NEW BEGINNING....WATTAGE, MATT BOTTRILL and a new start......Euro 2016 qualification.

It has been a rather tough month and if you asked me how I felt 4 weeks ago I would have gave you an honest answer and it would have been rather confused. I  was on a taper week ready to race clumber classic after a rather crap race two week prior. I had no idea how I was going to race and was very worried that it would be another repeat performance of a substandard race....and low and behold it was another very poor race by my standards. I wanted more from racing and have worked my ass off during the winter (turns out making myself weaker and weaker, week on week). After these very disappointing results I found myself very lost and didnt know what to do where to turn or what step to make next, I also had Horst European Duathlon Championships on the horizon...so it was crunch time. I needed to now make some decisions, first of which was getting a coach, this was and I hope to be a fundamental and critical decision to contribute towards me making progress in the future. I almost want to achieve too much and have been burring myself week in and out and doing far to much with not enough of the right stuff. I can now see and say that I was chronically fatigued and am now starting to shake it and come out of it, but there is still more work to be done there.

The coach I have chosen for my new beginning is Matt Bottrill, his credentials talk for them self and he is one of the most talented time trialist's to ever grace the British shores with some fantastic records for numerous distances.



http://www.mattbottrillperformancecoaching.com/


Matt is going to look after my cycling and provide me with the correct training plans to improve my cycling. I know this isnt a quick fix...what it? So I am in it for the long run to suffer and strive to improve my cycling and get faster! The first thing Matt told me was, if you want me to make you faster you must train to wattage...so thats what ive done, and the chosen type of power meter is stages. This was recommended by a friend and has been great so far. Wattage has no variance and is what it is, you push what you push and things like caffeine will not alter it. So on wards and upwards!  Next stop....new bike?


The next decision was, what do I do about Horsts? obviously the race had now passed, but it was a very hard decision especially because it was something that I was working towards all winter....but I decided to pull. It was a hard decision, but certainly the correct one. I had such high aspirations to do well at Horst but it just didnt work out, the training and focus was lost due to many things and I just had to make the best decision for myself!



Although I had such a bad race at Clumber Park duathlon I did however manage to qualify for the European Duathlon Championships in 2016, which as a slight silver lining. This is something to aim for and a realistic goal to aim for to achieve something serious in the sport.

NEW TOY!


So where to go next, I have a program in place, a new coach, a few new toys and a summer of miles and improvements! The winter almost killed me and now I have a coach to make sure this does not happen again!


Also watch this new space for some new recipes..............

Waffles................BOOM! www.pulsin.co.uk

So I have brought a waffle iron, yes a waffle iron. I can hear the gluten free, high protein waffle imagination cogs turning. I have been tempted to buy one for a little while now and oh my what a joy, literally so much pleasure when you see a perfectly formed waffle come out!

Protein Waffles - First ever attempt.....and it begins!

Second attempt and recipe below. Getting adventurous, Chia Charge and pulsin protein waffles. No flour in sight!

Ingredients:

100g Pulsin pea protein powder www.pulsin.co.uk

Half - a Chia Charge bar http://chiacharge.co.uk/buy-chia-charge-flapjacks.html

50g Ground Almonds 

2 eggs (whisked)

50ml Almond milk

Mix all the dry ingredients into one bowl, and make sure they have combined well.

Mix all the wet ingredients in another bowl, make sure that they are whisked well. 

Combine the two together and make sure it isnt too think, if it is then add a little more almond milk. The batter should be a little gloopy, but too thick. 

Spray the waffle iron with a spray oil, I use coconut oil spray (trust its best)! 

Leave the waffle iron to do its thing, and come back to it and check its not burnt, then leave it till crispy and soft. I serve mine with www.meridianfoods.co.uk almond butter and it was delicious. 

VELOTEC

http://www.velotec.co.uk/


http://www.velotec.co.uk/tri.html

Velotec's Tri suit is instantly comfortable whether cycling or running. It was instantly likable as soon as put it on. The armholes have a larger mesh on the rear, which frees up your shoulder blades and makes it a real pleasure to run in. The smooth pad has good thicknesses and is a perfectly nice platform to be perched upon even during longer rides. The material is stretchy and supportive so it doesn’t restrict movement in any of the disciplines, while the open back allows free arm movement when running. Ventilation is good thanks to the front zip, and when testing it I also had a base layer on and still felt extremely comfortable. It is functional as well because of the pockets at the back which allow you to store gels and nutrition. It is comfortable from the off set and you can tell the quality from the start. this is an extremely well put together tri suit and will be hard to beat. 

