Now we are putting our legs where our mouths are, volunteering for the 2021 Transaid cycle Malawi challenge, 500km (300 miles) over 5 days, cross country on Mountain bikes. 

http://www.transaid.org/events-challenges/cycle-malawi-2020/

It’s going to be tough, as someone who was a competition level cyclist for 20 years I should know! I am Freddy Rasmussen and those 20 years finished 20 years ago and this, now 50-year-old body, of mine has fallen upon hard (or rather soft) times since then and most definitely needs some work.

This work starts today, 1 ^st  November 2020.

To get in shape the old rule of thumb from my competition days is you need to train 30-40 times your competition distance to get in modest shape (and then another 20 times to get in peak shape).

I will go for a modest shape.

100Km is about 6 hours cycling which means the target is 240 hours of training, however, the challenge is 321 days away today and 40 times the distance does not allow for it taking almost a year to do it! So, I need more – add another 10 times the distance to compensate for how it will take me to get in shape and the target becomes 300 hours of training.

Given that work & family also needs to be fitted in I will split the training into running, which can be done in the morning before the family & work rises, and actual cycling which needs to be fitted into busy afternoons and weekends.

240 hours cycling and 60 hours running feels about right as a split and I am starting NOW.

You can follow my preparation diary on our Twitter account @ProblemSolved7