Men’s Fitness journalist Mark Bailey explains how – after 5 months of hard work and eating “like a ballerina” – it finally felt like to take part in the Bupa Challenge Tour…

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On the day I took part in the Bupa Challenge Tour, a rare opportunity to ride a full 138km stage of a professional bike race – the Tour Down Under – on the same day as the professional riders, my thoughts began to turn a little strange.

For five months I had been slithering out of bed on bleak, cold Sunday mornings to repeatedly ride up and down hills in the North Downs in a bid to get fit, eaten like a ballerina to stay slim enough to survive the heat of an Australian summer and spent endless evenings staring blankly at a small chip in the beige paint of the gym wall during painful two-hour spinning sessions. I can still see it now.

After so much hard work, I began to get paranoid. I delicately manoeuvred my legs out of bed in case I somehow twisted my ankle on a stray bottle of sun tan lotion. I eyed plates of restaurant food for any sign of unsanitary kitchen methods with the eyebrow-raising suspicion of Belgian sleuth Hercule Poirot. The word ‘puncture’ sounded like a swear word, so cruel were its connotations.

Then I saw a bunch of professional riders guzzling beer and cackling in one of Adelaide’s cafes on the night before the ride and realised that I was, in short, being an idiot. If the pros can relax, so could I. This, after all, was a challenge, not a race. Although, as any man will say, that’s not strictly true.

The morning of the ride began with a 5am alarm call. I gulped down a banana and an energy bar and cycled the short ride to Norwood, in the suburbs of Adelaide, where the ride began.

The scale of the event shocked me, with 5,000 riders, all wearing matching red jerseys, lining the streets. Groups of club riders mingled with families, muscular young guys on carbon fibre bikes alongside grey-haired old men on mountain bikes. One even looked like my granddad. The challenge for many was simply to complete the course. I had been commissioned to take on the challenge by Men’s Fitness magazine which meant I needed to do it well – i.e. at least faster than those old men.

Which group you started in depended on your average speed, from 30kph plus to 15kph and below. I guessed I was between 20-25kph – I had trained too hard to be 15kph, but 30kph sounded a little hardcore. I decided to opt for 25kph, sure that adrenaline would keep me buzzing along at speed. My target was to finish the ride in five and a half hours: not enough to scare the pros, or indeed the amateurs, but fast enough to be respectable to fitness fans.

As I began the ride, I heard the words of Bupa’s coaches who had helped me train for the ride, friends and fellow cyclists echoing around my head: “don’t go too fast, you’ve got 138km to ride.” I can’t promise I listened to that completely, but I set into what felt like the right pace for my fitness – fast but holding a little back for later. I’d need it when the sun came up.

After the initial scramble at the start, the first real challenge was a long climb for the first ‘King of the Mountain’ stage. I set into my rhythm and soon realised that all those hill climbs had been worthwhile as I began to overtake large groups of cyclists. I started riding up the line dividing the two lanes to find a clearer path and got a verbal telling-off from a policeman on a motorbike.

Despite the growing heat, I forced myself to eat every 30 minutes – a banana, energy bar, or gel – and drink a mix of electrolyte drinks and energy drinks, as advised by nutritionist Tim Lawson. I didn’t feel hungry, but I knew if I didn’t do this now I’d suffer later.

At Williamstown, I made my first refuelling stop to pick up water and hydrate the local flora and fauna. By now I was in the zone, mildly obsessed with my time and treated the water bottle-filling and bladder-emptying duties with the lightning speed and precision of an F1 pit team. 90 seconds later I was back on the road.

The heat was rising – it would peak at 33 degrees – and after 100km, I began to feel some fatigue. I thought I was hallucinating when I spotted a large group of children ahead. How had these little kids overtaken me? The shame! Then I remembered that the Bupa Challenge Tour features a range of shorter rides – 102km, 79km and 33km – with riders of all abilities joining the route along the way. Having spent the last few hours furiously trying to catch up and overtake any red dot on the horizon, I now realised I was chasing people who had just started. Still, it turned out to be a great motivational tool.

The final leg-killer, after 115km, was a steep slog up Mengler’s Hill. My legs were burning but staying hydrated and well-fuelled earlier on had given me enough energy stores to make it up and over.

