Training secrets of the man who just will not lose right now

Glenn Kinning is a man on a mission at the moment. The Belfast father of two looks unbeatable in the Ulster cyclo-cross scene and has won the last three events of the series, some easier than others.

He runs the Kinning Cycles family bike shop business in Belfast – while his wife runs her own wedding planning company, so we suspect it’s a busy household and he wouldn’t be sitting on his hands from one week to the next.

Here, in the first instalment of ‘My Training Week’, a series of diaries we’ll be running on the site for the next number of months, Kinning lets us in on the secret to his success.

Name: Glenn Kinning
Date of Birth: December 15, 1983
Team: Kinning Cycles

Training goals this time of year

Increase the fitness
Build more top-end power
Improve cornering technique

General goals for the season

Win the Irish National cyclo-cross championships
Go to the World cyclo-cross championships
Perform well in key tune-up races at Hafflet and Koksijde in two weeks’ time

Monday

I never touch the bike on a Monday; it’s a day of total rest.

Usually I’ll spend the day cleaning the van, maybe I’ll get a massage in the evening to help roll out the fatigue from my legs after the weekend while preparing me for the week ahead.

Tuesday

I’ll always try and get two hours on the road bike the morning with the guys from the club here.

This is a pretty solid spin and we usually ride at a steady pace.

Wednesday

This is by far my longest spin of the week and I’ll do around 80 miles (120k).

I get this in when I can and I’m lucky to have such great staff in the shop to allow me do this.

I’ll usually head out for another spin in the evening (both on the road bike) with the lads from the club but this is just an easy ride or as we like to call it, a ‘bun run’ up around Points Pass.

Thursday

Today is usually the same as Tuesday, just two hours, either by myself or with the lads in the club.

This session is with the weekend’s race in mind so I need to be careful; I need to stress the body, but not go so deep as to tire myself out. Again, this is on the road bike.

I will do some efforts to break up the ride.