Cyclocross, Eating too Well and a trip to A&E...

Well, it’s been a while, a few things to update you all on not least 2 races, a trip to hospital (not for me) and the effect of over eating.

So going back a few weeks there was round 6 of the Yorkshire Cyclocross Points series, this was at Sheffield, a good technical course on a hill… which on the face of it sounds good but add in some rain, wind and mud and it makes for a painful day out.

I knew as I warmed up this would be a tough day, 2/3 of the course was okay for me, the other 1/3 involved running, now most will know that I parted company with triathlon due to my dislike (inability) to run so I knew this was going to be a painful day out.

The claxon went and the sprint to the first corner set off, sitting in the top 20 I was pleased with my start for a change, this was short lived.  I soon went backwards and after the first run up a hill I was rapidly going backwards.  Still this is good training and it is always good fun, although the tackiness of the mud and leaves was adding to the challenge.

It was a day for 2 bikes, my front brake became so clogged up that it was actively braking which meant that going down hill was scary as the brake would just lock up from time to time, needless to say I have to stop more than once to clear the brakes, combined with the running I was happy to see the end of the race, finishing in the top 50 (just)!!

Training has been mixed, being away with work and rubbish weather has meant that I have been unable to get the miles in, which is frustrating but in some ways not a bad thing as I have taken the opportunity to recover.

I have also been back for testing at York Cycleworks with my coach Rob, similar to last time we did a ramp test and lactate crossover test, frustratingly this id not yield the results we were hoping for, I am fairly pragmatic with it really as there are so many variables when you test 12 weeks apart and the differences were not massive, still we are looking to spend some time recovering and retesting in Jan to see if it was due to fatigue.

Needless to say I have been enjoying the build up to Christmas and have been eating a little more than I should and that, combined with intermittent training, has led to my weight creeping up, this came as a bit of a shock when I stood on the scales on Sunday (20^th Dec) morning to see 88.8kgs, that’s up 9kgs since the start of last season, this is now on the plan as something to address as soon as possible ahead of the new season.

I have also raced in round 7 of the Yorkshire Cyclocross series, a race that was organised by York Cycleworks and York Sport village, it was a great day out and the weather was kind (although it was breezy), I was feeling the effect of my extra timber, both mentally and physically but it was good fun to be racing and the crowd was very supportive, unfortunately I didn’t finish as my rear mech decided to self destruct 2 laps from the finish.

There was plenty of York Cycleworks riders racing and once the results come out I will do some name checks.

I have also managed to end up in hospital, not for me which makes a change, but because of my little girl, I was left to fend for myself while Fiona went out with some friends for a Christmas meal, I had no concerns as  I am confident looking after my daughter however that confidence has been tested, in short she got herself very worked up, I am not sure why, to the point that she held her breath and basically passed out, people tell me this is common, however it was terrifying not knowing what was going on and basically seeing your daughter change from being fine one minute to being limp and a bit lifeless the next.

I had rung 999 and the first responder was there quickly, although it felt like an age, he took Erin off me and reassured me, he went away, and did some tests and was able to tell me that nothing was wrong, although whenever a child under 2 has an “episode” it is recommended that you go to hospital, so off we went in an ambulance, typically Erin was fine in the ambulance and smiling and laughing which makes you feel a mug, but I can tell you I have never been more scared and I hope it never happens again.

So where are we now, well I am looking forward to Christmas and some time off with the family.  I have decided to stop racing cross for the time being and focus on training and diet up until the start of the TT season in late Feb, although you can expect updates along the way.

Not the most interesting of updates and I promise the next one will be more timely and in better humour.

Thanks for reading and have a great Christmas and a Happy New Year.