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PART 1: THE START OF MY JOURNEY TO THE UCI WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP QUALIFIERS

SEPTEMBER 2015


Let me start by saying this – I have been described as having a diesel engine, and I think this is true. My first endurance event was the Oxfam 100km trail walker which I was roped in to by my brother as a last minute stand in. We walked continuously for 20hrs and at the end I suggested we all run to the finished line – an idea which was rather rudely and succinctly put to bed by my brother [udesign_icon_font name=”fa fa-smile-o”] . We all had very little training but we finished it with smiles and large blisters.

My racing has all been long as well – Ironman, multi day stage races and marathon mountain biking have been my go to events. But as I get older I’m finding life is getting even more busy and the time available to spend 4-6 hrs every Saturday on my bike followed by a 3hr run on Sunday does not exist any more!

Hereth enter unknown territory for me, the diesel engine needs to transform itself into a supercharged V8 – it’s going to be interesting. The course is a 20km time trial but I am under no illusion that there will be the same level of suffering in that short sharp race as there is in longer endurance racing – just a slightly different kind of suffering. The world championships are a bit special for me as this year they are going to be held in my home city of Perth in September 2016 with the qualifiers to be held in March. I have 4 months until the qualifiers and I’m going to enjoy every moment of the training journey to get there.

I am a coach for FTP training, but even a coach needs a coach, and head coach Mark Fenner will be guiding me on my journey. Let the fun begin!