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D. Barrett Decorating - The Blog

A revolution has begun!!

On my last blog I touched upon that I have joined the Dulux Select team for the London revolution bike ride, I thought in the run up to the event I would give a update on how my training has been going. 


So far it has been painful, exhausting and rewarding. Come the beginning of the New Year I decided to join the gym to aid my training, didn't actually go until nearly the end of January though! I realised last October on a couple of early rides that this was going to be quite a challenge however I wasn't actually aware of how hard it really is. 


First bike ride out was a Sunday morning middle of January, did 6 miles. In those 6 miles I probably stopped about 3 or 4 times to get my breath and take a drink (I struggle to take my hands off the handlebars to take a drink). It basically drained me and I also played 5 a side football the same evening for the first time in two years. It took till the Thursday for the pain in my legs to disappear and for me to walk without resembling a cowboy. That weekend I did no training at all which was wrong because it took till the following Saturday before I did anything again physical. So a two week gap in my training and everything I did before was wasted and I was starting from scratch again. 

The weather as most will know is horrible this time of year so riding in the rain and cold isn't enjoyable, so I went and did 30 minutes into gym. Again, totally drained me. However the next morning I went back out on my bike and did another 6 miles. The big concern I was getting was the Revolution was now getting ever closer and I would be nowhere near ready. Again I stopped several times to recover and rehydrate, realising each time I can't do this on the event. 


Another weekend came and I did the same routine, gym Saturday, bike Sunday. Over the week I had struggled with a cold and as I neared the end of my ride on Sunday I came to a slight incline, my legs just had nothing left in them and I collapsed with my bike. It was a light bulb moment for me. I knew I needed to up my game, other members of my team were posting strava rides of 10, 15 mile plus for over a hour and here was me struggling to get to 8 miles. I went home and got the training plan back out, knowing that due to my duties as a parent evening rides would be hard to do (plus I am still horrendously scared of traffic, especially in the dark!) so I needed to incorporate some weekday training. My legs were still tired from Sunday and I also had played football again, so it wasn't until the Thursday that I could train. Alarm set for 5 am and at the gym for 5.30 for a 30 minute exercise bike session. While that did tire me, come Saturday morning I went out and did 6.5 miles before I had to do quotes and errands. I found I didn't stop as much and then yesterday (11th February) I broke two milestones. I rode for a hour and I did 10 miles, I only stopped once for 30 seconds to rehydrate and I went back to the incline where I fell last week and smashed it. I also played football again and unlike 4 weeks ago I am not in pain in my legs today. 


So here is the routine for the foreseeable future, Tuesday and Thursday up at 5am for a 30, 45 minute gym session before work. Saturday and Sunday early morning a hour to 90 minutes on the bike. I have amended my diet as well because exercise while still bingeing on takeaways is not working. Still working out what exactly I should be eating but the advice I have received from others regarding nutrition is helping. I hope to be able to find time to join my team for a bike ride in the near future, though the travel and other commitments is making it awkward. 


I will update my training next month around the 11th March, hopefully will be able to say I have broken the 20 mile barrier by then. In the meantime if anyone who reads this could please spare a donation to our cause, the Outward Bound Trust. The five of us are really trying our hardest to be able to be ready to achieve the distance, sacrificing a lot of time and effort to support this worthy cause. The link to our charity page is https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/Team/OfficialSelectTeam and it would mean a awful lot to us to have your support.


Thank you for reading