This morning Jenny, Justin, Mickey and I had a look around the shopping mall near the hotel. I bought a kettle because there isn't one in the room and I have been gagging for a brew. We had a bit of a mooch around, Jenny climbed on a kids ride - she's a good laugh and doesn't act like a 70 year old!
At noon we had the press conference, luckily I ended up sat at the back with Mickey, Justin and Jenny so I could pass the time on my phone. The press conference for the March race seems to go on a lot longer than the October edition. There is one middle age guy who speaks at both events and he goes on and on and on and on! He pauses every few words and sounds like he is reading a shopping list, a very long shopping list, probably a 45 minute long shopping list. The press conference was so boring Mickey fell asleep.
After lunch we went to the track for training, we were loaded on to two minibuses our driver made us all jump when he lowered the ramp and halfway down it just dropped to the ground with a mighty crash. I volunteered to try and use it first to see if it still worked but it worked fine and everybody was soon on board and heading to the track. The driver was a bit daredevil, we went to the wrong entrance first of all and that seemed to piss him off because his driving went mad. He was a pedal stamper, he was always either stamping on the accelerator or the break. We were being thrown around the back when all of a sudden we swerved, a coach had pulled out and almost hit us. I'm not sure what the Portuguese driving test is like but I get the I impression all you do is turn up and show them you can go and stop and them you walk away with your license!
In training Jenny asked me to do a 10km steady, I set off slow and did a few drills in the first mile, by half way I worked out I was actually heading for a PB. I wasn't pushing particularly fast so I decided to up the pace slightly, by 7.5 km I had done the sums in my head and I realised I was on for a huge PB. Obviously it wouldn't actually count as a PB because it wasn't in a race but I wanted to know how fast I could go so I upped the pace again, by no means was I going all out but I completed the 10km in a time much faster than my PB. I felt strong and loved the push, it made me remember why I love this sport. Winter training was absolutely awful this year so I really needed a boost. On the way back to the hotel I spotted some really good street art which I am going to go and have a look at tomorrow between training and driving the race route if I get time.
Friday, 20 March 2015
Lisbon Half Marathon Day 2, 2015
Thursday, 19 March 2015
Lisbon Half Marathon 2015 day 1
After an awful winters training things finally turned a corner a few weeks back so I decided to make the trip to Lisbon to race on the super fast course.
In the last couple of days before travelling I had the normal panic about if I was fit enough to mix be here, if I'd done enough training and if I was even good enough to be invited. I always check my welds again and again to see if they show any signs of failing, I check my tyres are still in good nick and I check my bearings. The welds were good, tyres passable and the bearings... well the bearings were goosed! They were so bad that I couldn't get my axel to turn once when I gave it a flick, panic!! Last time I changed my bearings I managed to break the new ones whilst putting them in. I rushed down to the local cycling shop to get some new once and then set about changing them. After watching a couple of YouTube videos on how to change bearings I managed to do it in 30 seconds or so. Absolutely no idea how I managed to spend 2 hours doing it last time! I've always said I was a bit special! I needed to check the new bearings were running well so I went out on my 10 mile loop, wow! I felt like I was floating. I can't believe I hadn't noticed they needed changing, what a tit!
I also needed to drop the dog off at the mothers, take my chair in bits, box the chair, get my haircut and sort out insurance for dad driving my car to the airport an for my chair during the trip. I seem to have inherited a tendancy to leave things until the last minute like my dad does. It really annoys me when he does it but I do it too, something I need to work on.
Today me and dad set off at 6:30 am to get to the airport on time. When we got to the airport we both commented on how easy it was this time to find the car park and get into the the terminal. The reason it was so much easier and better sign posted was because we were at the wrong bloody terminal. We had to trek the best part of a mile pushing my box which weighs a ton, dodging kamikaze old ladies diving in front of me on route. Once at the right terminal I checked in and took my box, wheels and luggage to the over sized area. I said goodbye to dad and got his usual "give'um hell lad" instead of good luck. Bless him. I met up with the other northern wheelchair racers in the Costa and had a coffee and a good old chin wag.
I was surprised that Mark Conway and Bret Crossley weren't going to be racing, I have never been to Portugal without these too and I had been thinking of one liners to give Bret about his habit of crashing! Jade Jones, Callum Hall, Simon Lawson and Mickey Bushell were the other athletes. Callum is fairly new to the sport and he's improving really quickly, I only met him once before but he's a good laugh. I've known of Mickey for a few years now but not really had chance to talk to him until today, cracking lad! I know Jade and Simon quite well now and I like and respect both of them! I wish I had their talent!
When we landed in Portugal the airport porter who helps the disabled passengers came and patted me on the back, it was the same guy from the last time I came in October, he asked if I remembered him! What a nice guy he is, really jolly and genuinely interested in what wheelchair racing is all about. I did feel pretty famous being recognised in a foreign country! Paulo met us at the airport with a van for all the luggage and a fancy minibus with leather seats for us. We are staying in a different hotel this year, it is the one in which we had the press conference last year, very nice! Well very nice except we have no kettle in the room?!?! Do they not know the English can't function without tea?
After a couple of hours Dave Weir CBE and our coach Jenny Archer MBE arrived, they had driven here! It was great to see Jenny because I haven't had chance to see her recently. I went to shake Dave's hand and missed and gave him the campest handshake in history, how embarrassing! I am rooming with Justin Levene again which I would have chosen to do if I had the choice, he's the athlete I think I have the most in common with. Shelly Woods, John Smith and Mo Jomni are flying out on Saturday, there are more British athletes in the race than there are Portuguese!
The food this evening was great, I had sea bass with rice followed by a huge heap of fruit. Whilst we were all sat around the table Mo Farah arrived and he had a good chat with Dave. I still get a bit star struck by Mo even though I have met him a few times now!
