Cycling: Fiona Southorn's training reaches new heights

One Tree Point cyclist Fiona Southorn is having her first taste of altitude training in her lengthy career, in preparation for the World Track Championships in April. Photo/Michael Cunningham

For cyclist Fiona Southorn, there's still plenty to learn - despite having competed at three Paralympic Games, and numerous world championships.

The One Tree Point resident is having to learn new tricks at the tender age of 46 in preparation for the World Track Championships in April, which will be contested at altitude in Mexico.

Southorn, who won bronze at the London 2012 Paralympics, has just come out of a training camp at altitude, noting that the muscles burn that much more than usual.

"The fatigue in your muscles [is the hardest part of altitude training]," Southorn commented of her first taste of altitude. "Your legs are where you notice it the most, when you push your legs to what they would handle easily was just that much harder."

However, the altitude training isn't over just yet for Southorn. The Bayleys real estate agent is about to embark on a seven-day training camp in Auckland's altitude centre, which means a lot of driving as well as training.

"It's a massive commitment, and it's a massive campaign ... I've been doing altitude training because the Mexico track is at altitude, so I've got seven days booked in at the altitude centre in Auckland with another training camp [before leaving on April 5]. I've got a massive year actually."

Southorn added that motivation wasn't a problem at the moment, with the Winter Paralympics in Sochi well under way.

"It's pretty exciting to know you can see it live [on attitudelive.com] and the papers are about Adam [Hall] and Corey [Peters, Kiwi Paralympians].

"Just reading about them and seeing them as a focus is real cool, because with London I feel there wasn't enough of it."

Recently, Southorn was the second overall female in the BDO Wellington to Auckland Cycle Challenge - proving she's in good shape in the lead into Mexico.