Gymania...

Catching Up.

Over the past week or so  I've done a fair amount of training, in one form or other. I've cycled, run, climbed a crap-load of stairs, and I've trained in the gym quite a lot. I've been eating cleaner too. My body really notices when the slightest whiff of gluten passes my lips, I've had some accidental slip-ups, and I've even eaten some supposedly GF meals that've made me sick too. My body responds quicker the more time off gluten I have, so being clean means I notice the traces now...interesting times. Still, I mostly fuel my body with good nutrients and train pretty hard, so I'm happy I'm making progress.

I Love this. Charry.

Riding to Work

On top of the occasional run to work, which is pretty draining since I do the stair-master workout as part of my daily routine on my ship, I've started riding my road bike to work. It's around 10-11km depending on the route I ride, but its a great way to start and finish my day. Plus I beat the traffic and get to add the kilometres to my legs a different way!

My Gymania

It's awesome being back into a regular workout routine. I've missed it. But now I'm training hard, gaining functional strength and seeing minor changes all the time. My gym-focus is back with a renewed vengeance and its helping me get my body ready for marathon time.

I've changed my routine more regularly to keep myself on my toes. I've thrown in abdominal workouts at the end of my weights sessions (instead of during the rest sets), so I can rest, hydrate and prep for the next set, since I've been going a little heavier.

I've continued to utilise dumbbells, barbells, cables, med-balls and my favourite of the moment kettle bells. I'm planning on utilising my TRX onboard my ship (if possible) and I'm going to try doing "cardio intervals" during intra-workout in the gym too.

I've recently joined Fitness First, they look after members of the Defence Force, and have some really good flexible options for people like me. I get to train with Winnie and that just makes me very happy. Our workouts are always fun and its nice to spend that quality time together being healthy :)

Tonight, I concluded a fairly progressive Shoulders workout, with an abdominal blast. I actually managed to rope Ms Cheezo (one of my colleagues on my new ship, and good friend of Holmie) into doing it with me. We did Figure 8 crunches, Med-ball throw and catch sit-ups, overhead v-sits with kettle bells, heavy kettle bell standing side crunches - all 3 sets of 10 (or more). 

It was fun to repeat this workout, its one that Winnie and I did on the weekend at the gym too. Although, Ms Cheezo did find the med-ball to be a little challenging, throwing, catching and sit-ups all at once! It was a laughter inducing experience.....LOL.

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.

Days 46-48 Rest, Reload & Ride

Lots of Rest....

After my fairly intensive Thursday, I found myself using my rest day to its fullest, sleeping and enjoying a day off on Friday. I ate some yummy squares of chocolate, and rewarded my big week of training.

Just a couple of squares....

Saturday, wasn't a good weather day, so no good for long runs or rides thanks to the addition of wind gusts. So, I used my additional rest day to buy some groceries, relax at a little French Cafe, and chill out. After all, it is just as important to rest your mind as well as you body.... Well, that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it! I also took the opportunity to load up with some healthy carbohydrates, in the hope that I might get to burn them off at some point over the weekend....

Biggest Ride Yet

After a slow start, and a later than normal wake up, I decided (since the sun was shining) to take a ride. Since my first road cycling milestone is to ride from Crib Point to Frankston, I decided to give it a stab. I really wanted to use my new quick disconnecting Garmin bike mount, and see how easy it was. Full visibility of the displays, ease of connect / disconnection on the mount and just the level of cool this lifted me to, made this so worthwhile!

I headed out from Crib, toward Hastings, turned off the highway just prior to Tyabb and cut across the peninsular toward Mornington. As I approached Mornington, I turned onto the highway in the direction of Frankston. I shortly after turned off the highway again, and in my infinite wisdom, took the turning for Mount Eliza.

Not knowing the elevation of Mount Eliza, I continued ahead (in hope of a good view of the peninsular).... In the few kilometres that were between me and Frankston, I started to feel the burn.... Incline getting steeper I was up out of the saddle, in the small chainring on the largest sprocket of my gears...basically as loose as I could get it....on and off the saddle I went, moving very slowly. The long, winding climb, never seemed to end.... Eventually, after what felt like forever (in reality around 15 minutes of riding), and as I saw my heart rate reach the highest I've ever seen it rise, 175bpm (95% Max HR), I saw a black BMW pass me and almost instantly disappear in front of me...

