean from SC Vital Fitness who put me at ease. Chris has a cycling background so understands that: (a) cyclists generally hate gyms and (b) my core strength is comically bad. 

We went through a thorough check of background, possible injuries, flexibility and coordination tests, so before we’d even hit the dumbbells I knew I was in safe hands (dumbbells is a joke by the way!!). Talking to Chris actually got me excited for my future gym-ing as he’s got loads of knowledge on training methods which can directly improve me as an athlete! He also understands that the bike will always be the priority so we’ll be able to work as a team to get the best out of my training and recovery time. All I can say is- bring on the six-pack!

Ice ice baby

I had a jolly good time this weekend. Despite the cold snap that everyone and their mothers has been whinging about, I was pretty psyched up to head over to Storrington, a little town in Sussex, for my second race of the season. It was an 18km time trial on Saturday afternoon followed by a 42km time trial on Sunday; a little TT stage race.

On Saturday I did a nice long warm up on the turbo in the car park and by the end I could just about feel my arms. I sweated a single bead of sweat but it froze before it hit the ground. In the time trial itself I felt quite good if a little ragged. The course was up and down and I’d checked out the hill just before the turn (17% it said) so I knew I could get up it in the 54. It definitely wasn’t 17% but don’t tell anyone because it makes me feel like a big dawg!

I was second to last off, with Wouter Sybrandy two minutes behind me, and if I’m honest I spent a large amount of the race trying not to look behind me. I saw Wouter at the turn and tried to guess whether I was up or down on him but it was impossible to tell. I put the power down in the last few miles over the rolling hills and even did a (highly comical) sprint at the end, Cancellara style. It’s something I try to do every time trial, just to get it all out, and I was glad I did when I got back to the headquarters. I took the course record by two seconds, and won the event: great success!

Unfortunately Sunday's race was cancelled due to snow on the course, but I'd got what I wanted from the weekend: my first win of the year.

Here's some good snaps of the event :  

http://markghopkins.co.uk/p293120118/h272828d7#h272828d7

An aside

The observant among you may have noticed I mentioned this was my second race of this season; I did in fact ‘compete’ in the National Madison a week previously. It was a bit of an eye opener this early in the year, going from doing four hour long steady rides to doing (my best attempt at) 60kph on the track. Luckily I did one day on the track at Newport a few days before so I was totally prepared.

Here I am hiding behind the eventual winners - [manxroadclub.webs.com]

I was partnering with ex-GWR teammate Dave Sinclair, a sprinting don and experienced track rider. It was a good partnership; he was great at telling me what to do and when, but unfortunately I was still pretty weak technically. People may not realise that track racing is quite psychological and if you show any sign of inadequacy or weakness you get trodden on. From the off I was a bit nervous and as a result we were elbowed out and spent a lot of energy chasing tails. We finished seventh out of a very small field which frankly sounds better than it is. It was a far cry from my previous fun times on the track last year, when I was doing the individual and team pursuit, but it was a start to the season.

Some ideas for extra training

It’s the winter months which means it’s time to get the woolly bottoms out and wave goodbye to the idea of ever getting any sunshine on your bare flesh other than your face. Racing seems like a lifetime away so, inspired by countless magazines out there promising the earth, here are my ideas to keep boredom at bay and get you fitter quicker (probably).


      ‘The rollercoaster’.

A personal fave of mine: Whilst doing a period of faster paced riding find a nice rolling road which takes a sudden and dramatic downward turn in the final minute or so of your effort, preferably in a 30 or even 20mph zone. At this point, nearing the end of your effort, you’ll be thoroughly jaded and delirious enough to continue trying to maintain the chosen power output down the hill (resulting in nigh on break-neck speed). With any luck an innocence bystander will saunter across the road in front of you resulting in a giant leap in your heart rate. Extra training!

Ignore all calls for bike maintenance.

Who’s got time to clean a bike? Not you or I: We’re too busy training! That creaking noise produced by your disintegrating chain: that’s using energy. That dramatic wobble in your rear wheel from the several broken spokes: requires more power for forward propulsion. That corroded headset which forces you to cling to the bars for dear life at all times: that’s a core workout. Those brakes that never truly release: just think, you’ll be flying when you get on your race bike in Spring! I rest my case.

Here I am leading by example

Pump your tyres up once at the start of winter.

Then destroy the track pump – simple yet effective. If your tyres go a little soft, who cares? You certainly won’t be! You’ll be putting in more effort than your training partners, and you’ll have to be agile as a ninja to avoid any road debris with your super soft treads otherwise you’ll be blowing out nonstop, thus topping up your road handling skills all winter. Going round any kind of corner will also train you in the art of make or break (your neck). Who needs to ride ‘cross for bike handling skills when you’re training on 25psi?

Soft tyre, hard man

Good luck future champs!