At the beginning of 2024 I decided to put competing in cycling and running on hold in order to fully focus on achieving the best possible result from a full-time Master's in University of Limerick. With a high workload of study and my own coaching from January to June, there was no time to fit in the necessary 13-20 hour training weeks needed to be competitive at elite level.
However, I knew I had to maintain consistency within my training in order to be able to return down the road. Having experience as an athlete, endurance coach and sports scientist was a great benefit to understanding how to maintain a level of aerobic conditioning and strength. A very important factor was knowing I couldn't go any more than 3 days without structured aerobic and strength training. When you're on a training program with a significantly reduced volume and workload than you're used to, your body isn't going to adapt the same. So making sure to train consistently is vital.
The Drop in Aerobic Conditioning.
Throughout January to June I trained on a very low volume, on average 7.5 hours per week, all tracked via TrainingPeaks. At least 40% of this was strength and conditioning work in the gym with the remaining 60% mixed between aerobic conditioning on the bike and running. As a sports scholarship athlete, being able to use the UL Sport arena was a great help during this period for s&c work.
With such a busy Master's workload, I didn't even bring the bike down to UL with me for the 6 months I was living in Limerick, I knew I only had 1 to 1.5 hours to train per day. The time spent putting my kit on and getting the bike ready was too inefficient for only having 1-1.5 hours to train. Most days particularly from February to April were 9-5 in lectures, then 6 to 10 or 11 pm in the library. Either train early in the morning for an hour or in the evening.
Being time efficient in the gym with the WattBike and being able to transition to some s&c work was what kept some of my conditioning maintained. Don't get me wrong, my aerobic capacity was nowhere near as close to where it was in 2023, I registered a VO2 Max of only 56 ml/kg/min during a lab practical in UL in April of this year (wearing normal clothes), which was 15 ml/kg/min off my VO2 Max from 2023 of 71 ml/kg/min and 19 ml/kg/min off my highest recorded VO2 Max of 75 ml/kg/min from 2015.
S&C Programming.
The majority of s&c work aimed to maintain leg strength and power, with a focus on strength exercises such as low repetition squats and deadlifts (conventional and trap bar) all at 90-95% 1RM. As technique improved on olympic lifts I also started to emphasise power exercises including Hang Power Cleans and Barbell Box Squat Vertical Jumps. One weakness in my performance was my short term power, while I could hit 1100w in a sprint, maintaining this was where I needed to improve.
These main compound strength and power exercises were always programmed at the start of the session with isolation exercises focusing on specific muscle groups within cycling and running such as calf raises, leg extensions, leg curls and unilateral lower body exercises. I will do another post on the full background to my maintenance work completed during this period.
The Breathing Issue.
I've had 4 visits to the hospital this year for scans and check-ups before surgery for my long-term breathing issue. This surgery should take place within the next 10 months, however, I thought it would be sooner. With it being an expensive surgical procedure, I've been on the waiting list for over 3 years and a definite day is not pencilled in yet. Having had this issue for 10 years now, I've learned to train and compete as best as possible with the limitations it brings. The main thing it affects is recovery which then impacts performance due to airflow issues. Apart form that, I wear nose clips on the bike sometimes to widen the nostril which helps.
I have a broken nose and also a deviated septum, limited breathing through my nose. One side of my nose is completely blocked and reduces airflow, my current breathing capacity is around 80%. Thankfully all procedures going well, my doctor explained this will have a great impact on my aerobic performance and recovery once fixed. For any cyclists out there, it is similar to what Giulio Ciccone had completed.
In the mean time, my training volume has increased substantially to an average of 13-14 hours per week now that I have the thesis remaining along with other work commitments.
Some may remember I shared the #roadto1 journey from 2020 - 2023 on social media and I enjoyed the process. I'll be sharing this again. I had some great sponsors over those years such as Backballer, Chain Reaction Cycles and Primal to name a few and will be partnering with new sponsors soon.
There is nothing like putting in the work to achieve your athletic potential and over the next 10-15 years I'll work to achieve that. You see a lot of people give up on achieving their athletic potential because of what other people say. It's important to remember not everyone reaches their athletic potential at a young age. Don't give up because someone said 'you're too old' or because someone thinks you're not good enough. Only those who keep pushing consistently will find out what they can really achieve in the long term.
Thanks for reading.
G
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