"WOW!, that must be some freaking awesome decline I'm about to riiiiiiiiiide! Yeeeee-ha!" 

As I sped down hill, in the drop bars, I saw my speedo on my Garmin 910XT reach 63kph! Oh yea! So speedy! That was a pretty awesome reward for the hard climb. As I continued to speed past Frankston, I had a thought....I'll just turn around at Seaford.... As I passed Seaford, I thought I'll be okay until Edithvale....then at Mordialloc I thought about pushing onto Black Rock. So as I reached Black Rock, and 60km travelled I pulled a u-turn and headed back toward Mordialloc. I stopped at the "Tour de Cafe" for a little rest. This place was awesome. There were purpose built racks to 'hang' your bike by its saddle, and it felt safe enough to just leave it there! 

Tour de Cafe

The other awesome thing about this place was that they not only sold coffee, food, but cycling fuel - bananas, electrolyte and carbohydrate gels, energy drinks and lots of other cool stuff like that. It was a haven for all those cyclist coming from Melbourne, or like me, from the south. With a lovely marina view, and the sun in my face, I enjoyed a cappuccino and a banana for $5. The Dextrose gel (cola flavour) which I got for $5 as I left, perked me up on the way home.

As I sat there, contemplating my return to Frankston, and the potential for butt-soreness if I went any further than that, I munched on one of my GU Chomps (which I brought in a ziplock) and downed a swig of coffee....BUZZ! Game on! After a few minutes of polite chit-chat with an older fellow rider, I jumped back on my trusty Cannondale and head on my way. I return the 20 odd kilometres to Frankston and pulled up at the train station, just in time for the next train to Crib. Perfect. After such a great day out on my bike, I feel like I've worked my body from head to toe! - especially my hip flexors and thighs! So, my first time beyond 80km and I feel good - 83.94km in 03:22:52...plus I was riding all by myself. I'm very happy with that result :) Even if I am writing this post a little after midnight - I called my Mum back in the UK to wish her a happy Aussie Mumma's Day! Did you call you mum tod?

 

Well Look at that - Max Speed 63kph, Max Heart Rate 175bpm, Max Cadence 123rpm!

 

Balls

After dinner, and a little more work on my engineering service paper, I decided to watch some movies and make some Protein Balls. This week I plan to use them to prevent me snacking on bad snacks, and to hold-off hunger. My 'balls' are simple, they're made up of almond meal, chopped dates, shredded coconut, Mayvers peanut & cacao spread, coconut water, ground cacao nibs and a generous scoop of Casein protein powder. All mixed, rolled and squished together, by my fair hand to produce an epic tummy filler of healthy goodness!

I'm pleased with the outcome, 7 days worth (2balls per bag) plus some spare to give to friends! 

Sharing is, indeed, caring!

Days 39,40 & 41 - 6 Weeks, already?

Has it been 6 weeks already? Wow! This training regime thingo is really making time fly - or am I just using time more efficiently these days?

So 6 weeks, a relatively short period of time and the half way point in any recommended 12 week training / transformation plan. At this point in time I'm noticing a great many things about myself. I'm less conscious of what other people think of my activities in the gym, pool or outdoors; meaning I'm less worried about looking stupid - I just work out, sweat, ache and get what I need to do done. I've faced a few hurdles at the start and in week 6, but I've learnt heaps and gained a great deal of tips from people in the know to ensure it doesn't happen again (or too often). My body is changing, its slow changes but I feel certain things. I'm definitely stronger, and stand taller - my posture is improving I guess. My swim, cycle and run fitness are maintaining and gaining traction, so that means I'm balancing my routine too.

So, I've been asked to talk about Willpower, and before I do, I wanted to just say that this is all coming from my own personal dealing with these issues, and how I deal with or control them.... My personal disclaimer!

Willpower

Well, Willpower can mean different things, to different people - it all depends who you ask. In the context of this blog, I'm referring to staying power (not to deviate from your chosen course of activity) and, of course, willpower from a nutritional sense. When posed this question by Miss Han-Wan I have to say I did not feel qualified to answer, but in hindsight I believe I am actually very experienced and demonstrating willpower, and as such I'll give my few pennies worth.

