I get it!

Today I went up to DISC to put myself through another hour of track torture.  To my complete and utter surprise, I managed a 30 lap warm up and felt good.  I floated up to the blue line and was comfortable to stay there. 

There were others on the track and they didn't freak me out. 

I think I'm finally getting a taste of why people love track.  I had some good happy hormones by the end and was pretty pleased with myself.

You know what I thought of for the rest of the day though?   Running.  Running with Fi.  Pumping out 15km and not even thinking about it. 

I miss it.

Still around, still training

Hi!  Remember me?

I thought it was time to update here.   I'm back training well but still haven't returned to work full time.

I rediscovered a love for crossfit recently and will have to work out how I can include this in my training schedule somewhere.

I've started doing rollers at http://jarasport.com.au/ which given how hard it is will surely improve my cycling.

The biggest news is that I've started training here....


without a doubt, the scariest thing I've done in my life.

Can't stop. Won't stop.

See you out training somewhere.  Ride safe. x

Slow progress

Things are getting better, it's just taking a long, long, long time.

I've decided that I need to stop thinking about where I used to be or what I was capable of and focus on accepting where I am now.  This is my baseline, I need to work on improving from here.

Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda, Used to don't have a place in my vocab anymore.

I've been doing my 15 min rides every second day.  Helen took me up to the velodrome last week and taught me how to ride around on the blue line.  I've been riding up there whenever I can.  I've also done my own little Brunswick-Roibax on the cobbled lane ways around my house.

Pilates is very challenging.  I feel like I'm improving and I am enjoying the classes.  I need to find a way to keep this in the schedule even when I'm back to full gas.

I've also done a little running.  The first couple of times it really hurt, buy my body quickly remembered how to do it. 

I love running.  Just love it.

Fatigue continues to be an issue but that also is improving.  It's all upside from here.

404 error

Hi.

Remember me?

The last month has been rough to put it mildly.  Turns out concussion can knock you around a bit.

I've had memory loss and continue to have concentration issues.  I can't remember much about the first few weeks after the crash, so if you contacted me, thank you for your well wishes and concerns.  I really appreciate it even if I can't remember it.

My memory has improved some, but I've still got poor concentration and incredible fatigue.  However, in an exciting development I'm now approved for 15 minutes of riding on non consecutive roads as long as I stick to bike paths.  I can't process multiple pieces of information so the road is out of bounds for a while. 

So, 15 minutes on the mtb day before yesterday and 15 mins on the cx bike today.

Balance isn't great, so it's a little bit hairy, I'm scared of other people on the path and I need to sleep afterwards.

BEST FUN EVER. 

Car vs Bike

So I was finally feeling good and getting some consistency into my training.

After a gorgeous ride on the Boulevard on Tues morning I was headed home to shower before work.

A car unfortunately didn't notice I was riding in front of them and they hit me from behind as they turned left into me.

Luckily I just have concussion and some bruises.  Big muscles kept my bones safe.

No riding for a month, but I can get in the pool and on the trainer in a couple of weeks.

Could have been much worse, I feel very lucky.  My helmet smashed so bad you can see the frame inside the foam.  Thank goodness for helmets.

Pool

First time in the pool for a long time.

45 min session
Gentle pool running and one 25m underwater swim

Jeff knows me

So that one little comment yesterday has been excellent motivation.  I've had a brilliant day.

After a late night watching Neil at the Austral, I woke early and commuted down to Port Melb for a cornering lesson coached by one of the racing team. 
I'm confident enough on my own, but in the drops in a bunch around a tight corner has been problematic. 
The coach was able to break things down for me and I feel a whole lot more confident now.

I raced the crit to try and put the training into practise.  Being able to go around a corner fast and safely is awesome!

I chased some breaks, did some work, held some pace and then blew up 5 mins before the finish and didn't finish in the bunch.  It's all practise.   First you get droped, then your pack fodder, then....

Gavin and Helen missed yesterday and they both were able to come around for a session.

I styled something similar to Jeff yesterday and yowsers I'm sore now.


