I made the call sometime back that I needed to beginning training in earnest three months out. That rolled around yesterday so this means time to make some changes. Here’s my to do list:
- First up, No smoking. I can’t do this crazy thing and smoke at the same time.
- Stretching. Something I’ve never really done, but now I’ve crossed that half century threshold I had better take my body seriously. So that means getting rid of a few old crinks and making sure I’m up for this. More on stretching later.
- Fluids. Again something I’ve never paid a lot of attention to… well not those non heady types of fluids anyway. So I’ve got to rehydrate now, daily, just not on the bike.
- Food. I know my calorie intake is going to be way higher on the road, but I’ve got to start thinking about diet now and getting the balance right. I have a few plan in that department. More on food later.
- Riding. I’ve got to get a ride in 6 days out of 7, mostly short one hour rides and one of those my tour average daily distance of 85 km.
- Hills. No cheating, the more I look at potential routes, the more I realise hills are endless, so best get angry with them now.
- Cross training. This means some form of light body weight-training and definitely swimming. I’ve got to work on a number of things: legs, core work, neck and shoulders (to reduce the load). Basically everything! More on cross training later.
So todays the 11th of September and I’ve started.
I got a 90km mixed trail ride in yesterday including hill work, wind, rain and a good helping of mud. Today was an hour (more or less) and a good shop to make sure I’m starting to look after my fluids and food.
So far so good.