I am starting to get nervously worried about the coming weekend and the HHCCC. I think it is because I now know that I can't do anything else in preparation for the ride. If I haven't done enough training now it is just too late. I will commute to work either once or twice this week on the bike and just cruise the rides trying to keep the HR below 70% or so.
The weather forecasts are already being checked out too and it isn't looking too bad, 30 or so but with a higher than normal humidity so lets hope that drops a bit.
If I am feeling this nervous on Monday what am I going to be like on Friday? Hopefully I calm down by then.
Oh and yesterday I think I was just being a bit over sensitive about things and everything is fine.
Monday, February 26, 2007
Sunday, February 25, 2007
The weekend
So this weekend I decided to end The Challenge and had a beer or 4 on Friday night.. I had prooved enough to myself that I could do it and in the end I just felt like a beer. 22 days - good effort I reckon!
Yesterday morning was meant to be the BBC brekky ride... instead due to the rain I drove to the brekky and then hit the velodrome for a bit in the arvo, which was no where near as good a work out as it would have been if I had ridden in the morning.
Last night I went to The Austral cycling race at vodafone which was a great way to spend the evening - the eye candy was sensational!
As the last part of my training for the HHCCC this morning I hit the 1:20 again. The plan was to do up to the observatory again but I i strained my knee a little bit and didn't want to push it the week before the buller climb, so opted to return to the car instead.
I found out that my 'friends' who said they couldn't do the 1:20 ride today as a last training ride for the HHCCC, due to being too busy, had decided to do the Melbourne Summer Cycle event instead... if they had just told me that they wanted to do that ride instead of doing the 1:20 climb then I wouldn't feel so annoyed, I am actually quite pissed off about it and moreso, I feel let down.
Yesterday morning was meant to be the BBC brekky ride... instead due to the rain I drove to the brekky and then hit the velodrome for a bit in the arvo, which was no where near as good a work out as it would have been if I had ridden in the morning.
Last night I went to The Austral cycling race at vodafone which was a great way to spend the evening - the eye candy was sensational!
As the last part of my training for the HHCCC this morning I hit the 1:20 again. The plan was to do up to the observatory again but I i strained my knee a little bit and didn't want to push it the week before the buller climb, so opted to return to the car instead.
I found out that my 'friends' who said they couldn't do the 1:20 ride today as a last training ride for the HHCCC, due to being too busy, had decided to do the Melbourne Summer Cycle event instead... if they had just told me that they wanted to do that ride instead of doing the 1:20 climb then I wouldn't feel so annoyed, I am actually quite pissed off about it and moreso, I feel let down.
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Day 22
So it is now day 22 of no alcohol for me, yup over 3 weeks and into the final week. While I am not struggling with it, it has its frustrating moments - like I might be going to see the Austral cycling race on Saturday night and to have a beer or two while there or at dinner would be nice.. but I will get over it :)
My knee is back to normal again thankfully, so it no longer hurts to walk so I can resume my walking at nights now, but I have really enjoyed going down to the velodrome the past few nights for some laps... Maybe I could do both.
I have done just over 1200 calories on each of the past two days, so roughly I would be about 2500 calories, excluding this morning's ride to work. I will also hit the velodrome again tonight and try to go for a bit longer.
Meanwhile, this is disgusting.
My knee is back to normal again thankfully, so it no longer hurts to walk so I can resume my walking at nights now, but I have really enjoyed going down to the velodrome the past few nights for some laps... Maybe I could do both.
I have done just over 1200 calories on each of the past two days, so roughly I would be about 2500 calories, excluding this morning's ride to work. I will also hit the velodrome again tonight and try to go for a bit longer.
Meanwhile, this is disgusting.
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Not Happy Jan
I didn't lose weight this week - I gained 900grams! I was soooo pissed off last night! I followed my WW points and everything! All I can put it down to is either muscle from the riding OR cos it was hot this weekend I drank a heap more fluid due to the cycling both days so maybe I am just more hydrated or something - so not happy about it though!
I am not going to let this get me off track though, I am still going to keep plugging away!
In some good news, my knee doesn't hurt when I cycle - only when I do everything else like walk or drive.
I am not going to let this get me off track though, I am still going to keep plugging away!
In some good news, my knee doesn't hurt when I cycle - only when I do everything else like walk or drive.
Monday, February 19, 2007
Grumpy
I am in a really grumpy mood. I don't know why, but over the past 30-45 mins or so my mood has turned. I just feel like telling people where to go and to stop bothering me. I don't want to do my work (more so than normal) and I just am feeling agitated.
Time for a cup of chai I think.
