A Day In The Life
This year, City Asset Management are delighted to support Danny Sidbury in his efforts to reach the Tokyo Paralympics. Danny has an inspirational story to tell and we hope you will join us in following his journey through his blog posts with City Asset Management or on Instagram @dansidbury .
There's no typical day in athletics! Every day is different, which keeps me stimulated and on task. So in this blog entry I've tried to give a mash-up of days to try and give you an idea of what a 'typical day' might be like.
MORNING:
I tend to get up around 6am and without fail have breakfast. Nutrition is a key part of what I do, eating the right things can have a positive impact on performance, productivity and recovery. I have porridge most mornings (unless I'm abroad) with a banana and I have recently been adding a tea spoon of peanut butter, I recommend it!
I enjoy my breakfast whilst watching the news on the BBC, trying to do my best to keep up to date with what's going on in the world. It's a nice reminder that there's much more going on in the world than just athletics, it keeps things in perspective.
With breakfast dealt with, I jump in my car and make my way to the first session which tends to take place on the road. Road sessions vary dramatically, but I tend to do at least 6 miles and no more than 28 miles in any given go. I often have a cyclist who accompanies me on my road sessions, which provides me with pace making and some much needed company, as road training can be a very lonely affair.
Once my morning miles are complete, I provide feedback from the session to my coach and head home for a second breakfast. Second breakfast tends to be a protein based; yogurt, eggs, avocado, cheese and/or nuts.
AFTERNOON:
The afternoon is time to recover before having to go training... again. I make sure to stay hydrated and do plenty of stretching. I also take this opportunity to answer emails, book flights for up-and-coming competitions as well as daily chores: cleaning, shopping, cooking, etc. Speaking of cooking, that brings us nicely on to lunch! As I mentioned previously, nutrition plays a crucial role in my daily training routine, so I'm very fortunate to have Mindful Chef as a sponsor. They're a healthy food delivery service, they provide me with 3 meals for 2 people every week. So for lunch, I tend to have fresh vegetables and organic meat provided by Mindful Chef.
After lunch, I endure an hour long tube journey to get to the track for my next session.
Track sessions are more fun because you do them with other people and your coach is on hand to give you advise and critical feedback. Track sessions vary enormously depending on the time of year and which competitions you are preparing for. Regardless of the specific session, it tends to culminate in a 10 mile total distance. That's the equivalent of 40 laps around a football pitch.
EVENING:
During this time, I tend to have a gym session. Time dedicated to the gym takes no longer than 45 minutes, in most cases it’s less than 30 minutes. The emphasis during gym is quality of execution with minimal recovery time.
Some evenings I also have a sports psychology session, it's important to address your emotions and your state of mind.
These sessions help me address my insecurities and the most efficient way of dealing with negative emotion during a competition, training session and/or race.
With my sessions complete for the day, I get myself back on the tube and go home. I get home between 21:30 - 22:00 which gives me enough time to have a light and healthy dinner with my girlfriend before going to bed and starting all over again.
Danny Sidbury racing - photo by Peter Milsom
All pictures credited to Peter Milsom