Exactly.Quote:
Originally Posted by donKey jote
I had to start training harder and harder to keep my six pack from getting buried by age!
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Exactly.Quote:
Originally Posted by donKey jote
I had to start training harder and harder to keep my six pack from getting buried by age!
That'll be why cycling is harder now I'm 34 as opposed to when I was 21!
How about treadmill running?Quote:
Originally Posted by Mark
Yeah but you get a reading from the machine as to how far you ran.Quote:
Originally Posted by henners88
Sure you'll just have to take my word that I run 50 km a day but hey.
You can log it in Endomondo but not sure it's fair as you can't verify distance travelled.
I didn't want to destroy your confidence as I heard you're just starting out.Quote:
Originally Posted by henners88
Bradley Wiggins used to use me to pace himself cycling. Until he realised he couldn't keep up with my jogging pace that is.
Hehe. I'm trying to do some running but I have to stop after half a mile :( Not good! Safe to say me and running aren't friends!
I took up running at the beginning of the year with an aim to run 10km. I followed an 8 week plan and I ran one 10km in April about 10 weeks after starting out (bad weather and a holiday to Ireland set me back a couple of weeks). The initial stages were the hardest but I found that once I could run about 3km without stopping it became alot easier to run further. I pretty much gave up with running afterwards and concentrated on cycling. I started running again at the end of June but it was a bit stop start with me doing a couple of runs and then not bothering for a few weeks. My levels of fitness are quite good so it wasn't that hard to get back up to 5km runs although they were about 6 minutes slower than earlier in the year. I've managed to improve my times to just being around two minutes slower than before I gave up. I fancied stepping up to about 7.5km on Saturday but my legs felt surprisingly good so I carried on to 10km and got a new PB to boot. My next plan it to keep running and just pumping in the mileage with an eventual aim to run 10km in under one hour. At the moment I'm not sure whether it is possible but I'm going to give it a try. I'm rubbish at running and find it really difficult compared to say cycling or swimming. Knocking just over 13minutes off my time wil be a real challenge but I think it's more of a psychological challenge than a physical one for me.
You need to start running for 20 minutes or more but you don't have to sprint all the way to get fitter. When I first began running back at uni I did 5 km and started off easy but made sure I went quicker and quicker every run. Technique goes a long way too, I realised for example that my right knee is canted inwards slightly so I worked on tilting it outwards so my knees were straight when I ran. That way I reduced the effort it took to run. Even when I'm not fit at all I can usually outrun most people over medium to long distances.
Cycling is a nightmare for me. Going uphill just seems to be about how much thigh pain you can take.
Nah, cycling is also about technique and taking it easily, especially uphill. Best way I have found for good uphill training is to talk to someone while cycling up the hill, this is good to keep your heart rate as low as possible, while using a comfortable gearing.Quote:
Originally Posted by Malbec
Since my mother has died I lost her cooking abilities, and trying to cooking or deliver food for myself, have reduced abruptly the quantity of food I've eaten these last two months. That caused I had a loss of 13 Kg! in that period, had a downfall from 119 to 106 Kg. Old wear is starting to fit me again, some people says I look more handsome now. The process is in continuity, since I've lost 600 gr during the last weekend.
That's always my problem with uphills, I try to keep up too much speed, I have to keep telling myself - if the bike is upright, you're going fast enough!Quote:
Originally Posted by ioan
Yeah but comfortable gearing for me means getting overtaken by 6 year old girls on My Little Pony bikes with stabilisers. I'd rather go through agonising pain and not be able to cycle after than go through that indignity...Quote:
Originally Posted by ioan
Do you sit down to cycle up hill or get out the saddle? Try doing the opposite of what you are doing now and see if it makes a difference. I gave moved from a sit down to an Alberto Contador style and find it much easier.
That said, if ever I see a guy pushing up a hill I will always give him a "hiya" as I cycle past just to make him feel that little bit worse. Hehe :D
I've never had to push up a hill until Sunday when there was a sharp 20%er. I shall return. I shall not be defeated!
So that was you was it? Grrr.Quote:
Originally Posted by GridGirl
My bike has flat pedals, no straps so I find standing up gives a very jerky movement. I know things will improve if I get straps or clip ons but for the mo I just cycle sitting down.
In the meantime I've found a quick solution to going uphill, I got a motorbike. The problem is partly psychological as well, on a motorbike going uphill just requires a tiny almost imperceptible twist of the wrist and not the agonising pain on a bicycle so I stop wanting to bother.
How long of a climb was it? I can get up longish climbs of around 17% but anything steeper it would have to be short and sweet.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mark
Malbec, you are right in the fact that it is easier to climb being clipped in. It's less jerky plus you also benefit from the upstroke which makes it easier on the legs. :)
Not long at all. But I could only get half way up. Combination of already having done a few hills and and miles and fitness for that sort of thing.
Since back in the day I was fit enough to do that sort of climb I know what fitness is necessary; and how far off it I currently am!
:)
12 years ago I would ride uphill for kilometers on the highest gear ratio, then when I got back to cycling last year I was very surprised when I realized that I had to use the bottom half of the gear ratios to climb similar hills. :(
The good news is that it is slowly coming back and I have improved quite a bit over last year.
The question is if I will make it back to that level again. Time will tell.
