My first trip to hell aka Sufferlandria

A few weeks ago I saw a tweet from Wattbike asking for people to be members of #TeamWattbike for the upcoming Tour of Sufferlandria. I decided to apply to be a member. Thankfully I was accepted.

Now for a little information for those not aware of Sufferfest.

The Tour of Sufferlandria is the "Greatest Grand Tour of a Mythical Nation", which is run by Sufferfest to raise money for the Davis Phinney Foundation (if you feel like donating to this you can do at this link). Here is the Official Tour announcement. https://vimeo.com/150839967 for this years tour.

Sufferlandria is the mythical nation which is featured in the Sufferfest videos.

I have contemplated training with Sufferfest videos for some time as the concept intrigued me. You can download from a selection of 25 cycling training videos by visiting thesufferefest.com, they also do running and triathlon videos but I haven't used these as I don't have access to a treadmill. Recently they have released an app which means you can have access to all video for a small monthly fee. With the current exchange rate it works out at £6.91 a month which is a bargain in my eyes.

Before being accepted onto #TeamWattbike I had completed exactly zero videos as they were never in my plan but after being accepted I thought it prudent to try one out. I picked Blender as this was one of the three videos I bought over the Christmas period.

I decided* to complete Blender with a hangover to increase the suffering.

*decided is a stretch, I overindulged on a night out and this was a stupid idea but you have to live life

After completing Blender I believe I got lulled into a false sense of security. I enjoyed the video and found it no harder than my current training. I genuinely couldn't see what all the fuss was about.

I then got ill so didn't get to practice any other videos.

I finally recovered from my cold with two days to go before the start of the tour. Hardly the ideal prep but it is what it is.

I analysed the tour and thought I knew what I would find hard.

My initial thoughts were that I would find stage 2 really hard and stage 9 would be my favourite stage. None of the other stages particularly worried me after completing Blender.

The tour started on the 6th February and there were highs and lows for me. This blog is a day by day breakdown of my first trip to hell (aka Sufferlandria).

Stage 1 - It Seemed Like A Good Idea At The Time (ISLAGIATT)

Unfortunately this was one of the lows of my Tour. I tried using the app on my 5 year old iPad but unfortunately it crashed. I then did not have enough time to replay the video due to plans with friends. I was confined to the Grupetto (the name given to the group of cyclists in a road cycling race who form a large group behind the leading peloton) overnight but knew if I didn't get too drunk with friends I would be fine after Stage 2

Stats - Distance 18.8 mi, time - 50 mins, speed - 22.6mph, power - 198W

Stage 2 - The end of ISLAGIATT and Double Revolver

It turns out I did overindulge on my night out and with the extra 70 minutes of ISLAGIATT, my date with Double Revolver filled me with more dread. 32 times 60 second all out efforts did not appeal. After about 20 I wanted to throw something at my telly but I got the job done and rejoined the main group. My legs were ruined when I removed myself from my Wattbike.

Stats - Distance 58.9 mi, time - 163 mins, speed - 21.6mph, power - 194W

Stage 3 - The Best Thing In The World

This was the absolute low point for me. I could not comprehend how hard this 48 minute session was. I mean seriously, its 48 minutes. My pre tour date with Blender had lulled me into a false sense of security. This video made me realise what true suffering is about. I hated all 2800 painful seconds of the atrocious video. I am sure this was in part due to having heavy legs from yesterdays near three hour session. This painful 48 minutes taught me to respect the videos. I even tried spinning my legs out for another 8 minutes to try and heal them.

Stats - Distance 20.4 mi, time - 54 mins, speed - 22.4mph, power - 209W

Stage 4 - To Get To The Other Side

Not my best moment. I got onto the Wattbike hungry after a tough day at work for this "recovery" ride and had to peel myself off it after a massive bonk. Combined with my Garmin dying after 72 mins meant I did not enjoy this "recovery" ride at all.