EDIT:- It could have something to do with my knee becoming more painful as the day progresses but I am not sure, but it is the only thing I can think of.
Time for a cup of chai I think.
EDIT:- It could have something to do with my knee becoming more painful as the day progresses but I am not sure, but it is the only thing I can think of.
Bits and Pieces
Saturday I attended a cycling skills session and I found it enjoyable and informative. We were learning basics about riding in a working bunch. I have done a bit of bunch riding before so I know signals etc but I have never been in a working bunch like that before - it was really quite good. I didn't feel confident sitting that close to a) people I don't know and b) people who weren't consistent in their riding.
After this I then went to DISC for a come and try track day for females. I am glad that I have been around Brunswick velo a few times because DISC is even steeper, ~45 degrees where Brunswick is ~33. Riding a track bike didn't bother me (they don't have brakes or gears and are fixed) and going around and above the blue line was a lot of fun! It was bloody hot in there though. I didn't want to push myself too hard though cos I was in for a day of climbing on Sunday. I might have to go down there on a Tuesday night and watch Brunswick do their training and racing, it could be an interesting avenue.
Yesterday I went with my fellow idiots to the Mt Dandy area. We parked at Anaconda and then rode out to do the 1:20 climb and then continued on up to the top of Mt Dandy to the Observatory. The start of the ride was delayed slightly by me having yet another stationery fall (fell to the side that was clipped in) and then Karen needing a tube change. The climb up the 1:20 for me is feeling easier each time but I am not getting faster. I think this is because I just like to cruise... I don't want to push to go harder and hurt more but it is feeling easier each time. After the HHCCC I think I will go out there one day with the aim of pushing as hard as I can for the whole thing to see what kind of time improvements I can make.
As mentioned, we then went up to the Observatory which was an interesting ride... the grade on some bits read at over 20% It was slow going but I made it the whole way and felt good at the end of the climb!
Once we descended back down to the bottom of the 1:20 the original plan to climb the 1:20 again was abandoned due to the heat - you could just feel it getting hotter the further down the mountain we went. Knowing that I could have done the climb again though was good enough considering the 38 degree day.
I am glad we didn't do the climb again as today my knee is rather sore from my falling over. I think I have jarred it or something from trying to unclip in a panick.
Stats of the ride including map, elevation etc can be found here
This week I have only done 4959 in calories from exercise, but it has been a bloody hot week... Iknow it is an excuse but yeah... this week will be better in that regard!
The Challenge is still going strong - Day 19 now! The weekend had some weak moments... I really would have loved a beer or glass of wine in the hot weather, but I was strong and I didn't indulge!
After this I then went to DISC for a come and try track day for females. I am glad that I have been around Brunswick velo a few times because DISC is even steeper, ~45 degrees where Brunswick is ~33. Riding a track bike didn't bother me (they don't have brakes or gears and are fixed) and going around and above the blue line was a lot of fun! It was bloody hot in there though. I didn't want to push myself too hard though cos I was in for a day of climbing on Sunday. I might have to go down there on a Tuesday night and watch Brunswick do their training and racing, it could be an interesting avenue.
Yesterday I went with my fellow idiots to the Mt Dandy area. We parked at Anaconda and then rode out to do the 1:20 climb and then continued on up to the top of Mt Dandy to the Observatory. The start of the ride was delayed slightly by me having yet another stationery fall (fell to the side that was clipped in) and then Karen needing a tube change. The climb up the 1:20 for me is feeling easier each time but I am not getting faster. I think this is because I just like to cruise... I don't want to push to go harder and hurt more but it is feeling easier each time. After the HHCCC I think I will go out there one day with the aim of pushing as hard as I can for the whole thing to see what kind of time improvements I can make.
As mentioned, we then went up to the Observatory which was an interesting ride... the grade on some bits read at over 20% It was slow going but I made it the whole way and felt good at the end of the climb!
Once we descended back down to the bottom of the 1:20 the original plan to climb the 1:20 again was abandoned due to the heat - you could just feel it getting hotter the further down the mountain we went. Knowing that I could have done the climb again though was good enough considering the 38 degree day.
I am glad we didn't do the climb again as today my knee is rather sore from my falling over. I think I have jarred it or something from trying to unclip in a panick.
Stats of the ride including map, elevation etc can be found here
This week I have only done 4959 in calories from exercise, but it has been a bloody hot week... Iknow it is an excuse but yeah... this week will be better in that regard!
The Challenge is still going strong - Day 19 now! The weekend had some weak moments... I really would have loved a beer or glass of wine in the hot weather, but I was strong and I didn't indulge!
