hello, 2024
Already two months into the new season, an update has been brewing in my head and it all came together during my solo long ride today. How productive!
Small adventures
Today was pretty cold and my club ride outside was cancelled due to risk of ice, especially in the Surrey Hills area where the temperature is even lower. My plan was to check the conditions in the morning, wait a little for the temperature to go up and, if safe, go out regardless, even if I had to stay in the park and test my patience doing laps for 2,5 hours. As soon as I came out, the weather felt crisp but, without any wind it was just perfect for a Windsor bun run. Because it’s all about the bun, right?
I don’t often ride alone so I naturally feel a bit more adventurous when I do. Especially when conditions are challenging in some way. I had a few of these rides since the winter training started n November - the group were doing some intense hill sessions which I wanted to avoid as for me, this was the time to give a proper chance to my knee to heal completely. So I ventured out in these little adventures with my beloved road bike, starting to build my base again.
They were a real slug the first ones, mostly in rain and strong winds which make the absence of fellow riders a lot more noticeable. It also takes a while to get comfortable with being in your own headspace. But then, there are these moments when you’re far far away from home, when some beautiful view appears or the sky opens up and lets through some gorgeous light and you feel so free that it makes it all worth it. And somehow, there is always a moment like this in every ride, if you pay enough attention.
So today I was thinking how these experiences fit my character so well. It is not by chance at all that I have ended up in this sport… It is a nice thought that reinforces my ‘why’; which is good to be reminded of from time to time!
All change
I wasn’t really planning many changes this season; especially given that the previous one was almost crossed off without any chance to test my self properly.
Apart, of course, from a house move further out in the countryside (currently due in February) which will definitely mean change of training environment and distance from the club, although I do plan to maintain 2-3 sessions a week with them despite the new location.
However, I did ‘stumble’ across a couple of things that, in the end would change it all! Listen up!
It first started with a podcast I was listening to, from Team Sirius, about off season training… There they mentioned some mobility sessions that Erin Carson instructs for free in her YouTube channel, EC Fit. I knew about Erin’s work from pro triathletes I follow, namely Paula Findlay and Taylor Knibb, so I got curious and looked up the sessions… I quickly realised that I never do the type of work she does or anything similar. Despite doing a lot of Yoga, I realised this is not ‘mobility’ as such, it is more stretching. And boy did I love it straight away. So I started doing more and then discovered an on-demand subscription to Erin’s sessions at a bargain price and got stuck right in, not only for mobility but for strength and conditioning too.
For years I have tried all sorts of strategies with regards to strength work; afterall, with all my injuries it was not something I could really neglect. From lifting heavy to light, from frequent to less so, from structured to random, from coached to solo, I can say I have tried everything… And apart from periodising the strength load during the season, I had never made a great deal of sense out of it, i.e. whether ‘this helps or that doesn’t’ so I just kept it on as ‘homework’, or ‘body maintenance’ work. A chore like most triathletes, really.
But Erin’s work is a whole different deal. It is so deeply specific to endurance athletes - triathletes mostly, as it references swim, bike and run almost always, and at the same time so sophisticated and subtle and, for once, doable alongside high volume of training. I loved that immediately. I loved how the sessions are not super taxing and I don’t have to break my head (or body!) to squeeze them in with everything else, I can easily do them combined with a bike or run day (which is, well, every day!) without it being a concern. This could make you think that they are not effective… no pain, no gain right? Wrong! This is by far the most effective work I have ever done strength-wise; it’s been over two months now and I can say I have never felt so strong and confident when training. Either the feeling on my hips during riding or my footing on a trail run. Everything is just… quiet! The biggest test came on a trail run when I was in Italy over Christmas - I could simply not believe how solidly I was moving along a rough trail that I hadn’t dared to try for over a year. I was genuinely surprised.
I couldn’t be happier as it feels sustainable and not something I have to force myself to do, requiring extra energy I don’t really have.
Change number two. Warning: it’s a major one!
I haven’t been in the sport for too long and, with all the challenges I’ve had, I didn’t really feel I had plateaued or anything, at least not because of the coaching I had been receiving. If anything, I felt far from reaching my potential under that coaching, given that my consistency has been disturbed so much by the annoying injuries. And for the few months of injury-free streaks I have enjoyed in the past, I had glimpses of performance potential which were excellent signs that, so long as I could keep injuries at bay, the set up I had was working fine.
But I literally jumped out of my seat when I saw that Libs Mitchell, pro triathlete and ex-teammate of mine, advertised she was taking on athletes!