Stats - Distance 24.8 mi, time - 72 mins (Garmin died), speed - 20.5mph, power - 168W

Stage 5 - The Wretched

Given I had had two bad days in the tour I was dreading this stage all day at work. I was so relieved when I enjoyed it. It wasn't enjoyable but I felt strong, I'm guessing that was thanks to the "recovery" ride yesterday. It was such a relief to enjoy a session after 3 tough days. One of the few high points of the tour.

Stats - Distance 19.9 mi, time - 49 mins, speed - 24.2mph, power - 237W

Stage 6 - The Rookie

A chance to try out for Team Giant Shimano. 55 minutes including 3 10 minute race efforts. Time to get some hard work done. It was a tough session but by no means the toughest. I remember burying myself on the last sprint and my vision blurring but I felt strong. I am definitely getting used to this suffering.

Stats - Distance 20.9 mi, time - 54 mins, speed - 22.9mph, power - 215W

Stage 7 - Do As You're Told

Wow. What a toughie. It doesn't sound too hard but boy was it. You do 22 intervals all above 7.5/10 effort of different lengths with different rest intervals. At a mere 44 minutes, it was the shortest  stage of this years tour but boy does it pack in the suffering.

Stats - Distance 16.3 mi, time - 44 mins, speed - 22mph, power - 200W

Stage 8 - A Very Dark Place & 9 Hammers

I could not muster the mojo or motivation to get on the bike for this session. At just under 2 hours with 14 efforts, it had me a little worried after spending nearly 8 hours pedalling so far in the tour. I can't quite describe the horror of this session. The first 5 efforts in A Very Dark Place were fine but absolutely sapped the energy in my legs. The 9 efforts of 9 Hammers were disgusting, I wanted to quit in fact I nearly did. My legs had nothing for some of the efforts, I was suffering horribly. It was so hard. Whoever decided to pair these workouts is not on my Christams Card list. It wasn't pretty but I got the job done (just) thankfully.

Stats - Distance 37.1 mi, time - 107 mins, speed - 20.8mph, power - 201W

Stage 9 - Power Station & Violator

Before the tour began, this was the one session I was looking forward to. A double session combining low cadence/high power intervals with sprints. My two favourite things to do on my Wattbike. I loved Power Station. It was just enjoyable. Violator however hurt me. 64 sprints of either 5, 10 or 15 seconds with differing rests was beautifully horrible. I was so relieved after the last sprint.

Stats - Distance 39.9 mi, time - 120 mins, speed - 19.9mph, power - 201W

So there is is my first Tour of Sufferlandria completed. Like I said before it had some highs and some lows. I am pleased I decided to do it.

In total my stats for the 9 days are as follows

Distance - 257 miles

Time - 11:56

Speed (average) - 21.5mph

Power (average) - 202W

I fully intend on integrating these videos into my training going forward, I really can't believe it works out at £6.91/month for using the app. 

Will I be back next year? You bet I will. I think the last 9 days has made me stronger (both physically and mentally). I just need to test that out by doing an FTP test when I am fully recovered as my legs are trashed tonight.

I did the tour to boost my cycling ahead of going to Mallorca and the 12 hours in the saddle will have done me no harm whatsoever.

Thanks to Wattbike for the opportunity to take place.

Thanks to Sufferfest for the awesome videos and organisation involved in creating the Tour.

Thanks for reading,

Michael

Catch up

Wow can’t believe its been two months since I last blogged.

Between the frivolities of the festive period and training as much as I can, I have no idea where the time has gone. Nearly 10% of 2016 has already passed.

What’s been happening? Sleep, work, eat, train repeat pretty much sums things up.

I had two weeks off work for Christmas and had a blast. It involved a lot of alcohol and time spent enjoying myself with friends and family. Happy times.

Unfortunately the weight loss stagnated (well to be honest it went backwards). That is one of the downsides of me consuming alcohol but as Vinnie Tortorich says “It doesn’t matter what happens between Christmas and New Year, it’s what happens between New Year and Christmas that counts” Amen to that. So now we are out of January (which included a divorce party, a wedding and more nights out with friends) it’s time to go back to basics with my diet.

