Eeeks! I can’t believe I’ve done it! I have only just gone
and said yes to do the Way Of The Roses (Coast-to-Coast or C2C) Cycle Ride
next summer. That’s a 170 miles of cycling from Morecambe to Bridlington over
the Yorkshire Dales in the north of England. What was I thinking?
Or maybe I wasn’t. I had always wanted to do the C2C as a
week-long ramble. But none of my cycling buddies seem interested in walking for
seven days. The only way to do it is on a bicycle, they said.
Petrified!
So here I am, petrified at the prospect of riding 60 miles every
day for 3 consecutive days. It is not the 60 miles that worries me. I did the Blackpool ride in July and that was 60 miles. It is the hill climbs that are
making me re-think my decision. The Blackpool ride had a total elevation of
nearly 2000 feet. I did it at a sedate pace of under 10 miles/hour on a hybrid
bike. The Way of the Roses boasts hills, a couple with ascents of around
1000 feet each. The total elevation for this ride is just under 8000 feet.
Ouch!
Mind Games
With Blackpool, I had no clue about the route, the elevation or the topography when I first signed up to it. I probably would not have done
it had I checked all the details. All I knew was I had to train, build up my
cycling miles and ride my bicycle from Manchester to Blackpool on the day. It’s
only after finishing the ride that the mental aspect of it hit me. Your mind
plays a huge part in your performance, sometimes even more so than your body.
If I can keep the self-doubt at bay, lose weight, build speed and keep up with the training, I should be able to conquer the Way
of the Roses.
Training Schedule
First things first. I need to get a robust training programme in place. Riding outdoors is
becoming increasingly difficult in this weather. I am not ready to invest in a
turbo trainer just yet. I have a gym membership that I intend to put to good
use over the winter months.
This is what I need to do over the coming months:
- October to mid-January – 4 gym cycling sessions per week. Try and fit a bike ride in as and when, weather permitting. Average 40 miles/week
- End-January to February – 2 gym sessions per week (both spinning, if possible) + 20 to 30 mile ride each week
- March – average 60 miles/week over 2 or 3 rides
- April – in addition to the shorter 20 or 30 mile rides, fit in one longer 40 to 60 miler each week
- May, June, July – try and do back to back rides, increasing the distance each time.
Diet and Losing Weight
It’s not all about distance. Speed is an issue as well. I
could potter along at 10 miles/hour, but that’s just tedious. I have no wish to
spend all day in the saddle. There are two ways I can up my speed. I either upgrade
to a lighter bike or I lose weight. I would love to do both.
Let me start by losing weight. I have already dropped a
jeans size this year thanks to all the cycling. But there has been no change in
weight, which means fat has been replaced by muscle and existing muscle tone has
improved. The next step is to carry on building muscle while reducing absolute
weight.
There is only one way to do this and it is not easy. I will
have to watch what I eat. The refined sugars and processed foods will sadly
have to go. There will be no fad diets, no skipping meals, just sensible
eating. Lots of fruit and veg, complex carbs, proteins and good fats to make up
the 1800 calories I need every day. There will be room for the occasional treat
and G&T.
Implementation
With the training and diet plans in place, the next step is
implementation. I will blog about my progress every week so there is a
visual reminder of how I am doing.
What do you make of my training objectives? Do they sound
feasible? Have you done something like this and would like to share your
experience? Do leave a comment below. All constructive advice gladly received.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.