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London 2 Paris Rider Damien McDonald’s Training Plan
Written on April 14th, 2023
Team member Damien has shared his training plan with us to give us an insight into how preparing for the London 2 Paris challenge is going and what’s to come!
Read more about Team Booths’ London 2 Paris journey by clicking here.
Damien says,
I always like to have at least one cycling challenge each year and I tend to stick with the same plan – it is not particularly scientific and it always seems to begin with a “Christmas Booths Mince Pie bulk” which I try to follow up with New Year “cut”.
During the winter months, I am a bit of a softie and pretty much stick to indoor Zwifiting – when I am low in motivation you may see some “ABM” Strava posts (Absolute Bare Minimum) – this could be as low as 30 minutes or 10 miles if I really can’t be bothered. At some point, though, I will wake up and realise that this plan will not get me over the biggest climbs of the challenges ahead so I try to cut back on the chocolate intake (worth a few lbs given the amount I eat) and up the Zwifting minimum to an hour or 20 miles.
Early March I try to head outside generally on flat routes out to the coast like Glasson Dock or Knott End – it’s amazing how real-world rides are so much slower than “Watopia”.
Realising that there are real climbs to be done I will then try to get in on the “First Trough of the Year” which is my favourite ride around the trough of Bowland – but If I have not trained well enough it is far from enjoyable. I also aim to get in 100 miles each week which gives me a challenging target which I can mostly achieve. This year I have also set an additional motivation of paying out a £10 donation to any Booths L2P member who tops the group’s weekly mileage but I am trying to not make this too easy for them!