Middle aged woman on a bike
But getting to that fitness level was hard. I’m not just talking about the physical efforts of improving my speed, power and endurance, but also dealing with all the added symptoms I was dealing with by going through the menopause. My sleep was dreadful, often barely getting 6 hours sleep a night, I couldn’t regulate my body temperature, and my mood was swinging all over the place. In many ways though my menopause symptoms have been mild.
Since completing my LEJOGLE world record, I’ve been honoured to be asked to talk about it on a number of Podcasts. All the links are below if you want to take a listen. Although some aspects remain the same in each, they are all very unique, and you'll learn something different in each one.
I'm still a little nervous if I'm honest about embarking on an off-road ultra that is approx 8 times in distance further than anything I have done so far in training. As someone who have never done this kind of thing before, one way to help me sort out my nerves has been to understand what the route is going to throw at me
From long distance road rider to off roader - what I’ve learned since making the transition. Forget everything you once knew about speed… 10 mph could be a very good average, but so can 6 mph. Some trails will be fast and exciting, whilst at other times you might be…..
It's a common feeling when you've been preparing for so long for something so big. The crash that comes after the event. It comes regardless of whether you were triumphant, or things didn't go to plan. The success of the event is just a volume button really to the emptiness that is invariably felt once the euphoria (or disappointment) wears off.
Whenever you want to attempt something pretty epic, it's generally a good idea to have some kind of plan. And like a good Cub Scout it helps to always be prepared.