15 deck squats

5 times through
20 box jumps
old school barbell run to shop
16kg kbell
50 OA swing
20 snatch each hand
5 LCCJ each hand

'You used to be an athlete'

That sentence will motivate me for a very long time.  Thanks Jeff for today's session, I needed it.  Thanks also for the motivation.  I'm very lucky to have you on my side.

AM
4.5km run to Smith St to get my car.   Glutes and quads cramped, felt super heavy and slow.  Actually turned my garmin off because I was disappointed with the 6+ min k's. 
So, in the spirit of accepting where I am right now,  I kept going, relaxed my face and enjoyed the familiar sensation of running on a crisp morning.  It was fantastic, I loved it.  I feel inspired to keep trying.

PM
Jeff in the park.

Aqua bag run 1.5km
20 x 16kg kb resistance band run uphill walk recovery downhill (50m)
2 x 16kg kb farmer walk 1.5km - that was a good mental test.   I found it really difficult, but again used gratitude for the fact that I was doing something I love to get me through
forearms and grips were now well and truly gone so
100 snatches each hand 10kg kb were really difficult.

Perfect session.

Kaboom and Kinglake

Sun

SKCC crit.  Not sure what happened today but I felt less than ordinary.   I started and felt fine, fast bunch this week.  I was 5th wheel and quite happy and comfortable sitting there.   All of a sudden I went to pedal, no faster, just pedalling and I went from 5th wheel to off the back and not able to get back on.
I rolled around to the finish and called it quits.  I haven't felt like that before, something was NQR.

Kinglake
Jen and I drove to St Andrews and rode the climb at Kinglake.  I felt ok doing this but something is wrong with either my glute, my bike fit or both.  My back hurt way too much, not just usual muscle fatigue and soreness either. 
I'll go back and see Skinny this week.

Rest of the Week

Thurs

JBSECT hybrid today.  I left the guys up at the Boulevard and joined David from work in a loop.  He helped me work on my pedal stroke and cadence and I worked out how to ride smoothly up the hills by shifting my weight slightly forward on the saddle. 

It was a gorgeous morning.  I love it up there.

Sat
Rush ride (kinda).
Fi and I joined the start of the Rush ride, pace was hot today but I was pleased that I could hang on.  We got left behind after some confusion when half the bunch turned around for the start of Chain Reaction and then Fi and I got split by lights. 

We were late heading off so we didn't have time to go to Mordi, we turned around just after Black Rock.  So nice to be out with Fi again.

Breakfast was lovely.  The girls gave me a gift that left me speechless.  That almost never happens!

Dads are the best!

AM

Kew Boulevard Crit track with JBSECT.  I watched the guys in the dark to check their lines and listened for where they use their brakes.  They don't brake.

I tried to get through the corner without braking but only managed it once.  I need to do alot more work on my cornering.   Every time I get a little better but I've still got alot of room for improvement. 

PM

My Mikey came to kettlebells at the gym.  He did so well, it was very hard for him but he kept going.  I'm very proud.  I don't think he'll be able to walk tomorrow.

OA swings
snatch
lunge
clean
jerk
squat
long cycle

18,15,12,9,6,3 es

PRO hours MTB

I went for a mtb this morning with Jen.  She took me to a new area in Greensborough, lots of ups and downs, nice grippy trails and nothing too scary or technical.

No stacks.

Saturday and Sunday

Saturday - Total Rush skills session Beach Rd

Had a good ride with the crew from Total Rush, it was nice to ride them and not be chewing stem.  We did an easy roll down to Hampton and back with some bright newbies.  When we got back to Richmond it was raining and I wasn't too surprised to see the Cykel Women's Grand Prix had been cancelled.  I was disappointed because I'd been looking forward to that event but now I get to look forward to it for a bit longer as it's been rescheduled for March 24.

If I'd been really keen I could have gone and trained in the rain with Jeff in the arvo but I went to the movies instead.  I know he'll make me pay for that another time.