Going to cut this one short as it is getting late. I shall blog again tomorrow.
Wednesday, 28 January 2015
Handcycle arrived!
At last my handcycle has been delivered. I bought with the compensation money I received from being run over whilst training almost two years ago. I have never tried one out before but I have noticed other athletes becoming fitter and faster wheelchair athletes by using a handcycle for cross training and I wanted to get in on the action. It arrived with a couple of bits missing so it was stranded in my front room for a few days before I could use it. On the morning the wheelchair manufacturers sent the missing bits I was lucky the weather seemed calm and sunny. Knowing it would still be bitter I wrapped up well and headed out on my new toy to do my longest training route that I do at home in my race chair, It's 19 miles but quite hilly.
I had heard that handcycling was easier than wheelchair racing and faster than wheelchair racing so I wasn't expecting the hard time I was about to have. Firstly I hadn't put the pedals in the correct position (not even sure if they are called pedals if you turn them with your hands?) I was having to do a mini ab crunch to reach the pedals when they were at the furthest distance from me. I had also forgotten about how gears work, in my defence it is 15 years since I have been cycling, I forgot that the big cogs on the wheel do the opposite of the cogs at the pedal end, doh! So I cycled miles in a gear that I was struggling to turn and only noticed when I was almost home! I didn't have any sports gloves and elected not to wear my normal gloves which was a bit of a silly choice, my hands were numb before I had covered 2 miles.
When I had reached the turn around point I was way behind the time I would have done in my race chair, I was completely knackered and the heavens opened. Part freezing rain and part hailstones, it hurt. In a hand cycle you are laid on your back so it is impossible to keep your face and eyes out of the hail, I tried shielding my face with one arm and pedalling with my other arm but I was too wobbly with steering one handed. At the same time as being pelted in the eyes with mini blocks of ice the roads had become wet and the front wheel was spraying me with water as well as cars spraying me as they overtook me. I was completely sodden, freezing and fed up. I considered stopping and phoning for help but then thought by the time anyone had got to me to pick me up I could have been home. I soldiered on, hating it but getting on with it nevertheless. For some reason I didn't think to stop and get my emergency rations or my thermal hat out of my bumbag!
Once home I really struggled to get my legs out of the cycle and then get to my door. I struggled to get my key safe number in because my hands were completely numb. Then my dad opened my front door, he had turned up to do some jobs for me when I had been out and had let himself in, I've never been so chuffed to see his ugly mug. He dragged me into the house and then went to collect my cycle. By the time he got back in I had stripped down to my boxers to get out of the wet clothes and was sat in front of the fire which was on full blast. He wrapped me up in towels and put the kettle on. It was a good 10min before I could talk properly and over an hour before I stopped shivering! A true baptism of ice! It hasn't put me off though, I shall just check the weather forecast more closely in future and be properly prepared before setting off.
I had heard that handcycling was easier than wheelchair racing and faster than wheelchair racing so I wasn't expecting the hard time I was about to have. Firstly I hadn't put the pedals in the correct position (not even sure if they are called pedals if you turn them with your hands?) I was having to do a mini ab crunch to reach the pedals when they were at the furthest distance from me. I had also forgotten about how gears work, in my defence it is 15 years since I have been cycling, I forgot that the big cogs on the wheel do the opposite of the cogs at the pedal end, doh! So I cycled miles in a gear that I was struggling to turn and only noticed when I was almost home! I didn't have any sports gloves and elected not to wear my normal gloves which was a bit of a silly choice, my hands were numb before I had covered 2 miles.
When I had reached the turn around point I was way behind the time I would have done in my race chair, I was completely knackered and the heavens opened. Part freezing rain and part hailstones, it hurt. In a hand cycle you are laid on your back so it is impossible to keep your face and eyes out of the hail, I tried shielding my face with one arm and pedalling with my other arm but I was too wobbly with steering one handed. At the same time as being pelted in the eyes with mini blocks of ice the roads had become wet and the front wheel was spraying me with water as well as cars spraying me as they overtook me. I was completely sodden, freezing and fed up. I considered stopping and phoning for help but then thought by the time anyone had got to me to pick me up I could have been home. I soldiered on, hating it but getting on with it nevertheless. For some reason I didn't think to stop and get my emergency rations or my thermal hat out of my bumbag!
Once home I really struggled to get my legs out of the cycle and then get to my door. I struggled to get my key safe number in because my hands were completely numb. Then my dad opened my front door, he had turned up to do some jobs for me when I had been out and had let himself in, I've never been so chuffed to see his ugly mug. He dragged me into the house and then went to collect my cycle. By the time he got back in I had stripped down to my boxers to get out of the wet clothes and was sat in front of the fire which was on full blast. He wrapped me up in towels and put the kettle on. It was a good 10min before I could talk properly and over an hour before I stopped shivering! A true baptism of ice! It hasn't put me off though, I shall just check the weather forecast more closely in future and be properly prepared before setting off.
Tuesday, 27 January 2015
Review of 2014
Well 2014 wasn't quite what I planned or expected.
It started off with the problems that would dominate my year, punctures in training and welds breaking in races. Training came to an abrupt halt when I suffered three punctures in 10 days and I had no money left to replace the tyres, luckily I wasn't out of action for too long as a couple of mates stepped in to replace the tyres for me. I trained hard early in the year preparing for the London Marathon.