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Benign
Two weeks after having the mole removed from my back I finally got the stitches out today. Evidentally I am a fast healer as it is all looking quite good in that regards and the skin was starting to heal a bit too much around the stitches or something. I have however also had an allergic reaction to the stitches which has made it red and puffy looking so to try to reduce the chance of a nasty scar and a lump being left behind there I have to put some steroid cream on the wound twice a day - this also explains why it has been quite itchy the past few days. The pathology results were also all good and nothing was weird with the mole so I don't have skin cancer or anything else like that :D
Yesterday I did another 1000 calories through exercise but today I haven't done any. Looking out my kitchen window the sky is black as the ace of spades and yet if I look out my lounge room window it is perfectly blue sky with barely a cloud. The real thing that has stopped me from exercising since I got home though is that it is 37 degrees outside and I really don't do well when exercising in over 35 degree temperatures. If it only rains for a little bit then I will try to go for a walk later when it is cooler and if I don't then I may have to head out in the morning before work to avoid the heat of tomorrow.
Yesterday I did another 1000 calories through exercise but today I haven't done any. Looking out my kitchen window the sky is black as the ace of spades and yet if I look out my lounge room window it is perfectly blue sky with barely a cloud. The real thing that has stopped me from exercising since I got home though is that it is 37 degrees outside and I really don't do well when exercising in over 35 degree temperatures. If it only rains for a little bit then I will try to go for a walk later when it is cooler and if I don't then I may have to head out in the morning before work to avoid the heat of tomorrow.
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
To rain or not to rain...
Yesterday riding home from work I was concerned that I was going to get caught in a big down pour of rain. The clouds were looking very dark, but I managed to get home without getting rained on, today I am not so sure I will be as fortunate, although the rain clouds appear to be a further north.
Last night I even tempted fate and went for my 35min walk. I figured if it started to rain I would hide under a tree or something because I HAD to go for my walk - no excuses! Tonight will be the same too, I will go for my walk even if I have to take a brolly with me if the clouds look omninous.
Yesterday I burnt another 992 calories between walking and commuting by bike and today should be similar.
I wont be riding to work tomorrow as I am leaving work early to get my stitches out (finally!) but I will either go for an extended walk when I get home OR head down to the velodrome for a ride or maybe both! I will see how I feel tomorrow.
Last night I even tempted fate and went for my 35min walk. I figured if it started to rain I would hide under a tree or something because I HAD to go for my walk - no excuses! Tonight will be the same too, I will go for my walk even if I have to take a brolly with me if the clouds look omninous.
Yesterday I burnt another 992 calories between walking and commuting by bike and today should be similar.
I wont be riding to work tomorrow as I am leaving work early to get my stitches out (finally!) but I will either go for an extended walk when I get home OR head down to the velodrome for a ride or maybe both! I will see how I feel tomorrow.
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
St V.D.
I think this might be the first time in many years that I am not disliking the approach of Valentines Day. I think it is due to being more comfortable with who I am and where I am. Of course it is another Hallmark day on the calendar and you shouldn't need a day to tell the person you love that you do love them...
Naturally tomorrow there will be lots of flowers delivered to work and they will be very pretty and nice and even though I am not bothered by it this year, I am still glad I don't work in reception having to accept all the deliveries!
Naturally tomorrow there will be lots of flowers delivered to work and they will be very pretty and nice and even though I am not bothered by it this year, I am still glad I don't work in reception having to accept all the deliveries!
Monday, February 12, 2007
Hard work pays off
So after all the exercise I did last week combined with tracking all my food and WW points and having no alcohol all week I was extremely happy to find out that I lost 1.2kg's!! To have lost this much in the one week is a sensational effort and I now just need to make sure that I don't get slack this week and I keep going with everything just as I did last week!
Sunday, February 11, 2007
Calories for the week
So this is my calorie summary from the week
Tuesday: 1434
Wednesday: 1005
Thursday: 1141
Saturday: 822
Sunday: 2249
Total calories burnt through exercise: 6651.
It isn't as much as I had wanted, but it is still a great effort and I haven't had any alcohol and I have recorded all my food that I have eaten this week and I have been well within my allowed WW points!
Tuesday: 1434
Wednesday: 1005
Thursday: 1141
Saturday: 822
Sunday: 2249
Total calories burnt through exercise: 6651.
It isn't as much as I had wanted, but it is still a great effort and I haven't had any alcohol and I have recorded all my food that I have eaten this week and I have been well within my allowed WW points!
A ride and a bbq
So this morning was an organised ride from The Forums. We met at Brimbank park in Keilor and headed out North through Broady, up to Bulla and then back past Tulla airport to the park for a BBQ.