Not been bothering doing much for the past few weeks, and my bike roof carrier arrived but doesn't fit, you must be able to get the roof bars in different sizes :( Will try and find a way of modifying to fit... So can hopefully get out cycling a few miles each evening. When I move into my new house (if I get the one that I've looked at) then will definitely be out more often though will need to find somewhere to service my bike as it's not in the best of health, new bike will have to wait a bit. It's reassuring that there are other people out there in the same situation :)
Will also probably get a treadmill so that I can run when it's cold outside as I generally hate being outside in winter!! (Tennis, Mark ;) ) My dad just got a treadmill delivered this morning for the same reason so will have to have a shot of it.
All I need now is a pair of earphones that I can wear when I have my 'snug' full face helmet on :s
I actually find it 100% easier to run outside during winter compared to summer. You don't feel the cold in winter after the first couple of minutes although I do have to wear a headband to keep my ears warm. I planned to run 10km this morning and would have been on to smash my personal best time if I hadn't given up at 8.5km because it was so damn hot. I don't think I've sweated so much in my entire life. On the plus side I managed to run 8.51km in just under 59 minutes which beat my previous best hour distance of running 8.16km. In hindsight I should have run for another minute to get the record on Endomondo.
Running on a treadmill will be hot if you don't have aircon.
I don't mind heat, but hate cold with a passion, the couple of minutes at the start does put me off! Same reason that I don't love swimming (though I did it semi regularly 18 months ago), it's the going in and feeling cold - even for a few seconds - means I try to avoid it. Can't even have a cold shower if it's 35 degrees outside!! :(
And yes, I know I'm a wimp :p :
Karen has challenged me to cycle over the mountain pass to Soller in Mallorca in April next year. Which I guess between now and then I'm going to need loads and loads and loads of hill practice; nothing but hills and more hills!
I was hoping to set up a King of the Mountains challenge on Endomodo but it seems total height climbed isn't one of the options :(
As for the cold. Back in the day I used to pretty much stop cycling in the winter then spend the Spring getting up to pace again; Can't let that happen this time so I'll have to live with the cold or at least adapt to it, just so long as it isn't icy.
When you can walk the 15 minutes from the car park to work in -12C wearing a t-shirt you'll know cold; otherwise you are just a big jesse!Quote:
Originally Posted by J4MIE
I find treadmills a poor substitute for running outside, not enough cooling and too much give underfoot. At my best I can do 5 km in about 18 minutes 30 (or used to a long time ago anyway) outside but maintaining anything like that pace on a treadmill is murder.Quote:
Originally Posted by GridGirl
Or Mark you could play tennis inside during the winter ;)
I finally made it back to the gym today after 4 months forced absence.
I hope I got some gain, at the moment it seems all pain :p
In the beginning last winter there was very little snow, so i had to make a decision to ditch cross country skii-ing and start cycling indoors. I got this trainer Novo Force - Elite /en It was a great way to keep some cycling form going on through winter time. Boring as hell though.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mark
The funny thing was, week after I ordered the damn thing, it began snowing, a lot. :D
As ever with that sort of thing it's justifying the price.
Ps. I hate tennis!!
That was a mid price thing I justified getting because it will last for 15 years in my use.
You can get cheaper model, new and used.
Went for 75 kms cycling today, it was a bit of a stretch as I did the last 15 kms in complete darkness, luckily this time I took lights with me.
Wanted to check the stats on Endomondo just to discover at the end that the bloody BB battery was depleted and didn't record the last 14 kms.
Still I was pretty happy with today's performance, managed to have an over 25 km/h average over the 75 kms, which is fine for a training ride in my case.
You can edit the distance on Endomondo if you need to.
I'm finding at the moment my maximum comfortable distance is about 20 miles. Any more and I'm quite tired.
Nah, it won't make a difference in the end. Next time I'll make sure I charge the phone to full battery before going for a longer ride as the GPS seems to be rather gourmand.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mark
Just keep doing it, with time you'll get more comfortable and then you can increase it by 5 miles or so, then repeat the cycle (no pun intended).Quote:
Originally Posted by Mark
I was rather tired when I got off the bike tonight, but happy and grinning.
Do you take any sports drinks with you when you ride? Personally I drink quite a lot when riding, today I drank 1.5 liters during the ride, and sweat it all.
Not sports drinks as such. Just water with a bit of juice cordial to take away the plastic taste. And I drank it all yesterday as it was hot. But I've also just bought a second bidon and cage so now I'll have plenty.
Nice thread. At the end of last year I felt I am completely out of shape and even not able to run on time to the rally stage :( So, I decided to start training again. I did two skiing marathon in winter and today I completed my first ever full running marathon (Tallinn Marathon) in 4:20:54. Now I think I will not get tired while running into the stage to get in time (next couple of days I am not going to run for sure!):-)
It would be interetsing to know if many people in this forum have done any marathons? And what was the final time?
At the moment I'm pleased that I can go out for an hours ride and come back feeling better than when I went out :)
I did consider that doing a marathon might be a good idea, but discovered that it was a lot easier to sit back with a bag of crisps instead :cool:
I would probably be just like that guy who got disqualified for getting a bus along most of the route :)
Last year I did half marathon.. but full distance.. you know... bus was very tempting indeed ;-) But now. The feling is great.. but walking is not so great right now:-)Quote:
Originally Posted by J4MIE