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"I began time trialling in 1965 and as a junior I was
fortunate enough to win
some medals in the Junior 25 championships. I decided quite early
that I
wanted to ride short distance TTs and I was lucky to have the likes of Alf
Engers, Joe Mummery and Trevor Morgan as mentors. Like many others
though I
drifted out of the sport in my early twenties although maintaining an
interest until I got serious again in 1981. For three years I was
training
hard doing around 250 - 300 miles a week based around my ride to work and
the PBs came as a result. I couldn't keep it up though and then
personal
problems took me out of the competitive side of the sport again.
However, in 2005 my circumstances had changed considerably and after a few
years of road running, I was again able to indulge seriously in my first
love. Although I had no winter miles behind me I finished 2005 with
a
21-minute 10 and a 57-minute 25 in the bag. I realised I could still
do it
and more importantly that I really wanted to do it. I self-trained
for 2006
and 2007 and due in some measure to a medical problem didn't really
progress, although the 10 mile PB came down a bit more. I began to
realise
that I needed some better guidance to enable me to take advantage of new
technology and training methods to achieve my goals and started looking
for
a coach.
After one expensive false start with quite a well-known coach, I made
contact with John. He knew that 2008 was going to be difficult
because I
had spent the winter running in training for the London marathon, but he
took me on. My first programme from John started the day after the
marathon
and within 6 weeks he has extracted a 21-minute 10 and an age group medal
in
the fastest ever National 10 championship out of me. At last I know
exactly
what I should be doing and why, so that all I have to think about is
riding
the bike. I trust his judgement and although some of it is alien to
what I
have picked up over the last 40 years or so, I have faith. Whenever
I have
a query, I just send an email and within 24 hours I have a response and if
an adjustment needs to be made, John is just as quick to revamp the
programme. With this help, I'm convinced that even though I'm now
56, it is
just a matter of time before I start to realise my potential."
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