I’m with TSY on not bothering with it. I tried it for a while, but found chocolate milk was far more effective. You could always try a yoghurt when leaving the gym if its a while til you get a breakfast?

Are you still climbing phil?

It’s wet, windy and almost dark here too. Usual interval session cancelled in favour of going for a run instead!

Restless legs can be as a result of a magnesium deficiency iirc. I only get restless legs when i am over tired – they don’t spasm, but i need to fidget a lot. An early night fixes it for me.

I had museli this morning. I really wanted weetabix but had none left. 😡 Espresso time now.

Yup, virgin offer broadband without needing a landline. Haven’t had a landline in years!

Just had home-made butternut squash and chickpea soup with chilli, ginger and garlic. Was yummy. 🙂

Last weekends cafe stop in Samye Ling (TSY I thought of you when we were there 🙂 ) was chocolate cake and a double espresso. Nom. Close second was the banana cake which the bf had.

Edit, i want cake now dammit 😡

+1 for ITB (tho my experience is my IT bands get tight from running but are fine with cycling). Or maybe weak core/lower back/hip flexors.

The more stretching thing would probably cover it all though. Was at my osteopath this morning and he knew i’d been neglecting my yoga/stretching 😳

I think I’ll start planning a Welsh 200 miler as a hobby

Plan the other two as well will you? 😛

Okay, okay… maybe I should have said..accepting that we can’t be out riding our bikes exercising all the time…

What have you done with the real TSY?!

FWIW i tried whey protein shakes post hard weights sessions. I wanted something to assist with recovery/ease doms after a hard session and as i don’t eat meat/not a huge fan of pulses, i’m never convinced i’m getting enough protein. The whey protein made no difference to the pain the next morning.

I’ve since switched to a small amount of chocolate milk / skimmed milk which works far better to ease the doms, and also is much cheaper.

😆 @ cynic-al!

I’ve been working on my tuck this year – now have the confidence to almost have my chin on the bar. Its still a little scary how fast you can go like this!

Out of interest, how many use the drops for cx climbing? I was surprised to find i climbed better on the drops than hoods.

More and more for me too, now helped by the fact I’ve compact drops which fit me loads better.
On the few cx rides I’ve done, I use the hoods for fire roads, drops for climbing and descending.
On the road, use drops for intervals, speedwork and descending. Use the hoods and flat section for climbing/flat stretches although if I’m going fast on the flat, I’ll use the drops.

OK, so these will be more healthy than the tinned variety

No idea, although i normally just buy pulses in water. Hope you are keeping ok CG. 🙂

dunno if it helps, but you can connect lovefilm from your laptop to the tv.

Working 😡

I’m surprised at what i lost and didn’t lose during my trip, and oddly not struggling at climbing either. Don’t seem to have lost much of my high end speed/fitness though – i overtook two roadies doing 38kph 8) Was pretty tired by the end of a short fast ride though, would be nice to get the speed back in my legs too.

Didn’t realise you’d actually gone to physio for your leg…must have been really bad!

Have you decided what to do yet TSY? I’m thinking bodyweight exercises are the way to go as per my climbing comment. Think in winter climbing more would be good, and i’ll mix up my weights at the gym (thinking maybe a trx workout would be good to explore too). Backing off so many hard intervals on the bike over winter should mean i can continue to fit into my size 8 trousers although doesn’t help me come the summer when i want to race! 🙂

Oi cheeky 😛

Long recovery periods between sets
When you train for neural strength you are interested in a full or almost full recovery between each set. This little move, which is a very social and comfortable time of the training session, makes it possible to keep protein degradation at minimum. It also makes you able to perform lifts at higher level, which in the final end makes you stronger. I recommend you to take a break of at least 2 minutes between sets.

2mins?! So much for me moving between sets of mountain climbers, lunges and biceps with no rest in between then!

Ok, I’ll read the link. I’d disagree with climbers not needing to be strong – having done some hard (for me so anything from 5+ – 6a) overhangs, there’s more to it than just grip strength – my back/shoulders hurt the next day from overhangs.

TSY, maybe we need to take inspiration from climbers? i rarely see a ‘bulky muscle’ climber – most have a lot of muscle but are v slim. Only one i’ve seen who is bulky also looks like a gym bunny too.

I’ve no idea what to do now, maybe understanding my body composition report will help me get my head round what i should look to do for improvements!

miket, thanks for the blog link, interesting reading!

damn you for stealing my thread idea yeti, although its nice to have the same training conundrum to discuss!

i’m quite liking the sound of thomthumb’s suggestion though.

Mol, try small independant cafes for better coffee. I can’t drink Starbucks now, and only have coffee from costa if its an emergency and i can’t get to anywhere better. I don’t like starbucks blends, and prefer to support local/small cafes than ‘take over the world’ starbucks. My favourite is coffee beans from square mile in london, or artisan roast which is my local up here. 🙂 But i do admit i am now a coffee snob 😥 😳

TSY, no he’s not been making me! It appealed more in the heat when we were away and i enjoyed it so i’m sticking with it now i’m home. Plus dark chocolate goes better with red wine!
It was a mixture of measurements and pinchers – done twice to make sure it was accurate. Plus measuring my bones/height as well.

