Day 80 - Trainers on.

Day 80 - A Long Road Travelled.

80 Days ago I decided to start something. I can't believe I'm still going strong, stronger than ever in fact. I feel awesome, albeit a little fatigued, but awesome. My life feels like it has turned a real corner in the health and fitness department and that is what I was after.

12 weeks in, and my will power is growing with my strength. I've noticed that on this journey (and thanks for hitching a ride with me, I love the company) my eating habits are consistently improving, my strength and admiration for gym work has increased, and my cardio elements are really going from strength to strength. The best bit is that people are starting to notice my body changing and that adds motivation, and the extra support from those around us by means of the occasional compliment goes such a long way in helping us to keep our compass pointing in the right direction.

Changing the Game.

After a little advice from a super fit colleague of mine about distance running training, I've decided to do as I said yesterday. I'm increasing my kilometre count per week, adding the distance to my legs. I really want my body to be comfortable and be able to sustain a full marathon. The only way I can successfully achieve this is to put my trainers on, and get my run on. I plan to taper my gym sessions, maintaining strength and core work but not heavy. I'm going to be continuing with the endurance training, but more reps and lots lighter weight. 

Starting Monday, my program will look a little more unusual - especially since I will mostly train at night. I cannot fit much into the mornings due to work commitments for the next 2 weeks....

So, my plan is in formation. I'm currently working on my running sessions having some variety-flavour! I want to throw in a 5km speed session, a Hills Session (in principle a HIIT Workout), a Spin-Run Brick Session (something like a 5km Spin then 10km Run), a middle distance 15km Run, and a long run (25-35km or thereabouts). I also want to maintain at least 2-3 swims per week, and a minimum of 3 gym workouts. I'm going to spend this weekend building a new endurance, low weight program for myself, so watch this space.

 

Half a Marathon

Since signing up for the Marathon, I've only done sub-10km runs for one reason or another. Today I decided to change that. I thought at first to do a 16km run, then as my run progressed I felt comfortable pushing the distance. I ran 20.9km, so for arguments sake a half marathon and that was a great start.

I have to say, at first I was running with slightly sore right ankle (due to some heavy challenges at footie the other night Bruce Lee was on the opposing team and he had a good go at trying to snap my ankle! After the first 5km were out of the way, my legs started to be less obvious to me and my ankle pains subsided a little. I ran past Jervis Bay Village, Green Patch, Bristol Point, Scottish Rocks, Hole in the Wall and finally arrived at Murrays Boat Ramp (MBR). MBR is about the furthest south you can get to in Jervis Bay by road; located 8.5km from my warm cosy cabin, it did however offer the most fantastic sunset on my arrival - well worth the effort in getting there. I took a few seconds to enjoy the vista afore my eyes, take leak and get back on my way again. As I headed back up the hill (not experienced this particular hill since my Exercise Matapan scenarios from NEOC) donned my head torch and made for HMAS Creswell.

As I approached the 10km point, at around 56minutes, I snapped open my first ever GU Gel electrolyte. I opted for 'Espresso Love' flavour.

After talking with IronRay, I cautiously took small sips of the extra thick gel at 1km intervals. I didn't have my hydration bladder with me, so I took the small quantity of gel and pasted it around my gums and sort of sucked it and mixed it with my saliva to make it more palatable. I have to say though, no complaints on taste or the thickness. I made the gel last a little longer, and controlled the uptake of the energy gel. At the 15-16km mark, I stuffed the empty packet into my shorts zipper pocket and continued on. By comparison to the Endura Brand, the gel was thicker and more noticeably so. No after affects on my gut from either gel is a very good sign for this glutard!

As I ran through the gates at Creswell I felt the surge of energy kick in and I pushed through to chuck in a couple laps of the quarter deck, clock tower and waterfront...just for shits and giggle...well, actually to firstly hit 18km...then I kept going and at 20km I was almost home, thought I'd make the 21km exactly...but 100m out and still under 2hrs of running...I was very pleased.

Average Pace: 5:43/km

Average Heart Rate: 149bpm

Calories Burnt: 1807

I took a screenshot from Map My Ride's website, and it shows a few points of interest. The run was essentially a dark run, with many a kangaroo and cane toad along the roadside. I saw a sum total of 6 cars in 2 hours of road running off-base. It was a beautiful evening, fairly balmy until the sun was finally set and then it was pretty chilly (especially when my sweaty singlet was sticking to me).