When I got up this morning I just wasn't in the mood for the ride and contemplated going back to bed and not doing the ride, but I needed to do the ride so off I went. By the time the ride started my mood hadn't improved much and I soon discovered that my legs were tired from going hard along the boulie yesterday.
Naturally I got dropped on the first incline, but that's ok cos I made it and eventually caught up to the group, but it was tough as I mentally and physically didn't really want to be there. I really don't know why I was in that kind of mood, I have never felt like that before at the start of a ride.
Anyway, we get to the first real down hill into a valley, as Jimmy calls them, and off I go, down on the drops and in top gear and I hit a top speed of 66.4km/h! the climb up the otherside though was a different story. I was in my granny gear and kinda mashing it at a cadence of around 50-55RPM and a speed of 7-8km/h. Even though I was going slowly I felt quite comfortable with the pace I was going - I wasn't wanting to stop and walk which was good. I may not be quick, but I get there in the end! The climb actually helped my mood a bit and I started to feel a bit more into it and started to enjoy the riding, which was nice.
When we got to the next down hill section we couldn't go as fast as it was a bit twistier and needed to slow down for the corners - ahh well, still got up into the 60's at one point :)
Once we all walked over the bike eating bridge and had another bit of a rest and some more food and gatorade we set off to climb the big hill of the morning and it was steep! At some points my gps was telling me that the gradient was 9% which didn't make me feel so bad about being in my granny gear doing a speed of 5.5km/h with a cadence of 45RPM. Not long after the road started to head skyward and most people had gone past me, I looked behind me to see Peter walking!! It felt good that I was still on the bike at this point. I can't remember if this was before or after I noticed Peter walking but Kenneth went past me powering on and yelling something about in his lowest gear and that he couldn't maintain it... I then rounded the corner to see him stopped at the side of the road. Again, this made me feel good that even though I was going quite slowly I was still going on the bike! I made it to the top of the climb w/out walking - YEAH!
At the top I saw a very welcome site, Mrs Jimmy had parked her car on the side of the road and had laid out towels for us to sit on and in the back of the wagon was lollies, biscuits, nuts and some water! Mrs Jimmy sure knows how to treat riders, she was just wonderful today :D
After a bit of a rest, we set off again with a slight detour to find toilets in Bulla for Heather and I and then we were homeward bound. Riding along the airport and then after we had passed it was into a massive headwind so I decided to get down into the drops and ride there for a bit to try to avoid as much of it as possible. While doing this I was sitting right on Heathers wheel and then later Ewan's and I was just hypnotised by their rear wheels... it was all I was looking at, which was probably good seeing as I was a few inches off their wheel, but it felt really good and comfortable to be doing that, which is great for me as I normally don't like being in the drops that much.
Once we got back the car's we all put our bikes away and drove down to where we were to have the BBQ. If the wind had off pissed off it would have been a really lovely, but it was still really nice. I had a nice steak sanga and lots of watermelon and a nice sit down. Just about everyone else was eating sausages and chips and dip and drinking beer or alcohol in general but I was strong and I resisted, although a beer at the end of that ride would have been really bloody nice.
Some stats from the ride:
Distance: 65.97km
Time: 2hrs 57mins 55seconds
MaxSpeed: 66.4km/h
Avg Speed: 22.2km/h
Calories: 2249
Max HR: 175
Avg Hr: 149
Avg Cadence: 65rpm (in a bunch I cruise a lot w/out pedalling)
Total Ascent: 576m
Total Descent: 581m (can anyone explain how this is different when we stopped and finished in the same spot?)
Casualties: I think my front wheel now needs to be trued as it is quite difficult to get the wheel on w/out the breaks rubbing - bloody potholes, although its not wobbly as such, so maybe the breaks have been moved or something... hrmm need to check that out!
When I got up this morning I just wasn't in the mood for the ride and contemplated going back to bed and not doing the ride, but I needed to do the ride so off I went. By the time the ride started my mood hadn't improved much and I soon discovered that my legs were tired from going hard along the boulie yesterday.
Naturally I got dropped on the first incline, but that's ok cos I made it and eventually caught up to the group, but it was tough as I mentally and physically didn't really want to be there. I really don't know why I was in that kind of mood, I have never felt like that before at the start of a ride.