On the build up to the marathon I was forced to take part in the worst race I have been involved with in 25 years of athletics. The Silverstone Half Marathon, it's on the Silverstone race track and it is organised by the team behind the London Marathon, well, I say organised when I actually mean it is 'put on' by them because you really can't call it organised. The first thing that winds me up is that athletes who haven't done a marathon before are forced to take part in this race to prove they can do a half marathon in under an hour and a half. This is ridiculous for athletes like myself who have gone under the hour mark for the half marathon on numerous occasions and have never once taken an hour and a half to cover the distance. In an age when results are easily accessible from any laptop, phone or tablet why are we forced to perform especially for these organisers? Could it be for the rather large entrance fee they charge us? So, already anoyed at being there, the day just got worse and worse. The experienced athletes all warmed up in driving rain and bitterly cold wind whilst the people who had turned up expecting to do well in a half marathon without much training went straight to the start line. This meant that when the experienced athletes were called to the line there was no space left and because the organisers hadn't bothered to do a starting grid for us (standard practice for wheelchair races) we had paralympians on the third row back whilst obese people in their first ever race in the centre of the front row. I ended up behind some scaffolding, aimed diagonally across the start line so as there was no way for me to get behind the full front and second row. We were then sat on the start line in the awful weather listening to bloody speeches and interviews, brilliant! When they finally got round to setting us off they gave us a 30 second start on the runners, into the wind, uphill. These are the same organisers that pull people out of the London Marathon because it's dangerous for runners and the odd chair to be on the road at the same time. Obviously it must be perfectly safe for hundreds of runners and dozens of chairs to be on a race track at the same time because the runners soon caught most of the field on the first incline. The problems went on and on, tight twisty course causing crashes, crossing gravel traps, marshals strolling along the course with wheelybins, etc, etc. Nightmare! I can guarantee I will not take part in that race again until there is a change in management.
My least favourite race ever was followed by my favourite race of the year, the Lisbon Half Marathon. The March edition of this race is held on a lightning quick, pancake flat course. It still has the amazing management team from the October edition who I have become friends with over the last few years and who I look forward to visiting twice a year. Unfortunately one of the British athletes smashed into me and sent me crashing into the fence mid race which dropped me from the peloton, I did produce a PB in the race and had a great time celebrating with Mr Weir and Shelly Woods fella Chris. We watched Chris's team Manchester United get humiliated on TV in the bar and we were pretty merry by the time we had our evening meal. Grown men playing with paper aeroplanes at the dinner table - classy or what?
The next big race in my year was the London Marathon, unfortunately it is not as well organised as you would expect from one of the biggest races in the world. They contradict themselves with their silly rules and they really do not look after the wheelchair athletes that are not involved at the front of the race. That said, the people of London create a real buzz around the race and during the weekend the excitement builds. The race itself is a great experience even if the weekend is poorly organised. The first 10km of the race are very quick, I beat my 10km PB! Once the crowds start to build it is an amazing atmosphere, it was a little sad to know that none of the thousands and thousands of people out on the streets were there to cheer for me but I soaked in the atmosphere none the less! Dad had gone straight to the finish to watch as he had put his back out carrying everybody's wheelchairs onto the bus when the marathon staff did a disappearing act right when they were needed. I could of done with a friendly voice when I had run out of steam on the embankment. The whole race I had been doing sums in my head to see if I could break the magic 2 hours mark. I finished in 1:59:51 so 9 seconds under! Way too close for comfort but I later found out my chair had cracked at the 17 mile mark! I had noticed it was making funny noises but didn't know why at the time.
Just two weeks later I opened my track season, the season was blighted by my chair cracking. I managed a PB in my first 1500m of the year even with my wheel rubbing on the frame every time I was on a bend. It is so annoying when your chair lets you down rather than your fitness level. During the track season I managed to PB at every distance on the track from 100m to 10km. I really enjoyed seeing the younger athletes at my club and others improve quickly this year, the times people are producing now are far better than when I first started racing just a few years ago... I cut my season short in late July as all the chair breakages started to get me down, I had missed several large chunks of training whilst waiting for it to be fixed. I decided to cut my losses on the track and start building milage ready for the autumn road races.
My chair broke another three times on the build up to the Great North Run but I managed to keep training in the gym thanks to my sponsorship from Alpha, unfortunately the chair also broke in the race which meant I dropped back from the great position I had got myself into. I managed to nurse my chair home slightly faster than the previous year but I was totally pissed off with how things had gone. In the Lisbon race my missed training and low confidence showed in the result, I performed quite badly. Detailed descriptions of both races are found elsewhere on my blog.
The year ended with a huge hammer blow, the icing on the cake for an unlucky year, my sponsors dropped me with no notice and that has left me with nowhere to store and use my rollers and nowhere to do my weights sessions. I am also missing the sports massages which I find vital to recovery. Losing out on this deal has also been tough because of the social side of training, I got on great with my sponsors and was starting to build friendships with the other gym users. It's bitterly disappointing that they decided to drop me without discussing the issues they assumed had happened, I'm sure if they had have spoken to me they wouldn't have dropped me. It did hit me hard at the time and I had to take time out to sort myself out but now I am back in action, I've managed to squeeze my rollers into my four room bungalow so I can train when it snows. It's not great but it's a start. Onwards and upwards!
It started off with the problems that would dominate my year, punctures in training and welds breaking in races. Training came to an abrupt halt when I suffered three punctures in 10 days and I had no money left to replace the tyres, luckily I wasn't out of action for too long as a couple of mates stepped in to replace the tyres for me. I trained hard early in the year preparing for the London Marathon.