Sunday

SKCC crit - here's what I wrote somewhere else. The only thing I forgot to include was the bunch coming to a complete stop on the back straight as workmen were carrying pipes across the length of the road. 

I need to pay better attention. B and C were together today as the field numbers were pretty small. The fast B grade girls were out and one team has a score to settle with the handicapper so I knew it would be an interesting race. It was fast from the start, I think B were hoping to drop C, we lapped A grade. I held on. (!!!!). At what I thought was 2 laps to go I noticed that the team were on the front and wouldn't chase me if I attacked around the back straight so I did and they didn't. I came into the last corner first wheel with a big gap back to the rest of C and was pretty confident about staying away when I noticed that I had one more lap than I thought to go. They caught me on the 2nd last corner of the bell lap and I didn't have the legs to go around and over them in the sprint. 4th. Better racing but dumb.

PM
Playing in the back yard with 2 x 20kg kettlebells and the box.  I'm sure I'll hurt tomorrow.

Whoops

I forgot to update here.

29.2

Nobody for me to propose to today :)
I was the ride leader for the Wed 6am SKCC womens ride.  It was alot safer than last week, although personally I found it tough as my front light died just after Racer and bunch riding with no lights in the dark is not the most fun I've ever had.

Ride from home to Black Rock and back via Collingwood and Clifton Hill.

2.3

Thursday JBSECT ride on a Friday.  5 postmans after one boulevard.  The dinner at Mo Vida last night made it hurt abit.

Ouch

Rode for just over 2 hours today on Kew and Richmond Boulevard.  I'm surprised I managed to last that long.  My back hurts, I couldn't breathe deeply or turn my head very well. 

I'd like to race tomorrow but I just don't think I'll be safe.

Stay on the trail stupid

Well, quite an eventful morning on the mtb today.  If any of my family are reading this I am A-Ok and I will be on a bike again tomorrow.

I was riding the Yarra trails with JP and CV around Fairfield, it was such a nice morning.  JP and CV took off to ride at their own pace and we agreed they'd catch me on the way back.  They are fast, they got to the end and turned around before I was much more than half way through the section.  I was having a good morning, not totally enjoying the bar mounted light as I couldn't see around the corners but I was feeling safe and riding pretty well.

When the boys caught me CV rode first so I could see with his light as well as mine (my light is really bright, it was just the corners that were not so great) and JP was coaching me from behind.

We came to a bit of an incline that I've ridden up a few times before but about half way up I realised I was in the wrong gear and weighted wrong and the front wheel started lifting.  I shifted my weight but the wheel hit a rock and I bounced off it rather than over it as I wasn't going fast enough.

To my left it was straight up and to my right a very steep drop off with the river a long way below. 

In slow motion I felt my weight shift the wrong way and my bike tilt to the right.  I put my foot out but there was no ground so fell.  I hit the ground a fair way below the trail and then rolled a number of times (felt like 6) before I came to a stop just before the edge into the river.  I heard JP say 'oh no.  ow, ow, ow, ow, ow' as I rolled.

I called out to JP and CV that I was ok and then sat up.  Hey?  Where's my bike?  Oh no, in the river, floating away from me.  Luckily the lights were still working, so I could see where it was.  CV came down to the water and some kayakers pushed it towards him where the both of us could lift it out and up the cliff.

I know I'm lucky that I didn't hurt myself at all. 

I got right back on the bike and rode for another hour.  Adrenaline was major.  Now that it's worn off, I'm bruised and scratched.

Thanks to JP for taking the photos.

The trail.  See the slightly flat rock where there's the split in the log?  That's all it took.

I left the trail where this photo was taken and came to a stop where I'm standing.  The edge of the grass is the drop off to the river.  Close!

Thanks CV for coming to my bike's rescue before it floated away forever. That's him fishing it out down there.

Safe at the top.  Bit of a drop between the trail and where the ground is hey?  The rock is up behind where CV is.

Safe at breakfast.

Running was never this exciting.



Sandown

Gotta love a commissaire who says he'll hook me up.  I'm loving racing at Sandown, such a friendly crew and I'm learning heaps.