Staying on track in any healthy living regimen is a matter of how badly you want to make changes, and how determined you are to stay on track. It is also, a process whereby if you train hard, eat well and get plenty of rest - you can place rewards to keep you on track. A reward is exactly that, and should not be a daily thing otherwise it loses its meaning. It is a milestone, for all your efforts. Mr P believes a person should have a day of rest that includes eating and drinking the things you sacrifice during training. Thats not too bad a philosophy, one I kind of have in place for myself. I don't reward myself weekly, but after set milestones. I have a rough plan of what I want to achieve, and by when. After all the difference between a goal and a dream is a deadline! I set deadlines, milestones and work toward them. So, Firstly, I set a goal of 4 weeks regular and consistent training and healthy eating. After week four I evaluated my progress (using this blog, my food diary and a mirror). I decided I could have a treat day, but waited and saved up my treat day for time spend with my awesome wifey - I didn't feel guilty about the food and drink we shared on her birthday, or over easter because I knew I could cope with it.

After week 4, I started to intensify my workouts and utilise a method of tracking my diet, in terms of calorific input, output and measurable values for protein, carbohydrate and fat intake. I use the "my fitness pal" app on my iPhone, and have done some study into the caloric burn for weight training - I use my Garmin 910XT for my cardio calories. Now, I'm not calorie counting to lose weight, I'm using it as a tool to determine just how well I eat, drink and exercise. I utilise another app (sleep time) for my iPhone for monitoring my sleep habits also. I do all of this to gain a better understanding of how my body is functioning, and what I'm doing to my body. Here's a couple examples from this week:

Since fully integrating both of these interesting applications into my overall health and fitness routine, I've noticed that I'm thinking before I eat, I review how much rest I'm getting and I can see if I should or should not treat / reward myself. These coupled with a strict diet, sleep and training routine is helping to keep me on the right track. I regularly review my progress, and know when I've not put in my normal 150%! 

Willpower with regard to nutrition is hard. I found out the hard way this week; No matter how strong you get, how resilient you feel when you're active and energised and happy - it boils down to nothing when you respond unfavourably, when you're tired, pissed off or not so active. I learnt that when you consume something you're body rejects, you will get side effects and you will be punished for it by your body.  That said, if you train and eat smart, you'll reward yourself in a healthy way. My wife makes raw and vegan cakes, that are sugar free, gluten free, lactose free....in fact I'm not sure what she actually puts into them, but these are our treats for doing well.

Ask yourself, why are you rewarding yourself with something you're trying to give up? It's like having a cigarette a month after you've finally quit and cleansed your system - does it seem crazy to you?

If you like chocolate, and you don't want to give it up, work out a way to include it into your eating routine so its not a reward, or a regularity. Mr P's method of once a week might help? Never feel guilty, that would imply you've done something wrong, and that just goes against the programming you are doing to yourself. It's ok to have nice things, if you're prepared to sacrifice it with something else - namely train harder, or ensure you don't go over your caloric intake maximums on those days, so cut something else out...try things, and see what works for you - but keep things positive and I guarantee you'll never have to quit something you don't want to. I like to drink and go for nice dinners, so I train like a mofo to ensure I'm comfortable with indulging on those occasions. I'm a foodie, and a wannabe master chef, so my weakness has always been in my diet - so I'm learning day by day to cope with sacrifice and reward...its working for me and I'm cool with that.

I hope that makes sense?

What have I been doing?

Day 39 was a rest and recuperation day. After secure from work, and a nice gluten free lunch, I slept until dinner, then repeated the same until the next day. I never sleep this much, but this is yet another side effect of my poor judgement - that dang bacon and egg roll!

Day 40 was fun.

Unclip!

So, at 0700h Mr Ped calls me up to ensure I'm awake and to tell me he is almost here. We had planned a saturday morning bike ride and short run. We were travelling to Frankston, to enable us to start there and cycle to Mordialloc, a nice easy round trip of 35km.

