Training Log Harmonix Training Diary

[cha_cha_]

ok, I'll bite in the interest of spreading knowledge

apologies for the wall of text :\

Unless you're on a ketonic diet.
If you want to focus on purely fat burning you can go on a ketonic diet.

correct. ketosis is when the body is fed less than ~100g of carbohydrates per day and as a result it runs primarily on ketones (broken down fat) rather than glycogen (sugar). Generally speaking, the "insulin hypothesis" goes that the increased accumulation of fat afflicting so many of the modern generation is a result of increased frequency and concentration of blood insulin which is a direct result of high levels of carbohydrate intake. Insulin encourages the accumulation of fat stores and inhibits the burning of fat stores. The hypothesis suggests that by reducing sugar intake we can better control insulin and reverse the damage done.

Ketosis is taking this hypothesis just a little bit further.

Despite the current popular science, ketosis is a very natural state for the body to be in and prior to the proliferation of agriculture it is suggested that most everybody survived in a state of ketosis to some degree - there simply wasn't that much sugar around back in the day to keep us out of it... this idea is one of the fundamentals of the paleo diet and lifestyle - most of our modern sources of carbohydrates are only recent additions to our diet (grains, sweet fruits, etc).

Personally I hate the principal of a ketonic diet and there is a risk of refeeding syndrome when re introducing carbs.

I have personally never heard of people on ketogenic diets, even very extreme ones, suffering from refeeding syndrome. i HAVE heard of refeeding syndrome from ending particularly long fasts and this is a very real risk, but it has very little to do with a low-carb lifestyle. Many people on ketogenic diets do modified variants such as cyclic (CKD) or targeted (TKD) ketogenic diets whereby they "re-feed" or "carb-up" at set intervals (such as 1 day every week or so) or specifically for workouts. I personally do neither systematically, but i have used "carb-ups" once or twice for race meets.

Basically what happens is when your body doesn't receive carbs you will deplete your glycogen stores, these stores tend to last a max of 3 days.
Once this happens your body then needs to use Gluconeogenesis to produce ketones from proteins and fats. Instead of your body running on carbohydrates it now runs on fats and protein in the form of ketones, this is known to increase fat burning.

A well trained adult male can carry a few hundred grams of muscle glycogen and a hundred or so grams of liver glycogen. If you restrict carbohydrates and do any sort of physical activity you will deplete these stores over the course of a few days during which time you go through what is often referred to as "keto-flu" or "atkins induction". largely characterised by brain fog and fatigue, the body moves onto gluco-neucleosis where it breaks down any available proteins to make sugars. the brain requires about 100g of glycogen a day and since sugars are in really short supply at this time it really hates this adaption phase. most people have trouble functioning at a normal level during this time.

Once the "keto-flu" passes, the body progressively becomes more and more "fat-adapted" and it runs better (though some may disagree - there are more pros than cons for me at least).

Essentially when you are doing nothing your body is burning fat for fuel not carb's like most people.
The diet basically consists of a very low virtually zero (like 10grams or less) carbs, high to moderate fat and high protein diet helps maintain lean muscle mass.

I personally eat about 60g of carbs per day. I have friends who target closer to 30g. both of these carb targets are very much ketogenic. I personally couldn't hack going much lower as the dietary choices would begin to become prohibitive. extreme keto diets (10g/day is about as extreme as it gets) really limit what you can and can't eat.

There are issue with this diet though and I see it as fairly dangerous approach to dieting, along with the potential of refeeding syndrome there is also potential as you reintroduce carb's to put on a little more weight, so it does have it draw backs.

I personally don't see it as a "diet" as much as i see it as a lifestyle so for me there's no "coming off". Putting weight back on after resuming intake of carbs is pretty much expected and would largely be water retention - glycogen stores require water, carbs and fibre in the gut require water. not sure of the ratios off the top of my head but you would probably require several extra litres of water in your system to keep it happy.

Personally I see it as a dangerous diet as do professionals in the field however others continue to use it.

All of the perceived risks associated with ketosis are totally manageable and in reality it is probably less risky than a conventional western high-carb diet. there are millions of us out here thriving without sugar.

Disclaimer: I am not qualified nor a professional so any information you do take is at your own risk.

...and neither am i so the same disclaimer applies.

ketosis works for me, though i would only ever suggest that others explore it and never encourage to take it up on my recommendation alone. there are plenty of changes that need to be understood and factored in if you want to try ketosis (your good and bad cholesterol will rise, you need to drink more water, you need to eat more salt, etc).

