Training and Weight Loss - March 2015 update

It is the evening of the last day of March, so I'm pretty confident there will be no more changes to my "March" data :-)
My health has had the "all clear", with just another 6 weeks of "just in case" treatment, before reverting to my long-term "standard" treatment ...
... and I got some more training in :-)

The thermodynamic weight loss model - burn up more calories than you stuff in your face, and you get thinner really seems to be the "right" one. Even the comtroversial "Atkins Diet" seems to achieve weight loss primarily through calorie control.

Results of using "Training Zones"?

Training in a structured way based on Heart Rate appears to be showing results

I'm still training using the Cyclosportive method.
A continued improvement has occured in my 10K running time, which is the most important for longer distance cycling, while my shorter distance times have also improved (important for climbing short, sharp, hills!).
I don't own an indoor cycling trainer, or rollers, or anything like that.
I don't have a gym membership either.
So I'm training the old (and cheap) way - pounding the streets.
I even borrowed the Cylosportive training book from the local library (!)
I did spend £20 ($30, 27 euros) on a new pair of running shoes, and they are both lighter and more "rubbery" underneath than my previous shoes - a pair of suede-upper Adidas "trainers"/"sneakers".
My feet seem more comforatble in the new shoes, but I still get slightly sore toes at the end of 10k (!)

As well as an improvement in times using a structured Heart-Rate based training program, I have also increased my maximum distance (!) - I have now mnaged to do a 10 mile (16.1K) run. something that a few months ago seemed completely out of reach - and I ran it at my 10K speed, too.
As at today, the 10 mile (16.1K) run is about my limit, and I was pretty tired afterwards (!)
Hopefully things will improve as my training continues.

I bought a cheap HRM chest belt, too, but as it works best on my wife's 7" tablet, I haven't used it much (try running with a 7" tablet in your pocket!) - but I am intending to get a new smartphone in the Summer to replace my almost 4-year-old model (It runs Android 2.3.5 - "Gingerbread"!m and only has a single core 600Mhz processor, and just 256K or RAM - it does run Strava, however!!!)

Anyway, my current "PR"s in each category are:
10K: 1:01:37
5K: 29:41
2 miles: 18:20
1 mile: 8:58
1K: 5:22
1/2 mile: 4:07
400 metres: 1:58

Comparing that with this list I posted just 4 weeks ago shows the following improvements:
10K: 11minutes and 8 seconds (15%) faster
5K: 4 minutes and 26 seconds (13%) faster
2 miles: 4 minutes 48 seconds (20%) faster
1 mile: 1 minute 27 seconds (14%) faster
1K: 37 seconds (10%) faster
1/2 mile: 15 (6%) seconds faster
400 metres: 6 (5%) seconds faster

So, in general, the "longer" distances have improved more.
The apparent "surge" in my 2-mile time is actually due to my speed increasing when i adopted the "Heart Rate" training progrem, and I just ran more evenly than previously - indeed, after tha 20% improvement shortly after my post 4 weeks ago, there has been no further improvement.
At the "long end", my 10K times have been progessively dropping pretty much every week. A few minutes here, a few minutes there.

So both my speeds and endurance (that was the first 10 mile run I have done for 30 years!) have been improving.
Whether that is due to the "Heart Rate" training style, or whether it is an improvement that would have happened anyway, and I have just got fitter because I have been training longer, is harder to say.
Either way, I AM a good bit fitter than I was after Christmas (!)

Update 5th April 2015:
So I went out on a ride - after all, the running/jogging is supposed to be supporting my cycling. I'm not that interested in becoming a great runner, just a better cyclist, and a fitter person (hey, I'm 50, and it is more and more a case of "use it or lose it"!)
So - the ride.
A 60 km jaunt up into the Chilterns - peppered with "Personal Records"

The Cat 3 climb is the one that counts - that hill is marked as being 13% for its steepest section.

The 3kg (about 6 1/2 lbs) in weight I have lost since New Years Day would have helped a bit, but the fitness is a BIG factor, too.
And remember I still have "training tyres" on - a snow tyre (studs and all!) at about 55 psi up front, with a Marathon Plus tyre on the rear, alos at about 55 psi.
For my Summer charity rides I will be running Marathon Plus tyres front and back - and at 84 psi.
So, not only did I set a whole bunch of PRs, I know that I have more to come, as a simple tyre swap will give me even better times!

Edinburgh Bicycle Co-operative Sale Now On!

Yep, we are here/
The EBC sale I mentioned last Saturday has arrived.

Just 4 days - Friday (today), Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.

