Posts Tagged ‘winter’
Tuesday, January 26th, 2010
At 26 January my weight is already down below 11st / 70kg. I’ve lost the Christmas flab simply by not over-eating at every meal. However, at this stage I’m not convinced it’s wise to lose much more weight. It will be easy to shave off 5-6 pounds between now and 4 July – no need to get hysterical.
With this in mind, here is a rough outline of my daily diet. This is accurate for days when I commute into work (40 mins), do 10 hours at my desk, then commute back.
Breakfast:
- 2 Weetabix with grapenuts / porridge
- 1 fruit (banana or apple)
- 2 toast with jam
- tea
- orange juice
Mid-morning:
- coffee
- optional nuts / dried fruit
- very occasionally, a banana – mostly I can keep going til 1pm
Lunch:
- ideally, a plate of warm food e.g. pasta, rice
- or – Pret a Manger / Eat / Sainsbury’s sandwiches, in that order of preference
- possible cup-a-soup, samosa, crisps (basically, this is my point, it’s January)
5pm:
- tea
- 3 Weetabix, fruit (crucial to avoid the bonk on the way home)
- possible biscuits / office munchies
Dinner:
- all I can eat, plus seconds, of whatever it is – my girlfriend makes phenomenal curries and stews with chorizo, chicken etc.
- beer
- tequila shot
- butter and soft cheese still allowed in moderation
- yoghurt
- chocolate if we’ve got it in
- honey, ginger and lemon hot drink
I wanted to record this realistic picture of a hungry cyclist’s food intake when it’s cold outside and he’s already a bit skinny. There’s plenty of room for trimming out the munchies and the fatty / sugary stuff in due course.
Tags: diet, food, weight, winter
Posted in fitness, nutrition | No Comments »
Wednesday, February 18th, 2009
Last week was a bad one. The harsh weather was dragging on, the fall on the ice near Buckland was painful, and I was prevented from even a cautious commute by further sleet and cold winds.
But then, the weather started looking up. I put in 2 hours on Saturday – some brisk intervals around Regent’s Park – followed by a 6-hour epic on the Sunday, starting in Brixton and heading out to Cobham and the North Downs via Richmond Park, then returning all the way up to Archway. I followed this with 2 days of commuting, and another good session this morning – of which more later.
The sight of this weather forecast was truly a morale boost:
Tags: regentspark, training, weather, winter
Posted in training | No Comments »
Wednesday, February 11th, 2009
I fell off my bike today, twice. I was attempting another run at the Gerrard’s Cross loop (without the extension):
View Larger Map
This is a nice route which I did a fortnight ago. It was cold then, and it was cold today – but today, after the snow and then the heavy rain over the weekend, the quieter roads were slick with ice. I saw one major vehicle stack-up, and another smashed car abandoned in a ditch.
I powered through the slush for about 2 hours before coming off on the 13% gradient down from St Leonards. I trudged through snow until the slope flattened out, then remounted. Then fell off again. Following this I decided to cut the ride short and headed back through Wendover to Princes Risborough.
It must be spring soon.
Tags: fall, ice, route, snow, stack, winter
Posted in routes, training | 3 Comments »
Tuesday, November 18th, 2008
Some thoughts on taking time off the bike, as much to record my own condition as anything else.
Prior to my trip to Japan, i.e. around 25th October, I was on pretty good form. Not summer sportive level, but feeling strong and easily able to ride 4-5 hours with some brisk climbs thrown in. My first ride for 3 weeks was yesterday’s commute. I got a cold in Japan which has left me with a kind of post-viral malaise that I’m still shaking off.
Here’s my condition at 18th November:
- Legs: weak, no zing.
- Lungs: tired, weak, fragile.
- Flexibility and general physical strength: poor.
The only consolation is that I’m still light from all that sushi. The lessons learned are:
- Don’t let anybody tell you that 3-4 weeks out of the saddle won’t hurt your fitness.
- A cold, even a minor one that you don’t take time off for, really hurts your fitness for at least 2 weeks. Don’t expect much (and don’t push it) before a fortnight is up.
Tags: cold, fitness, illness, legs, lungs, winter
Posted in fitness, news | No Comments »
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