I would suggest further reading from a few good authors. good carbs. bad carbs by Gary Taubes is a good place to start, or Gary's website or Peter Attia's website:
http://garytaubes.com/
http://eatingacademy.com

 

[driftking]

Some awesome replies cha_cha_
you provided lots of good information that I tried not to get into to keep my post a little shorter.

Refeeding is very rare, it is something that can be managed but it does need to be managed, if someone goes from been in a complete ketonic state and then dump carb's the bodes response can end in refeeding syndrome amoung a few other depletions. It is not a major concern but needs to be considered.

I think what you said sums it up though, its about managing the eating style.
For those who do go on the diet to lose weight you do see some weight gain as they begin to transition carbs back into the diet and the body begins burning glycogen again from carbs, for you however it is a lifestyle choice so no worries there.

The key is management with a ketonic diet.
As for the 100gram rule though, it needs to be careful with that, some people will respond differently while the brain generally needs 100grams i have seen numbers up to 150. some people claim they come out of ketosis at 50 and below so that is interesting.

The real point at least in terms of a general term would be where the bodies need for glucose is less than its intake. There is common talk that you can never be in a semi ketonic state either you are in it or not and this is probably due to how each person labels ketonic state.
If we look at a ketonic state as the need for ketones when glucose is not sufficient than even a diet that needs to obtain 1% ketones to run is considered a ketonic state.

I dont use a ketonic diet at all nor do I have any interest to, I am just very interested in the ideal way to eat and along with this comes a big range of diets and variation. so far Im leaning towards a break down of

C:F 50:20:30
with a poly:mono:sat 30:60:10
omega 3: omega 6 2:1 minimal 4:1

majority if not all carbs as complex with minimal sugar if possible. multiple small meals rather than big meals and a balance in each meal.

Disclaimer: I am not qualified nor a professional so any information you do take is at your own risk.

 

[harmonix1234]

Awesome information guys. This is fascinating to learn and makes me aware of options I didn't know about or understand previously.

To start with I am not going to alter my diet too hardcore. Previously my diet actually wasn't that bad regarding the quality of foods that I ate, I just ate huge portions and then snacked on junk food between.

So I have cut out the junk food snacks all together and basically reduced my portion size to start with until I understand more about what foods do what to my body.

As an example a normal brekkie for me would be a bowl of porridge with dried apricots, banana and golden syrup. Lunch would be a wrap of some kind, maybe chicken cheese tomato onion and hommus, and dinner would be something like a cous cous salad with sweet potat,o red capsicum, fried tofu in sweet chilli sauce, baby spinach and some dry roasted lightly salted pumpkin seeds on top.

Trouble is, I would have HUGE servings and sometimes seconds, and in between these meals I'd smash a snickers or pack of chips, maybe some tim tams or grab a quick bit of toast with peanut butter.

So cutting out all the shitty snacks between and reducing my portions (and not doing porridge for brekkie) I think I may be able to actually have quite a well rounded diet.

I do have one tim tam a day. I know that I shouldn't, but if I don't get some kind of little sweet treat I'll crack and binge. It's amazing how satisfying just one tim tam can be of an eve with a hot cup of tea.
I have cut out sugar from my hot drinks (only drink earl grey and coffee) and am steering away from bad carbs and still eating a few good carbs.
I would normally eat at least four bits of toast or bread a day. At least.

Not any more. Getting my carbs now from a bit of sweet potato, a small portion of wholemeal lavash bread, or brown rice. At least that's all the carbs I have in the cupboard until I go for a shop.

Good on ya old shagger and steve24! Great to see some fellow farkers getting stuck into it!

 

[driftking]

When you said you cut down on portion size and cut out all the junk food in between, did you replace the junk food with something healthy?

