My Roots

It all started back when I was swimming around in my dads ball-sack... My Nan and Gramp used to be keen athletes. They moved down to The Shire and founded the Dursley Athletic Club. Naturally, dad took part in his early years... punk rock and flares got in the way and it wasn't until I started growing up that he took it back up again. During this time, Gramp was still heavily into running and coaching at the athletic club. Between the two of them they began coaching me. A mixture of their great knowledge on training techniques and my strange desire to make myself feel sick from pushing so hard meant I was a few steps ahead of my fellow class mates. We did well over the years... training was planned... races were won... others were lost... in the end, I followed a similar path to dad... heavy metal and black clothes!

The next few years were a mess to say the least... rebellion and immaturity.  Closely following this came a spout of illness. A Lymphoma and 8 months of chemotherapy changed my perspective on life again. I had always been skinny... an ectomorph.... these months of steroid treatment and luxurious meals pushed me from 9st 6lb to over 13st... An image I liked for some strange reason. An image I wanted to keep. A colleague I was working with at this time was a weightlifter... 'Shag' was his name... (and for a good reason). It was he that got me back into exercise. I was now a gym addict!

I probably spent 2 years down the gym. It was during this time I learnt nearly everything I know about diet, nutrition and how to gain muscle. I tried most things... protein, weight gainer, creatine, caffeine, nutritional supplements... As it turns out, no matter how many calories I consume, I would never be able to sustain the weight I put on during Chemo... I had become demoralised.

Luckily my cousin Chris started challenging me to 10k running. The challenge was on and it was going to be tough. He was very active. Football, basket ball, dog walking, running, cycling to work. The guy never stops... I was worried. The training began...

I had a pair of Nike Air Pegasus+ at time (in fact i always run in these but this was my first model with the Nike + footpod). Nike + is a GPS tracking system that allows you to track your run and analyse yourself after. Looking back, it was quite crude. Your route went green if you were fast and red if you were slow. It wasn't until I started looking that I realised there were loads out there... and I tried most of them at the time. Endomondo, Map My Run.... STRAVA!! I had found strava! A few cyclists at work put me on to it. It had everything. Heart rate, routes, maps, speed... the phone app gave you decent "on the go" updates and best of all... the social networking. The opportunity to give 'Kudos', take the piss and have the piss taken out of yourself. Segments - the ability to race against other athletes or yourself, at any time... everything in one place. This was the main reason for my re-introduction back into fitness. The constant mini challenges and goals.

I managed to win the first race against Chris... i like to think i achieved it on ability but in reality, he was just getting over an illness... but a win is a win... I was happy I still had some ability. A time of 43:58 for 10K. Dad tells me that he achieved something like a 36min... the guy I used to run with back in school is now achieving 32min 10K's! I had some work to do... Chris was cycling to work at the time and I knew I would have to join him if I was to stay ahead. Running just in the evenings took up a lot of time. Eating at the right time, running, recovering, washing... not to mention actually carrying out your normal life long chores. I bought a bike... first was a second hand hard tail... Saracen MaxTrax 1996 model.... bomber front suspension... she was ruined... but she got me to work for the first few months. I started to realise how much money I was saving. I managed to convince the Mrs (LouLou) that if I bought a new road bike, it would pay for itself after a few months (5). This was true... but what they fail to explain when you buy your first bike is the N+1 rule... and on top of that is the clothes!! How much for Lycra!!??

I got the roadie... a Fuji Sportif 1.3 Compact 2014. Cheap, cheerful and went against pretty much everyone's advice. But Fudge has served me well... clocked up nearly 7K miles with no major issues. Routine maintenance and cleaning has kept her rolling smoothly.

As soon as I started riding the road bike I was addicted! I loved the commute. I loved the weekend rides. I loved the Strava cycling! I knew more people into cycling than running... It was this that changed my preference. I was now a cyclist! The story begins...