Tuesday 9 December 2014

That’s How a Superhero Learns to Fly



On Sunday I went to the Lee Valley VeloPark to watch the London round of the UCI Track World Cup 2014.  Track cycling is my favourite sport; it’s so exciting to watch and I love the fact that Great Britain is so good at it!  Lee Valley is where the track cycling for the London 2012 Olympics took place, and whilst I’d enjoyed watching track racing on TV on the odd occasion for a few years, this was the time that made me realise I just had to try this sport out for myself.  



So that’s what I did.  I found out there’s an outdoor velodrome in Bournemouth, not far from where I live, went along to a taster session then over the next few weeks attended three more beginners’ sessions until I became an accredited track rider.  By this time the summer season was over, meaning since the Bournemouth track is outdoors there was to be no more riding there for a good few months.  Fortunately I can a really good tip about some winter training that was available, from a chap I worked with at the time (no less than Gary Dighton who competed in the team time trial at the Barcelona 1992 Olympics!).  He recommended a weekly indoor ‘turbo’ session that took place really close to my house (for those who don’t know, a turbo is a piece of equipment that you can fix the back wheel of a bike to and ride stationary, which is great for controlled sessions and training when the weather’s bad). 




The guy who ran these turbo sessions I started going to is Adam, who, when a few months later I decided to try my hand at racing, became my coach.  I trained hard from March onwards and that summer made my racing debuts both on the track and on road time trial.  A winter of intense training followed; my riding really improved and I put in some good racing/time trial performances this summer just gone too.  Sadly part-way through the race season I decided to take a step back to focus on my career.  Training for track racing is really intense; you have to give it 100% to do well, and it’s draining mentally as much as it is physically.  I think making this decision was the best thing for me at the time, but I still dream of getting back to racing one day!




Going to Lee Valley on Sunday made me think of the fact that this was the very place that inspired me to get into track cycling to begin with.  It reminded me that if you really put your mind to something you can do it: coming to a sport at age 22 I knew it was unlikely I was going to end up at elite level or anything, but I worked hard, did well and got loads of praise from coaches who watched me develop and progress over those couple of years.  Right now, although I’m happy with some elements of my career (mainly that I’m studying for a Masters), there are others I’m yet to find my feet with (I’m struggling to get myself paid work that allows me to work anywhere near my full potential).  Going to the World Cup at the weekend has led to reflection on what I’ve achieved over the last few years and gives me a little boost of inspiration to keep pushing and working hard; if I keep doing this then this will come right.




I’ve spoken in a previous post (The Stairway to Heaven…) about positives coming out of hardship, and that’s what I’m really trying to remember right now.  In some of my blog posts a bang on about things people can do to keep themselves feeling good, and in a challenging time I myself am having to work really hard to practice what I preach!  I’m always inspired by people who overcome adversity to achieve amazing things (see You’re the Inspiration) and this is the case for my track cycling hero Laura Trott. 




This girl never fails to make a race really worth watching and wins gold after gold after gold for Team GB; not only this but off the track she always seems bright, down to earth and funny.  I love the juxtaposition between this bubbly character that we see in interviews and the sheer focus we see in the lead up to a race!  Anyway, although Laura is one of Britain’s best female athletes, her journey hasn’t been without it’s challenges: she was born with a collapsed lung and later diagnosed with asthma, being advised to use sport to help regulate her breathing.  But physical training with a health condition isn’t always plain sailing: in interviews I’ve heard Laura talk about the fact that sometimes she ‘trains so hard her teeth hurt!’, and she can often be observed throwing up after a race (poor girl!). She defies these challenges, brushes them off and carries on, and is incredibly successful as a result. 




In the coming weeks and months, I may continue to face the same struggles I have done over recent ones.  But my recent visit to Lee Valley VeloPark has given me a little bit of extra motivation to push through and carry on working hard in the face of hardship.  I hope this has made for a decent read and that you enjoy my pictures from the track! 




 





 








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