Martin Thomas's blog

I was so flushed with joy about putting that pesky cold behind me last week that I skipped to the gym on Monday and heaved and hoed (?) with a little too much gay abandon. I think it was the asymmetrical deep squats with a kettle ball that did for me because I felt a slight twinge in my lower back mid-squat and sure enough the following morning I woke up with some very dodgy lumbar pain.

Tomorrow (13 February) was a big day in the build-up to this year’s Race Against Time. The 15 riders were going to meet for the first time and cycle together around a 65-mile loop near Guildford.

I was really looking forward to meeting my fellow LEJOGers, comparing notes on the training and fund-raising challenges we all face and learning something about riding in a group – something I’ve got very little experience of. 

I went for a 75-mile training ride yesterday – and thanks to the magic of the internet I can show you exactly where I went. 

I wasn’t pushing it – I think my average was somewhere between 16 and 17mph – and I felt pretty strong most of the time. But with about 18 miles to go I started getting really tired and had to stop for an emergency banana and Lucozade.

What is it with us roadies? Why aren’t we a bit more cheerful when we pass each other? What’s with the po-faced reluctance to acknowledge fellow cyclists who have the temerity to smile, nod, wave or otherwise express solidarity? 

Time and again I’ve nodded and smiled at oncoming cyclists only to be rudely blanked, leaving me bemused, mildly irritated and, yes, even a little hurt.

I’m contemplating laying off the booze until after The Race Against Time to help my training.

There, that doesn’t sound too complicated does it? All I have to do is decide one way or the other and go with whatever I decide. And yet it doesn’t feel quite that simple.

I noticed a shopping list forming in my head as I plodded my way through another turbo trainer session the other day.

It was sparked off by the idea that it might be nice to have a fan to cool me down while on the TT – I don’t think I’m the only one in my family to be really quite alarmed at how much I sweat when I’m on that thing.

There are two elements to my winter training plan as I prepare for this summer's LEJOG: cycling a lot and going to the gym a bit.

There are three main reasons for the gym: the first is to build up a little strength and flexibility in my sedentary worker’s shoulders, hopefully to ease the pain that builds there over longer rides. Another is to strengthen my core muscles to protect my slightly dodgy back. The third is to add some power to my haunches to give me a bit more welly.

In 167 days I'm going to be one of 15 cyclists on the start line of The Race Against Time, a Land's End to John O'Groats ride that takes six days - which translates to an average of something like 145 miles a day.