Dining In Nights and Pizza

Sometimes you just have to unwind, and what better opportunity than a pleasant dinner in the Wardroom (I work on a Naval establishment so it's the Wardroom not the Officers' Mess). As is usual with these type of evenings, any notion of healthy eating has to be set aside (along with my Primal instincts) and I tend to just eat what's put in front of me. I like food so it's not usually a problem. The meal was OK with the usual several glasses of wine (on top of the pre-dinner champagne and G&T - I think you can tell where this is going) and the dime bar chocolate pudding with cream was delicious although exceptionally rich (so rich in fact I could only manage 2 portions!) and I managed to snaffle a few After 8 mints with the coffee. Another glass or 2 of wine and a G&T and I decided I would head home at a perfectly reasonable 2345, feeling pleasantly 'mellow'. There were a few spots of rain as I started the 3 mile or so walk home (it's only 2 miles as the crow flies but you have to walk half a mile in the opposite direction to get out of the 'ship') and it took some 45 minutes or so to get home. I'm not quite sure what my thought process was at that particular time but I then decided that I really, really wanted a pizza. Actually, not a pizza, but 2 pizzas. So I put the oven on and 20 minutes or so later was tucking in to Goodfellas finest Margherita pizzas. Delicious. I have no clear recollection of what I watched on TV but Vin Diesel was in it and eventually I got to bed at about 0300. I know this because Mrs Turbo Man reminded me this morning; it seems I may have disturbed her with my stumbling around in the dark desperately trying to be quiet (hey, we've all been there!). Needless to say I was not the brightest of buttons this morning but a sausage and bacon roll with HP sauce and a steaming cup of coffee worked wonders. In case anyone is paying attention, I have spectacularly fallen off the Primal Diet wagon over the last 24 hours or so, so clearly need to serve some sort of penance. What better way than to beast myself over 101 miles of the Jurassic Beast sportive this Sunday; unfortunately the weather forecast is complete and utter pants with high wind and heavy rain forecast. It looks like the rain jacket, overboots and maybe even the winter bike with mudguards will be the order of the day. Should be a bundle of fun.

I hope you are all training well and enjoying the sunshine, as it appears it is going to disappear in time for the Bank Holiday weekend. Train smart folks.

The Primal Blueprint

Over the past few weeks I've hinted at some lifestyle changes I have made and the effects these have had. After being challenged by Frank in his response to a recent post I confessed that I have gone primal. Well sort of. I have not commited 100% but even so, the impact has been significant. This post is not going to be a promotional advert for primal living but will just report the effects that going primal has had on me.

It was about 2 months ago that I decided to make the change. A friend had been convinced and was committed and I will admit that my curiousity was aroused. I like to think that I have an open mind and that following conventional wisdom is not something I usually do (for example I have been an advocate of 'reverse periodisation' for some years) and so I decided to buy the book. The book is written in a very straightforward and easily understood way and it all seemed to make sense. Our ancestors ate a lot of fruit and veg with meat and fish and moved a lot at a relatively slow speed and then sprinted at full capacity when required (eg to make a kill or to avoid being killed). By all accounts our ancestors were lean and fit (or dead!), so why shouldn't this approach work in the 21st Century? The Primal way of living is also supported by science so is not some sort of wacky 'fad'.

I will admit that part of my interest was the relative simplicity of it; avoid all grains and anything processed. OK, that is a vast over-simplification but in my own mind this is what sold it to me. Yes, I had to give up a number of foods that I really enjoy: bread; pasta; pizza etc are now off limits. But I am allowed a small amount of chocolate and red wine, so it's not all bad. I will admit that there were some things I did not give up; I really enjoy my breakfast of weetabix and muesli so I continued with this, although reduced the amount by half to at least show willing (if only to myself!).

So what effect did these changes have? The most obvious is that I lost weight, and a bunch of it, quite quickly. In 2006 I raced Ironman at 11 stone 4 pounds (71.8kg) and since then have considered this to be my 'race weight', ie the lowest weight I could reasonably achieve. When I went Primal I weighed 11 12 but I now weigh 11 2, a loss of 10 pounds and less than when I raced IM when I considered myself to be lean. I feel energetic and am really enjoying my meals so there seem to be very few negatives.

But training has also become much simpler as well; do a lot at low intensity (less than 75% of max heart rate (MHR)), avoid the 'chronic cardio' zone (75 - 90% MHR), and 'sprint' a couple of times a week (in excess of 90% MHR). I will confess that this has challenged me more than the eating aspects of going Primal, but I do not appear to have suffered any loss of performance and, based on how I rode the New Forest Spring Sportive last weekend, it could be argued that I have made some improvement. So maybe this is working as well? The proof (at least for me) will come in October when I ride the bike leg of Quelle Challenge Barcelona; I rode 5 hours 17 minutes in 2009 based on a 'conventional' training programme. It will be very interesting to see how I manage on a Primal programme. If it's right I will go under 5 hours; if it's wrong I will have wasted a year.