On route to Mordialloc we cycled amongst a pack of cyclists, my first time doing so led to me not really getting in tight or close enough, perhaps a little nervous distance between on my part. After around 10km, Mr Ped and I were separated at traffic lights. As I went to pull away, and re-clip my cleat in I slipped and lunged forward, kicking my left leg into my left front fork - ouch! My first scar of the day. Upon recovering and getting underway I caught up to Mr Ped (who had waited for me) and we resumed our ride. The cool crisp air was invigorating, coupled with a warm sunshine I was quite comfortable cycling at 25kph / 80rpm - my new cadence sense is the bomb - I get and use so much info these days - Knowledge is Power!

Happy Cyclist

After a nice cappuccino and a yummy gluten free breakie, we were back on the road heading back. The ride was good, comfortable and pleasant - I was getting a real opportunity to share stories and discuss life in general with my new shipmate. Mr Ped is a really cool guy, and I'm actually looking forward to spending that time  at sea (hopefully) with him! Around 2-3km outside of Frankston, Mr Ped was showing me how to slow down at traffic lights to avoid stopping and unclipping...well, as we did so, I slowed a little too abruptly and came to a halt. Mr Ped saw me freeze-frame list, lean and topple into the warm tarmac - unhurt (just my pride) we both laughed it off and continued our ride! I'll need to practice that one!

Ride

Run

After reaching our destination, we quickly put the bikes into his car, and set off for a quick 2km run. Blood sits in different areas of your legs when doing triathlon, and the objective of this exercise was to train through this awkward sensation. It was made worse for me because I foolishly did a sprint finish on the ride, leaving more blood in my quads than desirable....wobble wobble!

A very enjoyable ride, that I hope we can repeat or improve upon very soon.

Day 41, Today, I decided to do a swim in honour of my brother in law. He was busy for 11hours and 3 minutes completing his first Ironman, IronRay, did a great job making it look easy - from what my sources tell me...those scamp sign wavers and photo takers!

Start

Finish

Well, done brother I am very proud of you. Next time, maybe we can try it together! I better train harder....

So in honour of IronRay's awesome achievement, I decided to do some endurance cardio - namely a swim. I jumped in the pool at 1358h and jumped out 02:32:12 later at 1630h. In that time I continuously swam a total of 100 lengths, totalling 5000m. I did train a little differently since it was my first enduro swim in a while. I did:

Laps:  Stokes - Set Info

01-10: 1x50m Freestyle, 1x50m Breast Stroke - 5 Sets

11-20: 2x50m Freestyle, 2x50m Breast Stroke - 2 Sets and 2x50m Freestyle

21-30: 3x50m Freestyle, 3x50m Breast Stroke - 1 Set and 3x50m Breast Stroke & 1x50m Freestyle

31-40: 4x50m Freestyle, 4x50m Breast Stroke - 2x50m Freestyle

41-50: 5x50m Freestyle, 5x50m Breast Stroke

51-60: 6x50m Freestyle, 4x50m Breast Stroke

61-70: 7x50m Freestyle, 3x50m Breast Stroke

71-80: 8x50m Freestyle, 2x50m Breast Stroke

81-90: 9x50m Freestyle, 1x50m Breast Stroke

91-100: 10x50m Freestyle

A challenging workout, but a good one!

Now, although I'm finishing this blog a little later than planned, no 04May would be complete without a geeky Star Wars Reference....so here they are....

Day 34 - Pushing Thru Sore

Sore, Not Sorry!

I woke up a little stiff this morning, glad to have slept in, but eager to get out on my road bike for some leg loosening, blood pumping, exhilaration....

I got dressed, ate a banana and gulped down a couple thermogenics with a glass of water. Sunnies on, plan in my head - I was ready to go.

I grabbed my bike, checked my tyres and headed down the fire escape from my cabin (my usual route). I jumped on my bike, hit go on my Garmin 910 XT and saw my cadence sensor, and heart rate monitor buzz into action before my eyes - I love technology.

Freedom Joyrides

I cycled out of the main gate, and headed away from Crib, toward Somers. My plan was simple, ride to Somers, stop at the General Store Cafe for coffee and a bite (brunch) and cycle back. The round trip was 30km, so still a valiant effort considering my achy soreness in my hamstrings, glutes and quads!

The first 10-15km were a little bit of a struggle, but soon after my legs warmed up and I felt the spin get easier. I was averaging 70rpm and a heart rate of 130bpm which for me is not too shabby. I arrived at the cafe, hungry in need of some fuel.