Anyway, we get to the first real down hill into a valley, as Jimmy calls them, and off I go, down on the drops and in top gear and I hit a top speed of 66.4km/h! the climb up the otherside though was a different story. I was in my granny gear and kinda mashing it at a cadence of around 50-55RPM and a speed of 7-8km/h. Even though I was going slowly I felt quite comfortable with the pace I was going - I wasn't wanting to stop and walk which was good. I may not be quick, but I get there in the end! The climb actually helped my mood a bit and I started to feel a bit more into it and started to enjoy the riding, which was nice.
When we got to the next down hill section we couldn't go as fast as it was a bit twistier and needed to slow down for the corners - ahh well, still got up into the 60's at one point :)
Once we all walked over the bike eating bridge and had another bit of a rest and some more food and gatorade we set off to climb the big hill of the morning and it was steep! At some points my gps was telling me that the gradient was 9% which didn't make me feel so bad about being in my granny gear doing a speed of 5.5km/h with a cadence of 45RPM. Not long after the road started to head skyward and most people had gone past me, I looked behind me to see Peter walking!! It felt good that I was still on the bike at this point. I can't remember if this was before or after I noticed Peter walking but Kenneth went past me powering on and yelling something about in his lowest gear and that he couldn't maintain it... I then rounded the corner to see him stopped at the side of the road. Again, this made me feel good that even though I was going quite slowly I was still going on the bike! I made it to the top of the climb w/out walking - YEAH!
At the top I saw a very welcome site, Mrs Jimmy had parked her car on the side of the road and had laid out towels for us to sit on and in the back of the wagon was lollies, biscuits, nuts and some water! Mrs Jimmy sure knows how to treat riders, she was just wonderful today :D
After a bit of a rest, we set off again with a slight detour to find toilets in Bulla for Heather and I and then we were homeward bound. Riding along the airport and then after we had passed it was into a massive headwind so I decided to get down into the drops and ride there for a bit to try to avoid as much of it as possible. While doing this I was sitting right on Heathers wheel and then later Ewan's and I was just hypnotised by their rear wheels... it was all I was looking at, which was probably good seeing as I was a few inches off their wheel, but it felt really good and comfortable to be doing that, which is great for me as I normally don't like being in the drops that much.
Once we got back the car's we all put our bikes away and drove down to where we were to have the BBQ. If the wind had off pissed off it would have been a really lovely, but it was still really nice. I had a nice steak sanga and lots of watermelon and a nice sit down. Just about everyone else was eating sausages and chips and dip and drinking beer or alcohol in general but I was strong and I resisted, although a beer at the end of that ride would have been really bloody nice.
Some stats from the ride:
Distance: 65.97km
Time: 2hrs 57mins 55seconds
MaxSpeed: 66.4km/h
Avg Speed: 22.2km/h
Calories: 2249
Max HR: 175
Avg Hr: 149
Avg Cadence: 65rpm (in a bunch I cruise a lot w/out pedalling)
Total Ascent: 576m
Total Descent: 581m (can anyone explain how this is different when we stopped and finished in the same spot?)
Casualties: I think my front wheel now needs to be trued as it is quite difficult to get the wheel on w/out the breaks rubbing - bloody potholes, although its not wobbly as such, so maybe the breaks have been moved or something... hrmm need to check that out!
Friday, February 9, 2007
Bah
If you think that say the 1:20 is do-able in 25 min(stop laughing and let me continue)
This comment was made on The Forums tonight and I took offense to it. I may have over reacted to it, but I said what I felt at the time and still do feel that way right now - I don't like being laughed at for being slow at climbing! It wasn't directed at me, but I fall into the 'laughable' category of doing the 1:20 slower than 25 minutes. I really really hate how slow I am up hills and it really frustrates me and I am trying to accept that it is just who I am, while trying to also improve, but it sure does suck and I am finding it hard to accept. I am improving slowly, which is good.
I know that I have endurance, and that is a good thing to have, and I know I shouldn't have reacted the way that I did, but I am not going to take it back, I do feel hurt by the remark as it was made by someone who knows how much I do struggle with hills.
blergh now I am all upset damnit... I should have just ignored it, things like this I normally would ignore so I don't know why I have let this bother me so much.
This comment was made on The Forums tonight and I took offense to it. I may have over reacted to it, but I said what I felt at the time and still do feel that way right now - I don't like being laughed at for being slow at climbing! It wasn't directed at me, but I fall into the 'laughable' category of doing the 1:20 slower than 25 minutes. I really really hate how slow I am up hills and it really frustrates me and I am trying to accept that it is just who I am, while trying to also improve, but it sure does suck and I am finding it hard to accept. I am improving slowly, which is good.
I know that I have endurance, and that is a good thing to have, and I know I shouldn't have reacted the way that I did, but I am not going to take it back, I do feel hurt by the remark as it was made by someone who knows how much I do struggle with hills.
blergh now I am all upset damnit... I should have just ignored it, things like this I normally would ignore so I don't know why I have let this bother me so much.