I did heaps better today.  Hung in for 4 3/4 laps and when I did pop, I worked to catch up to another 2 people and rode around with them for the rest of the race.

So much easier to ride together rather than alone.

Lotsa riding

First time ride coordinator for the Wed women's ride to Black Rock return from Racer.  I kept the pace up and focussed on keeping the bunch safe.  It took alot of concentration but I got everybody back safely and a few people said it was a good ride.

After work I drove up to Hans Loop to meet Gavin.  We did one loop together and then rode some fire road trails to loosen my legs up. I got around alot more than usual, and at least when my legs were shaking it was because of effort not fear.

Was great to hang out with Gavin, I don't know anybody who has such a genuine joy for life as him.  He's always happy and so much fun to be around.

Knowledge

I rode with the beginner women at St Kilda this morning.  It was a sketchy, surgy (is that a word?) ride and it didn't feel safe to be on the wheel of most of the people there.

Liz does a fantastic job of keeping people safe and out of trouble, she was working hard today.  I found myself paired next to a chick who was doing some strange things, I asked her if she was ok and she said it was her first time in a bunch and she had no idea what was going on. 

I gave her some of the advice that people have given me and I was surprised to find that I know more than I think I do. 

I'm hosting the Wed ride tomorrow morning so today was a good recce for that.

Crits and Rollers

SKCC crit this morning and my only goal was to give everything I have in an effort to string the bunch out and see if I could get a breakaway.

I did give everything, I didn't get the break and I spent the rest of the race deep in the hurtbox.  Ended up in 7th place after clawing back a couple of places.

I went to Bikefest and ran into the Brunswick crew who encouraged me to give the roller racing a go.  It was super awesome fun!

I've had a few

I sent this text to Neil this morning. " I could not get myself out of bed when the alarm went off at 4.30.  Missed my ride.  Now I have regret." 

Today's not Thursday

Just to mix things up JBSECT trained at the Boulevard this morning.  To put it mildly, I felt like pus.

My life feels a bit out of my control at present and I unfortunately, have not been sleeping and then eating to stay awake and eating my stress.  Sigh.

Back on the horse as best I can today.

I didn't do any extras, just rode both boulevards and headed into town.

Jeff's back

AM

I bought a new hi vis running top this week.  I really wanted to go for a run and try it out so when the forecast was for drizzle I thought it was a perfect opportunity.

I met Fi and Dee at the Tan and we ran down to the beach, I did ok but when we turned on Beaconsfield Parade into a headwind I pulled the pin.  I met the other two back at Queens Rd after they went round the loop and we went back to the Tan.  I ran for just over half an hour and I've pulled up sore.  My heel is so bruised I can't weight bear on it and my hammies are nice and twangy.

I did enjoy the run but I don't enjoy the hobbling and it does validate my decision in progress to move to a different sport.

Jeff held his first park session today and it was great to see a few of the old crew.  I wish more of the Thursday night gang could have made it because I miss them.

rope shenanigans
up and down, 30 secs on 20 secs rest x 10
side to side same time x 10

sled drag 2km round the park 20kg shared with Helen and Vic

Med ball work
slams x 50
squat push throw 20 x 2
reverse oh throw 20 x 2

Good fun!

Sandown

It has been a c-c-c-crazy week this week.  I haven't been sleeping at all well so have ditched riding every morning.

I was tired out but made an effort to get to Sandown tonight for the Southern Vets crits.  I raced again in F grade and though I got dropped I rode strongly for the whole 50 mins.

It felt better than last week.  I'll be back again. 

C Grade SKCC crit

I almost talked myself out of racing today and I'm so glad I didn't.  I stayed in bed too long to ride down to White St so I was very uncool and drove there.  The wind was gusting up to 100km an hour by the time I left according to BOM so I'm glad I took the easy way out.

I entered C Grade for the first time today and lined up with 12 other women. 