Thankfully, 10am on a sunday is not peak hour (11am seemed to be) and I made my order, took a table outside in the sun looking at the ocean...all I needed to make my morning perfect was my wifey, Winnie...sadly not gonna happen, so, I indulged (ha ha ha) in a large cappuccino and a gluten free breakie - which was yummy. It had good crispy bacon, half an avocado, steamed spinach, grilled tomato and a yummy salsa with the gluten free toast and poached (to perfection) eggs.... (must've been using Miss Han-Wan's poacher!).

After eating this yummy brunch, I sat and let it go down, for 10-15 minutes, took a couple generous gulps of my electrolyte drink and set off on my return trip. This made the couple sitting in the shade happy, since they jumped at the chance to steal my table in the sun!

My ride consumed around 900 calories, and my legs were pretty sore after so I had a shower, drank a protein recovery shake, aminos and finished the electrolyte drink.

The rest of my sunday has been spend revising for yet another exam! Boredom Central.

Day 33 - Mega Session!

Saturday - Train Hard....

...You know the rest. Just be the best (you can be)...

So, after the long and exhaustive (and slightly alcohol fuelled) day of ANZAC 2014, I got up a little slower than normal. Still made it in time to get the first train outta Crib, bound for Melbourne.

My plan - Train Legs at Fitness First's new platinum gym on Flinders Street, collect my bike from Cycles Galleria and come back to base. I stuck to my plan and gained more than sore legs...

LEGS DAY!

Arrival at the gym at 1000h was nicely done. I had jumped off the train walked around the block (Swanston, Collins, Elizabeth, Flinders Streets) and smashed down my pre-work out drink - it was good warm up walk which was followed by some quick dynamic stretched as I changed into my gym gear. I have to say, the new gym on Flinders is wicked - great facilities, great people - check ito ut even as a guest its worth it.

I went up to the "big boys" area of the gym since it was quiet, and did some free-squats to get my legs in shape, then headed over to the new leg press machines. I was feeling really focused and very strong in the leg dept today. My confidence with legs has never been great, especially since recovering from my torn hamstring during NEOC last year!  After a quick 20kg warm up set of 15 reps I did 5 sets (12 reps, 10 reps, 8 reps, 10 reps, 12 reps). I reached a pretty good weight in set 3 (for a novice) - 140kg, and felt comfortable, then on the 4th and 5th sets I removed 20kg each set.

I returned to the squat rack, set up a 20kg barbell with 15kg on each end in preparation to do squats. At that moment a massive dude came in and jumped onto the rack next to me, my image in the mirror was lost to his huge size, so he offered to alternate his sets to allow me to use the mirror so I could work on my technique - he was called Ryan, a cool guy. The dude he was training with (well there were four dudes and pretty cool chick actually), Kieran, offered to coach me through a legs session and so I joined in with the group - learning heaps! Kieran continued to assist me with my lifting tech and showed me some new moves, which I'll be sure to include (since they really gave me a great workout today).

After squats, reaching around 90kg on the bar (45kg each side of the barbell), I moved to calves and really let rip! I wasn't going heavy, but I was really enjoying the larger pyramid sets. I returned to the barbell on the squat rack. I loaded up my barbell, and after some guidance from Ryan and Kieran, I did two types of dead lift. The first set of dead lifts was a glute strengthening dead lift devised by an American trainer from Winnepeg! Ainsley McSorley has an entire Glute exercise regimen, but I incorporated just a few of her routines today, to test the water. This dead lift was a barbell Romanian dead lift. The smaller movements in this exercise really tweaked the hamstring and really worked my core. I only lifted around 50kg all up, but I could really feel it work my legs. The second, given by Ryan, was a full dead lift - amazingly he was lifting 230kg, whilst I was lifting around 70kg! Still, I'm new to legs so I was enjoying the coaching and technique development!

After a quick set of Ainsley's Squats using a fit-ball against a wall, performed slowly in 3x15 rep sets (which burned so much in my quads), I grabbed a 25kg bar and performed a set of my own 'crazy lunge pyramid walks'... lol. 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2, 1 reps on each leg, stepping forwards on each set. After travelling around 20-30m and covering 43 reps per leg, I stopped, turned and returned to the start point. I did three sets of these, each time with about a minute or so rest between each. Kieran guided me on my posture during the lunges, and really assisted in pushing me through what ended up being a really intense leg burnout! I concluded my legs workout with  hamstring curls. I performed these on a machine, doing 8 reps each set. I started at 30kg, then 60, 90, 120, 150, 170kg. My legs were actually shaking as I stretched and hydrated!

