Tag Archives: cycling

Turning training from hard labour into progress and positivity

I’m into my bike training for the two rides i have coming up – 50 miles in Wales, April 23rd and 80 miles in Cambridgeshire, June 5th – and it is nothing short of hard labour at the moment.

I’m not a natural on the bike. Too tall, very long in the body and an ideal wind break. I also lack the big hamstring and glute muscles required to grind it out up the hills and push the pace on the flats. I’m also not very good at handling cold weather and facing up to the elements of this time of year where we live.

But I’m doing what I can to get the work done. I’m doing some short distances as often as the schedule will allow and building up to the first event in April. I’m learning more about how to get down low on the handlebars and slice more easily through the wind (of which there is LOADS) and I’ve done a lot of work in the gym on improving my leg strength – there is still a long way to go but it’s getting better slowly.

I enjoy being on the bike and the sense of freedom that it gives but I have come to the conclusion that it’s not a sport I’m ever going to love. I’m happy enough to train for the events coming up this year but long distance rides will be extremely limited in the future.

Having the bike for short sprint triathlons and some leisure riding will be enough for me and I would always rather be running – a lot less kit required, no fear of mechanicals or punctures and, for me, a whole lot more enjoyment. My knees will pack up at some point soon but I will keep them strong through the gym work and then deal with the pain as it comes on over time.

What’s your next challenge?

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The daily grind can really get you down. Commuting followed by the same old faces in the office and the same old problems in your job leads us into the ‘living for the weekend’ mentality. Add some bigger personal goals to your life – challenges to your everyday existence of any kind, physical or mental – and use them to drive your life forwards and basically do more, live more.

My challenges are quite often related to sport. I have a challenge in April next year to ride 50 miles on my bike on a very hilly course in a race in West Wales. Now, I’m not a full-on rider so it’s going to take a lot of work to get fit enough for this. And I’m also not all that strong in the legs so hills just stop me stone dead, so the work is going to have to be really hard to make sure I can finish this thing.

The point I’m making here is that this bigger challenge – bigger than the everyday stuff we all have to do – is getting me focussed and making sure I train hard and put in the work to make the ride a success. It might also lead me to do more racing and get my legs strong enough to go up some bigger hills. Maybe even the French Alps one day. Who knows?

Set yourself a challenge and see where it takes you. Until you try, you’re never going to really know what you’re capable of. Use it to give you focus and create some energy and drive to achieve.

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Ian Mountford is a global recruitment expert and strategy coach providing motivation and guidance to entrepreneurs, wannabe or fully-fledged. He draws from his own experience of building businesses from the ground up and spending many years helping clients to consistently achieve their goals and aspirations. Ian works with clients face-to-face and internationally.