94.7, here I come again! Watch out!
Many people, including my psychiatrist, Dr Jerry Bezuindenhout, asked me if I would do the 94.7 cycle challenge again this year. At first I said no because I’m training for a triathlon and there would not be enough time to get on the road to do the required number of hours with my bike, but he encouraged me that my muscle power from the swimming and running would add extra strength for cycling.
After the race last year, I have never ridden further than forty kilometers. In a triathlon, it would only be necessary to do twenty kilometres, so why train for more than forty?
I only have four months to train. My first thoughts for a training programme were that I would start by doing a forty and evaluate myself to see how long my body’s endurance lasted, then take it from there. But cycling forty kilometres felt like such a drag. Two days later I set out to do a sixty but I ended up doing a seventy.
‘Wow! Where did that come from?’I asked myself. I noticed the different kind of muscle strength that Dr Jerry talked about. After cycling seventy kilometers, I had no cramps or pain in my body. I only had to do thirty more to get to a hundred and that it is more than possible in the months to come. This gives me enough time to work on endurance for steep hills, not that the hills on my route can be compared to the hills of the 94.7.
I am looking forward to hold my second 94.7 cycle-challenge medal in my hand!
By Deon Labuschagne
Vista Clinic Happiness HELPS Ambassador