Chest Builder

I was working hard, feeling really charged up. I enjoyed the workout and was going good guns. I decided to push my chest sets a little harder and longer. I started with the inclined chest press bench. I continued with pyramid sets. I lifted 50kg x 10 reps, then 70kg x8 reps (for 2 sets). I started feeling the struggle of lifting without a spotter, and (low and behold) Kieran appears to give me the encouragement I needed....I then reduced to 60kg for a fourth set of 10 reps. I finished with 50kg for a final 12 reps! As I moved from inclined to flat bench, with awesome energy and motivation, I repeated the same sets and weights - my chest was really surging and I felt like I had started to build on my normal chest workout. I concluded my bench workout with a slow, arduous declined chest press. I started with 50kg, then upped it to 60kg. I then added 2.5kg per set, until I was at 70kg, each set being 8 reps long. This really made me feel the burn!

I left the "big boys" area and headed to the cables and dumbbells for conclusion of chest. I did my normal pectoral flyes and added a set of dumbbell inclined flyes to finish. My chest was done for!

Final Burnout

I went down to the open area to do abdominals and my new burnout. I started with the burn. I picked up the 10kg tubie thing with handles, and did the arm burnout I mentioned on my recent arm workout blog.I did two sets of around 3 minutes, feeling stronger. I obtained two 32kg kettle bells to tweak my obliques before heading on a short walk (farmer's walks to strengthen my abs). After two laps of the gym, I remembered there was an actual device to do farmer walks using free weights. Utilising this, I walked 25kg per arm back and fourth in the astro turf area. On completion of the farmer walks I finished with some lower abdominal lifts and left for a needed shower. I left the gym at 1320h... lol :)

After replenishment of aminos and protein drinks, I headed to collect my bike. Shortly after I was eating a yummy steak and fries with a well earned coffee for lunch.

Another big, educational day with lots of energy spent. Time to sleep!

Day 12 - Just Do It

Fridays are always a dilemma at the moment. Do I get up early and train in the gym, or get up early and study for this weeks' exam? Well, last week I chose gym so for contrast I chose study. I wanted to test a theory about gym versus study on a friday prior to my exam. I was feeling awesome from the gym, but slightly under prepared for the exam - you know, last minute "did I study enough" syndrome.

Round 2

So, still I still got up, and bounded out of my rack and got my life in order. By 0520h I was chomping on my gluten free cereal and eating a ripe banana, whilst reading through my revision on Fluids Management…. How apt, because everyone knows that early morning draining of the "main" is essential! I digress.

Study done, I went to the revision class then sat my exam. A few curve-ball questions in I felt fairly happy with my progress, albeit a little guilty for not training yet…strange how that works!

After the exam, whilst smashing a frozen yoghurt smoothie, I decided to go for a gym session after lunch, then swim for cardio.

Ding, Ding!

After frustratingly honest and accurate conversation with Mr P, I realised I was perhaps idling on my training, and not paying enough attention to my whole nutrition improvement plan. Angered at this, but acutely aware at how he had me pinned - "Grr, I hate it when people are so right, and can't understand why I don't get it!" - I decided to skip lunch in lieu of the fact I'd not long ago had a smoothie and should do some exercise.

Mr P - I get it, but will power is part of my journey - Yea! I said it journey!

I've decided to adopt a few changes, to draw a few lines on the ground and mark out some modifications to my diet and training. They are a work in progress so will likely change if I decide to get more into it…..(that was my disclaimer)

My Challenges:

1. I plan to swim 2-3 lunch times every working week, and have a liquid lunch.
2. I test out my metabolism by eating more frequently, but smaller portions throughout the day
3. I will try to use self-control to reduce and eventually remove sugar nasties and less than healthy choices
4. I will not eat late at night, or directly before bed
5. I will continue to hydrate and include more electrolytes into my diet

