Life In The Saddle

Over the last few years, I have restarted running. Not Forrest Gump style—with hour upon hour spent pounding pavement; but rather the occasional trail run of between 5 to 15 kilometres in length. I have noticed several benefits from building multi-sport cross-training into my routine and lifestyle; both for cycling performance and sporting enjoyment. Does running help your cycling? I believe it does—it opens new doors, it strengthens muscles, and it increases variety. Muscle Strength and Conditioning The first notable benefit is improved muscle strength and a more rounded muscle profile. If you are a dedicated cyclist, you will have built up your cycling specific muscle groups; the problem is you may have neglected the other muscle groups in your body in the process. Secondary 'non-cycling' muscle groups play a key supporting role—they stabilise movement. If you neglect building up these muscles, then you increase the risk of injury. By cross-training through other ...

Spring break - it's something that I've decided is a good idea in my training schedule. It entails leaving the bike alone for a week; then kitting up in some great run kit from CEP Sports, and pounding the trails on foot, rather than shredding them on my bike. My kit choice for a week of trail running comes from CEP Sports - a brand that I've previously featured a fair bit on the blog (see past reviews ). These products are some of the new season releases from the brand, and feature some great kit innovations. CEP Sports Performance Run Tights These are probably the most comfortable running tights that I've worn to date. The no-stitch seams on the CEP Compression Performance Run Tights mean that there is no chafing, no areas of restriction, and a lighter overall garment weight. These feel super flexible, and super fast (even if I'm not). They also have some really neat features: like an easy-access mesh pocket on the side that is perfect for gels or a key...

Winter means cross-training, and that means trail running. In this post, I've picked out a few of my kit highlights for this season... CEP Wingtech Compression Tee I admit, the phrase "sensorimotoric stimulation" had me lost. The principle behind the Wingtech tee from CEP Sports is quite simple though: the special cut and 'Smart Wingtech Stripes' send subliminal reminders to your brain, to help you maintain a better posture. Everybody knows that good posture is important. Did you know that it also promotes muscle development though; further leading to better future posture. Effectively, this shirt promises to improve the way you run, and in doing so reduce the risk of injury, and optimise performance. Does it work? Well, it certainly feels supportive.  The Wingtech Stripes have a notable effect on pulling your shoulders back, and pulling your core tighter. The result is that running in the CEP Wingtech tee gives you a noticeably more upright posture. ...

'Running' perhaps isn't the only adjective that should be used to describe taking on last weekend's OMM in the Galloway Mountains, Scotland. You should also add 'Climbing', 'Scrambling', 'Hiking' and most definitely 'Bog Bashing' to the list; it is a running orienteering event of pretty extreme proportions... Friday saw us drive from Portsmouth to the Galloway peninsula in South West Scotland; a casual 15 hour journey by minibus. We picked up my running partner Ben in Penrith enroute, and completed our four man team from Wiggle. Welcomed at midnight by the cheery OMM team, we settled down for a few hours sleep, not sure what to anticipate from the next day's race. The OMM is a running orienteering event series, with events in the U.K., France and even Japan. The events all hold the same format: on the start line, teams are given a list of checkpoints out in the mountain wilderness - each one is worth a different number of 'p...