When I finally reached the finish line I allowed myself to flick my watch from heart rate mode to clock function for the first time. It read 4 hours and 28 minutes, almost an hour ahead of my target.

I was so shocked, and tired, that I almost fell off my bike and spent the next hour lying on the grass, disgustingly sweaty but satisfied, and eating what felt like the best chicken sandwich on earth. I noted that I had, after all, cycled at an average of 30kph – a speed which a few hours before had seemed ridiculous to imagine. It was a revelation that hard training, supplemented by expert advice from nutritionists, physios and coaches, had made me fitter than I could ever have hoped for. And, most importantly, significantly fitter than those old men.

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I’m cold, back in the UK pining for the Australian summer and, if truth be told, I’m missing cycling.

When I first got in the saddle down under, the temperature gauge was hitting 41 degrees. I had a week to prepare for the Bupa Challenge Tour and, having been used to training in the cold, I honestly thought I’d have no hope of completing my 102-kilometre course.

Training in the hills for the first time, I was gasping just an hour in, my top unzipped, I was out of breath, off the bike and desperately trying to rehydrate and catch my breath. In short, I thought I was doomed.

But, as I found out, a week in cycling is a long time. And come race day itself, I felt ready, thanks to the combination of a Focus Evo Cayo 1 loaned to me courtesy of Bupa and having been given time to acclimatise to Australian conditions.

Despite feeling sufficiently prepared, I was still nervous when the alarm went off at 5am and paced around my hotel room trying to eat a muffin and a banana in a bid to merely get something in my stomach before the ride.

I was immediately reassured at the start line when met by fellow cyclists with considerably worse equipment and many of them looking much more rotund than myself.

And in much cooler climes on the day of the Bupa Challenge Tour, I was flying for the first 90 minutes of the ride, surprising myself as I passed rider after rider at a relatively fast tempo.

It wasn’t until the hour-and-a-half mark that I encountered any problems, namely a puncture as a loose nail on the road pierced the rear wheel of my bike.

My puncture-repair skills proved rather woeful on the side of the road. Thankfully, the Tour organisers had a series of mechanics riding along in vehicles on hand to help. My particular helper was Vincent, a mechanic from Belgium travelling through Australia who had offered his services for the day.

After a bit of a delay – Vincent proved much in demand with various other cyclists encountering similar perils – I was back on my way and thankfully flying again.

The only remaining question as the day’s riding continued was whether to tackle Menglers Hill, the king of the mountains climb, towards the end of the stage. An escape route allowing you to cut it out was on offer and I was tempted but, in the end, I opted to go the 5km uphill and am glad I did.

As the temperatures were rising, it proved tough but I kept my momentum to the peak, much to both my surprise and delight.

I’d like to say the rest of it was plain sailing but that would be a lie. The remaining 20km remained undulating, the legs were tired and I wanted to see the finishing line. When I did, I felt elated that I’d finished. After some drinks and something to eat, the rigours of the day had taken their toll. I was exhausted but in a good way.

Men’s Fitness journalist Mark Bailey joined Matt Majendie in the Australian heat to participate in the Bupa Challenge Tour.  His blog below, details how he prepared for the race.

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The opportunity to cycle the Bupa Challenge Tour, which follows a 138km stage of the Tour Down Under (a professional road race and Australia’s version of the Tour de France) first materialised just over four months ago at the end of another rotten British summer. At first, the sun-drenched ‘Down Under’ location was as appealing as the once-in-a-lifetime physical challenge encompassed in the ‘Tour’ part. However, it didn’t take long to realise that the first part is exactly the reason why the second part would be such a tough proposition. Cycling in extreme heat around the hills of Adelaide, in South Australia, wasn’t going to be a holiday.

It was September, approaching the end of the British ‘summer’ and many dark, rainy and icy days lay ahead which would scupper my chances of getting out on the bike. Yet on January 20, I would be setting off on a 138km journey – tackling the same route as the professional cyclists, like those from Britain’s own Team SKY, on the very same day – in temperatures predicted to soar up to 35 degrees. It was a daunting proposition.