The first 15mins were slow, super social pace.   There was chatting and laughing going on behind me.  After a while I got a little sick of it and the calls of 'are you racing or chatting' from the sidelines were getting on my nerves.  I hit the front along the back straight into the wind and ramped up the pace along the finish line.  I tried to get one other girl who'd been on the front to come with me but she was happy to sit on my wheel.

The pace picked up from there and it was on.  The bunch was choppy and there was alot of undercutting and drifting through the corners.  There was one tangle and scream but I was up the front so didn't get caught up in it.  Luckily the girls that got chopped didn't hit the tarmac.

The pace was really hot, with lots of attacks going off the front.  I did my share off the front and used up way too much energy.

With 2 laps to go, the girl in front of me dropped the wheel and I had to swing out wide and work hard to catch the lead group.  Just as I got to them they got the bell lap and they took off, I didn't have anything more so they rode off on me.  I rode the last lap solo and got caught by one rider on the last corner I stuck with her and then just got pipped by one more fast finisher for 5th. 

I was happy with that.  It was hard work. 

tired

I was so hyped up last night that I couldn't get to sleep, then when I did I woke up every hour.

Decided to make today a rest day.

Tomorrow looks like I won't fit in a ride.  Oh well.  I'll make the most of Sunday.

Sandown

Yeeee HAAAAAA!!!

I have massive endorphins rushing around my body right now.  LOVE that feeling!

I rode my first crit with Southern Vets at Sandown tonight.  A whole peloton of wiley silver foxes.  One of them was kind enough to take me under his wing and coached me around the course.

I lasted just over 45 mins before I got dropped.  Around a corner, of course.  Gives me a good base to work from.

Can't wait for next time.

Fi and the velodrome

I had a new adventure this morning.

Rode to the Hawthorn Velodrome to join Fi and Dee for some speed work.  It was fun, but triathletes take things a little too seriously.  At least there wasn't any cars.

I had fun chasing Fi around the track.  I'd like to do more track work and would like to ride a real track bike on steep banks and see what happens.

week of holidays

I had last week off work and had an absolute ball! 

Highlights included:

Making it up Yarra St in the big ring
Staying at a friends place on Mt Dandenong and riding up Devil's Elbow and the 1:20 for the first time
More road riding
MTB every afternoon
Hiking the trails
I left there for a couple of days in Inverloch where I did more road riding and swam in the ocean.

Back at home my almost favourite experience was jumping on my CX bike at almost 11pm at night and heading up to the Harrison St Velodrome for a sneaky spin.  It was too hot to sleep but perfect weather for a night ride.

Back at Jeff's tonight and I am feeling very broken.  I didn't even make it through half the workout which is quite disheartening.

I did most of it with the 16kg which was my goal.

1A swing
snatch
goblet squat
clean
jerk
one leg deadlift

21,18,15,12,9,6,3

Downward Spiral

JBSECT went for a mtb today instead of the Boulevard so I decided to sleep in and train inside.  I did the first set of drop intervals from the Sufferfest Downward Spiral.  It hurt.  It was fun.  I ran out of time to finish it but next time I will.

I was by myself in the backyard and spent the evening making my bum hurt.

100 skips
box jumps 3 x 10
dragon lunge 16kg 3 x 10es
lunge 16kg 3 x 10 es
2 x 16kg step ups 3 x 10
2 x 16kg Bulgarian split lunge 3 x 10
kb sit up 15
kb v sit 10
leg extension 15
single leg extension 10

He's back

Sprints with JBSECT this morning.  My legs are still heavy and sore from Saturday so I only did 3 laps before peeling off to visit the running girls.

I focussed on cornering, and on the third lap got through all of them without braking.  I'll continue to work on this as I generally pick bad lines and lose alot of time and places.

Jeff's back from holidays.  It was good to catch up with him at the gym.

10 min LCCJ warmup, change hands every 5
1 minute each of
OA swing
snatch
lunge
clean
jerk
squat
dead lift
times 2

ouch

Pool

I was so tired and sore yesterday.  Did zero exercise.  I did get a massage and while it hurt it was nowhere near as bad as a 'running' massage.   Adds weight to my belief that cycling is way better for my body and way easier to recover from.