COFFEE!!
I felt great this morning when I got to work (as previously noted) and probably didn't need a coffee with my bagel for brekky but I did anyway and I certainly don't need this second coffee but I am enjoying it so watch out world - Lisa is in a bloody fantastic mood!!
I am sure I will crash sometime later today, but I feel so bloody great right now it is criminal for me to be in the office attempting to focus on my work.
I am sure I will crash sometime later today, but I feel so bloody great right now it is criminal for me to be in the office attempting to focus on my work.
TGIF!
Ahh the end of the week and even though I didn't ride to work today I feel great! Of course this is most likely due to the amount of exercise I have done this week combined with no alcohol and lots of good healthy food!
I still haven't had any alcohol and I am now on Day 9. It is hard to work out if I feel so great due to this or the exercise but either way it is a great combination and soon my legs should stop hurting from the walking - they will get used to it. I am really enjoying going for the walk after riding home and last night I even made a pitstop at coles to get some more vegies to go with my dinner.
Yesterday I burnt another 1100 calories through exercise alone and I ate 22 points of food, so I am well within the range of what I could have eaten.
So far this week, in 3 days, I have burnt 3500 calories and have eaten really well - Go me! This weekend I will be out riding both days, about 40km's of hills on Saturday morning and then a 70km ride on Sunday so I might do 4000-5000 on the weekend alone. If I don't lose weight this Monday then I will be extremely pissed off!
I still haven't had any alcohol and I am now on Day 9. It is hard to work out if I feel so great due to this or the exercise but either way it is a great combination and soon my legs should stop hurting from the walking - they will get used to it. I am really enjoying going for the walk after riding home and last night I even made a pitstop at coles to get some more vegies to go with my dinner.
Yesterday I burnt another 1100 calories through exercise alone and I ate 22 points of food, so I am well within the range of what I could have eaten.
So far this week, in 3 days, I have burnt 3500 calories and have eaten really well - Go me! This weekend I will be out riding both days, about 40km's of hills on Saturday morning and then a 70km ride on Sunday so I might do 4000-5000 on the weekend alone. If I don't lose weight this Monday then I will be extremely pissed off!
Thursday, February 8, 2007
1000 calories in a day
Yesterday I did my normal commute to work by bike and then when I got home I went for a walk straight away. The original plan was to go after dinner or something, but then that would require a 3rd shower for the day and a few other annoying things so I decided to go once I got home.
I grabbed the iPod, grabbed the Garmin and off I went to walk around my neighbour hood. I decided to head towards a big park down the road as I had never been there before and figured it would be good to check it out and I am glad I did. It is a sensational park - it has clean electric BBQ's, tables and chairs, a stage area, a lake and a HEAP of grassy area's where kids and dog's were all running around having a great time. On the other side of the park there is also a memorial for local people who went to war, an area with a basketball ring and a wall to hit a tennis ball against plus a skate park kinda area. It really is a fantastic park and only 1.5km's or so from home!
All up I ended up walking 3.6km's in 35mins at a speed of 6km/h which is perfect as my HR averaged 114bpm.
After the 1hr of cycling and 35 mins of walking I ended up burning close enough to 1000 calories from exercise alone which is fantastic. I also continued to write down my food that I ate and the points value for the food, even the corn chips, and with the points earnt from exercise I could have eaten even more food, so it is good that I was below. I can have 21 points in a normal day, I then earnt 10 from exercise and I ate 24.5 points of food.
Last night I also had my first camera club committee meeting for the year. Gee these folk's can annoy me sometime... I am not sure if it is to do with their age (all 60+ probably) or what but they can be so stubborn and only want to agree for things to happen if it is their idea and try to convince you that your idea isn't as good as theirs... they really need to be more open minded!
It should be a good year for the club, I am the social secretary and I want to try to up the communication a bit more in the club and get people enthused a bit more by having more social gatherings. I have a few things to organise like a winery tour and day trips so it should be fun.
I grabbed the iPod, grabbed the Garmin and off I went to walk around my neighbour hood. I decided to head towards a big park down the road as I had never been there before and figured it would be good to check it out and I am glad I did. It is a sensational park - it has clean electric BBQ's, tables and chairs, a stage area, a lake and a HEAP of grassy area's where kids and dog's were all running around having a great time. On the other side of the park there is also a memorial for local people who went to war, an area with a basketball ring and a wall to hit a tennis ball against plus a skate park kinda area. It really is a fantastic park and only 1.5km's or so from home!