I'm thinking about a new bike for our daughter (kids grow bigger every year!).
So I'll have a look, and a think, and we will see.

London to Brighton Training: Thinking About Food and Weight: Part 2

So how many calories do I get through in a "typical" day?

I know we are all a bit different, and have different metabolisms, etc. etc., but let's just assume for a moment that I am "average" - we can look at any differences I have a bit later.

So how much energy (calories) do different tasks take up, for the "average" person?

Lidl HRM test 3 - with Nexus 7 again

Lidl HRM chest belt recorded by Strava on a Nexus 7

For this third test I was going to take the LG L50 phone again, and I synched it up, then put my shoes on.
BUT ...
Anna likes her 'phone to go into "sleep" mode after just 30 seconds to save power, and ...

Lidl HRM test 2 - with LG L50 (aka D213)

HRM test with LG L50 - the "dip" on the left looks a bit suspicious ...

Second test with the HRM - this time I got the LG L50 (aka D213) smartphone working for GPS.
First observation is that I only moved about 30 metres during the test, yet I am recorded as covering 1.2km (!) Not sure if it is due to "natural" GPS drift, or whether it is a characteristic of the 'phone.

Whatever Happened to the Sinclair X-1?

About four-and-a-half years ago, Sinclair Research announced their latest "wonder" invention.
Sir Clive is generally accepted to be a slightly eccentric chap, but with a brain the size of a small planet (to borrow a phrase from Douglas Adams).
All that seems to remain of it are this "official" You-tube video, and a web-page that isn't being updated.
Pity.
I'm old enough to remember the launch of Sir Clive's "other" pedal-electric vehicle, and old enough to have used a ZX81 home computer when they came out (yep, it was 34 years ago).
So, will Sir Clive continue the X-1 project, or will he come out with something else?

If nothing else, perhaps the video will give a few folks some ideas for other bicycle-related projects!

Testing my new Lidl HRM (and a Nexus 7!)

This is the first test of my new HRM belt from Lidl (marked as a "Medisana" device)
The most important thing is ... are the recorded HR numbers realistic?
The "start" number on the left is abiut 70 bpm, which would be about right for me standing about in the cold - the HRM belt measures me at about 50-ish sitting (for a while) at rest, which matches up the the "old-fashioned" way of measuring it using a watch and counting the wrist-pulse.

So I started off slow, and warmed up a bit - it is down, then a slight up, then down, then flat, then an up to the top, then along, then I accelerated and sprinted home. I flagged a bit near the end, realised it and speeded up again (that's what the little down then up is near the end of the trace!).

15% off Sale upcoming at Edinburgh Bicycle Cooperative

The good folks at Edinburgh Bicycle Cooperative have sent me their latest flyer.
There will be a 15% off "long weekend" next week (!)
The offer isn't listed on their website yet, so I am giving you all an exclusive "heads-up", so you can think this weekend what you might want to buy (at reduced prices) next weekend.

You can collect in store, or get it mailed to you (free postage, iirc, on orders over £20).
EBC are one of the companies I use, and I recommend them to you.
They are even a genuine "co-op" where all the regular members of staff actually OWN the company (!)

They will be closed on Monday (23rd March), except the Sheffield store, because, being a "proper" co-op, they are having an AGM, and the staff are the "owners"

So what stuff have I bought from them that I particularly like?
Well, I got my best "track pump", my mini-pump, and Mermaid's "dring-dring" bell from them, just for starters!

Badum, badum, badum - I've got a new toy.

Remember that cheap (as in 15 quid, $23, 20 Euros) HRM chest belt I mentioned?
Anna got me one this morning from our local Lidl!
(I was at work, of course).

First impressions:
1) Seems to work - I put it on at "rest" and it came up with a figure in the mid-50s, which is about right. then I tried running on the spot, and Anna said to try running up and down our staircase, so I did that some times, and it went up to 120. Given that I wasn't that out of breath, but I "felt" it, it was propbably about right. Smartphone said I peaked at 127 bpm. All very believable
2) It takes a CR2032 battery (commonly available, and cheap), and there is a little cover that twists on the back.
3) It seems to be "always on", so it might be a good idea to take the battery out for storage
4) It works with my wife's 'phone (Android 4.4 Kitcat, Bluetooth 4.0), but not mine (Android 2.3.5, Bluetooth 2.0). My 'phone won't even detect it (although it will detect the neighbour's MacBook Air!)
5) My wife's 'phone seemed to connect with Bluetooth SMART, whatever that is. Must ask my daughter :-)
6) The clip on the end of the strap seems a little easy to undo ...
7) the "sensors" seem to be a pair of rubbery strips on either side of the "body" of the device (the "fat" part in the middle)
8) you're supposed to strap it just under your pectoral muscles - not too sure how this works out for you ladies and your undergarments - being a guy, I just wear it under my tee-shirt :-)
I have seen ladies "sports" undergarments with a built in HRM advertised on "Wiggle", but I really don't know if that will be an issue or not. Must give it to my somewhat reluctant "female tester" :-)