I have 16 weeks to go until the qualification races and the most important part of my season. If I manage to shift 1 lb of weight every 2 weeks, I will be a minimum of 4kg lighter come my important races. I’d have to spend £8k on a bike to get one that is 4kg lighter than my race bikes. I may as well save that money and instead invest in myself and my future health. Plus weighing less will have benefits across all three disiplines and not just a lighter bike.

The other week I got struck down with my yearly bout of lurgy. I thought I’d avoided it but the germs finally tracked me down. As usual I immediately stopped training until I was better. I really don’t understand people who train and don’t let their bodies recover. Your body needs to use its energy to get better in my eyes.

Have the 10 days hurt off my training. Probably not but it was only 10 days as opposed to the 3 weeks I know some people have been ill for. I know I am swimming as quick as I was pre illness going from last nights threshold set.

I also had a niggle in my knee over Christmas which I finally managed to ascertain was caused by my cleat on my new bike shoes being slightly off. After correcting this, my niggle disappeared.

I have also found a new love in my training. Kettlebells. I came across the Strength Matters podcast in early December and after binge-listening to all 66 episodes on my commute to work, I decided to see what benefits they could have for my training.

I have dabbled with kettlebells as part of my Functional Movement Training with Blizard Physiotherapy.

Now having never been interested in the gym in all my life, the fact I am enjoying lifting (increasingly) heavy things is a nice change for me.

I have started working with Susie (a PT friend who coaches us at Doncaster Triathlon Club) on a one to one basis to ensure that I am using correct technique as I don’t want to end up injured but I love the fact I can swing my kettlebell round while watching telly with the wife and have started to notice the benefits.

My glutes are starting to fire from all the kettlebell swings I have been doing; I also believe they are having a benefit with my swimming. Before my bout of lurgy, I found holding my threshold pace easy which is a first. The only thing that has changed is the introduction of kettlebell work on top of my existing training schedule. Another benefit of swinging iron is that it helps me deal with work stress and I can fit this in no matter how time crunched I am.

Since Christmas my commute with work has increased so my sense of being time crunched has also increased.

The next 16 weeks will all be about quality of training, I will be limiting my junk training and concentrating on getting the most from each session.

Last week I was also mentioned on the Strength Matters podcast which is a really bizzare thing to happen when you are just driving around listening to it. It was completely unexpected but I was really thankful for the mention. One of the things they mentioned was starting a blog. Woohoo I am ahead of the curve with that one.

http://www.realstrengthmatters.com/smp-67-how-to-make-your-fitness-website-work-for-you/ Listen at about 29 mins for my mention.

This past week also saw my #blogbirthday, I can’t believe my blog is now 4 years old. I don’t even want to know the total word count of it. I bet there are smaller books.

On the subject of books, one of my friends (initially from social media but now in real life) has just released her book. Hollie Cradduck first contacted me in October 2013 to promote her blog detailing her awful likfe changing trip to Tenby to complete Ironman Wales. Her book charts her journey from their to Kona and she very kindly mentiones me in her book with some very kind words. If you want to read her book it can be found here.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/178531114X?keywords=hollie%20cradduck&qid=1454702530&ref_=sr_1_1&sr=8-1

I was pleased to be mentioned in her book including a hyperlink to my Twitter profile in the ebook. Thanks Hollie. Hope I’ll see you on a start line soon.

The next 9 days will consist of me taking part in the #TourOfSufferlandria. The tour is a stage race taking place in the fictional land of Sufferlandria. Sufferlandria is the place where the Sufferfest videos are set.

Sufferfest videos are cycling training videos which use real race footage and link them to intervals and you have to suffer at differing intensities according to what the suffer level is meant to be.

I have been selected to be part of #TeamWattbike for the tour.

The tours main aim is to raise money for an American Charity called the Davis Phinney Foundation which is for people with Parkinson’ disease. Davis was a professional cyclist who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s. Each entrant to the tour pays $10 to compete in the tour and for each entry they are put in a raffle for some AWESOME prizes.