I began training, with ever-longer and more challenging weekend rides in the North Downs and some high-intensity cardio sessions on the stationary bike in the gym during the week, when work and bleak weather meant training outside wasn’t an option.

My training was supported by Bupa experts who helped to get me in shape. I visited a Bupa Centre near King’s Cross in London for a fitness assessment. It was reassuring to find that my training was working well: my heart and lungs were functioning to a high standard and I was able to flush out lactic acid (which causes muscle pain) quickly. But I received some invaluable advice. First, I was given a tailored training plan, which saw me up the volume of my training to make sure I could handle what lay ahead. Secondly, I discovered that my flexibility was similar to that of a brick. Like most guys, the only time I stretch is for the TV remote, but my inflexibility was making me vulnerable to muscle pain and potential injury. I had work to do.

I then visited Kate Moorby, a Bupa cycling physio, who gave me a selection of stretches to improve my flexibility. She also completed a full bike set-up assessment, using 3D video analysis, to make sure I was pedalling effectively. I discovered that one of the cleats in my shoe was poorly fitted, which was causing me knee pain. She also advised me to raise the height of my saddle and move it further backwards to improve my comfort and performance. On my next ride, the effect was dramatic and I was shocked at how much difference it made, giving me more power and a smoother ride.

Tim Lawson, a Bupa nutritionist, helped me to get to grips with the importance of hydration and nutrition. As he explained, any endurance ride in soaring temperatures is doomed to failure if you don’t get this bit right. He advised me to consume 60g of carbs an hour to ensure I didn’t deplete my  glycogen (energy) stores and hydrate at regular intervals with drinks that contained electrolytes. He also advised me on tactical ways to save energy, like cycling on the back wheel of other riders which would mean I’d use up to 40% less energy.

Over the winter months, my training volume and intensity continued to rise and, armed with my increased fitness and knowledge, I now find myself 24 hours away from the ride feeling confident but respectful of the ride ahead. On Tuesday, I noticed that the road tarmac was melting and I’m determined not to suffer the same fate.

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I’ve done my best to replicate the heat of Adelaide in training for Friday’s Bupa Challenge Tour but that’s proved nigh-on impossible during the English winter.

Four layers of clothing go some way to getting an impression of the Australian summer while cycling in England’s wet and cold climbs but it’s not that realistic when you can’t feel your toes.

Monday was my second training ride out in Australia and the first ride of note having used the previous day to test out my Focus bike while cycling along the flat, coastal route.

Adelaide locals insist that the city doesn’t boast any mountains but it has hills and in their high temperatures, they’re frankly, well, horrific.

Even setting off at eight in the morning, I find myself sweating as I stop at every red traffic light in Adelaide City Centre.

By the time the climb to Mount Lofty begins, the canopy of trees offers some respite but not enough. About three-quarters of the way up the climb, I am sweating buckets and have to stop.

My riding partner bravely continues up the hill as I, however briefly, push my bike upwards. The bike feels harder to pedal than ever before and thankfully a check at the peak shows a stuck gear – I’d been pedalling a much tougher gear than I’d imagined, which is some consolation in the morning toil.

With the technical problem sorted, the rest of the ride is easy enough apart from the small matter of the temperature gauge hitting the 41-degree as I find out from another fellow rider out on the roads.

By the summit, both my water bottles have been drained in a mere hour and a half. I top up and a frankly death-defying descent begins with Australian drivers – most notably a Holden driver with a trailer – doing their utmost to knock me off.

Two hours after finishing the ride, I’m still drinking like a man possessed. I don’t feel as bad as I should in the heat but there’s definitely apprehension about Friday’s ride, even with the temperatures set to drop a good five degrees.

I’ll be keeping in touch.

Matt

It’s five months until this year’s Bupa London 10,000, and we’ve gone from a team of five colleagues running the race, to 25! That’s right, we’ve roped in another 20 people from Bupa’s Corporate Affairs department to share our pain experience.

That’s all very well, but those 25 people include my boss, not to mention at least three marathon runners, and a high proportion of extremely competitive people. Last year my aim was to finsh the race without being taken to hospital, but this year I may have to up my game. As a highly competitive person myself (I won’t go into details, let’s just say I have been known to throw Trivial Pursuit cheeses at the wall when things don’t go my way), I will be aiming to get a decent time this year.