On the build up to the marathon I was forced to take part in the worst race I have been involved with in 25 years of athletics. The Silverstone Half Marathon, it's on the Silverstone race track and it is organised by the team behind the London Marathon, well, I say organised when I actually mean it is 'put on' by them because you really can't call it organised. The first thing that winds me up is that athletes who haven't done a marathon before are forced to take part in this race to prove they can do a half marathon in under an hour and a half. This is ridiculous for athletes like myself who have gone under the hour mark for the half marathon on numerous occasions and have never once taken an hour and a half to cover the distance. In an age when results are easily accessible from any laptop, phone or tablet why are we forced to perform especially for these organisers? Could it be for the rather large entrance fee they charge us? So, already anoyed at being there, the day just got worse and worse. The experienced athletes all warmed up in driving rain and bitterly cold wind whilst the people who had turned up expecting to do well in a half marathon without much training went straight to the start line. This meant that when the experienced athletes were called to the line there was no space left and because the organisers hadn't bothered to do a starting grid for us (standard practice for wheelchair races) we had paralympians on the third row back whilst obese people in their first ever race in the centre of the front row. I ended up behind some scaffolding, aimed diagonally across the start line so as there was no way for me to get behind the full front and second row. We were then sat on the start line in the awful weather listening to bloody speeches and interviews, brilliant! When they finally got round to setting us off they gave us a 30 second start on the runners, into the wind, uphill. These are the same organisers that pull people out of the London Marathon because it's dangerous for runners and the odd chair to be on the road at the same time. Obviously it must be perfectly safe for hundreds of runners and dozens of chairs to be on a race track at the same time because the runners soon caught most of the field on the first incline. The problems went on and on, tight twisty course causing crashes, crossing gravel traps, marshals strolling along the course with wheelybins, etc, etc. Nightmare! I can guarantee I will not take part in that race again until there is a change in management.
My least favourite race ever was followed by my favourite race of the year, the Lisbon Half Marathon. The March edition of this race is held on a lightning quick, pancake flat course. It still has the amazing management team from the October edition who I have become friends with over the last few years and who I look forward to visiting twice a year. Unfortunately one of the British athletes smashed into me and sent me crashing into the fence mid race which dropped me from the peloton, I did produce a PB in the race and had a great time celebrating with Mr Weir and Shelly Woods fella Chris. We watched Chris's team Manchester United get humiliated on TV in the bar and we were pretty merry by the time we had our evening meal. Grown men playing with paper aeroplanes at the dinner table - classy or what?
The next big race in my year was the London Marathon, unfortunately it is not as well organised as you would expect from one of the biggest races in the world. They contradict themselves with their silly rules and they really do not look after the wheelchair athletes that are not involved at the front of the race. That said, the people of London create a real buzz around the race and during the weekend the excitement builds. The race itself is a great experience even if the weekend is poorly organised. The first 10km of the race are very quick, I beat my 10km PB! Once the crowds start to build it is an amazing atmosphere, it was a little sad to know that none of the thousands and thousands of people out on the streets were there to cheer for me but I soaked in the atmosphere none the less! Dad had gone straight to the finish to watch as he had put his back out carrying everybody's wheelchairs onto the bus when the marathon staff did a disappearing act right when they were needed. I could of done with a friendly voice when I had run out of steam on the embankment. The whole race I had been doing sums in my head to see if I could break the magic 2 hours mark. I finished in 1:59:51 so 9 seconds under! Way too close for comfort but I later found out my chair had cracked at the 17 mile mark! I had noticed it was making funny noises but didn't know why at the time.
Just two weeks later I opened my track season, the season was blighted by my chair cracking. I managed a PB in my first 1500m of the year even with my wheel rubbing on the frame every time I was on a bend. It is so annoying when your chair lets you down rather than your fitness level. During the track season I managed to PB at every distance on the track from 100m to 10km. I really enjoyed seeing the younger athletes at my club and others improve quickly this year, the times people are producing now are far better than when I first started racing just a few years ago... I cut my season short in late July as all the chair breakages started to get me down, I had missed several large chunks of training whilst waiting for it to be fixed. I decided to cut my losses on the track and start building milage ready for the autumn road races.
My chair broke another three times on the build up to the Great North Run but I managed to keep training in the gym thanks to my sponsorship from Alpha, unfortunately the chair also broke in the race which meant I dropped back from the great position I had got myself into. I managed to nurse my chair home slightly faster than the previous year but I was totally pissed off with how things had gone. In the Lisbon race my missed training and low confidence showed in the result, I performed quite badly. Detailed descriptions of both races are found elsewhere on my blog.
The year ended with a huge hammer blow, the icing on the cake for an unlucky year, my sponsors dropped me with no notice and that has left me with nowhere to store and use my rollers and nowhere to do my weights sessions. I am also missing the sports massages which I find vital to recovery. Losing out on this deal has also been tough because of the social side of training, I got on great with my sponsors and was starting to build friendships with the other gym users. It's bitterly disappointing that they decided to drop me without discussing the issues they assumed had happened, I'm sure if they had have spoken to me they wouldn't have dropped me. It did hit me hard at the time and I had to take time out to sort myself out but now I am back in action, I've managed to squeeze my rollers into my four room bungalow so I can train when it snows. It's not great but it's a start. Onwards and upwards!
Monday, 13 October 2014
Training at Alpha
As mentioned in earlier posts I have been really lucky to get a sponsorship deal with Alpha Fitness and Rehab which is based in Toll Bar Business Park, Stacksteads. When I applied for the sponsorship I didn't expect it to be so extensive but this deal and the support it provides me with couldn't have come at a better time. Alpha is owned by Dan Whittaker and Sanjay Joy, I have known Dan for a good few years. He was a talented sprinter and took many a county medal off me in my running days. I was never really a 100 or 200m runner and only did them to add to the clubs points/medal tally but even if I had of been concentrating on 100m and 200m I wouldn't have been able to challenge the little shit. I dreaded him moving up to 400m! It's pretty odd that neither of us can run anymore, I doubt anybody thought 10 years ago that we would both be out of able bodied athletics.