These pretty much sum up how I feel at the end of any long run, and why I keep going....

Good Night x

Day 71 - Week 11 in Full Swing

Week 11...

As my last week at HMAS Cerberus starts to close in on me, I have just realised something really interesting. It's been 11 weeks of hard slog in the gym, but thats really helped my focus on my studies too. It was dragging on really slowly, then as I progressed with my training, getting into the blogosphere and seeing small results, the time has literally flown by. Awesome.

So, I thought it would be good to update you all on my progress. So, with week 11 in full swing,  here we go...only 3 sleeps until I go home to Sydney, and my beautiful wifey, Winnie :)

Wake Up Run

I decided, that if my schedule was going to get a little messed up this week, that I would mix up my routine too. As my alarm roused me this morning at 0500h I felt torn - I wanted to get up and go for a short run, but I really really wanted to stay in bed...the justification began and it took around 15 minutes before I pushed past it, and started to sluggishly get dressed. I even checked the weather! So, even though I wanted to run, something was making me resist, but too be honest that was just me being somewhat lazy I'd say.

I had a quick stretch, and set off on my way. As my Garmin 910XT beeped to inform me that I'd ran my 1st kilometre, the rain set in. It was fairly hard going, but a worthy run. I ran at my usual distance pace of 6min/km, and started to enjoy the rain.

I know I only ran 5.12km, and it took me 31:48 to complete, but I feel about a million times better  for actually doing something this morning.

6-A-Side Footie 

90 minutes of indoor football, running around, keeping goal and sweating like a beast. That's the nature of it. Dutchie always organises a game, twice a week without fail. Football fever really is setting in again! I let 2 goals in tonight (as keeper), and scored 1...not bad.

For me, I enjoy playing indoor footie because its a really good team exercise, all working together to try and win. Tackles, rebounds, headers and all the skills (more some that others). I particularly enjoy the level of fitness that it needs, really quickly improves your sprint / explosive power. I can go on.

Just Because...

Training on Fatigue

SO, post footie I headed directly to the gym to get my burn on. I pushed through a 75 minute shoulders and abdominals workout, with the burn and ache of fatigue as I progressed. I made through the workout, knowing that I turned a corner (and hit a wall) with my endurance training. Today I have truly tested my boundaries. You see, I've also increased the number of reps from 8 to 10, and still train 4 sets. I've only reduced the weight a little to allow for the extra work, but I could feel the need for fuel etc kicking in as the fatigue wormed its way into my workout.

I've had a positive day for training, but it hasn't been easy. Today, I struggled to start and as I gained momentum I trained with great energy. I will probably rest tomorrow morning, and train late in the day so I give my body time to get over it.

Days 64-70 - Guilt, Decisions and Fitting It All In..

Guilt Trip?

Why do we feel guilty for missing a workout? Its something that really bugs me. Anyone who regularly trains, watches what they eat and lives an active lifestyle knows that missing one workout isn't going to reverse time, add layers of fat or make us inconceivably unfit.  So why do we beat ourselves up over it? Over the past 10 weeks I've been working really hard to maintain consistency in my training routine, and healthier eating regime. As time has gone by, I've noticed how much easier it has been getting to get myself to the gym, or choose the healthy meal for dinner. I've survived the past 70 days on a balanced diet of guilt, inspiration and reward. But why? Well, I've been reading up on this....

The real fire starter that made me start writing about it was the events of the past week (grad week). As I look back upon a very busy week; a week packed with early starts, long days of presentations  about naval stuff, and late evenings spent social networking; I recall the amount of guilt I felt for skipping a few training sessions, and for the social drinking I've participated in (and there was a lot of that). I woke each day, a little slower, each day hoping to get some exercise, and punishing myself if I didn't get some. I managed two 90 minute football (5-a-side) games, some gym time and a lunch time swim between Tuesday and Friday. Sunday I punished myself at the Flinders Street Fitness First, and today I had a glimpse of a normal day, compressed into the evening session. It was a wicked to give my back and abs the blast they needed, plus a good 15 minute spin, followed by a quick 13 minute 500m swim just about finished me off.

So, after each session, and in particular tonight's, I started to lose all feelings of guilt, once I had punished myself. It's been annoying me as to why I felt guilt in the first place...So, lets talk this one out....

Different Points of View

Is developing a healthy mindset a vital component of a healthy lifestyle? I believe it is. I also believe that making decisions and taking ownership of our choices keeps us on track, without the twang of guilt that makes us feel so bad.

