Quick Gains and Early Pains

Well this blog has only been running since 24 July, so a touch over two weeks and amazingly we have some early gains.......7 pounds of them.  Sure enough just getting out there on Sally is making a big difference very quickly as is a bit of a change of eating habits.  And when I say change of eating habits I actually mean eating more on occasions.

So people wonder why I call my bike Sally?  Sally gets her name due to my lack of discipline in cleaning her after rides on the road.... Sale is french for dirty hence Sally came about.  Sally and I have been doing predominantly functional cycling.  Instead of jumping in the car or taking the train I have been leaving for appointment a little earlier and  taking the bike.  Sometimes this has mean a couple of hours in the saddle once you count the return trip.  Cycling is great for me as isn’t an impact sport but my love of it and the challenge it offers has lead to some sore knees and and aching muscles.  I have to remember I am not Bradley Wiggins, but puffing my way up some of the hills around here in the spinny gears has actually lead to Tour de France like elation.

"942 feet of climbing!  Then the reverse profile on the way back"

I use Adidas Mi:Coach to track my workout but you can get plenty of stuff that is compatible with your iPhone or other smartphone.  I think the product needs some calibration which I have yet to do as it shows me as training beyond the red zone and whilst some of those climbs were certainly hard I wasn't going Jonny Brownlee over it.

"What is beyond the red zone?"

When I say a change in eating, this is not a diet.  When presented with a cup cake baked and iced by my two year old son....I am going to eat it and my mother in law is always popping round with "a little treat" or something calorific.  What I have done is be more thoughtful about what I eat and when, sometimes this has meant eating more.  Like directly after a long ride I have taken to knocking back For Goodness Shakes - now when I used to play rugby and all the boys were doing creatine I steered well clear and maybe that explains why I never made an international player...that and a lack of application to training.  What I have found since using For Goodness Shakes is that I don't get the munchies later on in the day, as I have topped up my bodies protein and carb reserves in a calorie controlled way rather than grabbing handfuls of the children's cereal straight from the box.

Anyway I have a few aches and pains from jumping back into activity with out always remembering to stretch, warm down or go easy on myself but the happiness that a 7 pound loss brings numbs them a little.  I may schedule a little running in this week to celebrate......