I’ve been upping the % of dark chocolate – i used to hate dark chocolate and am now up to about 75%. I only eat a few bits before I’ve had my fix so its a step in the right direction! 🙂

you’re only allowed black coffee on iDiet

yip, i know this…i’m toying with the idea of a slightly modified idiet over winter and thinking that getting used to espresso first would be a good move!

(TSY, i’m also off milk chocolate and only eating dark chocolate…mustard has been a bad influence on me! 🙄 btw, i got my body composition analysis report back, i don’t quite understand some of it so have a few questions about it, but its v good motivation!)

Was it a spur of the moment decision, or had you decided to try a different coffee before you went in? 😛 But going to starbucks? *shakes head*

After spending a month in Portugal and Spain, i’ve started drinking espresso…that’s something i never thought i’d do!

🙁 Rubbish news!

When i was climbing last night, i over heard an instructor telling his group to try to climb quietly with your feet as the more noise from your feet, the more energy you use etc.

Have been climbing since June on a consistent basis. I learnt loads by going on a course and intend to do another one once i feel i can’t get better by myself. Its also interesting watching some of the more experienced climbers – they look very graceful on the wall. I’ve mainly got better by lots of practise and trying things like thinking about my position as i climb ie trying not to be square onto the wall and also trying harder routes out of my comfort zone.

Conti 4 seasons for me in the winter (23c). When i commuted on the road bike i thought about going for a slightly wider tyre, but didn’t in the end. Have bought studded tyres for snow/ice road riding.

Have been super impressed with my cx tyres (35c) but i don’t know if your frame would have clearance for them?

Really do hope your crash hasn’t put you off and you manage to get a shorter time for your op than originally thought.

I’m between 8 and 8.5 stone too elaine, and have 23c tyres on my road bike. I pretty much always have 100 psi in my tyres. I notice the difference if i can’t be bothered pumping them up and it drops down to 80 or below – the bike feels much slower. When on the cx bike with cx tyres i use about 80psi – your bike must feel really slow/draggy with 60 in the tyres!

3.

Get to 2nd cat next season and hand down some serious pain

Respect 🙂

Get stuck back into climbing and weights to regain my strength/muscle lost on my month long cycle trip and if possible, do a top roping course.
Try cx racing
Read the joe friel book loaned to me by cynic-al and put together a base training plan aiming to start racing in March
Training camp in the sun in March
Start running again on a regular basis
Lose a bit of weight
Get a VO2 test done and another body composition analysis to see i compare with end of season and base training.

edit

also there’s crit races (very short)

I met up with TSY after doing my first crit the night before which had given me the worst cough ever from trying so hard 😀 TSY i think you’d like them!

I dabbled in racing this year and want to do much more of it next year. My club has lots of social rides around 15mph which are too slow if you want to race/train to race – you need to be able to ride at 20+mph for racing. Where my club falls down is that its relatively new/small, so there’s no fast group rides.

I started out road riding just for something different to do from mtb’ing but seem to have spent the last few years just road riding, before progressing on to trying racing. Both racing and road riding are addictive!

Hi CG, it was fab! Hot – about 35 deg most of the time. Smooth roads, lots of climbing (2000m in 30km one day!), loads of seafood, good cheap coffee, lots of sleep… 🙂 Only thing I missed by the end of the trip was a washing machine and cold milk for my cereal. Could have quite happily stayed away! Will be uploading pix and a day by day a/c on my blog soon. How are you/your injuries?

Phil, there may also be a joining fee to pay as well, can’t remember if i had to pay one or not. Am sure the prices will be fixed/the same across the UK.

I’m a member of virgin active and i pay about £48 a month – thats a diamond membership which includes 12 guest passes a year. The main thing is the contract – once you agree to a year long contract, you are stuck there until the year is up. I quite like it, been there for about 3 years now. Used to go to the local council gym which i liked but it shut for refurb for a year which is the main reason i ended up at virgin.

Edit, just seen your edit, will go look at the thread now. Yup, going to write up my blog and post up piccies too. Reality is a huge shock 🙁

TSY, what have you done/what have i missed when i’ve been away??

Arnica tabs and cream are a must for me when injured/bruised.

Just finished a latte here.

Elsa, I’m 5’3 and ride a 47 wsd trek – fits me perfectly and was fitted to my measurements too. I also have a brand new 52 kinesis tripster which is sadly, too big for me…sizing does vary wildly from brand as i bought the 52 having done the sums on the trek/my measurements but it doesn’t work like that.

Have never been a fan of women’s specific bikes until i bought my trek and ride a (mens) 16 Kona and 15.5 Hustler. But fit with a road bike is so important and given how good my trek is, i’m now a convert to women’s specific. Pity bike shops don’t stock many wsd bikes and that the market isn’t bigger – try hunting for a cx bike, that’s even worse!

Definately get it fitted for you and try to shop around for a women’s specific version too.