Cobbled hills and Pouring rain!!!

(what a bike..... COBRA Flanders!!!)

Since Antwerp I have been spending a large majority of time trying to get my body to recovery from the battering that it took. I did this mainly by Taking short low intensity recovery rides that allowed my body to steadily flush the excessive lactic build up from my legs, 15mins of stretching each evening focusing mainly on my legs steadily worked the tightness and knots out of my muscles increasing recovery, I also used arnica based muscle rubs such as Molloys Lifestyle Pharmacies Joint & Muscle Rub working it into the muscles on a regular basis to help reduce post race inflammation which I find very helpful after hard bouts of racing and training, another way to reduce the inflammation was to take the arnica in Tablet form from the brand Weleda also available in the pharmacy you may be under the influence reading this that I am just trying to flog these products but the fact is studies have shown that all these methods do indeed promote faster recovery and in turn better performance, but its hard to beat an ice cold post race bath which dramatically reduces inflammation and increases circulation. I also own compression socks and tights so wearing these as often as I can increases circulation in my legs and aids the Lymphatic system to remove toxins and lactic acid, the compression also increases the rate at which damaged and worn muscle tissue repairs. In terms of post race diet, I focused mainly in keeping my protein intake high (not overdoing it) adding a boiled egg to my normal breakfast and a tin of tuna to lunch with a small protein shake alongside dinner for a few days after, providing my body with the nutrients needed for recovery. I was also recently supplied a self massaging tool from my sponsor Molloys Lifestyle Pharmacies and Health food stores which is one of the best items I have ever gotten my hands on, It is a rolling pin design with raised foam edges that work deep into the muscle triggering knots and forcing tight muscles to relax, It also has soft handles which can be used to target sore and tender trigger points. I have been using the massager after races and hard training sessions, apply deep therapy and light work when it is needed, I feel it has aided in my post race recovery massively and within the next while I intend to have a detailed video post on the item but with me being in Belgium and the availability of massages being very limited means having a portable device like this is invaluable. Again all of these products and many more are available In Molloys Lifestyle Pharmacies and Health Food stores. It’s important that when one intends to get as much as they can from their sport that they focus on all aspects of development and it is the recovery and nutrition that is often overlooked, and in the words of well known professional cyclist Bobby Jullich “My number 1 asset as a bike racer is my recovery”.
Recently my front cosmic carbone SL wheel gave in on me. when cruising down the road on it the braking surface literally bent out under the pressure of the tire, this was due to wear on the braking surface and the more the surface wore down the weaker it became until eventually the 120psi within the rime exploded out, fortunately I was not injured. Without wheels I had to make my way to the local bike shop were i got my hands on a pair of fulcrum 5's which are running great at the moment but after a few cobble sections and curbs put them through the test we shall soon see
I raced twice over the last weekend, it was meant to be Saturday and Sunday but due to some bad cooking on my behalf I was bed ridden on Saturday but no fear as I managed to pull myself round to race both Sunday and Monday instead.
Sunday’s race was 15km from my home so it was to provide me the perfect opportunity to warm up properly before the event. On the start line I was feeling nervous about what lay ahead, especially with the sickness taking the wind out of my sails 2 days earlier. But as the flag dropped and we rolled out, natural instinct kicked in, battling my way to the head of the bunch I kept out of the wind and positioned myself good, my team mate at this stage was attempting to launch an early break away move but was unsuccessful as the technical course and strong wind did not suit such a move. In each lap there was a challenging hill, short but very steep and what made it worse was that we descended down a narrow lane and then immediately turned onto the climb which killed all momentum and made it even harder for those at the rear. As the laps rocked by the sky began to darken and out of nowhere it rained cats and dogs, Bucket loads spilled onto the streets and the mass amount of surface water made cornering treacherous, splits began to occur in the field and those unable for the relentless pace were left behind, luckily I was upfront and as the paced increased further, nerves of steel and good bike handling skills enabled me to keep up, With 1 final lap to go the front bunch had been whittled to a mere 30 riders and as we rounded the last bend I sprinted hard in the closing metres to attain 18th, one of my best results to date. If you are interested in reading about my Race on the Monday and how I got my best result in Belgium so far, Pick up a Sligo Weekender Newspaper and get my final few weekly updates about my racing in Belgium from my column inside!!