Personally I would have cut down portion size like you have but use those cuts and eat something healthy in between meals as a snack.
Basically cut out all the junk in between and crap food and then split the three big meals into 5-6 small meals.
This way you are still effectively cutting out all the crap food in between so you will be cutting calories but also cutting out empty nutrition foods. eating meals every 3 or so hours keep the metabolism running at a higher pace and will help you burn fat and keep you energized.
Also you can still have big portions if you like but they need to be low cal so stacking up on low cal rabbit food lettuce etc if you ever feel hungry still. Also there is some fact to the celery myth (well it has been proven now) that eating it actually takes more calories for the body to break it down then it adds so that is a great snack to fill you up. There is also evidence that suggest quite heavily that when you sit down and focus on eating and chew a few more times we eat significantly less food. This has been tested with blind folds as well, people who eat with blind folds on eat a lot less food, its not that they are staving its just they realize they are full before they over eat.
If you don't feel like blind folding yourself at least try to eat without tv or computers etc and just focus on having your meal, from what I have read chewing a few more times will help you eat less. I don't know if this will help but it might help curb appetite. As you have already cut down your portion sizes you know you can happily eat the whole portion without worrying about eating too much therefore if focusing and extra chewing works you might find yourself not wanting it all and by default when you finish the serving you might feel more satisfied and like you have eaten more than you actually have.

I think you have gone about this a smart way, you have focused on portion size and cutting out crap food. You have decided to eat healthy balanced diet which is ideal. If it doesn't work than maybe try looking at other styles of diets, but most importantly its good to see you are doing it properly not taking a pill or eating only lemons for a month......The benefit of this is that you will learn a lot in the process so when you come out the other end at your goal weight you will know how to stay there.

Because you are training Personally I would be eating small healthy meals in between main meals.
In terms of training always do what is comfortable and safe.
HIIT training is probably the most effective style of weight loss, it keeps the metabolism raised and burning for upto 48 hours, it is High Intensity Interval Training, Now before you go and google this and try it, it is not suggested for anyone who has not had a physical, so if you are interested in HIIT training go see a DR and get the all clear first. You are working at your maximal here so it does come with added risks.
remember to add some resistance training in too and make sure you are getting adequate protein, the protein will help you recover but will also help you maintain lean muscle muscle mass as you drop the weight off. The resistance training will help maintain your muscle mass but will also burn excess calories. More muscle means more fuel so keeping your muscle mass up will help you a lot, ie more lean muscle the higher your metabolic rate.

Now I am not saying go build muscle as that will halt fat burning, fat burning is done in a catabolic state where muscle building is done in a anabolic state, you can build muscle and burn fat but this require very accurate timing (ie a constant switch between both states with very accurate meal timing) and it tends to mean slower gains in muscle and slower loss in fat. The ideal way to approach this is to loss weight while maintaining lean muscle mass. When people drop weight via cardio and exclude weight/resistance training they can and do lose muscle mass, as explained above the more lean mass you lose the more your metabolize slows down, so the key is to maintain what you have as you drop the weight, once you have dropped the weight then you can work on bulking up if need be.

With the cheese opt for a low fat cheese, cottage is a good choice if you like it, unless you have a reason for eating more salt look for low salt varieties.
Also if you can opt for natural plain yogurts and add your own fruit instead, this way you can control the types of sugar in the food rather than been pumped full of empty calories again.

Disclaimer: I am not qualified nor a professional so any information you do take and decide to use is at your own risk. Always seek medical advice and direction when starting a new diet or training routine.

I hope these posts are helpful and not just exploding your head with information

Once this is over we can explore the diets affect on the body's PH balance and the issues that causes if your that interested haha.......that's a very interesting and eye opening subject. Example milk and dairy can actually cause more bone damage than it protect against. The age old drink your milk for strong bones could actually make you weaker.

 

[steve24]

Very intersting posts so far guys.

Harmonix, don't worry about having a crap training day, it seems you still put in a good effort.
I find it easy to get discouraged when everything seems to go wrong with my attempt to get on the bike which in turn get me depressed and eating badly....
Sometimes it seems really hard to get out the door but once on the bike i always enjoy it.

I planned and easy ride yesterday but just as i got on the road i saw a group of 20+ bikes in front of me and spent the next 15 mins catching them and the rest of the ride staying in front. Ended up with a 160 AV HR and was buzzing from the endorphines all morning.
Try and get in some good MTB rides too so you just enjoy the ride without focusing on ks ridden etc. I started a regular night ride with some great guys once a week and this is 1 ride i try to never miss.

keep up the good work.

 

[harmonix1234]

When you said you cut down on portion size and cut out all the junk food in between, did you replace the junk food with something healthy?

Yeah, I have replaced the snickers and chips with a carrot, or an apple or a banana, or maybe a handful of trail mix or a boiled egg.
I am loving the boiled egg as a snack. Really keeps the wolf from the door.