One article I read suggested that a primary reason for people skipping workouts is that the drudgery that can occur when workouts are forced, or in other words, if we want to be successful we need to stop forcing ourselves to do the things we don't like doing. Well, that seems sensible.

My research led me to a US Football Coach, John Gagliardi, who is accredited with being the most successful college football coach in the history of football coaches....wow. He has a philosophy thats so simple its cringe worthy. Intrinsic Motivation.

So, what is Intrinsic Motivation, well it's funny but this was also mentioned during the week at one of the naval presentations by a well regarded Captain. It is the key to longevity in all things; but lets keep it fitness related....It basically this: if you like it or enjoy it or find it fun, you'll keep doing it. FULL STOP.

So if liking exercise is the key to sticking with it, what makes us like it? Apparently, there's three things that we need:

1. Autonomy - the choice to do it is made by YOU, not someone else.
2. Competence - you know what you're doing, or are at least you're improving.
3. Relatedness - the activity connects you in some way with other people.

That's how the US footie coach did it, by creating an environment with all three, nearly 60 years ago.

Points to Remember: 

• Exercise is a choice, not a jail sentence - Knowing that you are in charge of what you do may assist you in getting started.
• Exercise is a commitment you make everyday - Some days you're more committed than others. You need discipline and consistency to keep you getting out of the door.
• Every day is different - Some days you need to work harder to get motivated.

Skipping....?

I often find myself, feeling guilty for asking the following question - How will skipping affect my day? Well, I've discovered recently that a workout isn’t just important for burning calories, it can affect every part of your day, both physically and mentally. I try to remind myself that getting in a workout routine:

Gives you more energy

Improves your confidence and self-satisfaction

Starts your day on the right foot

Helps you concentrate better

Helps you get more things done

Allows you to actively re-commit to your goals

Exercise is one of the few things you can do that seeps into all areas of your life. Just a few minutes and some sweat will pay off in the long run.

I guess, the crux of my research points to mindset. Develop a healthy relationship with your training. Have fun, and enjoy what you're doing. Don't be hard on yourself if you need to skip, but remember why you train and how good you feel and use that as motivation to get yourself back on track. It's not looking like an exact science, so have fun with finding out what works for you... I do.

Days 58 & 59 - Blur

Blurring the Lines....

Talk about crazy busy. Yesterday I woke up late (first time in 9 weeks), missed my early morning workout and got annoyed with myself. Thankfully, we were cut-away early so I punished myself for 90 minutes doing an extended version of my missed workout. Endurance training for 90 minutes was hard work, but it got my head back in place and made me feel stronger. Sometimes we trip, we fall flat on our faces, but when we rise up, we stand up stronger and with greater purpose to not do it again.

I think being human about this stuff, whilst trying desperately hard to stick to a routine is why I am seeing results (both physical and emotional). I feel more together than I have before. I'm more zen and less hectic. Tuesday's yoga allowed me to reflect on that too. I still believe the goals we set ourselves can drive us crazy, can lead to tunnel vision of the rest of the stuff going on around us. That kind of perceptual narrowing, is totally going to mean that destination ends up overshadowing the journey. To me, the journey is still the most important element. We have our bumps, and our triumphs, but most of all we create an emotional attachment to the new way of being - it makes us feel good to step off the plane onto the tarmac at the start of an adventure, it lifts our spirits to see the sun rise or fall over a new back drop..this is why I travel, the destinations are not as important as how I get there....

Using this, helps. I've found of late, that the journey has been blurring somewhat, and this is causing me to get upset for the minor setbacks. Shit happens, to all of us, most of the time.. Remember, falling off your bike (as I've done a lot lately, dang cleats) just means you can get back on it and re-adjust. I suggest having a good laugh too. I guess what I'm trying to say is that we all need to slow it down, enjoy the bumps and sensations of the ride. We should all take a few minutes to ground ourselves,  take the time to align ourselves and carry on.

Chest, Abdominals, Arms & Abdominals

2 Days of tough training, like the rest of this week. Its pretty intense working for 60-90 minutes without a rest set. The endurance really shows when you're burning through fatigue. Obviously, as this is a new experience in the gym for me, I've dropped the weights (not by much) to maintain the work, keep the reps at 8 per set, and all exercises are 4 sets. Moving directly from a set of Chest or Arms to a set of Abdominals, then back to the original chest/arms set is not easy. My body is a little sore, but good sore, and I'm enjoying challenging my resistance workouts with a cardio-intensive rhythm. It's like I'm doing my own version of cross fit or something! I work really hard, usually I'm sweating before I get throughout the first "pair" of exercises. You see, I pair the exercises based on the logistics of what I need to do each. So for example, doing bent over rows (on back day) using the land mine set up is perfect for land mine 180s for abs. Or going from palm up forearm burners, leaning over a bench leads itself nicely for body based abs like plank or retractors.