As part of #TeamWattbike I have to complete the tour on my Wattbike.

I am using the 9 days riding totalling 12 hours in the saddle as a way to build my endurance ahead of my training camp in Mallorca in April.

Having only completed one Sufferfest video I am slightly worried by some of the stages. There is one which incorporates 32 one minute all-out efforts into a 90 minute workout which I am dreading. This takes place this Sunday and joy of joys I will probably be hungover after a night out with friends.

Here is the profile for the suffering I will have to endure.
The redder the profile, the harder it is.

The 9 days should really pay dividends in Mallorca.

Since my last blogpost I've also been officially announced as a brand ambassador with Generation UCAN in the UK.

http://www.generationucan.co.uk/page/ambassador

This will be my fuel of choice (along with cheese) for the training camp in Mallorca.

With retrospect, I know I said at the start of this post that I haven't been up to much but reading through all this, it appears I have.

Thanks for reading,

I'll try not to leave it so long next time.

Michael

Dear 13 y.o Michael

Firstly I wish I could claim full credit for coming up with this idea on my own but alas I am merely plagiarising a very well written blogpost from someone I follow on Twitter. It was so well written I thought I would write a letter to a younger me.

Dear Michael,

I know you're struggling with a lot of things at the moment. I thought I'd drop you a quick line to say that everything works out okay in 21 years time. You need to get rid of those thoughts currently going round your head relentlessly. Everything will be fine in the end. Yes it will take some time for you to find your niche but trust me, you do. We leave Clitheroe and eventually settle in Doncaster via a quick sojourn in Leeds (at Uni), Wakefield and a stint even working in the Big Smoke.

I know who'd have thunk it! Us from little old Clitheroe in deepest Lancashire working in the Big Smoke. And the best bit we help to build the Olympics. The actual Olympics. In the process we make friends with someone by the name of Etienne Stott who goes on to win a gold medal.

In London we also meet someone who changes our life. She strolls into our life like a thunderbolt and immediately we fall in love with her, she becomes our best friend,  we marry her and she supports us in everything we do. She completes us and is our much better half.

See I told you everything works out okay.

Yes we have our ups and downs but we come through them stronger for having been through them.

2006 isn't a good year for us but again what we experience makes us a lot stronger.

In your early 30'a you will make a decision which will change your life. You decide to do a triathlon for charity. As I know you have no idea what I'm on about,  I'll explain. A triathlon is a multisport event which comprises swimming (yeah you've got that covered), biking (you are okay at this now) and running.

Yes you read that right. Running.

I know what's going through that head of yours. We hate running. Yes we do. Being forced to run cross country in PE and being last. Yes I know it sucks. But triathlon will change your life. TRUST ME.

You will slowly transform from a couch potato into a triathlete, you will become a coach (and a pretty good one if your recent Coach of the Year Award is anything to go by), you will help set up a triathlon club, you will make a lot of friends, some through this crazy sport that becomes fundamental to our life and you will be told by people that you are inspirational.

All this transpires because you give up smoking for triathlon. I wish you didn't start smoking but you do to try and fit in. And herein lies the problem, you are constantly trying to fit in (it is hardly surprising given the hell you are currently going through). But you needn't try to fit in. Eventually you will be accepted and respected for just being you. You will make friends just for being you.

Anyway I digress, there is a bonus to what you are currently going through. It gives you a ridiculous amount of mental strength which pays dividends when it comes to triathlon. You will complete an iron distance triathlon (2.4mi swim, 112mi bike and marathon). TWICE. And fundamentally it is because you are strong mentally. You are definitely not the fittest but your self belief, grit and determination help you cross that finish line. You learnt to hurt when racing at triathlon and become relatively competitive in local races (I KNOW). So even though what you are currently enduring seems like hell on earth it does have benefits later in life.

As a result of triathlon, you start to really care about nutrition, you self educate yourself in what is healthy in an attempt to lose weight. In fact at 34 you weight less than you do when reading this. Go figure.