We’ve even agreed to train together, which is anxiety-inducing for me, as I seem to have lost all my previously hard-won fitness, and we have some serious runners on board now. Our first training run happened on Monday, and while my legs felt like they were on fire as I limped back to the office after the 1.8m circuit round London’s West End, that amazing sense of achievement you get after a run came flooding back to me.

I would even go as far to say that I enjoyed it – OK maybe not that far, but it wan’t as bad as I thought it would be…

Bring on run two on Monday!

Jo

No chainsaws, burning clubs or knives are involved but the more tricky objects of kids, holidays, time with your partner and work.  Luckily none are dangerous in their own right which is just as well, at times I’ve managed to strike the right balance and get them all airborne simultaneously, but have had about as much success in maintaining that equilibrium as Arsene Wenger has of keeping his star players at Arsenal.

I am luckier than most as I’ve managed to engineer my hobby – outdoor pursuits – into being part of my job and with careful planning, it doesn’t impact too much on the family.  Part of the planning involves keeping my fitness ticking over so that I can target an event without having to start building up again from scratch, which would involve much more time.

Since my last blog I’ve been lucky enough to have done a sporting event and am currently on my way to another.  Well when I say “lucky enough to have done a sporting event” it didn’t exactly feel like that at the time as it was the National 12hr Time Trial bike ride, which I did on a tandem.  I’m proud to say Jerone (my riding partner) and I won but that was by virtue of being the only tandem entered.  This in itself should have set off warning bells but the ringing sound was muted by the lovely roadside support we received. 

Naively I thought the support was a response to the accident I suffered last summer and people were pleased to see me back on a bike, but as I realised a few hours into the ride, it was a sympathy cheer because of the discomfort they knew was heading our way.  The problem on a tandem is that any movement you make affects the other person, so you’re pretty much locked and loaded into one position, hence it wasn’t the most comfortable ride.

Even breaking the event record for the most distance covered (281miles) didn’t relieve the discomfort in my bum and lower back.  However, it did make me appreciate and look forward to the race I’m heading to shortly in the Lake District – the Adidas Terrex Coast to Coast.  It’s a multi-sport event and as the title suggests, goes from one side of the country to the other.  Despite the distance there is good news – us competitors won’t be stuck in one position as we’ll switch between running, cycling, kayaking and I’m pretty sure they’ll be some surprise stages thrown in for good measure.

Over the last couple of weeks my preparation has been unique, readying myself for the off-road running by lugging three kids and a pram over a beach in Devon and hopping straight off a turbo trainer (cycling machine) into a swimming pool with the little ones.  It’s not exactly been scientific and I’ll report back on whether the deposits I’ve made in the fitness bank over the years were available for a quick and easy withdrawl. 

Even if they’re not, I’m looking forward to spending a weekend with like-minded people in some stunning countryside.  Especially as after Coast to Coast I’ll be getting back on the tandem in preparation for having a crack at the record for cycling from Land’s End to John O Groats!

To get the best out of your training and perform at your peak, you really need to make sure you’re eating the right diet, with enough energy and nutrients to keep you going throughout your run!

If you don’t eat the right foods you may struggle to complete your workout and you certainly won’t be at your best.

My top tips

Carbohydrates foods such as pasta and rice are important to have at each meal, at regular intervals – they will help to ensure that you’ve got the fuel you need to keep going!  If you don’t get enough carbohydrate, you’re likely to start feeling tired and weak.

Protein is important for repair and maintenance of muscle.  Be warned though, there’s no need to eat lots of extra protein – the majority of us will get our fill from our regular diets.  However, after your training, a protein drink (which also contains carbohydrates) may help to increase muscle protein balance/

Foods containing excess fat should be avoided as these can leave you feeling heavy, not energised!  Instead, aim to look for low-fat versions of fatty products and foods to get your hit!

Fluid is very important to compensate for the sweating you’ll inevitably end up doing! Isotonic drinks contain carbohydrate to boost your energy levels and sodium to replace salt levels after sweating.  Hypertonic drinks contain more carbohydrate and are really useful for refuelling.