Here's a sample of the last two Workouts: Remember I alternate between each set of each exercise....

Thursday:

1. Palm Up Forearm Burners & Plank (20 sec hold)
2. Palm Down Forearm Burners & Retractors
3. Standing Zuttman Curls & Plate Twists (10kg plate)
4. E-Z Bar Spiderman Curls & Side Plate Bends (20kg plate)
5. Inclined Bench Barbell Curls & Barbell Ab Rollouts
6. Standing Barbell Drag Curls & Heel Tap Twists
7. E-Z Bar Skull Crushers & Bicycle Twist Abs
8. Low Cable Overhead Extenders & V-Sits
9. Cable Reverse Grip Tricep Pulldowns & Cable Ab Crunches
10. Cable Tricep Pushdowns & Hanging Knee Up Crunches
11. 90 minute Bikram Yoga Workout in the evening

As you can see, its pretty full-on, and doing 4 sets of each is a real killer! This little lot took me an hour to pull off, so I was not hanging around! Yesterday's 90 minute punishment was tough, but worthwhile!

Wednesday:

1. Bench Press & Bottoms Up Raises
2. Incline Bench Press & Retractors
3. Decline Bench Press & Plate Twists (10kg plate)
4. Push Ups & Farmers Cage Walks (110kg max) - 6 sets just for fun
5. Incline Dumbbell Chest Press & Bicycle Twist Abs
6. Incline  Dumbbell Pectoral Fly & Side Plate Bends (20kg plate)
7. High Cable Fly & Land mine 180s (15kg plate)
8. Low Cable Fly & Pallof Press Core Holds
9. Pec-Deck & Single-arm Land mine 180 wiper catch & throws (10kg plate)
10. 90 minute Bikram Yoga workout in the evening

Bikram

It is the first time in absolutely months, that I have practiced Bikram so frequently. I've really missed the class and how it leaves me feeling. I've noticed that I'm calmer, less erratic, more balanced than usual.

When I'm in the class, of course I'm thinking "my gosh, this is hot", or "why can't I breathe properly", or "I wish I could stretch and bend like the person in front of me"... but after acknowledging my thoughts, I return to my breath and silently meditate on my mantra "Om mani padme hum" which really quietens my mind. I sometime just solely focus on my breathing, how I breathe determines how calm I feel. The other thing I've noticed is that as I can hear/feel my heart rate elevating, my meditation and thought process often leads to my thinking about calming my heart down. I can often feel the slowing heart rate as a result of my thoughts.

What I think I'm saying here is that I'm developing an internal self-regulation of my core functioning. My heart rate, breathing and thought processes are all being controlled when I take the time to slow things down, return to basics and calm down. I call it getting my "Zen On"...

Day 57 - What Makes Us Stronger....

Tuesdays 

An interesting day. I like to train shoulders and abdominals, and that motivates me to bound outta bed and get my groove on. Mr Ped's generous loan of his car for the week is really enabling me to get to the gym and back (just) in time for classes starting at 0730h.

So, as I've previously explained, I'm working to intensify my workouts this week and today I worked ridiculously hard with shoulders and abdominals. I worked like a crazy person, each set of reps of shoulders was followed by an abdominals set - no rest breaks. This made for a very hard, workout. Since I was doubling up on each exercise combo, I actually added more overall exercises. 

The way I see it, there are a few things that make us stronger. The first is discipline, determination and miles and miles of heart - all summed up as EFFORT.

The more effort you put into anything, the greater the feeling of achievement when you complete the task. The only problem with effort, is that its not a given. You need to put in to get out. It's your responsibility to do this.

Effort? It is as simple as the definition: A vigorous or determined attempt. So, in terms of health and well being, you just gotta get up, get your butt in the gym, pool, on your bike or whatever you plan to do, and put in as hard work as you can to achieve what you want. It takes more than one go. You have to understand that it takes time, practice, evaluation, reflection and a whole lot of work...not to mention commitment, and sacrifice. To achieve results you need to be a disciple and a student to it. You have to live, breathe and think it. Become it.