The most important thing to take from all this is EVERYTHING WORKS OUT OKAY.

You will live your life by the following mantras (the hash symbol before means the collection of words is a "hashtag" but don't worry about that as social media doesn't even exist in 1994 but it gets invented and plays an important role in your life from 2012)

#dreambelieveachieve you set yourself goals, believe they are achievable and then give your all in the pursuit of them.

#anythingispossible you learn that there are no bounds to what you can achieve when you set your mind to it.

Thats all from me,

The older Michael

Rest period. Living life.

Since my last post, I've been really busy resting. The only things I have been doing have been swimming and social bike rides *if it doesn't involve a cafe stop then count me out).

That all changes next week when I start the build for 2016.

The last few weeks have been quite eventful for me even if I have been relaxing.

I've been spending a lot of time commuting and as such have been doing a lot of listening to podcasts by Vinnie Tortorich (and Anna Vocino) and RealMealRevolution. I am convinced that my decision to use a #LCHF (and mostly #NSNG) diet is right for me, the more I listen and learn.

This has been reinforced by the fact that I have been living life over the past 6 weeks. I've been going out with friends and as such drinking more than I am used to. As a result my weight has been yo-yoing somewhat.

Previously I have joked about my ass jiggling for a month after looking at a piece of chocolate cake but it transpires that I was correct in my assumption.

In early November, it was the Doncaster Triathlon Club awards evening. I was nominated for four awards after being selected by our members in a private ballot. I can't quite explain how touched I was to be nominated for the following awards.

• Most improved male
• Inspiration of the year
• Coach of the year
• Club member of the year

Anyway the night got underway and after several beers and the meal, it was the time for the awards giving.

I was shocked to be selected as the Coach of the year by our members.

I was even more shocked to be nominated as Club member of the year. The attendees were shouting "speech" as I went to collect my award.

I was so shocked that I had to compose myself before beginning my speech, I was literally holding back the tears. I waffled something about how I got into triathlon, why I became a coach and how humbled I was to be stood there collecting the Club member of the year award.

Alas my shock was not over, our Club Chairman then got up to present the Chairpersons Award for services to the Club. He ran through the contenders and finally announced me as the winner. I was lost for words, brimming with pride and shocked.

I went up to collect the cup. I am so proud to be one of the founding members of this great club and to be the first athlete to have won the recurring awards (Chairperson's cup and Club member of the year). In years to come, my name will be the first on both of these trophies and no one can take that away from me.

The club blog about the night can be seen here. http://www.doncastertriathlonclub.com/awards-night/

In other news.

After spending so much time listening to Vinnie, Anna and Professor Tim Noakes on my commutes my interest in a "new" product was piqued. The product was Generation UCAN. A "superstarch" which does not spike blood sugar and therefore does not increase insulin production and as such will be able to used by me in my new diet. The podcast which really interested me was the one where Matt Bach was on Vinnie Tortorich. http://vinnietortorich.com/2015/10/metabolic-efficiency-with-matt-bach/

I have managed to become a brand ambassador for Generation UCAN in the UK after exchanging some emails. I can't wait to use this product over the coming season to help me #bethebestIcanbe. The plan is to use Generation UCAN to fuel my longer bike rides next year, I have been struggling to ascertain how I could fuel a 3+ hour bike ride and Generation UCAN now gives me a suitable option for this.

I can't wait to work with this new company and help increase their exposure in the UK.

DCLT (the operator of the gyms in Doncaster) has a Talented Athlete Support Scheme and after applying following my appearance in the ETU Aquathlon this year, I have been given free access to their facilities for the future. Again this will help me #bethebestIcanbe next year.

Many thanks to Generation UCAN, DCLT and Choosefitness for their help ahead of next year. I can't wait to see what I can achieve.

Thanks for reading,

Michael

#dreambelievachieve

Learning to race

I started 2015 firmly with the belief that sprint distance racing was what I was best suited for.

