indyfabz

St. Albans, VT to Philly tour starts one week from tomorrow with a long train ride to the start. I have so few miles under my belt that I am going to have to rely on muscle memory. Glad I have some short days and a few days off for a couple of events, including my 35th high school reunion in MA.

ill.clyde

Well ... even on my "slow" days I'm faster than I've been in recent years ... and I'm not breathing as heavy.

Gotta ramp up the efforts going forward. Zwift really worked for me ...

jsigone

running sucks but might be worth it...maybe

TrojanHorse

Incorrect. Running just sucks.

expatbrit

My ortho surgeon in the final followup for the acetabular fracture told me I am still banned from running. So sad.

He also looked a bit shocked that I was back on the bike and going, but seemed happy not upset. I'll take it.

Even stopped in at the shop the Bianchi is supposedly eventually arriving at!

ericy

What I am finding is that I am still breathing hard on the climbs, but moving significantly faster. What used to seem like a long slow slog is still a slog, but it seems to go by a lot more quickly (one one going from 25min to 15min).

I still ride Zwift - it seems like every other day is raining, and it is too easy to just put on my stuff and go to the spare bedroom and ride for an hour. When we get back to the Fall, I think will start doing some FTP builder workouts.

expatbrit

jsigone

you don't have fond moments running back in PE during those High School days....its just like that but now I'm 100lbs more in weight

Reco Very

Fond memories of the females running in PE....

Turzy

Hi all,
haven't posted in a long time...
I tried taking up running a couple years ago, it just reminded me how much I hate(d) it.
I've been walking more recently, my SO wants to lose a bit of weight, so we've been walking together...on the other I haven't been able to ride as much as I could have...and the weather still sucks here. I guess I'll keep Zwifting at night when I cant ride outdoors.

expatbrit

God. I hated cross-county in school with a passion. Rugby was better, and I was short and scrawny when I played Rugby. I got into rowing as soon as I could, even if I wasn't terribly good at that (certainly not compared to the rest of my family, but with two World Champion and Olympic medallist rowers in my sister and step-father, I guess that's not shocking ).

It wasn't until I started fencing in my 20s that I found a sport I enjoyed at all. Cycling has been a huge boon. I do consider getting a Concept2 to get some upper body; if I ever get back to racing the D675 I'll need it.

ericy

It depends on how you ride, i guess. I could take it at a slower pace, and that would be easier. But that doesn't seem to be in my nature to do it that way.

expatbrit

ill.clyde

I never understood this fully until this year.

And it's completely true in my case. My rides aren't terribly easier .... I may not be breathing quite as hard as I used to, but I'm going SO much faster. It's pretty staggering really.

I don't have a bike computer, so I track my rides with Strava on my phone, but that phone stays in my jersey pocket throughout the ride. I'm always pretty thrilled at the end of a ride to see my average speed staying the same or increasing, especially when I think I'm not pushing hard enough.

jsigone

@ill.clyde sounds like you have a solid base now!! awesome feeling huh

Consistency is the name of the game

ill.clyde

It really is an awesome feeling ... now I just need to work on my table push aways

jsigone

I hear ya! I just started cutting soda again. Hope I can stick it with water n teas n beers

Another problem I have, I drink like 4 cups of coffee a day minimum (work behind a desk all day). Used to add 1/2 teaspoon of sugar, now cutting that sugar out too. Doesn't seem to effect my lunch time energy levels yet when I go riding.

expatbrit

Cutting soda out almost completely helped me totally; along with removing sugar from my coffee. I drink tea, coffee, water, beer, wine, gin, tonic and whiskey now -- sadly, not in equal proportions.

My bane is bloody biscuits. I can't resist a jaffa cake or a digestive, so have to really just not have them in the house as a full time telecommuter.

I need to get back to lunch rides. With a mostly east coast team, evenings are just easier though.

TrojanHorse

I cut soda out completely about 10 years ago, don't miss it at all. I don't think it helped anything other than my pocket book though. Cutting out beer would probably have a large benefit but I"m unwilling.

I actually ran cross country in the fall, winter track in the winter and track and field in the spring so you wouldn't think I'd hate running so much. BUT I DO! If you want to stay skinny though, it's hard to beat running. I just can't do it anymore with my knee...

jimincalif

I cut out sodas around 2000-2001, that and some other changes got me down from 275# to about 240# over 3 years. Bounced around 230-240# til about 2013, then dropped to 218# while sailing offshore for 10 days. Started riding that fall. Now 203#. Wish I still had soda to cut out, that would be good for a quick drop.

Go to drinks - coffee (a small dab of 2% milk), iced tea no sugar, and water. Beer - I've had 2 or 3 year-to-date, so not a lot. No other alcohol.

My downfall, burritos.

DrIsotope

I got the official diverticulitis diagnosis about 6 years ago, and in one day went from a 6-pack-a-day (at least!) of Dr. Pepper guy to never getting to drink soda again. I would have thought that would have started knocking off the pounds, but it did quite the opposite-- when you just yank 900-1,200kcal of hollow calories out of the diet, next thing you know, you fill it with food. And food sticks. I gained nearly 30 pounds over the next three years. I could lose another 20lbs with just sheer force of will-- by willing myself to stop eating brownies, candybars, donuts, ice cream, etc. It's simply not going to happen. I had a vast portion of my diet taken away from me by the stupid bacteria in my intestines, I'm not giving anything up voluntarily. I'll never get to eat another Snickers, I'll never have another soda, I'll never have spaghetti sauce or pizza with red sauce. Or orange juice. Or any of a whole laundry list of things.

So I wouldn't advise getting between me and the donuts.

Turzy

I drink a lot of coffee, and I used to add 2 teaspoons of sugar per cup...I cut out sugar overnight a few years ago and lost a few pounds quickly. The funny thing is I can't drink coffee with sugar anymore, it just tastes disgusting lol
Now, I just need to reduce my coffee intake

jsigone

I ran CC in middle school, found out I'm not a sprinter but better at endurance. But remember thinking at a race, why are these guys throwing up, it was only 5 miles or so HAHA. I wish I can run 6min miles again

I was busy with working part time and girls in High School to get into a sport.

I started running again 3 weeks ago, first run was 5 miles , then next week was another 5 miles, same pace but less walking. This weeks run was 6.4m, bit slower thru city blocks vs around the lake but good for the legs and lungs. I changed shoes on the last run, found I need a larger sole offset since I was too much forefooted and putting tons of stress on my calfs. Those other weeks was hard to walk / ride my bike the following day. After the shoe change, seems like any other day even after running 10k. I'm not fast but have pretty good endurance and leg strength to put up w/ the beating. I'll see how I feel on next week's run, only trying to do it 1 day a week for now and still ride my bike 4 days a week

TrojanHorse

Yeah, I distinctly remember one day at XC... we headed out for a LOOONG training run (I think it was 10 miles) and it wiped me out. We got back to school and the actual runners in the team decided that hadn't been enough of a workout so they went out and ran another 8 or 9 miles. WTF. I... did not. And I don't think I've ever run that far since either, for that matter. Just say no!

indyfabz

Happy National Donut Day! Don't eat too many!