A harsh winter

Posted by Mark on December 30, 2010 under training | Be the First to Comment

Just when I thought last winter was bad for my fitness, along came this winter.

Last year my excuse was the weather. With it being exceptionally snowy and icy here in Blighty, my favourite training roads South of London were frequently snowed over. Or if they weren’t under six inches of the white stuff, the temperature was sub zero so they were covered in ice.

I’m not fond of hitting the deck at the best of times, so the ice kept me well away from my road bike for most of the winter – I don’t think I went out on it from November until February (and even then I hit a patch of ice and threw my bike, derailleur side, down the road).

At least I rediscovered mountain biking. Popping out for a good blast around the hills and singletrack of Surrey kept the worst of the fitness loss at bay. It was also excellent fun. There’s something almost child like about riding an MTB around singletrack. Instead of heading out on the road bike to freeze to death, I’d spend three quality hours mostly grinning from ear to ear.

This year I have a new excuse though. And it’s kept me off the bike for over a month now. Even my usual Christmas ride got shelved. Yes, I’ve been ill.

First it was a heavy cold. No big deal, I rode a little on it, trying not to push to hard. Just as it was clearing up, I opted for a ‘steady’ 130km road ride. Within two days I was sick again. Then it turned nasty.

I suspect I had a bout of Norovirus, judging by how ill I was, and how I managed to shed a couple of KGs in the space of a day. Within a couple of days though, I was feeling semi-normal. Empty and weak, but at least keeping food in.

So I tried a short 10km ride into work. Crikey, I felt so weak it was pathetic. I figured more rest was required.

Then the vomiting started again.

I think I’m about 11 or 12 days past the first sign of the illness, and I’m back to a BRAT diet. The worst thing about it is the lack of tea – I do miss a nice cup of tea.

Already I’m starting to dread the effort it’s going to take to get my form back. The confident goal of aiming for a license upgrade this coming season is already being consigned to the bin in my mind. I can see this being another year of just riding for enjoyment – no bad thing (I actually hate it when I start to pressure myself into ‘achieving’ something, rather than just riding my bike because it’s fun) but I really had enjoyed the prospect of getting back into some proper road racing.

Maybe I’ll just have a gentle session on the rollers later.