Anyway, some folks may go on about it not being "pro" etc. etc., but it seems to work for me - and to be honest, I'm only going to use it to check up on whether I've been working hard enough while cycling, and perhaps to optimise my running performance for my 5 and 10 K training runs - I want to work hard enough, but not too hard.

My first test of the HRM chest belt while jogging is here

Heavy days and light days - Mid-March training and weight loss update.

Those of you that weigh yourselves regularly will know that we all have "heavy" days and we all have "light" days.
Today is a heavy day (!)

After a week of low-ish weight numbers, and a 5k run at dusk yesterday, today my weight went up.
Paradoxical, no?

But that's just how weight works.
One is not only measuring fat, but also hydration.
We can all lose weight just by running about a bit, and sweating a bit, and not drinking.
All that sweat comes from somewhere (!)
But, of course, when we have a drink of water, we put all the "weight" back on again.

So how much can water/dehydration affect the weight numbers I get from our bathroom scales?
Well,the US Geological Society say that adult folks are about 60% water, while the Royal College of Nursing (in the UK) says that 50% to 65% is healthy for an adult man, while 45% to 60% is healthy for an adult woman.

The biggest "one day" jump I have yet seen in my weight measurements is 1.6 kg (about 3.6 lbs), which given I weigh about 95 kg (about 210 lbs!) is only about a 1.5% variation.
And that is the biggest (!)
Most day-to-day-comparisons involve much smaller weight swings, and sometimes I weigh in at exactly the same weight on two consecutive days.

Anyway, onto the training and weight loss update.

Dodgy advertisements

Looks like Google are fiddling about with the settings for blogsites again.
They seem to have created a new category of advert for gambling sites, which is auto-opted IN!!!
(whatever happened to "do no evil"?)
Anyway, I do have adverts on this blog, and I do try to keep them "decent, honest and fair".

I have tried to cut out all the rubbish adverts for diet pills, "nature's tricks", gambling, romance, and all that kind of stuff - I'm sure if you really wanted to see an ad for, e.g., a dating website, you would have seen it hundreds of times already on other websites, so I certainly don't need it here.
By cutting out the "garbage" ads, I hope that the content you receive is more relevant.

Yes, my advertisement policy does cost me "money" in lost click-throughs.

But I don't want to advertise anything I wouldn't want to sell myself.

If you do see any ads that are "questionable", I would appreciate it if you would let me know, and then I can update the blog's advert feed settings as appropriate.

Thanks.

Monday is Lidl Bike Day!!!

Lidl has another Bike Spectacular on!
Starts Monday 16th March, 2015.

Jackets, helmets, lights, saddles, etc. etc.
they tend to have a few unlisted things, like tyre foam cans, as well, so you have to go to find out exactly what is available.
Strictly "amateur" stuff, so if you specialise in "big name" gear, or fancy your self as a "semi-pro", then the stuff is unlikely to appeal to you.

Another 5K run, and the speed is still picking up.

Bit tired this evening, after a day in Oxford.
Feet a bit sore, but hey, you know how it is:
 - if I don't go out on a dry evening, when ir is not too cold, and not too windy, then when will I go out, if at all.

So I went out.
Because there are no short cuts.

London to Brighton Training: Thinking About Food and Weight: Part 1

This post was just going to be about food.
But as food is closely linked to weight, it seems sensible to reflect that link in the post.


Weight is basically what you put in, minus what you use up, minus what comes out (sweat and restroom visits!).
Food is what you put in.
Exercise is the bit you use up, and we will leave the other two to look after themselves.

More in than used up/comes out, you get heavier.
Less, and you get lighter.
Simple.
See those "calories" or "kcal" numbers on food packets - that is just a standardised measure of what you put in.

But there is a bit more to it than that.
Since food is the fuel for your body, surely the quality of the fuel must count too?

Ever wondered why garages/fuel stations sell different grades of fuel?
Economy/Regular/Premium (aka "Super"), or for those of you as old as me, in the UK, it was two-star, three-star, four-star, and even five-star! (my Mum, in the early '70's even had a car that took two-star fuel!).
If you had a low-performance vehicle, it probably ran on the cheapest grade (My Mum had an Austin A30. "Relaxed" is a polite way of defining the engine power!)
Fancier, and faster, cars tended to run on the more expensive stuff.

