Another 20 Minutes on the Turbo

Not a huge amount to say about this. J was good enough to set up my bike and the turbo. This meant I got straight in from work, changed, and was peddling before I knew what had happened. I did push harder tonight though. My first session was really not more than turning the cranks. This time I was listening to music and sweating profusely. It actually felt like a workout. No niggles or pain and I felt like I could cycle for longer so I probably didn't over do things. It would have been nice to see my cadence as it felt fast but I'm sure that compared to a year or so ago was probably quite a bit slower. I'm using my road bike, which felt completely alien last time, as for the last year I've only used my MTB. Tonight it felt a bit more familar and the less upright position wasn't as bad (although my knees were hitting my stomach).

Willen Lake Wander

Having to look after the grand kids after work had meant I thought that I'd be doomed to not do anything tonight.  By the time they were picked up it was getting on for 8pm and all I wanted to do was settle down and watch Supernatural.  J urged me on though and soon we were heading out of the door ourselves.

I feel like this is a fraudulent training programme, it seems particularly sedate, however I must remind myself that I really am beginning again and so have to treat myself as a complete novice again.  Tonight was penciled in a 20 minute walk.  We ended up going further due to our route however as it was a walk I don't think this was such a bad thing.  It was dark and wet but it was still a lovely walk, not a problem with proper clothing and gave us a chance to chat.

I also gave My Tracks a go with my phone, I've used RunKeeper in the past but as I only ever log data it's a bit overkill.  My Tracks is a lot better than it used to be, nice to see that Google are keeping even their basic application up to date.

View Willen Lake Wander in a larger map
Created by My Tracks on Android.
Name: Willen Lake Wander
Activity type: walking
Description: -
Total distance: 3.38 km (2.1 mi)
Total time: 36:02
Moving time: 34:51
Average speed: 5.63 km/h (3.5 mi/h)
Average moving speed: 5.82 km/h (3.6 mi/h)
Max speed: 24.54 km/h (15.3 mi/h)
Average pace: 10.66 min/km (17.2 min/mi)
Average moving pace: 10.30 min/km (16.6 min/mi)
Fastest pace: 2.44 min/km (3.9 min/mile)
Max elevation: 119 m (389 ft)
Min elevation: 99 m (323 ft)
Elevation gain: 50 m (164 ft)
Max grade: 4 %
Min grade: -1 %
Recorded: 20/11/2012 20:00

20 Minutes of Turbo Trainer

First session, always the easiest, keeping momentum going, that's another thing entirely!  This, although a public post as with other training posts is for my own log and not expected to be of interest to anybody else.

Straight home from work and after a frustrating bike set up on the turbo, I was peddling after about 15 minutes.  Being on my road bike felt completely alien after only using my MTB for the past year.  The time passed a lot faster than I was expecting, I had wanted to sort out some entertainment before hand but was unable to.

No aches or pains during or after but, after what seemed like so little effort, I was quite fatigued afterwards.  Now over an hour later I can still feel it in my legs.

Let’s try that again!

Well I have been struggling a lot with motivation for a couple of years now. I mentioned it at the beginning of 2011 and I’m still very much in that place. In past two years I can safely say that I have given up running, cycling and Aikido. For a long time I’d fooled myself into thinking that I was taking a break but no, I've given it up. I've found lots of nothing to fill my time with and am making all the excuses I used to make before I started exercising.

I’m now probably bigger than I have ever been. If you read back at what I've achieved over the years this a million miles away from where I was. Whenever I try to exercise I find it frustrating. I don’t have the fitness and stamina I had and focus on that. When I was starting I could see tiny improvements which would spur me on, this doesn't work for me now.

I’m a true believer in being responsible for yourself and so I’m not going to just sit back and make excuses for myself. It’s more than time stop giving up and try it again. It’s clear from my last experiment that I need more than fun to motivate and require more structure. I've entered a pool sprint triathlon and so have a target to aim for. It should be varied training and so more fun than just one discipline. For now let’s just see how it goes. Hopefully this is the first step towards getting me back on track.