Sacrifice. Well there's something I've not talked about at all.... I'm not going to offer up any virgins to a deity, or perform some weird and wonderful ritual.... I'm talking about Personal Sacrifice. I like cakes, I like ice cream, I love ice cream. I love to drink socially...but and here it is - I love the idea of being a fit, healthy husband (and father?). I love the idea of completing an Ironman and a marathon, and the idea of losing my belly....I love these things much, much more. It's not easy giving up what you love, I miss bread and gluten and weetabix....small sacrifices in the long term.... What are you giving up to get what you want?

After such a great start to today, I was really looking forward to finding a nice way to end the day. Well, Bikram Yoga, with my yogi-buddy Holmie, was the perfect wind-down. I even got complimented on my Triangle and Head to Knee postures! It was pretty hot tonight, and this causes a range of emotional releases, as well as the obvious physical ones... I know Holmie and I both felt that too. Yoga really helps me find clarity when my head's all over the place....

This is me most classes...

Practicing Triangle with Winnie, in Bali 2013....

Family (Near & Far)

I ended the day sharing the love, and again now. I saw my wife on FaceTime which always makes me happier, then a rare treat was spend a good hour with my sister in England, helping her prepare dinner for my two godsons. I even got to see my newest godson... Master G after he woke up from his afternoon nap...such a happy time for me. I sacrifice everyday to just be. It's worth remembering that - look back and see the things we each take for granted, or forget we've given up. I miss my family in the UK, even though I'm building roots of my own here, in Australia. I wouldn't change my situation, except having all of them (and Mr Mouldie & Miss Kimbo) here with us. I miss them so much. I love my life, and I love my family all of it (the Aussie, Chinese, Indonesian, American, and of course the British) and the positive influences expressed on me to create the changes necessary. I thank my family (near, far and extended) for their continued support.

It took me to travel to the other side of the world and a lot of soul searching to realise the damage I was doing to my body, well actually it took meeting Winnie to see what I was doing, but it's taken nearly 6 years for me to even make a proper effort to change things. Until this process begun, I was never prepared to sacrifice, or commit to it. Now, I can't imagine my life without it......

Day 56 - The Week 9 Intensification Process!

Not Long Now...

Yo! How ya going? What an amazing Monday. I thought it would be a great idea to give week 9 an injection of energy, focus and well, something a little more intensive. Plus, I'm highly motivated by the simple fact that I am going home to my wonderful wifey this weekend... 4 More Sleeps :)

How exciting....

Intensification

So, in an effort to up the stakes on this my 56th day, after such a big weekend of achievements I decided to do a morning workout that meant very little breaks and a whole other level of work.

Last week's back workout, although tough, seemed a little like it needed more. So, I decided to couple it with abdominals. How's that any different? Well, instead of back, back, back then abs...I decided to go back, abs, back, abs...no breaks. So after each set of back, I threw in a set of abs. Just because.....

I did a little research on back exercise routines last night, and decided to revamp the whole routine. I started with four sets of axle dead lifts to warm up, I managed to get to 55kg on the bar (75kg total)... After I got stuck into the new plan, with reverse grip bent over rows (with the barbell), with roller abs using the same barbell between sets. I did 4 sets of 8 reps of each, increasing the weight each time to a maximum of 30kg (until I get my technique perfect) - this is actually much harder than it reads....

I set the barbell up using the floor plate (landmine), then conducted sets of T-bar rows, with Landmine 180's between sets. I needed to drop the weight each time for the land mines, but got to 45kg with the rows, and was working up a sweat on the land mines on 30kg! 4 Sets of each later...I was feeling the burn!

I continued with Lat Pull downs - wide grip and narrow, before moving onto the cage farmers walks - today my farmer's walks reached 110kg (new PB). To finish my workout, and since time was getting sparse, I knocked out back hyperextensions, coupled with leg raises and knee crunches. I then punched out 4 chin ups, before moving into the hanging knee crunches and retractors to finish... all 4 sets of 8 reps each... Boom, another 75minute burnout! 

Not to be out done by this morning's effort, I wanted this evening's workout (predominantly cardio based) to challenge me. Subsequently I opted to do a 30 minute leg workout. I incorporated Smith Squats, Leg Press, Hack Squats, and Calf Raises.. I felt a little twinge in my calf so moved to the cardio part.... Incidentally, I PB'd on leg press tonight (180kg), which is another indication that my endurance and strength are really improving....yay for me!