All up I ended up walking 3.6km's in 35mins at a speed of 6km/h which is perfect as my HR averaged 114bpm.
After the 1hr of cycling and 35 mins of walking I ended up burning close enough to 1000 calories from exercise alone which is fantastic. I also continued to write down my food that I ate and the points value for the food, even the corn chips, and with the points earnt from exercise I could have eaten even more food, so it is good that I was below. I can have 21 points in a normal day, I then earnt 10 from exercise and I ate 24.5 points of food.
Last night I also had my first camera club committee meeting for the year. Gee these folk's can annoy me sometime... I am not sure if it is to do with their age (all 60+ probably) or what but they can be so stubborn and only want to agree for things to happen if it is their idea and try to convince you that your idea isn't as good as theirs... they really need to be more open minded!
It should be a good year for the club, I am the social secretary and I want to try to up the communication a bit more in the club and get people enthused a bit more by having more social gatherings. I have a few things to organise like a winery tour and day trips so it should be fun.
Wednesday, February 7, 2007
Back on track
Yesterday I cycled to work and then to James' place so all up 28km's of riding over 1hr 15mins or so and then I did a walking lap of Princes Park and a bit more for 40 mins while keeping my HR around 115-120bpm. So in almost 2 hrs of exercise I burnt just under 1500 calories for the day!
I also wrote down everything I ate and worked out the WW points value for it all which was 25 points. I am only meant to eat 21 points a day and then I can earn more points by exercising. I have worked out that I actually earnt an extra 11 points yesterday from my exercising, so I ate very well yesterday.
If I keep on track like this and combined with no alcohol I should be able to drop 4-5kg's by the end of the month -fingers crossed- The key point will be keeping to my WW points and doing a 40 min walk most days as it will put my HR in the 'correct' zone for weightloss... it should also help my legs 'recover' from the cycling too by getting rid of the lactic acid. It isn't rocket science but it does take focus and being organised.
I also wrote down everything I ate and worked out the WW points value for it all which was 25 points. I am only meant to eat 21 points a day and then I can earn more points by exercising. I have worked out that I actually earnt an extra 11 points yesterday from my exercising, so I ate very well yesterday.
If I keep on track like this and combined with no alcohol I should be able to drop 4-5kg's by the end of the month -fingers crossed- The key point will be keeping to my WW points and doing a 40 min walk most days as it will put my HR in the 'correct' zone for weightloss... it should also help my legs 'recover' from the cycling too by getting rid of the lactic acid. It isn't rocket science but it does take focus and being organised.
Tuesday, February 6, 2007
Food Journal
I have decided that seeing as I am not drinking for the entire month, I should go the whole way and start writing down what I am eating and counting my points again. If I am doing this to kick start my weightloss again then I should do it properly. I seem to have forgotten the points values for a lot of food so I will need to refamiliarise myself with them, but as long as I write down each day what I am eating I can then work out the points at the end of the day.
Due to my cycling I tend to eat a bit more than if I was just exercising at the gym but that's because I burn so many more calories! As a result I need to focus more on eating healthier foods. On the whole I eat reasonably well anyway, but I just need to cut out the odd thing here and there. I also need to re-focus on portion sizes again and most importantly stop eating once I am contently full!
I am also going to start walking of an evening, generally after dinner. This will not only fill in some time and stop me from getting bored, but it will mean that I will be exercising in the E1-E2 HR range which is more ideal for weightloss.
Due to my cycling I tend to eat a bit more than if I was just exercising at the gym but that's because I burn so many more calories! As a result I need to focus more on eating healthier foods. On the whole I eat reasonably well anyway, but I just need to cut out the odd thing here and there. I also need to re-focus on portion sizes again and most importantly stop eating once I am contently full!
I am also going to start walking of an evening, generally after dinner. This will not only fill in some time and stop me from getting bored, but it will mean that I will be exercising in the E1-E2 HR range which is more ideal for weightloss.
Monday, February 5, 2007
Perspective
Just as my housemate was going to bed I yelled out 'Don't worry I put the bins out!' her reply was 'I've been putting the bins out for weeks!!!' If you want to class 2 weeks as weeks then sure go for it - although I doubt it was both the last two weeks anyway... nevermind the 5 months previous to that when I did it just about each and every week and she would only do something once she saw me doing them when I got home. It doesn't overly bother me that I end up putting the bins out most of the time, but she is the one who says to me 'it is your turn to do XXX cleaning' Maybe I would worry more about that if she did more than just the ocassional dishes and "sweeping" of the floors... you know like clean the toilet or clean the hand basin or the shower etc...
