I'm probably the world's worst Blogger. It feels like homework, which we all know is morally wrong! ;) I even struggle with twitter despite the paltry 140 character target.. However my most recent venture has been so well supported by my generous friends, friends of friends and family that I really should at least keep you updated on my training progress...
By way of introduction I should mention that about 7 years ago I had a kidney transplant. My own two gave up the ghost and my dad stepped in to offer me one of his. Since then I've tried to continue motorcycle racing, (despite the ACU's best efforts to stop me) much of which has been covered here in previous Blogs. Now though I have a new target; for reasons best known to the medical world, motorcycling isn't perceived to be a 'best value solution' to long life and continued good health, as my consultant wields the wand of power over the acceptance of my racing licence I'm in the market for a new challenge, (handily it allows me to retire before everyone finds out I'm old and slow!) That challenge takes the form of cycling.
At the risk of having the MAMIL acronym stuck to me (Middle Aged Men In Lycra) my defense is that I've always used mountain biking as training for motorcycle racing and it seemed like a natural alternative to fill the void left by 25 years of total devotion to motorcycling. Despite my total aversion to leg shaving and snug Lycra complete with unsightly bulges I've also started to ride road cycles and velodrome tracks. The reason for this is that I found out that there was an organisation that provided the British Transplant Games for people like myself that have had their bodies wrecked by transplantation and the drugs that go with it and prevent us taking part (and keep us alive) in nationally governed events. The events in the games don't include mountain biking, so I chose the Time Trial and Road Race events for cycling.
I entered the British Transplant Games in Bath this year just to get a feel for what was involved and maybe get a new obsession in my life. As it happened I did rather better than I was expecting and came away with 2 silver medals. Up to now my 'training regime' has been rather leisurely. I've enjoyed weekends mountain biking with mates and some fun racing at the velodrome with a bit of commuting thrown in..All that has just changed though! I've been 'officially' selected to represent the UK at the 18th World Transplant Games in Gothenberg, Sweden in June 2011. So not only have I got to significantly 'up' my training I've got to start now! (a few weeks ago in-fact) The standard of the international transplant athletes is very high and there is no room whatsoever for complacency. However we have a secret weapon on Our team and that is the current gold medalist and level 2 British Cycling coach Richard Smith. there's probably nobody better placed to advise on nutrition, training and technique than Richard. He's a Liver transplant recipient and knows the challenges that face a transplantee in this environment.
And so to my training plan; It's going to be in 3 'loose' phases; Now, winter and spring. Each phase will have a purpose within it. 'Now' will be gaining strength and underlying fitness. There will be lots of distance and hill work with velodrome structured quality training that centres around endurance. Throughout winter there will be lots of interval training (in the garage on rollers and sprint sessions at the velodrome) to increase my thresholds and make up for the time I'm not able to ride in the hills due to weather (although my mountain bike will probably get more use then depending on the depth of the snow!). In Spring I will be focusing more on Time Trial technique and preparing my body for 10km efforts. I'll also be entering as many local races as I can to refine my technique and condition my body to sustained effort. If I continue to keep the structured quality training up at the velodrome that should see me in good shape to 'taper' my program to the Games in June.
All I have to do between now and then is raise the funds for Transplant Sport UK, which, thanks to your help I'm well on the way to doing. I have to try and find a bike shop willing to lend me some competitive bikes and last but not least stay healthy! These here transplanted organs are balance on a knife edge of function and rejection. Too much medication is toxic and destructive to the healthy body and too little means the organ rejects and it's back to dialysis or worse. And that does not go down well with challenging training regimes.
I'll be posting links to ride routes, profiles and heart rate data on here and twitter/facebook.
So fingers crossed, head down arse up and wish me luck, lets show the rest of the world and those that are new to organ failure that it does not have to be the end!