So now look at yourself.
What are you?
A little, slow, economy person, or a "premium" person that needs the best fuel?
The thing about being a person, rather than a vehicle, is that you can take any grade of "fuel" (food), but you will "run" better on the "good" stuff.
The whole idea that the "good" stuff is better for you is why folks have diet plans, whether they be all about eating mung beans, or lean meat all the way, or anything in between. Various folks can argue about what the "good stuff" is, but we ALL know that whatever the "good" stuff is, that is what our bodies will work best on.

So, since we have all agreed that you and I deserve the "good" stuff, what is it?

As I have mentioned before, I am riding in this year's BHF London to Brighton Bike Ride.
Last year I finished the course as part of a team riding heavy three-speed bikes.
This year I will be riding my own bike, Mermaid.

Since I know (barring disasters) I can ride the event, and have some idea where the problems for me are, I expect to do a lot better this year.
The problems for me are the hills, not the distance, or the duration :-)

Hills. Hills. Hills.
What to do about that?

What if ... I were a bit fitter and a bit lighter?

Sounds like a good place to start.

From the point of view of "Heart Health", getting back down into "normal weight" by losing a few kilos is a FAR better "life" investment than staying the same weight and buying a lighter (and much more expensive) bike, even though the workload on the hills will be much the same.

You know what I am going to say next.
More fruit and veg.
Plus more exercise.

We all have our own particular tastes and desires (I have something of a penchant for Camembert cheese - you know the soft smelly one from France - indeed, if there is any such thing as a "cheese-aholic", then I could just be one!).

We also have foods we are not supposed to eat, or eat in limited quantities because of medical advice.
Indeed, I am one of those folks. I am on warfarin/Coumadin. Forever. What does it react with? Pretty much everything (!) But some things more than others.
So I have to be careful, just like some of you do.
Cranberry juice. Good for you. Cleans the blood (allegedly). But I can't have it - because my blood is deliberately being altered by the warfarin/Coumadin. The last thing I want is my blood "cleaned" :-)
Antibiotics (not me, that one), and the doctor says you have to lay off the booze.
And so on.
You know the score.

The country where I live produces health guidance for "typical" folks. I bet your country does, too.
BUT
Are you leading a typical lifestyle?
I'm not - I'm training for a bike event (!), an 87km  (54 miles), bike ride with HILLS (!)

So far, just to pick the "big things", in 2015, I have completed two 50km (about 32 mile) bike rides, one of them in hilly terrain, and two 10K (about 6 miles) training runs.
Is that the lifestyle of a typical, "sedentary" office worker, who drives to work and watches TV in the evening?
I think not.

So, since the "standard" advice doesn't seem to fit me, what should I eat?

Having addressed the issues in Part 1, I will look at what I am doing about them in Part 2

Non-meat protein while training

I put up a question on my favourite Google+ Community, and got some great answers.
The thread is here:
https://plus.google.com/111980710253193266374/posts/a1wuD9rJrxq

I'll transcribe it when I have the time.
Yet again, the folks on the Bike Commuting community have come up trumps.
A group well worth joining!

My second half-century of the year - a nice, slow one

Not the best pic, I admit, but you should just be able to make out the ruined castle behind the trees.
Except it is not a "real" castle at all - it is a "folly".
They were popular a couple of hundred years ago,
and some rich folks used to have fake ruins built on their land to give a feel of "classic age".
This one is just beyond Stone on the road from Aylesbury to Thame.

I followed the cycle path out through Stone, then down this quiet side road that leads to Cuddington. Later, I'll be going up those hills at the back - the first of two ridges I'll be climbing

Out of Cuddington, and down the hill towards Chearsley. I'll be turning right at the bottom of the hill, towards Ashendon.
The hills at the back look a bit bigger now ...

When not rushing along, one has time to enjoy the scenery - these were just growing in the verge.

Up the first hill (actually tougher than the second, although the second is a higher, Strava Category 4 climb!).
You can see the second line of hills in the distance.
I am at the crossroads, with the road to Chearsley on my left (not the same as the last one!),
the road to Cuddington behind me, the road to Waddesdon on my right,
and the road to Ashendon(and beyond) in front of me.

Yep, I did the extra few yards up to the reservoir to "claim" the Cat 4,
then back down again to the "proper" route.
Little diversions like this are ENTIRELY a result of the growth of cheap, portable, GPS receivers!