I drank a LOT of water yesterday and just jumped on the scales. Back up from 99 to 101 kilos. That's good.
I reckon I drank about two litres between 12pm and 8pm and only did one piss all afternoon.
Even though it's a gain, it just shows how dehydrated I was.

About to go for ride.

 

[cha_cha_]

There is also evidence that suggest quite heavily that when you sit down and focus on eating and chew a few more times we eat significantly less food. This has been tested with blind folds as well, people who eat with blind folds on eat a lot less food, its not that they are staving its just they realize they are full before they over eat.
If you don't feel like blind folding yourself at least try to eat without tv or computers etc and just focus on having your meal, from what I have read chewing a few more times will help you eat less. I don't know if this will help but it might help curb appetite. As you have already cut down your portion sizes you know you can happily eat the whole portion without worrying about eating too much therefore if focusing and extra chewing works you might find yourself not wanting it all and by default when you finish the serving you might feel more satisfied and like you have eaten more than you actually have.

this is excellent advice. read this: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/08/dining/mindful-eating-as-food-for-thought.html?pagewanted=all

i know that my mental state prior to or during a meal has a lot to do with how satisfied i am at its conclusion. for example, last night i ate a quarter bbq chicken, 200g steamed cauliflower and 10g parmesan cheese. i know from past experience that if i eat the cauli first and finish off wit the chicken then i'll be "disappointed" (i guess that's the best way to put it) when the chicken is finished and so i'll search for more - low and behold there's still half a bbq chicken in the kitchen so it's so easy to move on and eat half a chicken that i don't need. BUT, if i eat the chicken first and finish with the cauli then there's no disappointment at the end of the chicken, just some delish cauli to move onto. when i finish the cauli i'm not craving more chicken, i'm craving more cauli and there's next to no calories in that so there's no harm in steaming up another batch.


The benefit of this is that you will learn a lot in the process so when you come out the other end at your goal weight you will know how to stay there.[/quote]

yep, very important - this has to be more than just a "diet" with a set start and end date, it needs to be a long term, sustainable lifestyle choice or it won't last. think about the changes that you're making and ask yourself if what you're doing is something that you could live with forever...

With the cheese opt for a low fat cheese, cottage is a good choice if you like it, unless you have a reason for eating more salt look for low salt varieties.
Also if you can opt for natural plain yogurts and add your own fruit instead, this way you can control the types of sugar in the food rather than been pumped full of empty calories again.

agree with this too, it's another important one. again, you've gotta be reading and understanding nutrition information. also, remember that labels that say "low fat" are often an indication that the product is also in fact high sugar. next time you're at the supermarket i suggest you do a comparison - find some products with the regular and low-fat variants and compare the fat content, the sugar content and the total cals. This is not across the board, but it is common so it's something you need to watch. quite often, to make the low fat version of their product palatable, manufacturers will take out fat and replace it with more sugar to equal the same amount of cals (or there abouts). fats play an important role in our diets and if it fits into your macro-nutrient allowance then i say go for them. taste and satisfaction is so important especially when trying to lose weight that you shouldn't compromise if you don't have to.

as for the tim tams you mentioned earlier, again, i'm all for it so long as it fits your macros. i fit all sorts of awesome stuff into my diet - lots of dark chocolate, lots of butter and cream, heaps of bacon...

 

[chris95]

Good on ya mate good to see people trying hard to get healthy'er and leaner.

In my experience losing around 25kgs in 6ish months, just keep doing what you have started, eat clean, eat healty, eat a bit less, and exercise a bit more.

Everything in this thread is real good info, No carbs at night, do weights/resistant training as well as cardio, eat 4-6 small meals daily, fill up on low cal foods like veggies ect. Lean High protien foods like tuna and breast chicken is the go.

Like people have said dont worry about 'dieting', Make it a lifestyle change. Dont worry about keto and low carb ect thats for when you get real lean(abs).

Good luck mate keep it up.

Ohh and one last thing I noticed you said you ate a big bowl of fruit salad for desert, now even though fruit is healthy, and it is much better than say ice cream. For weight loss cut out all fruit/sugar/carbs at night, as stated is spikes insulin and can wreck your good day of fat burning. Keep fruit to a minimum(1-2 pieces a day for weight loss)

 

[harmonix1234]

Well, I just spent an hour updating this thread and hit 'submit' and the f*cking wireless internet timed out and I lost the lot.

Can't be assed doing it again so I'll just update tomorrow.