Please don't ask me to explain the science or try and dissuade me from my chosen path; all I will say is that I am very pleased I made the choice and would certainly encourage others to at least take the time and read the book.

Train smart folks.

New Forest Spring Sportive video

I'm on TV (well sort of) again:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLSF5ag4n7Q

Go to 3.43 to see the slimline Turbo Man in his 2010 glory!

Jurassic Beast Sportive 2 May 10 - Epic Route

After the joys of last weekend's sportive ride in the New Forest, I have today signed up for the 102 mile Jurassic Beast Sportive on 2 May 10. This is a somewhat tougher ride with more miles and more hills (although the steepest hill is 'only' 20%!).

The Longest Day

Sunday 18 April was my first proper event of 2010, the New Forest Spring Sportive over an advertised distance of 83.3 miles (134.1km) but more on that later. But I almost didn't make it. The night before we were round a friend's house for dinner, and they own a rather solidly built and excitable Labrador. I'd only been in the house about 10 minutes when I was taken out by said Labrador, as he ran into me, hitting my right leg slightly behind the right knee, pushing the joint inwards in a direction knee joints don't normally go. I have a history of knee problems and had an ACL repair some years ago and the joint did not seat itself properly straight away, but after a couple of minutes of manipulation it dropped back into place and all was well, if a little sore. Despite that, we had a very pleasant evening and I was very restrained on the alcohol front as I knew I had an early start, but it was still midnight before I got to bed.

0530 Sunday and the alarm goes. Up, walk dog, hearty breakfast of orange juice, 2 weetabix, cheese omelette and coffee and I'm off to the New Forest. I get there early and sort myself out and I'm ready to go. I meet Kelda and Adrian and the first thing we talk about is the weather - it is freezing! The car computer was showing just 1 degree C and although the forecast was for 16-17 degrees later in the day it's a tough decision as to whether you dress for the early morning cold or the later day warmth. I chose to be comfortable later on so suffered for the first half hour or so with freezing fingers etc. We met up with my other cycling buddies, who all appeared to have some new bling, although the winner by far was the Cervelo S3 with Dura-Ace kit weighing in at a total of 6.3kg (13.86 pounds)!

After a bit of faffing around we got going at 0815, and as expected the team set off at a fair old lick and in our eagerness missed the second turn of the route! It was quickly apparent that Kelda wasn't going to keep up and after about 15km or so she dropped off the back to ride at a more sensible pace whilst our small group kept the hammer down. The New Forest is a beautiful area to cycle in and as well as the local scenery and hills there is the local wildlife to contend with as well, with horses, pigs and goodness knows what else very likely to wander into the road at any moment. Our group had a couple of close encounters with horses that kept us on our toes! And there are hills as well. The route was best described as rolling but it also went up Blissford Hill, it's not long but at 25% it's a bit of a beast. I was overtaken up here by a youth on a MTB spinning like a dervish whilst the roadies struggled - even on a compact it was a grind (I only had a 23 on the back). By this time the sun was shining and it was a glorious day for cycling with a very light breeze. Our group kept meeting other groups to create a much larger group and at times there was probably 25 or 30 in the group. This caused me a couple of problems when sitting towards the rear only to find the group had split and my cycling buddies were in the group off the front. Hey ho, head down and bridge the gap - with HR off the scale! After about 90km the first signs of fatigue were appearing in the group and I spent longer on the front but we kept it all together and I crossed the line with a recorded time of 4 hours 28 minutes to achieve gold standard. Interestingly, the route information said 83.3 miles and gold standard would be sub 4 hours 19 minutes; they must have changed the route somehow and modified the time because I clocked 139km (86.3 miles) and yet was still awarded gold standard. I'm not too fussed about that but what did please me was that I felt strong the whole way and had the energy to push hard right to the very end.

What didn't please me was failing to press the right buttons on my bike computer so have lost all my data for the ride. I strongly suspect it would have told me that I spent nearly the whole ride above 80% of MHR so a good hard ride.

Thanks to the volcano in Iceland and the lack of planes actually flying I had to take my boys back to school in Leeds on Sunday afternoon. By the time I got home it was 0315 on Monday and I was one very tired individual. Fortunately I had a day off today so have relaxed and even enjoyed an ice cream on the beach.

Train smart folks.