Verdict
A decent suit that does everything well and has great upper body freedom, high quality comfort and reliable.

http://www.velotec.co.uk/cycling.html

Delicious Alchemy - Gluten free bread mix

http://www.deliciousalchemy.co.uk/


I had the pleasure of being able to bake some delicious gluten free bread at the weekend. This gluten free bread mix is very easy to use because all you need to do it add water and oil. It takes the stress out of making bread, although it does take a little practice before you get it right, so I recommend ordering a few packets and not giving up at the first try.

http://www.deliciousalchemy.co.uk/product/brown-bread-mix/

I made four different batches at the weekend and they all tasted great and toasting them was unreal, so light and delicious. I made a normal brown bread mix, a nutmeg and chocolate loaf, a vanilla and honey protein loaf (my fave) and a coffee and chocolate loaf (didn't quite work, but it was worth a go).

 

Here is the brown bread mix, it was my first attempt and to be honest found it hard to make it raise. Without a bread mixer it was hard to add air for the rise and it baked a little dense. It was very tasty though and I e enjoyed it toasted alot!

 

Above is the chocolate and nutmeg loaf, it turned out very well and actually very tatsy, it ended up more like a desert loaf. It was delicious with a cup of coffee, and my mother also agreed!

I added, 3 desert spoons of coco and 1 large table spoon of nutmeg. This was the perfect amount and I also needed to add an extra 50ml of water to the mixture and beat for 3 mins and not 2 1/2 as recommended.




The above were made on Saturday and with the experience of these I moved on to being more adventures. On Sunday I made the protein loaf and the coffee and chocolate loaf.

 

For the protein bread I had to add a few more ingredients, I had to add 2 scoops of protein powder http://www.pulsin.co.uk/ , 2 table spoons of honey and 50ml of water. Due to the extra power from the protein I had to beat it for longer, but carfully and try to add as much air as possible because it was a heavier dough mix. This proved to be more successful and had more of a raise then the others, this was to my surprise! I had it toasted with some jam and butter and wow what a treat. It took 3 attempts ot get a good raise and a good bake but I did it!


Last but not least I tried a coffee and chocolate loaf....well it was ok.....just not great at all. So I wont be posting that one..hahahhahahahha.


THOUGHTS;

The mix was very easy to use and the instructions are floor less, impossible to not get right. I would recommend splashing a little water in the over to add moister to make a better bake and help the raise. Helping the bread raise is tricky, leaving it to prove doesnt really do much unless you get the mixing part right. Mix the dough well, and carefully, beat air into it and not out of it! Then leave it to prove for 30-40mins in a warm place. Then bake it....this should help alot!

GOOD LUCK! and ENJOY!  

@pulsin - NEW MINT CHOC CHIP PROTEIN BAR ----- WOW! Delicious.

This is by far the tastiest bar to date! wow what a creation. The mint isn't too over powering and the chocolaty goodness comes through. The protein is obviously an added bonus to the equation!

This bar is perfect for an on the go recovery,  a protein snack or even with a nice cuppa at the end of the day for a healthy gluten free desert. I would not question giving this to anyone and telling them just how good it is. It will literally fly off the shelves with it tasting this good, you will have to go back for me after trying them.

A delicious, protein-packed alternative to a chocolate bar.

Enriched with raw rice protein, Pulsin's Mint Choc Chip Protein Snack is designed to give you sustained energy release without the crash. Containing a generous smattering of chocolate chips as well as a healthy handful of cashews and real peppermint oil

Protein is needed to build muscle and to stay healthy, making these bars ideal for athletes in training, those looking to lose weight, or anyone who needs an energy lift during the day.

• Vegan
 
• No added sugar
 
• Dairy Free
 
• Gluten Free
 
• No Trans Fats
 
• Non GMO

http://www.pulsin.co.uk/pulsin-snack-bars/mint-choc-chip

Dinner time @pulsin Chorizo Pancakes

Dinner time @pulsin Chorizo Pancakes


Prep time: 10 minutes       Cook time: 10 minutes       Serves: 1 (about 3-4 depending on size)

Ingredients

- 100g chorizo 
- 40g pea protein 
- 50ml of soya milk
-2 egg

- 50g spinach
-50g seed mix

Directions

-Heat up a pan on the hob on a medium heat (make sure it isn't too hot because it will burn the pancake). fry the chorizo once its been chopped into little pieces.  

-Add the egg to the bowl, whisk and then add the milk and whisk again to combine. 

-Then add the dry ingredients, spinach, mix seeds and protein. Must then mix it all together to for the batter. 