All in all a successful day.

http://app.strava.com/rides/17778577

 

[Morgan123]

If you just press the back button it will take you back and should be there.

Fitness section would be nice

 

[harmonix1234]

Training Day #5 - http://app.strava.com/activities/18230633

Been a bit going on, so I will update this space tonight.
Just want to throw the Strava up for todays run first.

Distance - 33.1 km
Time - 1:26:20
Cadence Av - 72
Heart Rate Av - 153
Average Speed - 23 kph
Calories - 956
Elevation - 435m


Well, I didn't get to do any riding yesterday, Day #4. Not even the trainer.

The night before I was up until 3am unable to sleep. 4am a drunk driver manages to plough into a power pole out the front of my house.

First aid training kicked in and I was out the door to see if I could help. As I approach the car a goon bag gets thrown out of the drivers side window, soon followed by the driver who collected his goon bag and did a runner. I wasn't in the mood for a chase.

Front wheel of the car and the axle and brake assembly sheared of and thrown down the road, glass everywhere, number plate another 20 metres down the road, petrol and brake fluid everywhere.

So naturally I was up until about 5am giving statements to the police and helping with the clean up.

I went to bed at 5am, and the bub was up at 5:30. No way was I training on half an hours sleep.
Then, as it turns out I was reminded by the Mrs 'Don't forget that playdate you organised for 11 oclock' FARK!
It was going to be a rest day. I was knackered.

After a solid block of REM gold I woke up this morn fresh and charged up.
I woke up sooooo hungry so I had one piece of toast with vegemite and no butter, and a banana and a tall glass of water.

I hit the tarmac feeling fresh and strong and blitzed my 30km planned loop to Bonnet Hill and back.

Going up Bonnet I was in a harder gear than normal. By one sprocket. But it felt good.
I punched it at about 80rpm cadence and a heart rate of about 175 the whole way with a peak of about 190 heart rate at the top.
Didn't have to see strava to know I did a PB. Sweet.
Yesterdays rest day and the good food I am eating are really starting to pay off a lot quicker than I thought.
Base building phase is still another five to eight weeks so I am excited that I am getting stronger so fast.

I have only been doing this for a week and I feel better on the bike (today) than I have in a long time.

I also did a little exploring and found this hell nasty climb I never knew about right at the top of bonnet hill.
It's about 130 metres and about 30% gradient. I had to give it a crack.

I couldn't do it seated because the front wheel kept getting off the ground, so I tried it standing and it was so steep that my back wheel was slipping on the gravelly bits between the bluestone, so seated-half-wheelie it was. F*cking pain like my legs havn't felt in years.

I almost spewed at the top. I have never had that before but I don't think it was so much the exertion as it was the huge aggressive lungfulls of icy cold tassie air that made my lungs so itchy I just had to cough and cough at the top until I found myself wretching. Good times.
Cold Tassie air can be like breathing in an alpine cigarette when you really draw a big breath of the stuff.

On the way home I saw some sparkling up ahead on the road. Broken glass. Bloody oath, tonnes of the stuff!
As I got to it I noticed how much there was. Probably 10 kilos of broken glass srpayed down the road in bits about as big as tic tacs. It was a mirror that had been smashed up somehow. Fell off a trucK? Who knows.

So I rode down the driveway of this palatial mansion with turrets on the roof and a 10 foot wrought iron gate and knocked on the door, 'Got a broom mate'?

20 minutes later, and a few odd stares from drivers at a man in lycra sweeping the road, all the glass was off the road. I returned the broom and headed home.
Got home and the Mrs had made me the most awesome veggie salad and a boiled egg. Thanks love!

Dinner tonight: Grilled Wahoo with dill and lemon juice, cous cous with roasted sweet potato pieces, red capsicum, finely diced broccoli stork, dry roasted seeds, lime zest, drizzle of lemon juice, parsley.

A tall glass of water and a muilti vitamin.

Successes:

Well rested
Still eating really well
My body is already getting used to the smaller portions and I am getting fuller easier
Found an awesome new climb that I know is right at my limit
A few Strava PRs, but more importantly, I am climbing stronger and faster that I have in a year and I have only been training for a week.
Probably saved a few other cyclists getting a flat

Failures:

Descending technique. I promised myself that I would not be so 'on the breaks' going down bonnet. I used to run the whole thing without touching the breaks, but after my crash (a month or two ago) I have laso all confidence descending on this road.
It has patches that never see the sun so in winter they stay wet for days or even weeks and they get all leaf-mouldy/mossy/black icy and it scares me.