Over the previous two seasons I have dabbled with every distance from supersprint to Ironman but towards the end of 2014 I realised I performed better when racing sprints.

So this year was firmly about learning to race. After having competed in 18 different races this year, I am absolutely exhausted and am currently relishing the 4 week break from training. I am still doing the sessions I enjoy (mostly swimming and functional movement) but it is nice to be able to relax after a long tough season.

My build for 2015 started in December 2014 so it has been a long season between that and my last race on 11^th October.

How has the season gone?

Well in all honesty, better than I wanted it to.

Despite one broken arm sustained in April, which could have written off a lot more of my season than it did, it has gone better than me and my coach planned it to. We set some targets last November and I am performing ahead of those targets (or was when I was training). These were metric based targets set for the next two years and I am currently ahead of the where I need to be.

22:15 for 5km. My current PB is 22:00.

6:15 for 400m. My current PB is 5:50

379W for MMP.  My last test was 421W.

On top of this we also set a goal for the season.

Finish within 120% of the winner in my AG at a sprint distance qualifier to be able to be selected fro GB AG next year at the ETU champs. I managed to secure 118.3% at Southport after my arm break so was over the moon.

And now for the goal I set myself.

Complete a pool sprint triathlon in under 1 hour. Yes this was an ambitious target but I selected a race I knew and had broken it down in my head and it seemed achievable. Tight but achievable.

In my head I broke the race down as follows at Drax before the race.

• 6:00 for the swim and run to T1
• 0:30 for T1
• 30:00 for the bike
• 0:30 for T2
• 22:59 for the run to bring me in with one second to spare.

On race morning I couldn’t have asked for better conditions. The wind was calm, the temperature was a mild 13 degrees. I listened to the following motivational speech by Greg Plitt on my way to the race and felt in a good place mentally. BE REMEMBERED

I swam the swim relaxed and exited the water in under 6:00, made my way to T1 and mounted my bike without any issues. On the bike I needed to average 22mph for the course to come in under 30 minutes. Despite my best efforts and my screaming quads I could not get my average speed above 21.2mph and completed the bike in 31:43. I flew through T2 and set about the run. I had forgotten how tough the off road portion of the run was and was thrilled with my 23:21 run split. I crossed the tape in a PB time of 1:02:35 (an over 2 minute PB) but was somewhat disheartened about my bike. Had my bike been where I wanted it to be, I would have been really close to going under the hour.

Greg Plitt once said

“Failure is part of the recipe for success. It’s the losers that fail once and quit. Every winner has done with failure. The loser and the winner, both have failed...... It’s just the winner gets back up and does it again.”

So with that in mind I will be back next year to go under the hour.

By far the biggest highlight of my year was my 7^th place finish at Hatfield. Seventh. Me!!!!! WTAF!!!!! I’m still shocked by this and think this was my perfect storm race. Everything just seemed to go right. I swam relaxed despite being dropped from the pack but managed to exit the water first., I biked strong and surprised myself on the run.

All in all I will look back on 2015 as a great season, it was where I found my distance, where I learnt to race, where I became a better coach for my athletes at Doncaster Triathlon Club and where I surprised myself with what is possible.

In summary here is my palmarès for 2015.

Yes there are people who are a lot better at this sport than me. But I have only been doing this sport (or exercise of any sort) for three years following my previous existence as a couch potato and I was only going to do one or two triathlons. Considering where I have come from, I am proud by what I have achieved in the short time since giving up smoking. Note to self – “I need to remember that sometimes.”

Whats on the cards for 2016? More of the same. Improving as an athlete at sprint distance, aiming to qualify for GB as an age grouper, more weight loss, continuing to surprise myself and making my family (alive or not) proud. The race calendar is currently being formed but I suspect there will need to be a double peak next year with me wanting to qualify for GB and wanting to break the hour at Drax.

I don’t know about you but I’m excited for 2016. It’s the year I will “be the best I can be”. #dreambelieveachieve

Thanks for reading,

Michael