I really did have a bad summer on the track this year, the chair kept falling in bits, I kept picking up niggles, I was chasing times in races where people didn't want to do any work and I just ended up down right fed up. I've struggled with depression since my injury, completely losing the plot for a while, training and competing has helped me get it under control. Maybe it is something I have always had and it only reared its ugly head when 18 years of running came to an abrupt end. Anyway, I had a long chat with Jenny and we decided to cut the track season short and concentrate on getting ready for the road races in the Autumn both physically and mentally. At about the same time I got a Call from Sanjay asking me to go up to Alpha for a chat. Both Dan and Sanjay are physiotherapists, they did a full assessment on my niggles and we had a good chat about my sport and what was on offer from Alpha. We decided to work together and planned the way forward, the lads had picked up my rollers from Pioneer gym in Bacup within a week. Once my rollers were at Alpha the lads got me to do a session in my race chair, they looked at the technique of pushing a race chair and looked at my movement. Straight away it was obvious that I had some serious muscle imbalances in my back, and shoulders. My Left trapezius was way bigger than my right, seeing footage of my own back in action was a bit shocking. I knew my back had been playing up but I didn't know the problems were that obvious!
It was then that the hard work started, I was really happy that I had gotten the sponsorship deal but I didn't expect the support Alpha was about to give me. Sanj got to work using kinesiology tape on my back and shoulders, I was taped almost constantly for a month. Dan started acupuncture on my shoulders, not the most pleasant experience of my life but it does work. Sanj Massaged me a few times a week between taping and acupuncture. Dan put together a strength and conditioning programme and gave me one to one delivery of the programme. Having someone who understands elite sport as well as how the body works delivering your strength and conditioning is perfect. I've been to a few gyms now and it is hard to find somebody who hasn't done a mickey mouse gym instructor or personal trainer course - it's even harder to find a properly qualified strength and conditioning coach who is genuinely interested in my sport. Gym idiots are one of my pet hates, I did Sports and Exercise Science at Loughborough Uni which is Europe's leading sports uni but I always feel like I have to defend my qualifications because of all these gym idiots. In the 80's if you were a bit thick your teacher would tell you to be a mechanic if you were a lad and a hairdresser if you were a girl. Now all the numpties go to college to do sport related courses and they devalue real qualifications. Gym instructors who push cutting carbs out, using herbalife or juiceplus instantly lose all my respect and receive the title gym idiot. Luckily there aren't any gym idiots at Alpha and that's something I do not miss from the other gyms.
After 18 years in able bodied athletics I didn't have the perfect build to start out as a wheelchair athlete when I got injured. My legs still work to some extent so they are pretty big compared to my competitors but my arms are small. The other lads at Weir Archer get strength and conditioning coaching at the club in Kingston Upon Thames, I don't have that luxury so I have trained on my own in the gym since I started training in my chair. I don't mind training on my own but when you are using free weights on your own you need to be well within yourself so you can get the weight back on the rack safely. At Alpha Dan is there to spot me so I have been able to push things a bit further than before.
The sessions are great, we use resistance bands for a lot of exercises. They look a bit daft, nowhere near as butch as weights but they are harder work. A weight weighs the same at every point in the exercise (even if it does feel like its getting heavier haha!) but the resistance band gets harder the further into the exercise you get. I hate them! I love them for the training but I hate the pain they cause me! I do free weights too, I have improved with them all so far but still need to improve a hell of a lot more. Most of my sessions end with me pushing on the rollers, that is something I haven't done before and it seems to be working wonders. Having Sanj playing good cop, encouraging me all the way and Dan playing twat cop, giving me abuse the whole way also helps push me on another level. When I get in the chair after strength and conditioning my arms are dead, it takes me a good 10min to get moving properly so trying to sprint is hard work but good practice for when I get to the end of a race. I have almost been sick on the rollers a few times now, shouting for the bin to yak in.
All three of us have been over to Preston to train on a cycle track, a one mile loop built for cycling so it has no sharp turns, no pot holes, no women drivers trying to kill you, no grids for your wheels to fall down and no idiots pulling out of side streets running you over and blaming it on somebody else. I did a session of one and two mile reps with Dan sat in my day chair taking splits and Sanj shouting them as I completed each lap. I did 7 miles faster than my mile PB so I know I am heading in the right direction. After the miles we put into practice a new starting technique that we had been discussing for the previous few days, we'd tried it on the rollers but this was the first time I had a chance to see if it worked for real. Sanj filmed me do a normal start then five of the new starts, the new starts are faster and quite a bit faster.With a bit more practice my sprint PB's are gonna be smashed next year! Such a shame I have to wait 6 months before my first sprint races!
Session complete Dan finally got out of my day chair, I think the group skiing on the tarmac circuit thought there had been a miracle and he was cured from some nasty disease. I got my kit on and we headed off for a bacon butty, nothing better after training.
Since starting training at Alpha I have definitely become fitter and stronger, in Lisbon last weekend I pushed into a head wind at a half decent speed and that's not something I have managed to do before. I have less niggles and I panic less when I do get a niggle because I know I have the backing of two physio's who know their stuff. Something else has changed for the positive in the short time I have been training at Alpha too, my mood, it's not something either Sanj or Dan know about (well they will now but I find it quite hard to talk about, so I have never actually mentioned my depression). I've got two new pals who I get on really well with, we can all take the piss out of each other and we all have the same sense of humour. I normally dread winters training because the dingyness of the valley in winter seems to make my symptoms worse but this winter I know I am going to be laughing near enough every day when I get to Alpha.
I do feel a bit of a fraud being so well looked after when most people at my level are desperately trying to get the money together for the odd massage but I ain't going to waste the chance. I will take the opportunity and run with it..... well so to speak!