Cadence Low. I really tried to pay attention to keeping it above 100 the whole time but I think the Garmin/Strava is averaging it out including the flat sections or descents where I just coast. Not sure. I was surprised it was so low.

I'll do the same ride tomorrow and try again to get the cadence higher and help acclimatize my legs and lungs to the faster revs.

Weigh in: 99 kilos again. Not really losing anything. Up and down each day by a kilo or two. But during the base building I want to keep hydrated and not shock my body too much and get sick or injure myself so I am happy just to get stronger right now.
4 kilos lost in one week.

 

[harmonix1234]

Training Day #6

http://app.strava.com/activities/18419996

Distance - 36.1 km
Time - 1:25:41
Cadence Av - 77
Heart Rate Av - 159
Average Speed - 25.3 kph
Calories - 996
Elevation - 381m

Awesome! After smashing my PR yesterday on Bonnet hill I couldn't wait to get out there today and have another crack.

Smashed my PR on a whole bunch of sections including bonnet again.

I woke up feeling really fresh today and I can really notice how my body is reacting to all these vegetables and quality proteins.
It's hard to explain how much better I feel all over only after a week of good food and a bit of exercise. Lighter and fresher and I have heaps more energy even though I am burning more energy and intaking less than I used to.

I don't really understand how it works, but I used to eat heaps of bread and chocolate and I always felt lethargic. But I have more energy now I am intaking less calories??? Simply cutting the bread right down to one or two bits every few days has made a huge difference to how I feel.

Opsi mentioned that there may be reason to believe that a lot of people may have a small level of gluten intolerance and not even know, and it may be worth researching so I spoke to a friend of mines Dad who is a naturopath and he advised me that just like lactose intolerance, a lot of people shouldn't be eating as much bread or dairy as they do. And I have to say that now I am right down on the wheat intake I am not bloated anymore.

I have gone from a size 40 to a size 36 even though I weigh roughly the same. All that bloating. Still more research to do on this.

Successes:

Today I felt stronger than ever
Higher av speed
Higher av cadence
More calories burned
Rode a longer distance than yesterday in a shorter time
9 Strava sections smashed
Higher heart rate than yesterday but didn't hurt as much

Failures:

None

Weigh in: Same as yesterday, exactly. But this was after I got home and drank about a litre of water.

Todays food:

One black coffee, no sugar, a glass of water and a banana for brekkie (pre ride)

Lunch:
Salad (Baby spinach, bean sprouts, red caps, mushroom, carrot, red cabbage, two boiled eggs

Tall glass of water with a squeeze of lemon

Tomorrows ride: Fern Tree - 500 metres straight up. Granny ring high cadence fat burner

 

[geoff_tewierik]

Did you take any photos of yourself before you started doing this? Are you planning on taking regular i.e. weekly ones?

Always good to go back and compare pics.

 

[Xavo.au]

Harmonix, bloody top stuff mate! Just reading this is inspiring so thanks for posting it mate.

Making me want to get out and clean up my act!

 

[harmonix1234]

Did you take any photos of yourself before you started doing this? Are you planning on taking regular i.e. weekly ones?

Always good to go back and compare pics.

Yeah, I did take a few shots for my own reference but I decided not to post 'em up here.
Nobody wants to see a pasty middle aged man rockin' out the man-cans
A good idea though and I will be doing some comparisons from pix.

 

[Trickymac]

try not to weigh yourself too much, once a week is fine, as daily weighs can do your head in
otherwise top stuff, well done

 

[harmonix1234]

Training Day #7 - Base Building Phase

http://app.strava.com/rides/18553833

Distance - 48.5 km
Time - 2:17:50
Cadence Av - 67
Heart Rate Av - 144
Average Speed - 21.1 kph
Calories - 1287
Elevation - 594m

Woke up feeling a little stringy. I wasn't actually feeling like doing any climbing.
I am trying to find the balance between listening to my body and being disciplined enough to self coach and stick to my schedule.

9:00 am - Massive winds howling outside and it's freezing cold. No frost, but I reckon if the wind wasn't so fierce it would have settled.

I set myself the target of 500 metres elevation today. Not too fussed on speed, just wanted to get some 'UP' in my legs, heart and lungs, but I really didn't want to go out in the freezing wind with ropey legs.
So, I decided that I would do a 25km 'warm up' spin along the flat out to Claremont.