A rather more civilised place to stop for a sip of water than  roadside verge!
This is at the top of the hill at Ashendon.
The side road visble leads up to the "Cat 4" reservoir.

I acn see for miles and miles and miles - the view facing south from opposite the bench.

After Ashedon, it was down to Westcott, and then a short length of main road to the next turning, which leads to ...
Quainton.
The railway museum is shown.

Then on into Quainton "proper".
Didn;t the old windmill used to have a white "cap"?
Or am I confusing it with another one?

After Quainton, it is time to take the road back to Berryfields, on the edge of Aylesbury.
Road surface could do with a bit of maintenance on this stretch, methinks ...
If you look carefully between the telegraph poles, you can see the "new" windmill
- the tallest "onshore" wind turbine in the country.

Lake and turbine shot in Berryfields.
Actually, it's not a lake, it's just a bit of flooded waste ground, but the birds don't seem to mind :-)

Then after all that, I had only covered about 35 km, so it was up the lovely new cycle path to the Buckingham Park area of town, through the park there, then up the cycle path through Haydon Abbey, down to Fairfod Leys, through that, then up the cycle path nect to the A418, past the edge of Friarscroft, along to the railway station, over the crossing, up (and I do mean UP!!!) Castle Street, them home!

51.5 km travelled, with 294m climbed, in a nice, leisurely 3hrs 15 minutes/
Map and further route details here:
https://www.strava.com/activities/262803983

London to Brighton Training: Another 10K Run - That's March Done

As part of my training regime for this year's cycling events (for me, principally the BHF London to Brighton Bike Ride), I've been doing a bit of running.

As it doesn't look like I will be able to get my grubby mitts on a Pashley Mailstar again (I rode with a Pashley-equipped team last year), I'll be taking Mermaid, my cheap ride-to-work bike.
Since it looks like I will be riding "solo", rather than in a team, I'll be able to set my own pace, rather than "riding to the slowest".
I was probably third fittest last year (one of the other two didn't prepare his bike properly and failed to finish!), and was the second up Ditchling Beacon (about 10 minutes in front of our next rider!).
So this year, I'll be looking to "set a time" - under 4 hours will be lovely, but no promises!

Anyway, being a sensible chap, I am fully aware that I am going to have to undertake a bit more training than last year.
Last year, I just had to make sure I wasn't the rider who was holding the rest of our team up (!), but this year it is just me and the clock, and the clock is not so forgiving!

Training Zones for the novice (like me!)

My running times from 400m all the way up to 10K have improved since I started "Zone Training"
(times on graphs are my PRs in seconds, using data from my Strava profile)
Week 3 is when I started running again, after about a 15 year break, and by Week 4 I am increasing the distances.
Week 7 was a milestone, being the first 10K I have run in 30 years!
But just look how those times have improved in Week 10!

Heart rate monitors for sports tend to have adverts that go on about training zones.

In order to use them, you need to enter your maximum heart rate.
So, how does a chap like me know what my maximum heart rate is?

The BEST way is to take a maximum heart rate test is in a suitably equipped medical lab with a physician on hand.
Or, if you can't do that, exercise at a high intensity until your lungs are practically bursting, and use a chest-strap heart rate monitor (HRM) to record your activity so you can see the highest reading. It was on that hill where you nearly blacked out. The third hill of that set of three. You know it was.
Various online postings give various warm up methods, and they are worth what you make of them. Nver going to be as good as a "proper" test, and without the physician on hand, are you SURE you are not overloading your heart just to get a number?
Given that some folks have am unfortunate habit of dying while doing something as simple (but potentially intense) as snow-shovelling, if you are a bit unfit, do you REALLY want to see just how fast your heart can go WITHOUT a physician keeping an eye on your ECG readings?

What about if you don't have a HRM?
You could try thrashing along and stopping and taking your pulse the "old" way - 15 seconds on the watch, multiplied by 4. The way medical folks used to do it before they had all the gadgets.
Except, unless there is something wrong with you, your pulse will start to drop very shortly after you stop to check it. If it doesn't drop by 12 beats per minute in the first minute, you'd better have a good reason why it doesn't!
The same caveats apply about overloading your heart without a physician present, though!

Training and Weight Loss - February 2015 update

So that is February done and dusted!
My marriage survived another Valentines day (a well-chosen gift is often better than a fancy one!).
My health took a bit of a setback ...
... and I got some training in :-)

I am a strong believer of the thermodynamic weight loss model - burn up more calories than you stuff in your face, and you get thinner. Eat more than you move, and you get fatter.
No fancy diet program, no wierd foods, just move more than you eat, just get off your butt and move!