I really did have a bad summer on the track this year, the chair kept falling in bits, I kept picking up niggles, I was chasing times in races where people didn't want to do any work and I just ended up down right fed up. I've struggled with depression since my injury, completely losing the plot for a while, training and competing has helped me get it under control. Maybe it is something I have always had and it only reared its ugly head when 18 years of running came to an abrupt end. Anyway, I had a long chat with Jenny and we decided to cut the track season short and concentrate on getting ready for the road races in the Autumn both physically and mentally. At about the same time I got a Call from Sanjay asking me to go up to Alpha for a chat. Both Dan and Sanjay are physiotherapists, they did a full assessment on my niggles and we had a good chat about my sport and what was on offer from Alpha. We decided to work together and planned the way forward, the lads had picked up my rollers from Pioneer gym in Bacup within a week. Once my rollers were at Alpha the lads got me to do a session in my race chair, they looked at the technique of pushing a race chair and looked at my movement. Straight away it was obvious that I had some serious muscle imbalances in my back, and shoulders. My Left trapezius was way bigger than my right, seeing footage of my own back in action was a bit shocking. I knew my back had been playing up but I didn't know the problems were that obvious!
It was then that the hard work started, I was really happy that I had gotten the sponsorship deal but I didn't expect the support Alpha was about to give me. Sanj got to work using kinesiology tape on my back and shoulders, I was taped almost constantly for a month. Dan started acupuncture on my shoulders, not the most pleasant experience of my life but it does work. Sanj Massaged me a few times a week between taping and acupuncture. Dan put together a strength and conditioning programme and gave me one to one delivery of the programme. Having someone who understands elite sport as well as how the body works delivering your strength and conditioning is perfect. I've been to a few gyms now and it is hard to find somebody who hasn't done a mickey mouse gym instructor or personal trainer course - it's even harder to find a properly qualified strength and conditioning coach who is genuinely interested in my sport. Gym idiots are one of my pet hates, I did Sports and Exercise Science at Loughborough Uni which is Europe's leading sports uni but I always feel like I have to defend my qualifications because of all these gym idiots. In the 80's if you were a bit thick your teacher would tell you to be a mechanic if you were a lad and a hairdresser if you were a girl. Now all the numpties go to college to do sport related courses and they devalue real qualifications. Gym instructors who push cutting carbs out, using herbalife or juiceplus instantly lose all my respect and receive the title gym idiot. Luckily there aren't any gym idiots at Alpha and that's something I do not miss from the other gyms.
After 18 years in able bodied athletics I didn't have the perfect build to start out as a wheelchair athlete when I got injured. My legs still work to some extent so they are pretty big compared to my competitors but my arms are small. The other lads at Weir Archer get strength and conditioning coaching at the club in Kingston Upon Thames, I don't have that luxury so I have trained on my own in the gym since I started training in my chair. I don't mind training on my own but when you are using free weights on your own you need to be well within yourself so you can get the weight back on the rack safely. At Alpha Dan is there to spot me so I have been able to push things a bit further than before.
The sessions are great, we use resistance bands for a lot of exercises. They look a bit daft, nowhere near as butch as weights but they are harder work. A weight weighs the same at every point in the exercise (even if it does feel like its getting heavier haha!) but the resistance band gets harder the further into the exercise you get. I hate them! I love them for the training but I hate the pain they cause me! I do free weights too, I have improved with them all so far but still need to improve a hell of a lot more. Most of my sessions end with me pushing on the rollers, that is something I haven't done before and it seems to be working wonders. Having Sanj playing good cop, encouraging me all the way and Dan playing twat cop, giving me abuse the whole way also helps push me on another level. When I get in the chair after strength and conditioning my arms are dead, it takes me a good 10min to get moving properly so trying to sprint is hard work but good practice for when I get to the end of a race. I have almost been sick on the rollers a few times now, shouting for the bin to yak in.
All three of us have been over to Preston to train on a cycle track, a one mile loop built for cycling so it has no sharp turns, no pot holes, no women drivers trying to kill you, no grids for your wheels to fall down and no idiots pulling out of side streets running you over and blaming it on somebody else. I did a session of one and two mile reps with Dan sat in my day chair taking splits and Sanj shouting them as I completed each lap. I did 7 miles faster than my mile PB so I know I am heading in the right direction. After the miles we put into practice a new starting technique that we had been discussing for the previous few days, we'd tried it on the rollers but this was the first time I had a chance to see if it worked for real. Sanj filmed me do a normal start then five of the new starts, the new starts are faster and quite a bit faster.With a bit more practice my sprint PB's are gonna be smashed next year! Such a shame I have to wait 6 months before my first sprint races!
Session complete Dan finally got out of my day chair, I think the group skiing on the tarmac circuit thought there had been a miracle and he was cured from some nasty disease. I got my kit on and we headed off for a bacon butty, nothing better after training.
Since starting training at Alpha I have definitely become fitter and stronger, in Lisbon last weekend I pushed into a head wind at a half decent speed and that's not something I have managed to do before. I have less niggles and I panic less when I do get a niggle because I know I have the backing of two physio's who know their stuff. Something else has changed for the positive in the short time I have been training at Alpha too, my mood, it's not something either Sanj or Dan know about (well they will now but I find it quite hard to talk about, so I have never actually mentioned my depression). I've got two new pals who I get on really well with, we can all take the piss out of each other and we all have the same sense of humour. I normally dread winters training because the dingyness of the valley in winter seems to make my symptoms worse but this winter I know I am going to be laughing near enough every day when I get to Alpha.
I do feel a bit of a fraud being so well looked after when most people at my level are desperately trying to get the money together for the odd massage but I ain't going to waste the chance. I will take the opportunity and run with it..... well so to speak!
Friday, 10 October 2014
Lisbon Half Marathon Race Day
Race day arrived and I woke at 6AM, half an hour before my alarm, who needs sleep anyhow? I'd got everything I needed ready the night before so it was just a case of putting the kit on under my joggers and rolling down to breakfast, I always find it hard to eat on race day which is unusual for me coz I love my grub! I forced down a few slices of toast and a couple of espressos which I don't really like. I then got myself ready to leave for the start. There were a lot of different makes of chairs in the hotel lobby, I like looking at foreign chairs. In the UK we only really see three makes of chair and they all look very similar so I am always taking note when looking at foreign chairs checking for new developments.
