Fitness to Fatness and Back Again - A Brief History

To be fair this is where I should have started, a brief history. 

In one way or another I have always been into bikes, from as early as I can remember I have been cycling, I cycled to school pretty much everyday once I got to secondary school and I did my paper round everyday on a bike, and every time I did it was a race, could I beat my friends to school, could I beat my previous best time for delivering papers, my hunger for competition was a constant.

However I never actually raced bikes, I got my competitive kick from swimming and rugby both of which I competed at a reasonable level at, and when I was younger made me incredibly fit, training was brutal mornings and evenings everyday, and swimming galas or rugby games at the weekend, combined with cycling I can safely say I have never been fitter than I was as a teenager.

As with all teenagers, things moved on I lost interest or in the case of swimming had a fall out with the coach over a toilet break, being told "if you get out again don't come back" did not wash well with an all knowing teenager and I did not return to the pool after that night.

I still had rugby and in some ways it was a relief, I had collapsed from exhaustion in school one day and was rushed to hospital, it was quickly established that this was not caused by the amount of work being done in school and I would need to make a decision as I could not carry on the way I was, and having a fall out with my swimming coach made that decision for me.

Overtime the rugby team a played for drifted apart, we all grew up got cars and in my case I became lazy, I didn't want the hassle of the training and games and often I became a replacement rather than being in the starting 15, so when I got to college I had pretty much given up sport, the only constant had been bikes.

The other constant was my food intake, despite cutting down on exercise I carried on eating huge amounts, this was to lead to what has been a pretty much constant battle with weight, something that I still struggle with today, I might say i have an economical metabolism but the fact I can eat my body weight in Haribo and not bat an eye suggests there is also something wrong in my head, I like, no love food and my sweet tooth is outrageous.

So, a good number of years passed, my weight yo-yo'ed.  Then i met my now wife Fee, we had a passion for motorbikes and as it happens beer and chips!  Needless to say this had a profound effect on my weight and I soon weighed in at 110kgs or just under 18stone.

I had not really thought much of it, I have broad shoulders and could carry the weight reasonably well, but after a seeing some photos from a friends wedding I knew something had to change.

I needed a goal, a target to aim for, initially this was just to be able to run, and I used the "special K diet" to start with, eating special K for breakfast and dinner with a reasonable lunch, given I was hardly exercising this worked and the weight began to come off, I found I could run (not fast or well but I could run) so the next target was a duathlon, so I decided that Stokesley would be a good place to start, completing the novice race and putting in a good bike split to be first back off the bike, I must admit I was happier on the bike back then than I ever was running!

That said, there were some great things about running, specifically the trail running my wife and I often ran off road together and some of the scenery we ran in was stunning, it is something that I do miss.

Moving on the next goal was triathlon, and I competed in a number of races with good swim and bike splits but the run never really came together and I was left frustrated, good results were always lost with my poor run, however the side effect of all the training was that my weight was down and I got to around 80kgs, was it easy? No, losing weight is seriously tough, mentally and physically getting the diet right and cutting down the excesses was a daily struggle.

After about 3 years of triathlon I made the decision to focus on cycling, it was always my passion and I found there is little better to me than being out on the bike in the fresh air just enjoying the changing scenery. I ended the 2013 season with some solid results, I was, for a period, unbeaten at the York Sport track regardless of the nature of the race, I could be out front driving the break, or taking it in a bunch sprint.  

In 2014 I moved from Clifton Cycling Club to York Cycleworks, as I have said before they have always been very supportive from buying our first bikes to bike fits to general support and banter, I felt it was appropriate to give something more back.

2014 was a tough season for a number of reasons, and as a result of not being able to get the training in I was not in a place to be competitive in races which meant i tried too hard and often ended up crashing, so much so I have a reputation for it even now.  

2015 has been a solid season, lots of races, PB's, some points, some wins but above it all lots of fun.

That brings us up to date, I am still working on maintaining my weight, and in time reducing it some more to maximise my potential for 2016, but in a nutshell that is where I have come from, I am very much an average Joe that enjoys riding a bike.