Bricks

So, as you know, one of the new training tools to help me train for triathlons, is the brick session. So, I decided to do an out of sequence Bike then Swim. Since my pride and joy is packed for her trip home, I opted for a 30 minute spin, followed by an attempt at a speedy swim...

So, after a little leg stretching I jumped on the spin bike. 30 minutes later, feeling very comfortable I pulled up having travelled 15km. Nice. I quickly got changed and jumped in the pool. Now, I wanted to work my speed so I thought, hmm a snappy 500m to finish? I was aiming to finish in 15 minutes or less.... However, with my arms burning, and perhaps a little additional blood flowing in my legs I worked particularly hard to complete the swim. When I touched the poolside and stopped the clock, it read 09:52, my fastest lap was 01:06, and 01:58 per lap average. How funny, my best ever!

Day 54 & 55 - There and back, and back.

Challenge Set

Ride to Melbourne from Frankston, then if we have enough left in the 'tank', ride back. Approximated total distance 100km... Mr Peds was keen, and so was I.

Saturday 0500h...beep, beep, beepety-beep! Snooze? Hell No! After a quick breakie, I was dressed and ready to meet me bike buddy, Mr Peds, to head into Franko. It was dark, but not so cold outside. I tested my lights, checked my water bottles were full up (with water and electrolytes), stuffed my pre-packed ziplock of dates, and a four spare fizz-bomb electrolyte tabs into my back pockets of my jersey. I tested the Garmin, and as I finished my pre-start tests...My ride arrived!

The wind was already starting to blow when we started our ride from Oliver's beach, at 0645, but the sun was not rising. The tale tale white peaks on the water told me the wind was going to be consistent, I was expecting a little wind....the forecast said it was going to be blowing from the north.... Eeep!

Challenge Met

With the wind in our faces, this trip was going to be as psychological as it was physical. Keeping positive, and almost enjoying the wind burning my cheeks to a new shade of rosie, was in order. Mr Peds and I kept up the motivation in the early stages of the ride with the excitement factor of getting going with this challenge. Later on in the ride we talked about a manner of interesting things to kill the time. I found myself really buzzing throughout this experience. I really enjoyed the sunrise, watching the world around you light up so slowly, but with intensity is really special. Plus, when you start to see things ahead of you it really amps you up. In no time at all we had reached Mordialloc, and the Tour de Cafe. We stopped for a quick comfort break, and headed on. I got an electrolyte get for later, and stuffed in my back pocket.

Cycling from Mordialloc toward Melbourne was very quick in places, thanks to the big riding groups we encountered. Less nervous about riding in a pack, I was really getting into the whole process. Before I knew it we were smashing hills, and moving at a speed of around 35-45kph! This was fairly easy to achieve, since the slip-stream really helped everyone keep pace. I even ended up at the front of the pack for a few minutes - which was quite the opposite, I felt the drag from the whole group and the wind was back in my face! I managed to get my heart rate up to 173bpm! When I eventually dropped back in the group I could barely talk - SHOCK HORROR! What an awesome experience it was; all the fellow rider gee-ing you along, and giving their hand signals for things in the road, movement and such. I find yourself checking and thinking about the pack more than you think about the pain/agony of riding so fast!

At around Black Rock, the pack was all but gone. We were back to riding at around 22kph, and the wind was getting stronger. We joined lots of smaller packs as we went, and before we knew it were in St Kilda.

As we reached this area, Mr Peds pointed out that over in Williamstown you could see both of the new Landing Helicopter Dock (LHD) vessels - what an awesome sight to see, Nuship Canberra and Nuship Adeliade parked top to tail, side by side... a rare sight, and it made us both feel quite "charry" - lol, Love Navy!

After this we turned in toward the city and our half way marker...

During the ride my front wheel had developed a lovely jingle-jangle sound, which was coming from the hub. We decided to head to Cycles Galleria to get it checked...one problem, it was only 0800h! So, we headed over to Flinders Station for our celebratory photo (and proof we made it).

After this 'photo shoot' we headed for another comfort break, and returned to the saddle. Knowing (and hoping) that wind would still be blowing from the north, we were confident we'd make the return.