It's all at sea level and runs parallel to the train tracks so if you have ever noticed the kinds of gradients that trains run on, that's all I was in for.
And then, once I had warmed up my body in this arctic wind I would see how I felt, and consider heading up to Fern Tree and get my 500 metres.

Heading along the flatland track to Claremont proved a bigger challenge than I anticipated due to the driving wind. It was relentless.
I tried running a hard gear with a slow cadence and got sapped quick. I tried spinning it up in an easy gear and found that I lost my momentum/inertia and it made it just as hard.
I just couldn't find a good rhythm into the wind. I just try to drive it harder into the pedals and get some flow and for the first hour my legs were never free of the lactic acid feeling. Just as it would start to ease up a bit I'd drive harder until I could feel the edge of my lactic threshold and keep on winding it along.

By the time I got to the CBD I was knackered. I had only done about 25kms and my legs were toast. No way was I going up Fern Tree.

I take a breather and try to motivate myself by saying things to myself like 'What would Jens do'? and replying in mind 'Well he sure as fuck wouldn't let himself get to 110 kilos to start with'.
Screw it, I'll give it a crack.

Up I went. Half way up the ride I experienced the weirdest thing. When the wind comes at the mountain from the side it's like a big bowl and whooshes around in this big circle, so the wind comes from every direction, and sometimes all at the same time.

It made it real hard on this one stretch of about 300 metres. The wind would give me a nudge from behind so I would go one gear harder out back and then BAM! the wind would spin around and drive at the front at about 40 knots and you'd lose all your speed and rhythm.
So naturally I'd click back into my original gear and BAM! it would be behind you again, or coming from the side.

Descending was even worse because I would commit myself to a corner at about 40kph and put my weight into the wind and then it would drop away and my bike would almost go out from under me.

So, I managed to haul myself to Fern Tree and seek refuge from the weather in the local store for a few minutes. They had the heater cranked so I just sat by it for a few minutes and tried to get the feeling back in my hands.

I asked for a coffee 'to warm me up' I said, but the lady replied 'Coffee machine isn't working. Only thing hot is pies'.
Screw it. Gimme a pie.
I knew I shouldn't have. A moment of weakness. But god damn I just smashed that buttery pastry and chunky beef like a fat kid on a cupcake.
I didn't care about the calories right now. I just wanted to warm up.

10 minutes later I felt like shit. What a stupid idea that was. I mean I actually felt sick.

So, I descended back down and headed home feeling grotty in the belly.

Successes:

Made my target climb + an extra 25kms
Managed to not let my Av speed drop TOO far despite the windy conditions and climbing
Actually motivated myself to get out there and stick to my schedule despite the shitty conditions

Failures:

Meat Pie
Low Cadence (I am trying to keep my cadence high to train my body to acclimatise to internal loading rather than peripheral loading as I do not want to gain muscle in my legs)

Todays Food:

Brekkie - Two bananas, one glass of water. A few bidons (two 600 ml) while riding
Brunch: Meat Pie
Lunch - one poached egg with home made tomato relish, one banana.
Dinner: Lean steak, one piece of fresh sweet corn, steamed broccoli and asparagus and a small piece of boiled potato with some salt and pepper. A large glass of skim milk.

Snacks: One choc coated scotch finger bikke after dinner for dessert.

 

[driftking]

If you want to assess your water intake for exercise weigh your self before and after a workout, the general rule is for every 1kg you lost during exercise you need to drink 1L of fluid.
Have a bit of a search on the Internet if your interested but it might help you keep track of your hydration needs. If you drink 1L while riding but are still 500gram lighter after you are still 500ml deficient.

 

[harmonix1234]

Training Day #8 - Rest / Recovery day.

Eating well, hydrating, will go for a 20 minutes recovery spin, maybe on the spin bike.

Tomorrows ride - Hobart, Margate return. 35kms with lots of power climbs and sprint sections.

 

[cleeshoy]

Been an interesting read! One thing I noticed is that you are pretty light on with breakfast. 2 bananas doesn't seem like much to me.
I know when I ride in the mornings (which I do up to 3-4 times a week, varying between 25km - 100km) I am smashing down something like 4 weetbix, 1 banana, some almonds and yogurt. I weigh under 70kg so I'm certainly eating alot more percentage wise compared to you. I find without a decent breakfast, I fall apart very quickly.