I’m at the stage now where I wish I had trained for it. The odd cycle and walking from the house to the car and back or between the hotel and work doesn’t really cut it.

Its been twenty odd years since I did much cycling and I had to buy a new bike about 5 weeks ago to be able to take part. Its a lot more uncomfortable than I remember it so I have invested in a split seat, gel cover for the seat and a proper pair of padded cycling shorts.

I also bought the clip in pedals and shoes that clip in as I was told it conserved your energy by 10%……..going to need that for these hills.

I will let you know how I survive and what lessons I can take from it to move forward to VHF.

FBF

My name is Alan Mclaren and I’m an ordinary bloke who isn’t an athlete but who has decided to get fit. In fact more than that I wan’t to get VHF - thats Vitality Health & Fitness.

To me VHF is :-

Vitality = energy. There are people who seem to have limitless energy and they seem to be able to do anything - Instead I currently suffer from velcro pyjamas - you know the problem can’t get out of bed in the morning.

Health  is when your body is in balance and you feel good all the time you don’t get ill, no flu’s, colds (or man flu as my wife would say) your whole body is completely at ease.

Fitness is being able to run up the stairs without getting out of breath and starting to sweat. Actually it would be even better to be able to run a couple of miles without this happening.

I haven’t felt like this in years in fact probably never have.

I haven’t done any regular exercise for over 20 years punctuated by two brief periods the first for a 10k and the second for the London Marathon both of which were for charity.

I enjoyed both but slipped back into doing nothing quite quickly after doing them. The demands of work, family friends and the pub soon overtook the new resolve to stay fit.

I’ve now decided to attain VHF and starting this blog is my first step in doing this as I find if I commit to things in public it drives me forward and makes me stay with it.

I hope that anyone reading this will pitch in with any good ideas they have on how to stay with it and provide any tips or techniques that really work.

Here goes on the journey to VHF.

FBF