Mr Peds took us out of the city a different way, but it was really busy traffic wise, and we decided to take a detour to make it fun. Just prior to this we spotted a bike shop, with a coffee shop attached (in fact they even had a spin studio for the fit-freaks who can't get enough). I asked for their opinion on my hub. As it happens, some good advice - your hub is a warranty! The bearing cover was meant to be pressed on, by machine, but mine had sheared off - well now the roller bearing were exposed - engineers, we know what that means....bad juju for the bearings! Not much I could do about it on this trip, and safe in the knowledge my wheel wasn't going to shit itself on the way home, I decided to carry on. My bike was gaining some new "memories" from the ride now too....

Whist in the coffee shop we had a lovely cappuccino, and some free protein balls. Yummy. The girl behind the counter was from my hemisphere, Clapham (London) and so we got to talking which was nice to help us relax for a few minutes.

 

 My Protein Balls never come out this tasty. I need more practice, clearly...

Hills...

I'm finding hills to be a great experience. I've learnt to prepare my gear shifts in advance, to make transitioning into the hill climb easier. I've learnt that there's a whole lot of technique in climbing and descending hills. Most of all, I think you need a strong core and endurance in your muscles. Since working on my core more frequently in the gym and training specifically for endurance, I've noticed a new gear in my riding. I've got my power in my legs because I'm holding my core better, my shoulders and chest are better positioned (not perfect, still developing) so that they support me as I ride, and climb. I even got to the point, on the return leg, where I was powering up hills with Mr Garmin (a rider dressed in a Garmin suit) who had monster calves, and I feel suitably bed for leaving Mr Peds standing on those occasions. I did however slow down and he caught me up - I did not want my ride buddy and I to be separated for long! Mr Peds commented on how he thought I'd improved, even since we'd last ridden together. Thanks Mate! As I passed my Personal Best to date of 83.97km, I gave out a good cheer "Boo-Ya" and felt very happy that whatever happened, I was in the realms of a new PB! Smiles all around.

The Route

Breaking 100...

So as we got close to the end, we realised we were going to be around 4-5km short of the target of 100km. So, we decided to turn around at Oliver's beach and do a short loop of 2.5km out and back to make it up.... As we approached those last few kilometres we were both feeling pretty happy, in my case almost euphoric to have accomplished something, that only a few months ago seemed like a dream. I remember, laughing and almost being shocked when IronRay, or Mr Keish would talk about 60km rides. Mr Keish would regularly ride home from the central NSW coast to Sydney, and IronRay is a machine from cycle-hell sent to make us all ride harder. I never thought, and said very frequently that I would never be "caught doing that kind of crazy".... How times change.

3 hours 52 Minutes and 49 Seconds of riding, and I loved every second.

So, as we finished, I played a mental fanfare in my head (well out loud actually), and took a pic of my Garmin screen. I took off my cycle shoes, stretched and prepared for our post ride 2km walk to realign blood flow... Oh My Gosh...We did it Mr Peds...plus we burned 2951 calories on that ride!

 

Achieving Your Impossible

So, as a reflection...and I know this has been said a million times before, so you get my swing on this. IMPOSSIBLE is something we all read wrong. It actually says IM POSSIBLE. Therefore, ergo, there should be nothing that you cannot achieve. For example, my spiritual guide and good friend Peaceful Warrior (PW) took some time off work recently. Without any significant training, she just climbed to base camp of Mt Everest - She completed it Thursday, I believe....but with slow internet on Everest, posted yesterday...you know, time delays, comms lag...blame it on the ISP! She always tells me that impossible is just an excuse. Well, I think, for my slowly ticking off my milestones, and achieving my impossibles, that she might be onto something.

Please, set goals, take baby steps if you need to, but work (like Michelle Bridges says) with Consistency, Consistency and Consistency. Never give up, never back down. I'm on a roll and I'm not planning on going back now. My life is infinitely better since committing to being healthy. It's actually changing my outlook on my whole life plans, and together with my amazing Winnie, and my amazing like-minded friends, I'm doing it.

And Back Again...

Well, thanks to my good mate Mr Peds, and the generous loan of his car, I was able to head straight back into the city to see the peeps at Cycles Galleria. After a quick call had organised a wheel for me. On arrival they told me the it was a "loaner" wheel, since its an upgrade, and that I should contact my local Sydney based shop, to organise the appropriate Cannondale warranty replacement. So, what is meant by "loaner" I asked, they responded with, this is a "free-loaner" as in you can keep it! So, I bagged a freebie Shimano RS21 Rim. As they replaced my tyre and tube onto said rim, my old tube exposed, so they replaced that for free too. I ended feeling a little guilty at the excellent customer service, so purchased some Endura Electrolye gels (which they subsequently reduced for me)...Great afternoon!

