Day 59 – pull-up bar out and an hour’s exercise based on that and some body weight stuff.

Feel like I’ve been a bit on the cusp of not really meeting the bruef this year. This weekend I’ll have to count three hours of fly fishing and a family walk along Coniston lakeshore but been for a run this lunchtime so am at least “proper” today, will try and up the ante a bit this week so not relying on grey areas.

I did catch this little rascal on Saturday though 🙂
(Blurry pic as wanted to get him back in quick)

Still going pretty well here. Friday Zwift race. Saturday an hours MTB with Mrs Blitz and then Sunday morning another solo hour on the MTB with a walk around St Andrews with the family in the afternoon. This evening just done another Zwift race.

Feels like a good time to summarise my experience so far. I’ve found it generally ok to fit the exercise in. Missed 2 days overall, both through unforeseen issues that made it tricky rather than just not being arsed, so pleased with that.

I’m definitely feeling fitter. I started on Zwift racing cat D and was pretty quickly top end of that category and bumped up to C. I struggled a bit initially in C but more recently I’m starting to be able to keep pace better and the last few races I’m generally able to stay near to the lead pack and end up finishing top 25/30%. My FTP has gone up from around 220 to 270.

My main issue is I’m just perma-hungry and snacking too much! I’ve lost no weight at all. In fact I put weight on on holiday last month (all inclusive) and have not quite got all of that increase off yet so probably a pound or two heavier than at the start. I need to keep the exercise going but have more self control with food as I’m not where I need to be weight wise. Overall though things are moving slowly in the right direction.

Three days of weights last week, a couple of easy days and back on the bike over the weekend.
Last night I really didn’t feel like it but forced myself out the door for an hour on the road bike. Definitely worth the effort and definitely wouldn’t have done if not for this challenge.
Weather forecast for this week is going to be a challenge in itself!

Day 61 – back in the water.

Loch Garten was a bit wild and windy this morning.

Usual tentative entrance

Bouncing in the waves

Ready to get warmed up now.

Another calming yoga session this evening.

Still plugging away here, although Friday was a semi-fail. We’ve been redoing the kitchen, and I spent Friday afternoon moving stuff around. Not exactly exercise, but I certainly wasn’t sitting on the sofa. Saturday was a shortish run, Sunday a shortish bike ride, Monday gym (for the first time in about 6 weeks), and today was 10x400m at the track.

And a couple of photos from Saturday:

I’m falling a long way short, but still… 🙂 Still aiming for 30 minutes a day, joined Slimming World at the start of November, finding it pretty easy to stick to and have lost 10 pounds so far. 🙂 Exercise-wise, as I mostly WFH I’d started going for a fat-burny low intensity walk before work, building up to six miles, then doing something at lunch (short run/bodyweight strength/hit the heavy bag type things) – all was going swimmingly until Friday when I had a bit of discomfort in my lower right leg finishing the walk, which evolved into “pretty bloody painful” on running at lunch. It’s the muscle on the front of my shin, that lifts the front of the foot up – is that shin splints? Been pretty painful and put the kybosh on my over-enthusiastic campaign, started going swimming instead and I cycled to work yesterday, which was great – felt so easy compared to my last non-e-bike assisted ride, don’t know if that’s weightloss, improved fitness, or just that, after walking, cycling feels so quick! A bit of all three, maybe. 🙂

Really annoyed with the shin-ouch but que sera, and all that – not easy to rest it completely but doing my best, and looking forward to (gently!) starting walking and running again. 🙂

Still plodding on.
Lots of ebike rides, although today I enjoyed a ride on my non-ebike, old-faithful, Salsa Vaya.
Great stuff 🙂

No armchair exercises for me!!

Rode up to Ryvoan to play around with the drone. It was a bit too windy really and I eventually had to abort as the wee machine was struggling. I got a couple of photos and some short video though.

I rode back past Loch Morlich just after the sun had set too.

Bloody chilly on the way home mind. Garmin says 4C but it felt colder than that due to the self-induced windchill.

I wonder if next year you’ll be taking photos from space.It seems to be your direction of travel!

Had today off work so went to Afan for a proper ride. Sadly most of Y Wal is closed and they’ve completely forgotten to put any notices up at the centre! So two laps of Blue Scar it was as I was running out of time to do a lap of Penhydd.

Gym yesterday, I’ve been for a damp run with the dog this morning and have another run planned for this evening. But I can see it all going horribly wrong this weekend as I’m off to Amsterdam with wife, and we’re meeting our daughters there… and the forecast is very grim. I suppose I’ll probably be walking a fair amount, that might have to do.

Well, I’m half way through a ‘full’ week of commuting on the bike. If I manage it, it will be the first time since pre-covid office days back in 2020.

I failed in my bid. I lost my nerve completely when I saw the rain this morning and the forecast for later. Given the weather and the state of some drivers driving, having been nearly wiped out by 2 cars in the rain last night going home, I decided it wasn’t worth the risk. Still a bit shaken by it tbh. Then driving in this morning, in the rain, had a driver sat on my back bumper nearly all the way. What is wrong with people?

An hour and a half on Zwift – mostly Zone 2.

5x1km intervals at the track tonight. Negative splits, all very pro 🙂

Got a couple of runs in this week and weights session last night, tuesday was just bike commute and lunch walk so a bit light but did an hours walk with the wife yesterday lunchtime so double bubble. Was nice just having an hour with the missus without dragging the kids along too. Not sure about today, WFH so should be a run but fancy a change, need to use lunch to get out in daylight but to do what?…hmmmmm

Half hour yoga session with Kassandra this evening. Gotta keep those old joints from stiffening up.

Mrs S was heading off to Lewis this morning, therefore necessitating a very early dip so we were in Loch Vaa at 6:30 🙂

It was beautifully calm and almost impossible to actually see the water surface until you made a ripple in it.

It was markedly brighter as we left, though we still needed torches to find our way back to the cars.

Followed that up with some Zwift this afternoon, exploring more of the new Makuri extension.

Friday ended up with a walk up the fell behind the house, its a stiff pull so definitely counts! Today bombed out completely. Just busy. Kid ferrying, hen house building, turf laying, theatre going busy. Bike ride tomorrow though fo’ shizzle.

After 3 days of crap weather, work, inactivity (thanks Dr Depression 😡) I actually got out this morning. It was cold. Felt like hard work. Didn’t go far, but it felt really good. At this rate, I’ll be completing my 100 days next summer 😳😂