Soon enough it was time to get on the minibuses, the chairs were all packed in vans whilst the convoy waited for the police escorts to arrive. Portuguese police motorbike riders wear knee high brown boots with heels - very camp! Not sure if they are allowed to but they are always smoking. They ride like absolute nutters, once we set off everyone on the minibus was gasping at the riding antics out in front of us. In previous races the police had provided a lot more riders so the few we had were stretched to try and stop traffic, let us through red lights and keep the convoy together.
Once we got to the start, Justin and I rushed off to the toilet. We learnt last year that leaving the none flushing portatoilets until after the Kenyan runners had used them wasn't the most pleasant experience in the world. We had arrived at the start in plenty of time so there was no mad rush to get in our chairs like at the Great North Run. I took my time to get ready, eating a few jelly babies as I did. Once in my chair I did a couple of miles warming up and then made my way to the start.
We had been told at the technical meeting the previous evening that the women elite runners would be starting at the same time as us but on the other side of the road to us and we wasn't expected to meet them until the second roundabout. There were some nervous looking people at the thought of that, 99% of races set us off before the runners to give us chance to get away. When we got to the start there was a bloke with a loud hailer telling us we would have to keep right as the women were on the left, not on the other side of the road but actually in the same lane as us! Complete madness! I don't think the wheelchair race organisers knew, they are brilliant at what they do and I doubt they would ever agree to this! It would be bad in any race but Lisbon has a roundabout just 70m after the start and we take the 3rd exit. Then we climb up a short but steep hill before turning right. The gun went and we set off, the runners getting away faster and us catching them right at the roundabout, we had to take it wide to leave them enough room but it meant we couldn't manoeuvre around the slower chairs. We climbed at the same rate as the runners and then they just cut across us and separated us all from each other, it was like wacky races. We had kept right when they had the shortest route but they didn't care about our race when we had the racing line, how nobody was run over I will never know. I had a cracking start but found myself separated from the front pack by a group of joggers, elite joggers should have more sense about how they effect other people! By the time I got round the elite joggers the front pack had gone, there was no chance of me catching them now, I kept going hard waiting for someone else to come by me so we could work together to catch the group back up. The first person to catch me was Bret, I tried to draft him but he was in full flight and I can't match his speed yet. One day I will! Next to pass me was Justin, I managed to hang on to Justin for a few hundred meters but he was soon gone.
Soon enough it was time to get on the minibuses, the chairs were all packed in vans whilst the convoy waited for the police escorts to arrive. Portuguese police motorbike riders wear knee high brown boots with heels - very camp! Not sure if they are allowed to but they are always smoking. They ride like absolute nutters, once we set off everyone on the minibus was gasping at the riding antics out in front of us. In previous races the police had provided a lot more riders so the few we had were stretched to try and stop traffic, let us through red lights and keep the convoy together.
Once we got to the start, Justin and I rushed off to the toilet. We learnt last year that leaving the none flushing portatoilets until after the Kenyan runners had used them wasn't the most pleasant experience in the world. We had arrived at the start in plenty of time so there was no mad rush to get in our chairs like at the Great North Run. I took my time to get ready, eating a few jelly babies as I did. Once in my chair I did a couple of miles warming up and then made my way to the start.
We had been told at the technical meeting the previous evening that the women elite runners would be starting at the same time as us but on the other side of the road to us and we wasn't expected to meet them until the second roundabout. There were some nervous looking people at the thought of that, 99% of races set us off before the runners to give us chance to get away. When we got to the start there was a bloke with a loud hailer telling us we would have to keep right as the women were on the left, not on the other side of the road but actually in the same lane as us! Complete madness! I don't think the wheelchair race organisers knew, they are brilliant at what they do and I doubt they would ever agree to this! It would be bad in any race but Lisbon has a roundabout just 70m after the start and we take the 3rd exit. Then we climb up a short but steep hill before turning right. The gun went and we set off, the runners getting away faster and us catching them right at the roundabout, we had to take it wide to leave them enough room but it meant we couldn't manoeuvre around the slower chairs. We climbed at the same rate as the runners and then they just cut across us and separated us all from each other, it was like wacky races. We had kept right when they had the shortest route but they didn't care about our race when we had the racing line, how nobody was run over I will never know. I had a cracking start but found myself separated from the front pack by a group of joggers, elite joggers should have more sense about how they effect other people! By the time I got round the elite joggers the front pack had gone, there was no chance of me catching them now, I kept going hard waiting for someone else to come by me so we could work together to catch the group back up. The first person to catch me was Bret, I tried to draft him but he was in full flight and I can't match his speed yet. One day I will! Next to pass me was Justin, I managed to hang on to Justin for a few hundred meters but he was soon gone.
At the first turn around point I was way behind Bret and about 30m down on Justin. Sammy was about 200m behind me and when we passed each other I gave her a big shout, maybe that was the wrong thing to do as Justin seemed to kick on after that he extended his lead to about 120m. Eventually I pulled my finger out and started to close the gap, it took a few miles but I got back in contact with Justin. I wasn't sure if I should push past him as soon as I caught him or shelter behind him for a while. Stupidly I chose to whip round him, I'd just had a really hard couple of miles trying to close the gap so I didn't have much of an effort left in my arms to try and get rid. I think I might have briefly opened up a 5m gap but I never broke away and I had to settle in behind Justin for a while. About 400m before the turn around point I hit a pothole again and swore loudly, I think Justin heard again because he seemed to kick on and by the turn around point he had opened a small gap on me.
