I was born with a hereditary sight loss condition that also affects my mum and two brothers. I had some useful vision up until around the age of 5, allowing me to see colours, shapes and large print letters. As I lost this ability so young, I don?t really remember it. I therefore consider myself blind from birth and have never missed what I have never really had.
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Growing up surrounded by people who also can?t see, (My dad is also visually impaired although as a result of a different condition to my mum, and not hereditary.) I have always considered blindness as being normal and not something different, unique, or scary. I was always encouraged to never let my blindness prevent me from doing what ever I wanted to do. There were often barriers that my family and I had to work around but we all just became very good at problem solving.?
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Throughout my childhood I have always had a keen interest in sport. Initially competing in running, starting at the age of 10. I was inspired by discovering a pair of my mum?s old running spikes in the back of her wardrobe, which encouraged me to give it a go. I first represented my country at 13 when I was selected to race at an International cross-country race, which I subsequently won. Other highlights in my athletics career include becoming World Junior 800m Champion in 2004 and in the same year, finally breaking my mum?s National Record in the 1500m, which I had been targeting since discovering my mum had held the record since back in 1984. Not long after this however, I stopped enjoying running so much and decided to take a break from the sport.
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Coming from a sporty family, both my brothers have also represented Britain at cricket and football, has meant that staying fit and healthy has always been encouraged. Both my parents try to lead healthy lifestyles, which has been passed on to me. This interest is partly what influenced me from a very young age to want to become a physiotherapist. It was while studying for this at Birmingham University that I first got on a tandem. I quickly realised that I both loved riding a bike and had the potential to be very good at it.
My first World Championship medal came just 3 months after starting riding a tandem, which was a bronze at the 2009 Road World Championships in the road race. My first gold medal was in the time trial at the Spanish Road World Cup in 2010 and my first Track World Championship medal was a silver in the 3km pursuit at the 2011 Track World Championships. However, earning my rainbow stripes by becoming a World Champion and winning a medal at a Paralympics was to elude me for several frustrating years. My first world title was won in the time trial in 2013 followed by my second in the road race the year after. My Paralympic title came in the 3km pursuit on the track in Rio 2016, followed by my first track world title in the same event back in Rio in 2018.
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My love for food and cooking was only truly ignited in my mid 20?s. My mum had always encouraged me to get involved in the kitchen from a young age, showing me how to both cook and bake, so I was able to do both for myself when I moved away from home. But it was only when, having someone else to cook for, and having my own kitchen to do it in, that I began to push myself more. Developing a keen interest in trying new recipes and exploring different flavours.
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I began to research lots of different recipes, challenging myself to try new things and adapting them to be as healthy as possible. This ensured I was getting the right nutrients to enable me to perform at the top level of my sport. In my approach to my cycling training, I am very regimented. Preferring always to have a plan and sticking to it. In my approach to cooking however, I try to relax more. I like to have a recipe or two for guidance, but will never quite stick to it, always adding more of one spice or less of another to suit the mood I am in. Not being able to see has definitely meant that I do some things differently in the kitchen, and there are restrictions to what I will attempt (my husband insists that I don’t use a blowtorch). However it has never prevented me from leading a healthy lifestyle and cooking nutritious meals.
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After winning gold in the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games, shortly followed by my marriage to fellow successful para-cyclist Neil Fachie, I started to look to the future and make some plans as to what I will do when the time comes to retire from sport. I signed up to study with Future Fit to become a Nutritional Adviser. My aim was to not only understand my own personal nutritional requirements better, but to be able to help others do the same. Neil and I have also set up our own company LNF Coaching where we use the lessons and insights learned from the world of elite sport to help individuals and businesses achieve greater success.
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Blindingly Good Food has developed from this. My aim is to showcase my love for food, what I eat as an elite athlete and how I adapt recipes and cooking techniques in order for me to be able to do them safely. I aim to help others lead a healthy lifestyle and demonstrate that you don?t need to be able to see properly to get the most out of food. Too much focus these days is put on how food looks, rather than how food tastes, and I want to strip this back and focus purely on taste. I believe that not being able to see what I am eating has enhanced my ability to distinguish tastes and enjoy different flavours and textures. Too many people with disabilities these days lack confidence in the kitchen, as there is a higher risk factor. They rely on shop bought ready meals that are quick and simple to prepare, but lack a lot of nutritional value. I hope to demonstrate that it is not difficult to navigate yourself around a kitchen to prepare quick and simple, nutritious meals with very little skill involved. I hope this website will help people overcome perceived barriers to cooking, eating and enjoying healthy food.