Meeting Victoria
We first met Victoria last year on a BMC Tour Suisse ride in Gstaad. We were there to set the BMC's up for the VIP clients. Victoria was there to puncture fragile male egos if they showed a wheel out of place in the mountains. Which she did without breaking a sweat or her permanent friendly smile. We worked with her again last year when she had saddle pressure issues. Her story gradually emerged - a formidable raw talent, against the odds, fourth in the UCI Amateur Road Championships 2015, contender in Haute Route, single working Mum.
So what can she do with a bit of science and support? We are keen to find out. We are proud to welcome the irreverent, irrepressible, inspirational Victoria Grimmer to Cyclefit. She will be telling her own story in a series of personal journals over the coming months. Victoria's first blog follows.
"I can't recall how many times friends/ colleagues/ acquaintances have asked me how I find the time or the motivation to train"
Challenge Accepted
I can't recall how many times friends/ colleagues/ acquaintances have asked me how I find the time or the motivation to train. Or that they wished they were as focussed as I am. I don't really see myself as anything other than a person that likes to train hard, likes to improve and who thrives on that feeling of achievement.
To me, it's quite simple. Cycling is my passion and I cannot imagine my life without two wheels.
Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of days when I question why I do it. But I do because without a doubt the feeling I have post workout, post sportive or post race, far outweighs the feeling of disappointment if I ever choose not to.
Competitive Edge
My desire is to train hard, improve my power figures, smash the session I failed the week before, beat that strava segment. My competitive edge is no longer about beating the opposition (although that's a bonus when it happens!), it's about feeling I am being the best I can be given my personal circumstance. I've had to adjust to this way of thinking with the realisation that I can't control anyone else, their time or their equipment or support, their training schedule. I can only control me and how I best use the time I have available to train.
Which brings me on to a little about me.
Childbirth and Athletic Potential
I started cycling in 2007 and from this point competed with local success in triathlons. In 2009 I won the mi-marmotte and I guess at this point realised I may have a slight natural ability in this discipline, and most definitely enjoyed it the most out of the 3. I continued to ride my bike up until the week before giving birth to my 1st child Poppy, now aged 6 and quickly regained my fitness (I ran a 22 mile mountain race 4 months after giving birth too!).
Cycling was slowly becoming more of a focus after Pops was born, as my partner at the time was also a keen sportsman it was extremely difficult for both of us to fit in the training around the demands of working and childcare.
I am a police officer working shifts just to put another spanner in the works. In 2012 I came 4th in the Haute Route, which is a 7 day road sportive covering 800 km and 21000m of climbing. This is the year I also started a bit of road racing achieving my 2nd cat licence fairly quickly. The best result that year was probably a 3rd in the West Midlands divisional champs.
Our 2nd child Matilda was born in 2013 and is now 2. Following this, we made a decision to choose one sport to concentrate on each and naturally I chose cycling; it was a no brainer for me! I continued to race in various events in 2014 and in 2015 I competed again in the Haute Route this time achieving 3rd place. And the one I feel particularly proud of is a 4th place in my age category in the Amateur world champs in Denmark which I'd qualified for earlier in the year. That was one of the very few no chain days I've had!
2016 - Athletic-Potential v's Single-Mum
Recently the relationship with the girls father broke down, and I am now a single mother.
So I often question how I find the time to train!
We all know the demands of running a family and a house. Sometimes just to get out the house for the school run in clothing that resembles outdoor pajama wear is a challenge, especially after a sleepless night of vomit or other such liquid delights!
The morning after such a night, the last thing I want to do is stick to the training plan.. but I always return to that feeling that I know I'll have once I've trained, and mostly I man up and crack on! I would be lying if I said I really enjoyed getting up at 5am to turbo before the kids get up, but if that day I can't get out on the road then that's exactly what I do. Followed by another session once they've gone to bed too..
To train or not to train??
I do however believe there is quite a fine line between just cracking on and actually taking a step back and considering there may be an underlying reason that the legs are consistently heavy, or the overwhelming tiredness can't be overcome. Since January this year I've been feeling pretty pants on the bike. I would liken it to feeling like I'd just done 100 hard miles, only it was just the beginning of the ride, and it was every time. I kept riding and ignoring and cracking on, blaming the ale consumption during the festive season!
But after quite a few abandoned sessions and a good few months I gave in and went for a blood test. I have to have further tests on my liver function and I'm borderline anaemic- quite surprising being as I actually don't drink a great deal and my diet is very iron rich and varied!
Popeye Power
While I wait for these tests I have been taking iron tablets and I cannot tell you how much better I've been feeling. Power improvements, smashing sessions again, more QOMs…. Happy cyclist!
Back to manning up and cracking on again!