Je and I went to the pool this morning.  It was such a nice morning, lovely in the water and really enjoyable being under the sun.

Warm up
25m x 2 run
25m x 2 straight legs
throw the ball 30 times
sprints 25m x 4
rope runs x 10
high hands 25m
push ups on the wall, swim, run 5 x 5
underwater 25m (two breaths)

Walk an hour at night.

Big hilly ride

So tired, quite proud of myself.

Will write more tomorrow.  For now, about 100km up and down hills.

I remember:


Bond Rd
Mt Pleasant Rd
Pigeon Bank Rd
Menzies Rd
Sugarloaf - Clintons Rd
Smiths Gully
Kangaroo Ground
Bond Rd
Old Eltham Rd

Most hills I've ever ridden :) I figure not too bad for someone who's
been on a road bike for 6 months. Now for faster and stronger.

Thanks to Gavin and Helen for getting me around.

back on track

It was hard to get out of bed this morning.  I was a little tired.

I missed the meeting time, so headed down to the Boulie.  I rode one lap as hard as I could, and noticed I overtook a lot more people than usual.  Time to start saving for a bike computer so I can tell if I'm actually getting better or whether I'm dreaming.

I had time for a couple of postmans but my knee was so sore riding home last night that I thought I'd back off a bit today.

I rode a very pleasant 'lazy loop' with G into town rather than ITT the flat boulevard. 

I really struggled with the fast this morning.  Felt quite woozy all morning and ended up eating 1/2 hour early as I was feeling so crook.  I ended up eating so much that I felt too full all afternoon and missed meal 2.

Legs in the arvo

100 skips
3 x 30 bodyweight squats
16kg kbell
3 x 10 each leg dragon lunge
2x 16kg kbell
box step ups 3 x 5 each leg
step up to lunge 3 x 5 each leg
bulgarian split lunge 3 x 5 each leg
kbell sit up 3 x 10
kbell leg extensions 3 x 10
single leg extensions 3 x 10

Woot Woot

I thought I was getting stronger!!

After almost chickening out, I was up at stupid o'clock for a trip down to Racer.  CB from JBSECT was the ride leader today and I liked the idea of doing my first ride with someone that I know. The Wed ride is a step up from Tues and I was really nervous about being dropped, making a massive fool of myself or bonking.

We did head off at a fair clip and I was stressing about blowing up given my recent lack of energy, my first goal was to make the Sandy lights, which I did.  I mentioned to CB, that I am really scared of cornering and wasn't looking forward to turning around at the clock tower.  As luck would have it, I was on the front at that point which maybe was a good place to be as I didn't have to follow a wheel.  CB told me that CV is a coach and he'd probably be ok with giving me some lessons.  I think I'll ask him.

We turned around straight into a nasty, nasty head wind.  Other people were popping all over the place and we lost about half of the group.  Not me though!  I did tell my legs to shut up a couple of times and it did help. Again, I was on the front for the hills but I got some feedback later that my turns were good.

CB put me on the front at the end to bring us home as well.  I had a ball, felt good, confident in pretty awful conditions.

I'll make that my regular STKCC ride now and hopefully step up to the Thursday before too long. 

808s

Nice morning at Albert Park today.

JBSECT boys had some hardman session planned, with multiple laps at 95% threshold.   They overtook me at one point and DB's wheels made the best sound.  voom, voom, voom.

I did 4 laps, half as hard as I could and half still pushing but not as hard.  I do feel like I'm getting stronger on the bike which is very rewarding.

I'm going to give something new a go tomorrow.

Back in the pool

So after making it through all of winter at the outdoor pool Jen and I realised that it had been about 3 months since we were last there.

It was so nice to be in warm water under full sun.  We won't let that much time pass again.

warm up run 25m x 2
straight legs 25m x 2
interval sprints 25m x 2
high knees 15 secs and 10 secs
resistance band run x 10
dive ball 25m x 2
soccer ball throw 30
underwater diving 25m x 4
high hands run 25m x 2
swim 250m

About time

I ran with Fi today.  It's been such a long time since we did that - I've missed her and her running company so much.

