"For a man to conquer himself is the first and noblest of all victories"
or so Plato says. Just recently that has become my swan song whilst training, embracing the hurt and tiredness that only riding my bike nearly every day can bring. I seem to be getting more used to it now, the first few weeks where the hardest.
I never really wanted to turn my blog into a training dairy, there are plenty of those out there, but I thought I'd let you know how things have been going.
As you can see, I don't hold to stats and figures. I don't have a mile counter on what I've conquered so far, or how many hours I've spent in my saddle. I know roughly in my head but I try not to become a slave to it. I've tried this kind of training before, writing down my morning heart rate how I feel, what training time I've done etc. Only to become a slave to facts and figures then getting demoralised when I don't get those exact planned minutes on the bike. For me training diaries are like trying to keep a new years resolution. It all starts well but a couple of months in falls by the way side.
I still have my set short term goals and they are going well, that is all the motivation I need. I like to see where I'm going not leave an analysis trail for later reading. I'd only laugh at my efforts. The only goals I seem to be failing on is my weight. How hard is it to loose weight? I've been so good during the weeks and have all but eliminated eating junk food such as crisps, cake and biscuits. Sorry but chocolate remains on my diet but then I don't think the wife could cope with my moods without!
The weather hasn't stopped my training at all which is good. Even the mornings that its gone below minus five degrees. That was one cold ride. I wasn't that bad with all my layers on but I had nothing to drink for a few hours as my camelbak froze up ( manged a bite of ice) and the front of my bars, overshoes gloves had a nice layer of frost on them by the time I'd finished! Epic stuff.
One thing though is that doubt has started to creep its way into my head. Can I really do a 24 hour race. Am I just being a fool here. After only three hours of road and my elbow and wrists were aching. It made me wonder if they could cope with the pounding over a longer duration. I'm hoping that its just the cold weather playing havoc.
Must think positive thoughts. Must think positive thoughts........
Anyway I'm sorry for the not too thrilling training entry but I'll be back next week with more stuff to cover. Happy riding to then folks!
Coming up
Want It Wednesday
Scwalbe Nobby Nic tyre review
Exposure Maxx D light review
Racing Nutrition for 24 hour racing
Glentress
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7 Comments:
Hey!! I'm out of that silly phase of riding Full Sus.....just ordered a Cotic Soul frame, in orange obviously! Thomson stem (70mm) and Chris King headset arrived the other day. Can't wait to ride it!!
Weight loss = calorie counting. I don't track any other figures in training except that. And even then, it's only once in a while to make sure I'm on track. As for 24 racing, make sure you are mentally strong. In the end, your body is definitely going to fall apart, but you have to be able to get past the "quit" demons who are sure to come by and magnify your pain for you at regular intervals as soon as it gets dark out.
Lamby: Ah good ice of bike mate. Those Cotic bikes are a lush ride. Way better than those spongy full sus things. Will have to get a ride in soon mate. Fancy Glentress?
Liz: cheers for the re tweet by the way. I've just stepped on my new scales and am ready to admit that calorie counting is going to have to be the way forward. Damn. I'm all for the words of wisdom when it comes to 24 so thank you. Not sure but you may have scarred me even more!! :)
Cheers for the comments.
I have never done s solo 24 hour race, but last June I a trip of a lifetime, riding mountain bikes with 7 friends from Durango CO to Moab UT. Five days in the saddle, sleeping in tents at night. We climbed about 11K feet twice in those 5 days, and there was one day that was particularly difficult. Mid-way through the ride I came to peace with the pain, realized that my mind had no quit in it, and that the only thing that could stop me would be a REALLY catastrophic physical breakdown. Really as long as I kept fueling and hydrating, nothing, absolutely nothing would stop me. From that point forward it was like an out of body experience, euphoric, spiritual. Looking back I am so glad I put myself in that situation, it has changed me forever. Your limits are actually so far beyond what you think. Discovering that first hand is incredibly rewarding!
Thanks for that Chris, very inspirational words. I'll be taking that thought with me when I race in April. I forget sometimes that's its part of the reason I've entered. To just see how far I can really push my body. I need to go somewhere I've never been before. Bring it on! :)
I am a bit late on the uptake on this one, but I do have something to add I suppose. Liz is right about the calories. It is a simple equation of what goes in and what gets burned. Counting calories is very effective for dropping weight if you are very disciplined, and perhaps carry a smart phone with a calorie counting ap. lol I can't live that way myself. Here are my tricks though:
Shop for food smart. Don't buy junk. I cannot say no to brownies, Doritos, or ice cream, so I don't buy it. I stock the house with quick healthy snacks. Pack your lunch AND snacks for work. I bring a healthy lunch, a water bottle, tea bags, almonds, fruit, and yogurt. I don't let myself get over hungry, because I am more likely to make a rash/poor eating choice. Here is the biggest tip of all though... no alcohol! I have no scientific data to back up why this is helpful, but it works for me, and it has worked for everyone else who I have told and has tried it. I don't even drink a lot, but it makes a difference. I have been lax on this rule lately, and I gained 4 lbs. No more beer and wine for me! lol :)
Thats great advice for eating, and I'll take those onboard. I have recently started loosing weight. In fact succesfully so, I'm now 9 pounds lighter and only now 5lbs from reaching my race weight goal. Yes I'd like to have lost a bit more by now but I'm not going to be a slave to this as I'm actually quite a light person anyway, and like I read in one of your posts people will probably think I'm anorexic.
As for drinking beer or wine I now do it very little, I'm way too busy for that in my life. I'm not a great person with a hangover either!!
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