It’s only four weeks until the 24 Hour World champs. That’s flown by, partly because I’ve been super-busy for weeks. Not just at work but outside work too. All good stuff, but knackering if you don’t stay on top of things.

Somehow I managed to stay motivated to train hard after twentyfour12, I only left a week of recovery which at 43 years old takes some doing, so I’m told. Perhaps it’s sometimes best to save your cash for the greengrocers rather than charging headlong into the protein shakes.

I’d planned to push hard in that race, but not so hard that I was looking at a 3 or 4 week recovery and the plan seemed to work. I walked (and didn’t hobble) away with the win anyway.

Thinking about it, I don’t think I’ve enjoyed this sort of motivation for training for years – I remember as recently as this time last year I was thinking about jacking in 24 hour racing and I think that was reflected in my performances in the couple of races that followed – I think deep down, I just couldn’t be arsed.

I can be arsed now though. I’ve been doing as much preparation as possible, sticking to the plan as best I can (sometimes the plan is thrown into chaos and I end up doing hill reps at 3 or 4 in the morning or even training three times in one day but it’s mostly gone ok) and I’ve been thinking about the practical side of getting bikes, people and kit in the right place at the right time. Luckily I seem to be surrounded by amazing people and organisations that want to help with the race, getting me to the race or saving me having to take tons of kit with me on a transatlantic flight.

Whatever happens in Weaverville, California at the beginning of October, I’ll be content that I’ve prepared as best I could. I honestly couldn’t have done any more. I’m not going be relaxed, but I’ll probably enjoy the whole thing a lot more.

If you can stand at the start of any race and truthfully say to yourself “I’ve done everything I could have done”, then you’ll be a much better place than if you’re continually repeating “I wish I’d got off my backside and prepared better”. There’s no panic training this time around.

The last few months would have been even more tricky if it wasn’t for crowd of people looking after me – Stevie at 2 Pure for keeping me stocked up with Honey Stinger nutrition, Dickon at Jungle for sticking me on some serious Santa Cruz machinery, Team JMC for helping me get to the start line and for the all-important Sense Of Belonging, all at Craft UK for dressing me in cycling clothing that has been perfect for the 2015 UK ‘Summer’ (it’s been cold and damp, mostly), Tom and John at Exposure Lights for providing the lighting for those 3am/10pm training rides, Ant at Mount Zoom for providing the super-light bars, bottlecages and other shiny gubbins and finally, Deb and the kids for putting up with me leaving the house all the time to ride my bike (and then falling asleep when I’m in the house).