-Cook the pancakes slowly in the pan, the wetter the mixture the longer it will take. after around 3-4mins flip the pancake. After another 3-4mins the pancake should be ready.

SUPRISE, thrills, spills, strength and pain! Oh and my BDAY!

I need to start this blog by saying I had one of the most incredible weekends of my life, I past my Masters officially (finally), confirmed I will be moving into my first house (still renting), has my highest every finish in the Birmingham XC league and man alive they are fast, rode very well at a local cycling race/reliability (race not a race, those cyclist crack me up), but most of all I had the best pre-birthday present ever. My amazing girlfriend got together all of my friends and surprised me with a bday party! I was clueless! amazing night......still overwhelmed. Just all in all a very happy and successful 3 days! But not now have the fatigue to battle with, with any true hard, grit your teeth effort there is always DOMs, this is the hard part to deal with. I really don't like being fatigues, find it hard to deal with the rest of the world when I feel like this, work and socializing are tough. I just want to train and sleep and get through it and out the other side.

Now the Winter is defiantly here and the temperature is here there and everywhere. At the moment things look like they are improving and this is a good sign as race season is almost here. I'm excited to now think about racing multi-sport again. I have had some ups and downs during the winter like most I imagine and now want to come out of it and see if training has pain off, all the sweat dripped on the spin class floor, the cold hands and feet when outside on the bike and running the icy paths combines to make me stronger and faster.

Birmingham League XC - Malvern Cycle sport reliability 

Racing in the Birmingham top division this year has been some experience. The quality has been unreal, the winner of 2 of the races has been Phil Wylie who is possible the best pro duathlete in the UK at the moment finishing 7th at the duathlon world champs last year. This weekend Tom Lowe http://www.tomlowe.org http://triathlete-europe.competitor.com/2012/02/16/interview-tom-lowe who is a fantastic athlete finished 28th at the weekend just to put into perspective the quality of the field.

I was able to produce my best performance in a XC race to date, the race the last XC of the season so alot of people wanted to end on a high. The pace set off fast as usual, and continued to be for the first lap. I was somehow able to keep with a high pace and felt fine, just felt like I was able to sustain a good pace (dont get me wrong  blowing). I was able to continue this throughout the race and after 20mins find my rhythm as usual, after this I was then able to push on and keep pushing through to the finish! I was up with runners that I havent even seen before so this showed that I was going faster than previous races and finished strong with a 56th place, which was a fantastic finish to the XC season. Worcester the team I race for dont have a deep quality racing team but they are great bunch of guys and I love to race for and with them and have enjoyed the season although it has been tough and we have unfortunately been relegated to the second tear (kinda nice to think I will be able to push for a high finish next year). All in all a very successful race.

http://www.birminghamccleague.co.uk/

Finally it came to a weekend when I was able to make a reliability (cycle race, not a race, most certain a race), due to weather, commitments, illness, fatigue or whatever has got in the way so I was very keen to finally be able to ride and see if all the cycling/spin and measured effort etc had actually been working. My legs were tired due to the XC race and there was an opportunity to ride with a very fast group who were aiming to do the 52 miles in sub 2.20 (they did 2.18), But never the less I went with the 2.45 group. We actually finished the ride in 2.22, not shabby and very fast. With two major climbs that I knew very well I always felt that I was going to be able push up them and keep the pace, which is exactly what happened. Although I have been working hard indoors recently, you still have major doubt in you mind that you might not be able to transfer this to the road and or be able to sustain it for the duration of 50 miles plus. But the race went well and I held on to be in the final group throughout the race, which I was very pleased about.

https://www.strava.com/activities/252698695

Pre Bday suprise

Well this had to be one of the most amazing things if not the most amazing thing that has happened to me, I was expecting to go out for dinner and enjoy a nice quite night with my girlfriend. Dinner for two to celebrate my birthday this coming weekend 14th Feb!

But oh no......We walked into restaurant and then towards the back rooms, which was all fine and I didnt suspect anything, until.....the curtains we drawn and then pulled back and all my friends were there.....SURPRISE!!! what an amazing thing, I literally was overwhelmed and replying to people saying happy birthday with the same back to them. I was literally lost for words and still am completely. My girlfriend has helped me through some kinda hard times the past month or so, and we are not every closer. I love her to the end of the world, she gets annoyed at how tired I am, how many hours I train, but completely understands........well most of the time anyways.

So a Fantastic training and racing weekend, and I am sitting here writing this extremely fatigued, very hungry (even after just eating), sugar and coffee free.....for the moment, thinking I am never going to feel normal again hahahaha dam fatigue!!!



 Too true!!