Hills, Poops & Cyclocross (Round 3 - Wakefield)

After a tough week of training culminating in Hill Repeats on Saturday morning my legs were feeling pretty tired, that is a good thing as it shows that hopefully the work is bring done to go into 2016 in good shape.  That said I am pretty sure my coach, Rob, is a bit of a sadist underneath it all.  

One thing that I was most concerned about was a lack of sleep, being a new parent you hear the horror stories of endless sleepless nights spent soothing and feeding, and I will admit that in the early days it was hard going it that respect but very fortunately my wife has been amazing, she has done the night feeds and now the little one has been able to get some sort of routine sleep is better, still broken but better.

As my wife also likes to ride bikes and race we are also starting to get into a bit more of a routine so that she can get out, although mainly for her sanity I think at the moment, with me and the baby she is struggling for mature adult contact... and there is nothing better than being out in the wolds to clear your head, while it needs some tweaking it seems to be working okay, its about making it work with the baby not about making everything about the baby.

On Sunday it was the 3rd round of the Yorkshire Points Cyclocross series in Wakefield, a course i rode and enjoyed last year, broadly flat with some good technical sections, however before I get into that, a technical correction from my last blog, I may have been 47th overall but thanks to "pesky kids" and the veterans I was 13th or 14th in my age category, which I will take!

But before all that, a story about the nappy that couldn't, Sunday morning and the Sharp family had been up for 2 hours, the baby had fed and was due an hours nap before they headed en-mass to Wakefield, this was to be Erin's first sight of Cyclocross.  Mum had just changed Erin and was putting her in her favourite place to nap, her sling, Dad was watching some telly and all seemed calm.  Just then a cry from the dining room, this was not the cry of a baby but of mum, "ahhh there's poo everywhere" she exclaimed!  Jumping to help dad rushed in to find mum, baby, the sling and the floor covered in delightful poo.... After cleaning up dad found that despite all your best efforts, sometimes nappies just cannot retain the required volume and it results in a full system breach, which is always nice.

So in the preceding hours to Wakefield I spent then using a hairdryer to dry the sling after it has been hand washed so that we could take it with us, knowing that without it my daughter would not sleep, and that would mean that I would be going alone.  Parenthood is not without its challenges but, sometimes those challenges are messier and funnier than you expect.

Back to the race, I started in the 3rd row in the middle of the pack, better placed that normal so I was happy enough with that, the whistle blows and its all out sprinting to the first turn... where I basically bottle it.... not wanting to get tangled up I drop back allowing quite a lot of riders past me, still I am upright and now able to set about making up some ground.

The first few laps are pretty uneventful, I spend most of my time catching and passing people, trying to avoid the roots, hitting the roots, being convinced I have a puncture and struggling in the slow corners, not sure why if its the tyres or what but I have lost some of my nerve, my lines were not great and I was battling the bike a bit.

After about 4 laps it all calms down i find myself in open air and I am able to set my own pace, I see I am catching a small group ahead and target them as a goal for the race.

I am not sure when it happened in the race but inevitably the leaders caught me, watching them skip past is very impressive, it really shows the difference between me and them, fitness wise I am on a par, having raced against Jack at Malton Crits and been in the 3 man break for the whole race, but technical ability its quite something to watch.

Not far from the end, I was in the previously mentioned group, I was tagging on to the back wheel of one of the stronger riders, when at a technical section where the course went down and back up round a tree, he fell off this left me with no where to go, I also could not get unclipped and somewhat unsurprisingly I fell, hitting my head off the tree as I did.  Taking a second to check all was okay I tried to jump up to find I was trapped by a bush, I was flailing about like a fish on land, I am hoping it was entertaining for everyone watching!! 

So after my normal "off" I set about finishing the race, Tom Ramsey lapped me and I was able to stick with him for half a lap before again technical ability won out over brute force.

Another good race for me 45th overall and 18th in age category and the other York Cycleworks riders, Tony Mills, Craig Gath and especially Andy Johnson who was just outside the top 10 overall, just need to check my helmet, took a fair hit so I want to make sure its okay, otherwise its off to York Cycleworks for a new one!