Freaky Tri-day

So, by 1430h I had realised I had skipped lunch but I'd need to get out training. I left the wardroom set in my mind - Ride 20km then swim 1km, follow it up with a shoulder burn out in the gym. I think that was a better plan...As I cruised into the 15km point on my ride, very close to Crib Point, I had yet another Rocky training montage come to mind, which pushed me to think about my workout as I rode. I ended up deciding I'd do a quick transition from ride gear to run gear and add a 5km run into the workout. Well that meant a quick three storey climb up the fire escape stairwell with my awesomely light weight road bike a quick strip off (in my cabin) and change to run gear. We can call that T1. It took about 2-3 minutes, I even smashed a huge gulp of water as I slammed the door behind me and switched my Garmin 910XT into Run mode. 

I ran around HMAS Cerberus, and decided on the fly that I would be running off-base (lucky I have an awesome bro in law & sis in law) so glad I had my ID card in my "SPIBELT" pouch! I continued off-base and enjoyed the run towards the local golf course, at the 4km point I turned about and head back. I finished the short 8km run by running back up the fire escape, grabbing my pre-packed swim bag (and another gulp of water) and running down to the gym! As I heaved at the counter, sweating all over the place I quickly signed in and headed to the pool. I got changed into my "nut-huggers", grabbed my goggles and jumped into the pool - T2 - remembering to switch my watch over to Swim mode right at the last second. T2 took less than 3 minutes.

As I swam the first of 20 lengths of the 50m pool, which was completely empty besides me, I started to feel really motivated, like a heightened focus to swim as hard as I could to knock it over! I reached the deep end and attempted my first tumble turn, and pulled it off (I only do at the deep end, but I'm learning at least). Before I knew I was already half way through my 1km swim and feeling pretty good. I completed the swim in a not too embarrassing time and gave my legs and arms a proper stretch.

I'd just completed a triathlon (albeit out of sequence) in 02:04:58 and it was my first ever! So here's how it went:

Ride: 20.43km, 49:49

Run: 8.234km, 44:30

Swim: 1.0km, 30:38

After a quick change, post swim,  I spent the next 60 minutes training hard in the gym - busting some new moves on my already aching shoulders. I think I'll incorporate a few of those new exercises into my workout for shoulders next week too!

Motivation

Anyway, so motivation huh? It comes in all sorts of packages, ways and wonders. Its also quite revealing to have frank discussions occasionally, that lift you up and make you push harder. Motivation is great, but its hard to conjure when you're feeling homesick, tired or hungry. So train hard, wake up early and hydrate. Talk to your loved ones, tell them you love them and stay focussed. 

Train hard. Get stuck in. Just Crack On. 

Day 6 - What Goes Down...

What a fantabulous day I've had!

I hope your Saturday has been equally fulfilling, satisfactory. I got up this morning, made a few edits to yesterday's post and added some cool photos from last night's mess dinner and got on with my day. I have been totally motivated all day.

Day 6 - Something a little different

I decided to don my cycling gear and go for a nice long bike ride, I haven't explored much of the Mornington Peninsular since my arrival in January and this is the best way I've found! I jumped on my bike, which by the way is my new super-cool Cannondale Caad 8 and headed off-base….

My Bike

Being the chary sort of Naval officer that I am, I felt a compelling urge to take my self to the namesake town of my old NEOC 49 Division, Flinders. Incidentally, NEOC 49 was that last time Flinders will be used to be a Divisional name. 

 

Flinders is approximately 25km South-West of HMAS Cerberus, fairly easy to get to if you follow the Frankston-Flinders Road. Now, I'd never been to Flinders, and thought I could make an adventure of it,  to ride and explore, whilst doing a nice gentle cardio workout. I left my cabin with bike, dressed for action - my Garmin 910XT and HR monitor, my iPhone strapped to my arm ready to record to Map My Ride - I like a double source of data, for greater accuracy!

I jumped on my bike and set off….

What Goes Down.

Now, when I left this morning I was expecting to see some wonderful sunshine, the open road ahead of me and some breathtaking ocean views in a 360 degree panorama around me. I was not to be disappointed, but initially was concerned about what I might see. As I cycled out of the main gate to the outside world, I realised I was rather chilly due to the fog that surrounded me. It was 9am and still foggy? Oh well, I just ploughed on...

