audio-talk

Ta MrP, healing fast already. Did Lostwithiel to Padstow today via the Camel Trail.



It was ace but the climb out of of Losty was hard work....


I had to walk/push a part of it, ooooffff!

Departed: Jul 31, '18, 10:17AM
Starts in: Lostwithiel, England, GB
Distance: 37.6 mi
Elevation: + 3004 / - 3015 ft
Max Grade
21.0 %
Avg. Grade
0.2 %
VAM 600 Vm/h
Ascent time 01:31:32
Descent time 01:17:30
Total Duration: 03:58:03
Moving Time: 02:49:02
Stopped Time: 01:09:01
Max Speed: 32.7 mph
Avg. Speed: 13.3 mph
Pace: 00:06:20
Moving Pace: 00:04:30

I got the message about the location re- picking up the bike Ray, ta, see you Friday.

That's a nice ride Mr. B.

I had a little spare time this afternoon so headed out on my usual 20mile there and back route; it was a bit blustery but I still set another PB over the route. I worked hard to maintain the pace, reflected in the HR numbers but that''s a pleasing average wattage. I'm starting to wonder if a sub one-hour time might be possible, though it's a big ask to take around 15-20seconds a mile off my moving pace time at the moment.

Departed: Jul 31, '18, 02:06PM
Starts in: Taunton Deane, England, GB
Distance: 19.4 mi
Elevation: +944/ 940 ft
Max Grade: 8.1 %
VAM: 474 Vm/h
Moving Time: 01:04:14
Calories: 852
Avg. Watts: 221
Max Speed: 31.4 mph
Avg. Speed: 18.2 mph
Moving Pace: 00:03:18
Max Heartrate: 153 bpm
Min Heartrate: 73 bpm
Avg. Heartrate: 128.7 bpm

Also, about a third of me has ceased to exist, I'm almost down to my target weight of around 12st; currently 12.5st, which means I'm lighter now than when I was 16! Not bad considering I started to bay attention to my health when I touched 17st. I feel sooooo much better for it.

Also, about a third of me has ceased to exist,

Well, its still in existence, its just not following you around any more.

Nick wrote: ↑Tue Jul 31, 2018 11:01 pm

Also, about a third of me has ceased to exist,

Well, its still in existence, its just not following you around any more.

I wondered who would be first...

You seem to have lived your cycling life in reverse, Ray. I was like a whippet when I was 19 - came back from the Alps weighing about 9st4lb. Now I'm nearly 14st

IslandPink wrote: ↑Tue Jul 31, 2018 11:50 pm You seem to have lived your cycling life in reverse, Ray. I was like a whippet when I was 19 - came back from the Alps weighing about 9st4lb. Now I'm nearly 14st

100kg/15.75st here - cycling restarts in late September when the temperature drops, but we don't have hills. When I was at university, I weighed 85kg/13.5st and did time-trials. Rugby pushed that up to 16st and at my heaviest, 17st when gyming 4 or 5 times a week.

Have decided that now I can swim a bit, sprint triathlons are the thing to do - 750mtr open water swim, 20km bike, 5km run. My age group is reasonably competitive, but it'll be interesting to see how it pans out.

IslandPink wrote: ↑Tue Jul 31, 2018 11:50 pm You seem to have lived your cycling life in reverse, Ray. I was like a whippet when I was 19 - came back from the Alps weighing about 9st4lb. Now I'm nearly 14st

More like a renaissance Mark; I was a keen club rider (riding TTs and some road races - quite a bit of track too) through my teens and into my early twenties but then I just stopped riding.

Ray P wrote: ↑Wed Aug 01, 2018 6:48 am

IslandPink wrote: ↑Tue Jul 31, 2018 11:50 pm You seem to have lived your cycling life in reverse, Ray. I was like a whippet when I was 19 - came back from the Alps weighing about 9st4lb. Now I'm nearly 14st

More like a renaissance Mark; I was a keen club rider (riding TTs and some road races - quite a bit of track too) through my teens and into my early twenties but then I just stopped riding.

Common problem. Circumstances change. It's amazing what happens when you restart regular sport and it's never too late.

My weight hadn't changed - it's just moved North and more muscle, less fat! Muscle is denser, so I'm not quite as buoyant but I still weigh 100kg...

The whole weight thing is a bit of a distraction - as you get older (and it seems most of us are in the "older" bracket) your metabolism slows but our calorie intake remains the same.

It's a simple equation: energy in vs. energy out. Most exercise, unless of the endurance type, does not burn a huge amount of calories - for me, a 5km run at a 10km/hr pace equates to about 520 calories - people just need to eat less (especially carbs and dairy) and more sensibly. Sport does help build fitness and tone - less fat, more muscle.

Also, cutting most dairy out of your diet is generally a good idea; we all need a bit of cholesterol (of the right type), but whilst women tend to store fat subcutaneously in the breasts, waist & backside/thighs; men, especially older men, tend to store it internally. This internal fat is stored round our organs as "visceral fat" and too much is a BAD THING. You can look trim and seemingly have a good diet but still have way too much visceral fat. Risk of type 2 diabetes, strokes & heart attacks. Eat less butter, cheese, milk etc. You still need calcium and dairy is most people's main source, so be sensible - I use alpro almond milk with added calcium and vitamin D, but it's an acquired taste

Yep, there's no great science in this; eat right and exercise more. But it's not just the physiological side, I find the benefits of getting fitter include being more positive, sleeping better and having better concentration/focus. On the downside I feel the cold more!

...or the complete opposite if you suffer from chronic fatigue.

IslandPink wrote: ↑Wed Aug 01, 2018 10:28 pm ...or the complete opposite if you suffer from chronic fatigue.

As in "syndrome"?

Yes, mild, but still a major limitation. Sleep is a big problem and always worse after exercise, so recovery is delayed. Trying to follow any 'plan' for the training is hit & miss. if I'm lucky I might have a good couple of months and make some progress.

Just IME...and this really helped me a while back. the problem might be in the expectation of the 'plan'. Life isn't a plan. Just cycle when you really really want to, if you do you might find that you just get totally lost in the moment and the benefit of that is even greater than it might 1st appear. It can be very long reaching. If you don't, don't worry, don't force 'fun' because fun doesn't happen that way. If its not fun, don't do it because you're on the path to no-win and that's not a good thing (IMO/IME).

In essence I agree with what DTB just wrote.

Well, the cycling hasn't had much of a plan in recent years - just a means to keep the fitness ticking over. The problem with Dave's idea that I should just go out only when I really want to is that there'd be gaps of a couple of months some time, and my fitness would go right down the drain. Plus my weight is proving to be a problem these days. I really have to go out regularly , say an hour each weekend, just to keep things moving. The pulse meter helps in this regard, I can aim for a low-ish target ( always ) and then there are further things I can glean from it, if it's higher than expected or won't go up easily at all.
Odd thing is, I had a really good walk last Saturday o the hills. It was the best I've felt for about 3 years, the climbing was so much quicker and easier than normal. This was the sort of thing the doctor said was 'atypical' in my case.