Burnt Out

In search of the root of my short-comings at Mayhem, I looked over my training for the earlier part of the year. The base had been good, and I was churning out the highest zone 2 wattage I’d ever managed by the middle of March. The build phase of late March and April produced a good result for the Nightrider 12, and everything seemed fine. Then I got ill. For over 2 weeks I didn’t ride, and then only had a short preparation period for Trans Scotland. Trans Scotland took quite a bit out of me I think. Besides the physical aspect of riding a bike hard for 7 consecutive days, there’s mental fatigue in there too. The result was me going into Mayhem a little more tired than I realised, and I lacked the mental commitment that helped drive me to 3rd place at SITS last year.

After Mayhem I rested a bit. When I got back on the bike I just felt empty, and quickly realised that I wasn’t going to be able to turn things around for Sleepless in the Saddle.

To try and improve on the successes of last season has taken a massive amount of commitment which, sadly, has left me a little broken. So, here endeth two and half years of hard training. While there’s still some summer left, I can retreat to the Welsh Hills with Beth and chill out a bit – something that I’ve not done enough of for a long time.