After reaching the Frankston-Flinders Road, in pretty good time, I was cruising downhill using a fairly efficient spin technique and enjoying warming, from the exercise and noticed that the sun was burning up the fog and now the views were starting to open up to me - Oh Yea! I could see a long gradual downhill section of road that seemed to go down as far as the eye could see…. Clearly, I was wrong. The road to Flinders was not all downhill, or even flat in places. My 'gentle ride' in the countryside was looking epic from the saddle I was sitting in.

Initial Countryside Vistas

The hills were initially small and not too taxing, but frequent. I was travelling fairly well - a good speed and not too stiff a gear. I knew to glide and pull my feet, utilising the cleats to their max on the uphill sections.  I also remained seated - I had read that sitting down meant a more efficient ride up hills… They didn't mention that it takes a lot of effort to sustain on long hills!

As the hills started to get harder, I could feel I was getting a solid workout - nice. My heart rate was steady, averaging 135 bpm, but climbing with the hills. After a while I got into the rhythm of the hills.  I was powering down the hills and screaming to the top (although it felt like a crawl up). I noticed early on that I was changing to an overly easy gearing too soon into the hill and subsequently lost some power. I soon stopped that! I knew I was getting closer, and the country vistas were changing to dramatic views of cliffs and ocean views that were truly stunning. With around 15km under my belt, I was gifted a ridiculously steep, long downhill section that allowed me to really get my 'speed on'! I notched up my fasted downhill speed today - 72kph! However, what goes down…. must eventually come up.

Rolling Steep Hills

The hill up was equally steep and long, and I found myself in the easiest gear struggling and really working. My heart rate was pushing 150 bpm (which is pretty good for me) and as I reached the crest of the hill I could see the road far ahead of me…. (cue dramatic horror music) and the view ahead showed me something I didn't really wanna see…. about 5-6 more big hills just like this one! Two things immediately came to my mind - do I (a) turn around now, or (b) down this sucker and finish my ride to Flinders! I chose option B (as you might expect from me) and felt the literal burn in my legs, for the remain 5km or so…. It felt like 25km!

Before Descending to the Pier

As I spun my way into Flinders, I felt an awesome sensation to ride down to the pier and take a look, plus I would look awesome on my ride maps if it showed me riding down the pier, seemingly into the ocean! I didn't realise I'd be faced with 3 very steep declining roads to the pier! I went down anyway and rode my bike out onto the pier.

Stopping to take it all in...

Eventually….Flinders

After a short stop, and a comfort break I was back on my trusty machine, powering up those steep inclines and thinking only of one thing.

"Man, I need a coffee"

So, I stopped and ordered a short-mac, a milkshake and a slice of Gluten Free Orange Cake. I walked outside and joined a group senior citizens and their older looking dogs. As, I sat chatting to the gentleman closest to me, I found myself very intently listening to him, enjoying talking to someone new who could spin a story and was happy to while away a lazy hour. I enjoyed my coffee, the cake and my milkshake - loading up for the inevitable ride home. My legs were starting to get a little stiff, and the gentleman and his friends were just starting to leave - I promptly made to excuse myself from their company, so I could collect my bike, and go around the corner for a good stretch!

And Back!

After relaxing and listening to some local Flinders folk, I finished up and headed home. I found myself psyching myself up for each hill, then really getting into the aggression of powering back to base on a new found energy - even though my legs and my butt were getting sore!

Almost forgot, here's a few stats :- 

1. Round Trip Distance = 58km. 
2. Max Speed = 72kph
3. Average Speed = 21kph
4. Max HR = 168 bpm
5. Average HR = 135 bpm  

I returned to base around 1330h and gave my bike a quick clean, and then showered up and realised I had not only skipped breakie, but missed lunch too - so glad for my emergency supply of fruits and quinoa!

The rest of today has been spent relaxing, watching Dr Who (Season 5, if you're interested) and doing a little pre-reading for next weeks classes - Fluids Management!

What did I learn today….Well, if you want something go get it. If you are faced with a challenge you can either rise up and take it on, or not. I think just get the hell on with it and think a little less - you know you'll love it and you know you'll regret it if you turn back, so crack on!

I also realised, that I particularly enjoy listening to new people (old and young) tell their stories and share their experiences. That was a particular highlight. 

Time for bed, see you later!