Meals to try

-          Pasta, tomato sauce and grilled chicken

-          Pasta, grilled vegetables and salmon

-          Chill con carne with rice

Christina Merryfield, lead dietitian, Bupa Cromwell Hospital.

However, performing a stretching routine in the15-minute period prior to exercise has been shown to have the most significant effect on reducing muscle and tendon injuries.

Start off with a light walk or jog. Once you are sweating lightly, you are ready to start stretching. Try to hold each stretch for a minimum of 30 seconds – you should expect to feel mild discomfort in the muscles, rather than a sharp pain.

You should ease off the stretch if it becomes a pain rather than an ache and stop altogether if you feel any pain in your joints. Following a systematic stretching programme will ensure you don’t leave any of the main running muscles out.

Don’t forget to stretch both sides!

1. Quadriceps

Start in the standing position, with your legs approximately a shoulder’s width apart. Lift up your right leg and grab hold of your ankle with your right hand. Pull your heel into your bottom and then try to take your knee backwards, keeping your back straight. Try not to arch your lower back too much. You should feel a stretch down the front of your upper leg.

2. Hamstrings

Remain standing and straighten out your right leg in front of your body. With your heel touching the ground, pull your toes back towards you. Allow the left knee to bend a little, and try and keep the right knee locked by pushing down through the back of the knee. Don’t allow your back to twist. You should expect to feel the stretch down the back of the leg radiating down to the heel. To increase the stretch you can reach down to the toes with your right hand.

3. Calf Muscles

Stand with your heels hanging over the edge of a kerb or step – if possible, hold onto a tree or a post for balance. Lift the left foot off the ground and allow the right heel to drop below the edge of the kerb. You should start to feel a stretch in the lower part of the leg below the knee.

4. Lower Back

Again in the standing position, cross your right leg over and in front of your left leg, and twist your trunk to the right, reaching around with both arms. You should feel a stretch in your lower back, but no pain in your leg.

5. Bounding:

Try complimenting your stretching with bounding. Bounding is slow running with big strides. Think about the triple jump action – bounding once on the left and then on the right, over and over again. Bounding works best over approximately 20 metres. After you’ve done this, walk back to your starting mark and repeat 3-4 times.

Give your legs a shake and you’re ready to start running!

We regularly impose ceilings on our friends and colleagues when they are trying to make a change in their life rather than supporting them. Those changes may be as simple as losing weight, embarking on an exercise regime or creating a balance between work, family and friends. But there is a tipping point where the lack of support lessens the motivation and enthusiasm that initiated the desire to make a change.
I was lucky that being active and healthy was/is my job, the Olympics and adventure trips I’ve subsequently done require extensive preparation so there has always been a goal on the horizon that I’ve been training for. Which has meant I’ve avoided questions about time being spent ensuring my health and fitness is at a certain level.

With no upcoming challenge I haven’t been quite so lucky and those questions have been hard to answer. My wife and I have been fortunate enough to have had a third baby recently but as the bundle of joy arrives free hours disappear. Although I’ve no event looming I’d like to stay in shape so I can get myself ready fairly quickly and that requires having a plan and sticking to it.

Having exercise equipment at home is a wonderfully time efficient way of combining family responsibilities and personal goals but sometimes there’s only one winner between pudding and press ups. Meeting up with mates is a great way of ensuring you stick to a plan but as the Bupa Flash Run in Regent’s Park last month showed you don’t actually need to know the people your meeting. It was an open invitation through social media over lunchtime on a work day, after the run people were arranging to meet up next week. That will be a far easier to stick to than planning to head out for a run on your own.
I also went to a family day at the Bupa Cromwell Hospital (West London) which combined healthy messages, sports competitions and dance lessons. I came away knowing my dancing hasn’t magically improved but also determined to try and make sure that I get the balance in my life right. I think I’ve been guilty of using exercise as a way of controlling my weight/health.

Working on the basis that if I eat more I’ll move more and burn it off that way, which isn’t fair on the family. So on holiday I tried to ask myself whether I actually need that second helping, which has worked pretty well until the ice cream van appears. But hey Rome wasn’t built in a day!
Have a great summer.

We could have managed another 10k, probably.  On to training for the Bupa Great South Run…..