Not quite so good was for a couple of friends, Paul Goulden who apparently decided that his face made a suitable brake, luckily no lasting damage after a good checkover, the same cannot be said for Richard Hamilton who managed to break his collarbone and will no doubt be spending more than a few uncomfortable days and nights trying to heal.  All the best to both on a rapid recovery.

Quiet week for me with no racing now until Round 4 on the 4th October, although you may see a blog pop up in the week. 

Sleep, alcohol and Cyclocross (Yorkshire Points Rd2 - Northallerton)

Shall I start with sleep?  Or the lack there of.... Everyone knows the importance of sleep on training and racing, so being a new dad (5 weeks old now!) there are nights where I get some sleep and nights where I get less sleep, although I will be the first to admit that my wife does the lion’s share of the night shifts it is inevitable that my sleep is not has good as it used to be.  How does this affect me?  Well for a start a tired body and mind are less efficient less able to process what’s going on and mistakes are more likely to be made, for me it also means that my heart rate is higher at resting and as a result is higher when exercising, that said there is nothing about being a dad I would change, it is, with no question, the best thing in the world.

So on to the next topic, alcohol.  There was a time where I could drink countless pints and feel fine, no ill effects, no hangover... I was younger and at 18 stone heavier as well!  However, in a show of support for my wife during pregnancy I stopped drinking, this inevitably had a positive effect on my wellbeing (I didn't drink a lot) as I was able to recover better, and get up earlier to get the training and to be honest I did feel better for it, that said I like the occasional beer or glass of wine so after the birth of our daughter I have tried both, the results have been very odd....  Firstly I feel the effects after a small bottle of beer, not that surprising really, however it doesn't end there, I also feel like I am burning up, my HR and blood pressure go up and on Saturday night I was left awake in bed trying to calm down, it was not great.  It’s an odd one and I am not sure what to do, I could power through and hope that it gets better, or accept that I am now a "non-drinker"!! I am sure there will be more to follow on this point, I shall continue my testing, I want to ensure that I am thorough.

So to the small matter of the start of my Cyclocross season, Round 2 at Northallerton.  On paper the course was well suited to me, flat and fast a power man’s course, but as with all cyclocross races, the start is everything.

I got there in good time, had some good banter with the lads and got a short warm up in familiarising myself with the course. 

As I missed the first round I was not gridded, so I started 2/3rds of the way down the pack, the start is a sprint to the first corner.  I set off next to Andy Johnson, another York Cycleworks club member and was hoping to sit behind him and get towed around to a good result (Andy is a strong CX rider so I was hopeful to learn a thing or two).  

Immediately I lost Andy's wheel, but he was still in sight so a bit of effort and I could get back, however at the first bottle neck I got caught up in a small crash, two riders come together in front on me and I had nowhere to go and ended up with a rear mech in my front wheel.  Fully expecting my race to be over with a very broken front wheel, it took some time to free my wheel check it was okay and carry on, by which time I was close to last.... right some work to do.

Thinking there was still a chance for a good result I pushed on, only to find stationary traffic at all the bottle necks for the first 2 laps, this ended up putting pay to significant progress, all that was left was to bury myself and have some fun.

On the 3rd lap I was making progress and had just picked off a group of 6-7 riders, taking a different line into one of the corners I was soon to realise that there was less grip than I had expected, cue my "standard" cyclocross fall off.  No injury, although I lost the places I had just made up and was kicking myself as a result. The bike seemed okay and I picked myself up and carried on, going to change gear, click from the shifter, nothing from the rear mech, another click on the lever this time is changes, 3 gears!  Turns out it had taken a bit of a hit and was no longer aligned and also full of mud.... mint!  Now I was basically riding a bike with 2-3 gears this was going to be hard work.

I plugged away and caught a small group of 3 riders, we proceeded to battle it out for the rest of the race, elbow to elbow at times it was great fun and we pulled each other round picking off some places in the process. 

I was 47th out of 115, not bad given the day, to be honest I am not that fussed, cyclocross is more about getting out and having fun for me, and to that end it’s the most inclusive form of racing I have come across and there is always someone to race against, regardless of your ability. Full results here 

Needless to say it was a hard effort, max HR was 181 bpm with an average of 171 bpm which for me is right on the limit.