I met Libs when I first started with Optima. She has been a massive inspiration to me as I observed her incredible work ethic while we trained together. Back then she was making her way from elite to pro. She was the type of person that would finish her 5K time trial (in like, 17’ or whatever) and walk back 500m to cheer the slowest of us during our efforts. Her support was pivotal as I needed all the encouragement I could get when starting this crazy sport! Whether on a track session, on a long ride, or on Zoom calls and Zwift workouts during the pandemic, Libs was always there to lead the way and support other members. I will never forget my first camp in Spain (only three months since I had started!) when she’d have me jump ‘on her wheel’ and have me go as fast as I ever had on a bike, having so much fun and treating me to the first flavours of a proper adrenaline rush in the process. We had been in contact since she left to live and train in Girona as a pro and met at races sometimes.
I basically considered her my mentor, so this move felt just right as she announced her retirement from pro triathlon and moved back to the UK.
While I continue to train with Optima, especially swimming and long rides, this is a big change I’m really excited about.
I believe that changing things up is really good with what we do. It is, by nature, so repetitive and tedious so you can get a big boost even from simple things like your workouts being different or what how your week is structured. Let alone having an ally like Libs! this journey is simply such a gift at what feels like the right time.
Italian break
For Christmas, we headed to Italy, to Ale’s hometown, Varese. A true cycling (and rowing) town, as it hosted UCI world championships in the past and, with the Alps on its doorstep, how could it not be a cycling paradise... Yet again, it made no sense for me taking a bike for just a few days in winter. Typically it is icy cold this time of year and so far from ideal. Then, if Ale also didn’t take a bike, it’s not like I could venture out on my own for hours at a time when I’m really there to see family... I have struggled with this situation in the past, but this time I was determined to challenge myself to let go and trust that there is nothing wrong with not cycling for a week in the middle of winter. If anything this off season I really tried to embrace the concept of being ‘off’; reserving the energy and drive for later. Take as much time off as possible. And as I mentioned, also give my knee the best chance to fully heal. All the previous years I really could not understand what ‘off season’ really meant and probably just burnt myself by Zwift racing like mad throughout November and December. Some things simply take some time to sink in… for some of us anyway!
We had a lovely time. The weather was a ‘climate change special’ in the end, unexpectedly warm for the time of year and sunny every day. I don’t hink we had seen the sun in the UK since the beginning of December! I kept on running in some gorgeous places, by the lake and up in the mountain. the biggest highlight was a trail run we did at Campo dei Fiori, with spectacular views over the lakes and the snowed mountaintops in the distance. A real treat and I was simply so grateful to have this gift; to be able to run and explore, my favourite thing.
In the spirit of embracing the off season, the food came in abundance and especially when it’s in Italy… well do I need to say more? The Panettone, the pizza, the cannoli, the raclette! Again, back when I was deep into my RED-S situation, festive days would be such a challenge, especially when visiting family and not having ‘full control’. So this time again I made a point of really appreciating how far I have come on this journey, enjoying the freedom of mind and headspace to be present in those precious moments with my loved ones. Recovery is so worth it, as painful as it was!
start of 2024
I don’t buy into any of this New Year stuff, not anymore anyway. Setting goals and working towards them is a continuous process for me (especially as I fail and they remain the same!). So there was nothing dramatic about our return from Italy and new year starting, apart from a lot of cold back in the UK and having to grind through with training. And it’s a case of getting it done - a good example being when working late, not being able to run at lunchtime and then having to go out in the rain, wind AND darkness… literally just getting it done…
I made a small ‘discovery’ lately. As some harder workouts have started making their way into my plan, or when out on a long ride when I have to push at the front of the group or up a hill, a newfound source of motivation has made its appearance: the one that comes from simply not being in pain or anxiety anymore! An unexpected bonus I plan to tap into and something tells me it has laaarge reserves! It goes beyond being grateful; realising what a privilege it is to be able in a position to push your body… how can you complain or not give it everything?
And so it is through this grind, the small (but so big!) changes, that I’m starting to get my confidence back, and starting to feel some signs of excitement for what’s ahead. It’s not easy when you’ve had it go wrong for so long. To believe in yourself again. To believe in the possibility of your luck being better this time. And yes, ‘who knows what happens’, but if indeed there is heartbreak ahead, at least let’s enjoy the lead up to it and give it everything!
I’m catching myself feeling playful on the trails again, picking the steepest hills, having fun going down them without constantly worrying that something may break. And so I’m starting to see glimpses of my old self coming back… the more fearless one, the one I had to ‘kill’ in order to recover but maybe it’s time it made its way back. I’ve missed it so much!
Let’s go.