It's so special to find someone who knows when I'm hurting, knows when to push, when to be quiet or when to talk.  Who keeps good pace, is up for any adventure and loves the sunrise as much as me. 

Fi had an hour to do at threshold which I didn't have a hope of achieving so she did that and then kept me company for my sprints.  I was glad she was there, tears were very close to the surface on the second last one.

Got them done. 

Thursday catch up

I'm a day late posting this one.

Thurs dawned bright and shiny so I donned my brightest kit and went to meet JBSECT.  They weren't going to miss me waiting at the bus stop and my choice of kit did generate some laughs. 

I was happy I could hold their pace down to the Boulie today, I think they were cruising.  They dropped me straight away up the climb past the pipe bridge but that's ok.

Crit training was the go and the boys were already on their first lap when I got there and they went absolutely fanging past, looked so good, I haven't been so close to such speed before and it sounded great.

The next lap around DB and JP had dropped everybody.  We later found out that Gus is doing his own fasting program and I totally get how little energy he has.  I'm right there with him, half an hour is all I've got.

I did laps of the crit track, practising holding my line through the corners and attacking the hill until the guys had finished.  We went to do some postmans but my legs were done for the day after one.  I went back for another but didn't finish it off.

Home for me rather than into town where I had a big midday nap.

PM with Helen

5 x 30m tyre drags
4 ways with the arms, tyre weighted with 22 kgs.

16kg KB
around body pass 20ew
high pulls 20
squat push press 20
lunges 20
sit up press 15
side twist 20 ew

and that was enough for me. 

Friday

Nada, walked a bit.  Legs are shattered.  Increased the avocado and nuts at lunch and that filled me up so much I didn't eat meal 2.

Mid week fast

There was no way I was getting out of bed at 4 30 after a hot night with not much sleep, so the planned Beach Rd ride didn't happen.  In my dazed state I could hear thunder and rain so decided to hang at home until the storm passed and then run into work. 

I walked in and out of town in high heels and then missed lunch so decided to do a second 24 hour fast this week.  Running home turned into walking home as I had no go.

Dinner tasted delicious when I ate it.

Legs Ahoy

After a week of running I was back on the bike today.  I hadn't set my alarm properly so I woke too late to meet JBSECT and rode down to AP alone.  I used the time to practise getting in out of the pedals with my right foot which feels really uncomfortable.  I know I need to get better because I won't be able to confidently ride the Yarra Trails north until I can unclip with that foot.

4 Laps of Albert Park, spinning half way round and threshold the rest. My threshold was GT's easy and seeing he's sick he kept me company for 1/2 lap.

The legs felt rather unusual and coming home they felt decidedly useless.  Took me until the top of Latrobe to have any go and then I was ok.

Fasting was really hard today, I was hanging out for 1pm to come around.  I'm toying with the idea of shifting my eating window an hour earlier which will work better with bedtime as well.

Sufferfest inside

40 something ridiculous degrees today.  It was my 24 hour fast so I was happy to take it slowly getting out of bed in the morning and spent the earlier part of the day taking down Christmas decorations and getting my house in order.

I did a good hard indoor session on the trainer in the arvo.  Got a good sweat up and although I came close to hurling the fact I hadn't eaten saved me from spewing on the floor.  15 high intensity repeats, not much rest.

No Jeff tonight, I think he's away on holidays.

Finding myself

After a really stressful and yuk couple of weeks I spent the last few days up in Bendigo with my family.

I didn't take any bikes home, which meant I was a runner for the whole time I was there.  I went to gym with my Dad a couple of times, did some workouts in the park, ran some sprints down at the oval and most exciting, ran up One Tree Hill!

I've stuck with the fasting program even though it's been quite tough.  Feeling pretty good, sugar highs and lows much more under control, feeling lean.  It's hard to workout though, not much energy.  Hopefully this week as I'm into the third week it will start to get easier and I'll be able to train with the same intensity as always.

I'll keep you posted.....