After I turned I realised the second half of the race was going to be hard work! The wind was awfull, it was blowing at 27mph straight at us. I'm not very big for a wheelchair athlete so I do not have the strength to push into strong head winds. I gritted my teeth and tried to keep it going. I was pleasantly surprised at how well I was pushing into the wind, the work in the gym at alpha is paying off but i still have a way to go yet. Justin slowly extended his lead over me. My PB also slowly slipped away, it was hard to keep positive but the course and weather wasn't on my side. Towards the end of the race a copper let a runner walk out right in front of me, I wasn't sure of the Portuguese for "get out the f**king way. Idiot." so I just shouted it in English extra loudly. Then I turned down the steep hill in which starts my least favourite finish of any race I have ever done. At the bottom of the hill we have a 90 degree turn through a narrow gap on to cobbles, cobbles with speedbumps. It truly is an awful finish. This year a few chairs, wheels and tyres were damaged. Luckily my equipment survived the finishing straight, I did cut my hip a couple of times but I do that on the roads of Rossendale anyway.
Finish line crossed Justin ushered me into my day chair because he wanted to go collect his free beer! We dragged Mark along and collected the complimentary straw hats on the way to the free beer. We rolled past an angry looking Bret who was dissecting yet another crash, we all felt for him but none of us could let it get in the way of beer. Once free beer we were momentarily distracted by free ice lollies shortly after we all looked like stereotypical Brits on tour; sweaty, vest and straw hat wearing blokes with a beer in one hand and an ice lolly in the other. After a while Bret came and joined us but he wasn't the most chatty he had ever been, we all struggled to make conversation when was clearly at the end of his tether. Bret is a cracking bloke but he really is bloody clumsy in his chair!
Back at the hotel we all got in touch with friends any family to let them know how we'd done, I was ninth in 56:30 so not a great time but considering the wind and the race conditions it wasn't too bad at all, most people were further behind their best times than I was. Once showered and changed Justin, Mark, Bret and myself headed down to the new part of the city. We headed to the river and started to make our way along towards the old part, over cobbles, again! We even stumbled across some Portuguese doggers, well everyone but Bret did. Not sure how he managed to miss them when the rest of us were laughing and pointing but miss them he did, maybe that's a clue why he crashes so often! We realised we had underestimated the distance between the new and old city and turned back. When we passed to doggers they had finished and were much older and less attractive than we had imagined. We took a roll along a boardwalk... a boardwalk with inch and half gaps between planks perfect for wheelchair wheels to fall through. So we pushed about 800m zigzagging to avoid falling through. We didn't half get some funny looks even though we had removed our straw hats before leaving the hotel. We then spent about 40min in a mall waiting for each other to pop out of the lifts on the right floor. Back at the hotel Joao and Paulo laughed their tits off at us for trying to push from the new town to the old town apparently a round trip would have been much much further than the half marathon we had already competed in that day. When we mentioned the doggers Paulo, without even a seconds thought, asked if they were next to the VW garage which they were! Something you're not telling us Paulo?
It was a brilliant trip to Portugal, I can't wait to go back in March and race on the fast course, hopefully this time Dan and Sanj can travel with me as well as Weir Archer having a bigger contingent there racing. More racers means more drafting and faster times. For now it's a case of me upping my training load and getting stronger in the gym so I can edge closer to the big boys!
Saturday, 4 October 2014
Lisbon Half Marathon Day 3
We have been back to the national stadium again today for our final training session before the race tomorrow, I got in my chair pretty quickly again and started my session. Just a 5 km and a couple of starts. Then I sat back and watched the others get carried away. Some lads did a half marathon in training yesterday, I feel a bit sorry for people who do things like that; it's either nieve or stupid. If I attempted a half marathon less than 48 hours before a big race and less than 24 hours after arriving in a country 20°c warmer than home Jenny would beat the crap out of me and rightly so! If you feel the need to get some extra miles in the tank so close to an event then you can't be all that confident in the training you have done. Even if you do those 13 miles steady you are still draining your body of fluids and in disability sport the effects of dehydration are exaggerated by some conditions. One of these lads got carried away again today in training, it's car crash TV. I noticed he looked a bit uncomfortable as he was going round the track, not long after everybody on the track ended up in one group and the athlete in question ended up hanging on to the group lap after lap. He hadn't considered the others in the group were all athletes who live in hot countries, they started their sessions 15 minutes after he started his session, they hadn't done a half marathon the day before and the next slowest in the group has a marathon pb 15 minutes faster than his! What was he thinking? Maybe he wasn't thinking at all. I mentioned yesterday about how easy it is to get carried away on that track, it's so fast but part of sport is knowing when to hold back! I get on well with the lad in question, it's hard to watch people you like make mistakes but maybe I am wrong - tomorrow will tell! The Spanish lads were looking in fine form, they will be out front in the morning.
After training we returned to the hotel for dinner or lunch if you are posh. Three courses for every meal so far in Portugal, I am definitely going to be well fueled in the morning. I can't normally eat in high temperatures but the food here is so good that I always eat a lot.
Then it was time to have a tour of the course, I remember last year being confused because the tour starts at the 12km mark, goes on to the start, then the finish and finally km 3 to 8 before leaving the route. This year it made perfect sense and I was also able to help Sammy out with the course. It looked as though a lot of the roads have been relayed and most of the pot holes filled in which should help us all finish. The cobbles at the end are still there and the cobble speed bumps are still there too... I still would like to know who speeds on cobbles?
Next up came the technical meeting, they just pointed out the hazards in the race, gave the final instructions for tomorrow and then handed out the numbers etc.
My chair and helmet have the numbers and chips on them, I'm taped up, tyres are pumped up. All there is left to do before the race is sleep.. talking of which.. g-night.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)