When in Rome...

Whilst in Melbourne, and well the parking fee was already paid for, I headed to get some lunch / dinner....it was 1600h by now. I ended up eating a delicious gluten free Thai Pork Vermicelli salad in a cute place on Russell. After, I walked past The Lab nitrogen gelato place...I noticed they had a special on this week only. Sorry Winnie, but I just had to try it (her favourite flavour) Ferrero Rocher, made their way. It was a gelato/sundae to be amazed by....people were queuing for this thing, and I just rocked up, they recognised me (how funny) and I ordered! Boom! It was delicious. The wafers on it were not gluten free, but were made with some type of flour that has yet to even effect me. OMG what a great celebration!

 

On my way home I collected the bike travel bag from a dude in St Kilda, and we removed the pedals and wheels. We locked it in the bag and I need to complete the packing of that bag later today. A fun exercise I'm sure. I was quite sad to see my trusty pedal machine being striped for travel :( I didn't take pictures because it was just too sad. 

Kicking Back...

Today I'm taking a full day of rest, not so much to recover, but to give myself a chance to readjust and relax so I can go hard next week. I've had a long morning, spent snoozing and just ate lunch. Now I plan to work on packing the bike and relaxing some more.

I think thats reward enough for my biggest challenge this year!

Have a great Sunday.

Day 51 - Chest & Rest

Big Chest Day!

So it's been interesting this week, late starts, a quiet gym and the feeling of more freedom to give myself a really good workout. So, that's how it went this morning. 2 hours in the gym, meant I could really give my chest a good workout, and my abdominals a longer run at it...although I still want to add new workouts to my abdominals, constantly trying to improve the quality of my abdominal training - a healthy core is a strong core!

Endurance training for strength is not as easy as the normal power training, where you knock out 4-6 reps three times over for each exercise. Endurance training means pushing hard for a longer duration. Endurance training is exercise that is working the aerobic system, whilst developing muscular endurance. It works the slower twitch muscle fibres, which enables the body to improve catabolism. This then increases capacity to use fat and glycogen stores as energy.

This is how I've been working out, this week.

I arrived at the gym, and got stuck into a 6 set bench press. Starting with a total weight of 50kg I worked hard to push to my new Personal Best (PB) of 90kg. I did 10 reps for the first 2 sets, then 8, then 6...well my first set of 6 reps on 90kg was only 4 reps, but still. I quickly moved from flat bench to inclined and repeated the same rep system. I maxed out at 80kg, and then moved to the decline bench and reached a maximum 75kg. After working the bench for around 45 minutes, I moved to the dumbbells for a quick inclined pectoral flye workout, which I followed up with pec-deck for 3 sets of 8 reps. I then moved to the cable cross-over to do some fine tuning / isolation work. I did my usual low, medium, high fly sets to finish.

Abdominals, although I'm trying really hard, are a little dull. I'm going to add some new lifeblood into abdominals tomorrow. I've spent this evening (early) to research this exact subject, so tomorrow I'll let you know how I went.

Social Time

I believe, and thats all I have to go on really, that if you are working really hard at your job, and at the gym, you need to make/find the time to dedicate to unrelated things. I opt to use my wednesday evening participating in the weekly EOAC Quiz Nights. These can, rarely, end up as a social event, to network, Chit-chat and take the time to get to know each other. For example, after tonight's quiz I moved to the foyer to spend time with Mr Peds, Crawf-Dawg, Mr Potent, Dolphins-Lee, and more peeps, talking shit and drink red wine. I like this part, and usually, Holmie and I drink with the new legal-oh Mrs Spinnah, but tonight I felt the urge to mingle with the table of big drinkers... Mr Dutchie, even joined us, it was his birthday and thats awesome!

Seems reasonable enough to me...

I think its important to balance this fun time with work time, especially since I'm a naval officer. Friendship, work mates and learning how you fit seems to be a vital part. I think it was also really cool to finally see Mr Q at the quiz...its only taken since January to get him to come!

SO, it's time to fess up. I just drank some cognac, some single malt and a few additional glasses of shiraz.... I'm gonna try and wake up early...really want to keep my constancy at the gym...

I saw this quote, and it made me realise I'm like this...I'm falling asleep writing this blog, but I'll rest when its done, and not before.

Goodnight folks!