Day 5
So today is day 5 of The Challenge and I still haven't had any alcohol and I feel fantastic! This is the first weekend in who knows how long where I haven't had any alcohol and I feel great today. I never really realised until now that alcohol does make you feel a bit sluggish and drains you of energy. So even though I don't get hangovers I am still being affected by the alcohol (durr!) but until now I didn't really realise. Normally on a Monday morning I am sluggish and a bit bleh but today I feel great :D
Sunday, February 4, 2007
Issues with my Garmin Edge 305
I had issues yesterday with not being able to upload my ride data from yesterday morning to my Mac - it said it couldn't communicate with the device. Today I went into the office to check to see if it worked on a windows machine but I got the same problem.
After searching the motion based forums I discovered that if you are using the latest Garmin Training Centre (3.2.1) to communicate with the device and you try to upload more than 1 map/track to the device then it stops it from being able to communicate with the computer. I was using trail runner and load my tracks to upload the the maps/tracks and it still caused the problem.
I have had to do a hard reboot of the device (holding down mode while turning it on) and have lost all my profiles and ride data etc but now it appears to be working ok with my work PC.
I was really looking forward to being able to view my graph and map of my ride from Thornbury to Humevale and return too - ahh well!
Here are the reference links in case you want to read about it yourself
http://forums.motionbased.com/smf/index.php?topic=4900.20
http://forums.motionbased.com/smf/index.php?topic=4870.0
http://forums.motionbased.com/smf/index.php?topic=4888.0
After searching the motion based forums I discovered that if you are using the latest Garmin Training Centre (3.2.1) to communicate with the device and you try to upload more than 1 map/track to the device then it stops it from being able to communicate with the computer. I was using trail runner and load my tracks to upload the the maps/tracks and it still caused the problem.
I have had to do a hard reboot of the device (holding down mode while turning it on) and have lost all my profiles and ride data etc but now it appears to be working ok with my work PC.
I was really looking forward to being able to view my graph and map of my ride from Thornbury to Humevale and return too - ahh well!
Here are the reference links in case you want to read about it yourself
http://forums.motionbased.com/smf/index.php?topic=4900.20
http://forums.motionbased.com/smf/index.php?topic=4870.0
http://forums.motionbased.com/smf/index.php?topic=4888.0
Saturday, February 3, 2007
Second longest
Today I rode around 90km's and burnt nearly 3000 calories and then when I got home I didn't even have a beer! GO ME!
Unfortunately my GPS thingy is having issues so I can't a) get to my data and b) upload it but I think I have figured it out and it is working on something so it should be all good soon! This would also explain why it didn't work last night at James' place.. it is all a learning curve.
After the ride today I had a 2 1/2 hr nap and I am still kinda tired... I also need to drink a lot more fluid as I can see that I haven't had enough and im also bloody hungry! I will hopefully upload some pretty pictures of the ride later (or tomorrow)
Unfortunately my GPS thingy is having issues so I can't a) get to my data and b) upload it but I think I have figured it out and it is working on something so it should be all good soon! This would also explain why it didn't work last night at James' place.. it is all a learning curve.
After the ride today I had a 2 1/2 hr nap and I am still kinda tired... I also need to drink a lot more fluid as I can see that I haven't had enough and im also bloody hungry! I will hopefully upload some pretty pictures of the ride later (or tomorrow)
Thursday, February 1, 2007
Day 1
So it is Day 1 of The Challenge and things have all gone well, I even cooked Beef Stroganoff and didn't include any wine! People have been trying all day to get seduce me into having a drink, but its not even an issue for me. I find it funny that people are trying to get me to drink when I don't even want one.
Under The Knife
This morning I had a mole removed off my back and I now have 5 stitches near the centre of my back. My Dr told me to keep an eye on it and due to its location on my back I couldn't really do that so I opted to have it removed instead. Due to the location the stitches have to stay in for 2 weeks. I am hoping like hell that it wont stop me riding my bike, I will test it out later today once the local is fully worn off, but I doubt it will affect me sitting on the bike, although I will avoid putting the bike in the car as I have to stretch and lean forward, which could be bad.
Having removed the mole, my Dr doesn't think that it is dodgy looking, which is nice, but I will know more when the pathology comes back.
It was interesting looking at the mole in the container - they are a bit like an iceburg in that they are a LOT bigger under the surface!
Having removed the mole, my Dr doesn't think that it is dodgy looking, which is nice, but I will know more when the pathology comes back.
It was interesting looking at the mole in the container - they are a bit like an iceburg in that they are a LOT bigger under the surface!
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