As you will by now know (see my previous RIDE LONDON BLOG) Patrick aka 'SHARKY' is taking part in Ride London in support of MS-UK; to raise funds for and raise awareness of Multiple Sclerosis. 'Cos that is the splendid sort of guy he is.
In case you missed it. The inaugural Prudential Ride London-Surrey 100 took place in 2013. The event starts in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, and goes on for 100 miles through the closed streets of London and out on into the Surrey hills. The event is alegacy of the 2012 Olympic Games and is now an annual two-day festival of cycling, developed by Boris JOHNSON, the Mayor of London and his agencies. It is billed as the 'ultimate cycling challenge'; so, definitely not for the faint hearted. If you would like to find out more, details can be found on the website: http://www.ms-uk.org/RideLondon-Surrey100
This year 'Bike London' takes place over the weekend of Saturday 09 August and Sunday 10 August, 2014 Amanda and I will be going along to make lots of noise and cheer Patrick and the MS-UK team along, and to meet with the other members and supporters of the MS-UK team. If you are in or around London or Surrey that weekend, do get in touch and I'll let you know and I'll let you know where we shall be. You can come along and meet up with us. It would be really great to see you. The more the merrier.
Patrick aka SHARKY is a tri-athlete: Running. Swimming. Cycling. An Iron-Man. He does this sort of thing for fun! He is SUPER fit. He looks good in LYCRA! Yes, he really is that fit. So, he is ready for the challenge. Patrick enjoys a challenge (well yes, we know that, because he married Amanda!). He has been training hard. He has been training really hard. And it is going to get harder.
Patrick has commented that he is taking part because "I made him do it". This is only partially true. I am Amanda's friend, and I have MS and, I admit, I suggested it. But, it seemed like a legitimate way to get Patrick into Lycra! Have a mentioned that Patrick looks good in Lycra? So, why is he doing this? Patrick has explained that, "MS-UK is important to me. I have seen the terrible effects of this debilitating disease and I want to do my part to help find new treatments and eventually a cure."
Patrick trains between four to five days a week, dependant on his work commitments. He explains that at the moment he does about 6-8 hours a week. This is his 'base' phase of training. His training is built into 3 phases of 'base', 'build' and 'peak'. He will build up to 14 hours as his training builds.
To me, the commitment that Patrick shows is incredible. His determination and dedication is admirable. It is impressive. It is awesome. To be honest, it is really humbling to think that someone would show such devotion to the cause, to train with such loyalty, focus and commitment, would push themselves to such an extent that they can compete against some of the best.
When I asked Patrick about his diet, he explained that while he is training his diet is fairly straight forward:
Breakfast - porridge with banana, honey and sprinkled with a home-made nut-and-seed-mix.
Mid morning snack - fruit or nuts
Lunch - pasta salad with chicken or egg
Afternoon snack - small flapjack
Evening meal - fish/chicken/steak with vegetable or salad.
Patrick roughly bases his diet on about 2400 calories per day, but will increase this on heavy training days. When he is training he will burn 500 - 1000 calories in an hour depending on whether he is running or swimming or cycling. He tries to work on a 500 calorie deficit each day, so he loses 1lb per week, which means he'll get to his ideal race weight.
Patrick is rather strict when he is training, and he recognises that Amanda is a huge help in supporting him and keeping him focussed. However she does provide the additional incentive and occasional treat of chocolate and wine when it is needed.
Patrick has explained that he "loves the challenge of driving myself to the edge, and even better especially when I can do it for a great cause. The reason I choose to help MSUK is I know how tired I can get from working a 50+ hour job and training on top but I know a good sleep and all is ok, but I know my wife's friend doesn't get that relief."
Please. Please. Please, if you can, do support Patrick is his fundraising efforts.
Patrick is raising funds for MS-UK and has set up a 'Just Giving' Sponsorship page at:http://www.justgiving.com/Patrick-Bowden2
The text code to donate by text is PBRL77 £5 then text that to 70070
THANK YOU in advance for you support and your generosity
