The Road to New York City Part 5 – Ride London 100

Friday 23rd August 2019 (12.52pm)

Over the last few weeks the training has continued which at times has not been easy as I have battled frustrations with performance. What I am doing, which I know I should not be doing is comparing myself to where I was at last year. Obviously last year I was one month out from Ironman Wales and in a good place physically after working hard all year.

Earlier in the month I took part in Ride London 100. An epic closed road ride around London and Surrey. Considering my bike training has been poor this year I was happy with how it went. There were a couple of tough climbs which tested the legs and at one point I even gave in and walked. No harm in that. I made sure that I adequately fulled making good use of the feed hubs. My plan was to get around the route and bag the medal at the end. I was not concerned by time or positioning and I do not know what my official time was.

     

Having run the London Marathon and swam 2 miles of the Serpentine, finishing the ride entered me in to the London Classics Hall of Fame. By finishing all three of the London events I proudly picked up the biggest medal that I have ever seen. It was lovely to be recognised by ‘London marathon events’ as when I crossed the finish line, I was taken off to the VIP area, given both of my medals, interviewed and papped. I will be forever grateful to the BBC, The Royal Foundation and Heads Together for the platform which I was given in 2017. Without this, these events would have passed me by.

         

I have been asked which is the best event out of the three and I must say that it is the marathon. The prestige, the global recognition, the history and the spirit make it special. I missed doing it this year but maybe one day soon I will be on the start line once again.

        

I am excited to see what New York will bring but I am confident that it will reach the heights of London. As September nears and time ticks by I will gradually need to ramp up the training. At the moment I am training 5 days a week, a mixture of swimming and running. My run times vary between 45 minutes and 1 hr 45 but I also like to chuck a leisurely park run in on a Saturday morning to finish the week off. 

Yesterday, I got just over 11 miles into my 1hr 45 but I found it really hard. I did not fuel myself properly and ended up having to stop off at a shop to grab a bottle of water. I can usually run this distance no problem but yesterday the tank was empty and I could have easily walked the last couple of miles. My head would not let me though as I struggled on. This is just proof of an off day which we all experience from time to time.

Today I was supposed to be swimming a 1600m recovery swim, but I have passed this up. I have the opportunity to sea swim with some others later so I will see how things go.

As for the head, its battles on, nothing really stable about it. It has no idea how it is going to be from one day to the next. Yet strangely or maybe somewhat contradictory it often gives advanced warning. Maybe I need to be better at giving others advanced warning too.

The work situation continues with me being in the same place as I was at the beginning of 2018, though this time it is with a different diagnosis.  I am waiting to see the Selected Medical Practitioner (SMP) who again will decide (a) if I am unfit for work and (b) is this permanent in line with police pension regulations. 

I have no idea when this appointment will be but I hope it is soon as I just want some resolution to this all.