So, what’s on this week, some training, some dad stuff, some work, then on to round 3 at Wakefield. 

Cyclocross No Show & Fitness Testing

So after my last blog I had every intention of racing the first Yorkshire Points Cyclocorss race at Skipton, given my reasonable current form I was hoping for a good result, however on Sunday morning I was struck down with an ear infection from overuse of earplugs (I thank my new born for her refusal to sleep at night!!), had it just been the ear infection I would have probably still raced but the effects were significant, I was dizzy, very dizzy... imagine if you can that feeling you get after a night on the booze and the bed is spinning, that is where I found myself on Sunday morning, needless to say this was followed by nausea, the end result?  The only racing I did was between my sofa and the toilet.

This sidelined me for Monday as well, luckily I am on an easy week training wise so I didn't mind much.

So yesterday (Wednesday) was testing day, i was nervous that the illness might have taken the edge off my figures... I have changed coaches recently and moved the Robert Stanley, the performance coach at York Cycleworks.  These guys have been very good to me over the years and supported me one way or another and as a store ambassador I have an opportunity work even more closely with them for the rest of 2015 and into 2016.

The testing would cover a number of areas

• Lactate threshold ramp test
• Max Power Sprints
• 1 minute effort
• Physiology analysis (bode fat percentage, skin folds measurements etc)

The physiology test told me nothing new, I am carrying some extra timber...  Weighing in at 84.4kgs and 182cm tall my bodyfat % came out at about 17%, something I need to work on over winter when I can more easily manage a calorie deficit without worrying about performance.

Next up was the Lactate threshold test, this basically a ramp test, you start at a given figure, something easy, and every 2 mins the power figure is increased by 20watts, during this time your lactate is measured, when it "spikes" it gives you the cross over between anaerobic and aerobic threshold.

With only a short warm up I felt pretty bad at first, my HR jumped up and I was concerned it could be a bad test, however after about 10mins I settled down and was able to put it a solid test, the results show (4.64w/kg) that I am in good form but there is potential to improve, 

The Max power sprints are a short 7-8 second effort that measure you max power output they are harder than they seem, again not bad results (756w) for someone who has been focusing on time trialing and not max power efforts.

The 1 minute effort sounds easy, basically a power is selected that you scan maintain for only 1 minute, then you spin up and try and power through, at the start its the easiest thing in the world, but soon it starts to become more difficult and after 20-30secs its really hard work, by the end the pedals are barely moving and your HR is through the roof with a 618w average i was pretty happy.

So now we take the results and see how to make them better, looking forward to getting stuck into a training plan.

If you want to see where your fitness is get in touch with Rob@yorkcycleworks.com and get booked in, if nothing else you can see where you need to improve and renewed focus, otherwise take a look at www.yorkcycleworks.com to see what else they offer!

So what next?  With any luck Yorkshire Points Cyclocross round 2 at Northallerton.... Fingers crossed i make it this time!!

New Blog for a New Dad

So, blogging.... Not something I have really done before so those that read this will have to bare with me!  

So firstly why  have I started to do this, well after a reasonable road racing and TT season (for an amateur) and the recent addition to my household of a lovely little daughter I wanted to keep a kind of record that I can look back on, this will no doubt end up being about the trials and tribulations of being a new father and racing as well as trying to combine the two while also supporting my wife Fiona, who also races. 

So where am I right now, I am in a relatively calm period in terms of racing, the cross season starts on Sunday 6th September and I have been getting some training in ahead of it so that I can hopefully go into it fresh, in terms of being a dad, I am loving it, its tiring and hard work at times, but even just 4 weeks in, its massively rewarding.  In some ways it reflects training, you have to work hard at it but if you do the results should speak for themselves.

I am about to change coaches and I while I am sad to leave my current coach who has helped to shape a good season I am excited to see what the new coach can do, I start next week with power and fitness testing as well as the dreaded "skin fold" test! 

So as an intro that's about it, the next update is likely to be after the first cross race of the season!

Cheers

Richard