"Houston, we have a problem"

OK, it's not a problem of Apollo 13 proportions, and it's actually a very nice problem to have. In short, my work trousers don't fit. I have 2 sets of trousers; my winter trousers that have some extra room to allow for my end of season 'growth spurt', usually caused by an excess of pizza, beer, wine, chocolate, cream cakes etc and a lack of exercise, and I have my 'race season' trousers. These are a size smaller and enable me to transition from 'fatty' to (relatively) 'skinny' without any fuss. But today I hit a new milestone and actually weigh less than when I did IM Germany in 2006. I did that race at 11 stone 4 lbs (71.8kg) and this morning the scales said 11 stone 3.6 lbs (71.6kg). OK, it's not much but it represents a loss of 9 lbs since I made my lifestyle changes some 6 weeks ago now (I think, although it may be 7) and it is the lightest I've been for a very long time and I reckon there is still another couple of pounds to go. The scales tell me my body fat is about 11% although it is acknowledged that these are not the most reliable means of measurement. And the result of all this is that without the aid of a belt even my 'race season' trousers would very probably be around my ankles! (There you are ladies, you can have that image for free!). You now understand my problem.

As for training, it's been a quiet week so far; it's the last week of the kids Easter hols so my evenings are spent relaxing and getting beat on Super Mario Kart on the Wii. I've also managed to test a few bottles of red wine but somehow manage to forget to take any notes by the end of the bottle ... erm ... glass. I've also tested a few different bars of dark chocolate ... mmmmmmmm. I have the New Forest Spring Sportive (83.3 miles) on Sunday so this will be the first chance of 2010 to see just what sort of shape I really am in.

Train smart folks.

Televised Political Debate

Tonight was the first time the main party leaders have taken part in a live TV debate in the lead up to a General Election and I, for one, found it compelling viewing. If I'm honest, I don't think it was particularly conclusive, although I tended to agree with the post event analysis that Nick Clegg gave the best, most polished, performance. Gordon Brown was better than I expected, although I found his constant grinning and smirking when either of the other 2 were speaking somewhat irritating. David Cameron was as expected, although he was found wanting on a couple of issues. I'm looking forward to the next 2 debates because I am still undecided how I will vote.

You Can Only Do What You Can Do

Last week was a bit of a mixed bag. I completed some good training sessions including one that proved my training is going in the right direction and had a number of domestic commitments that were very enjoyable. The net result was that I drank some beer, ate some chips and only managed 185km on the bike. This week will be better, I assure you.

Train smart folks.

Week 22 Weekly Summary

Not a very imaginative title but I couldn't think of anything else. It's been a busy week, what with domestic duties, training, and eating Easter Eggs.

On the domestic front, the boys are home from school for Easter but our daughter still had school to go to. She had a Samba concert on Tuesday that was really loud and fun. On Sunday I had to take No 2 son to Leeds (4.5 hours driving each way) to stay with a school pal for the night; they should be on the way to the airport as I write this for a week of rugby and football in Barcelona. They visit the Nou Camp on Friday, something he is really looking forward to.

Yes, I set aside my recent healthy diet to let some chocolate into my life. I was sort of good in that I had a Black's dark chocolate egg although I suspect that eating the whole egg in one sitting does not fit the 'healthy eating' style, and then added some Lindt milk chocolate to the mix. Delicious.

Training was OK this week; I had 2 rest days but managed just under 9 hours of training and 227km (140 miles) of cycling. The highlight was undoubtedly the ride I did with The Hussler on Easter Sunday. As I had to go to Leeds (see above) I thought I would throw my bike in the car and maybe take in some hills. I posted on the Club forum to see if there was any interest and Hussler was up for a ride. We met in Glossop just before 1600 and planned a route south to Chapel en le Frith before going through Winnets Pass, across the end of Derwent Water and then over Snake Pass. Although the sun was shining there was a bitterly cold wind blowing; not so noticeable at the lower levels but very noticeable higher up. On the run back to Glossop off the top of Snake Pass the wind was right in our face and with only track mitts on I was in very real danger of losing all feeling in my fingers. It was chuffin' freezing. We both thoroughly enjoyed the ride though. Hussler is looking very lean and is obviously fit; he left me for dead on the hills although I reckon the combination of his lack of body mass, his gucci Specialized Tarmac (as opposed to my alloy Scott complete with mudguards) and his relative youth (he is nearly 20 years younger than me) is a pretty good defence for me. I had one unnerving moment on the ride. Descending one of the first hills I experienced the rather scary 'speed wobble'. This has never happened on my Scott before and surpsied me somewhat. I had taken the rear tyre of the night before and the rim tape had become lose and was offset to one side; I didn't give this much thought at the time but reckon this caused the rear wheel to become unbalanced and whilst not noticeable at normal speeds it manifested itself when above 60kmh. Needless to say this resulted in some caution on the remaining descents and the wheel will be subjected to a strip down and refit of said rim tape. As to the ride, it was great. Hard, but great. The views are stunning and with snow still on the hills at the top of Snake Pass it reminded me just how ruggedly beautiful the British countryside can be. I would not recommend Winnets Pass though; we rode down the steep part (going from west to east) and the only thing it tests is your brakes. It's too steep (20%) and tight with too many cars and walkers to let everything hang out and just go for it (and goodness knows what speed might be obtainable if you survived). Some of the driving I experienced was also pretty shoddy. I honestly believe that had I been riding 46cm wide handlebars as opposed to the 42cm that I do, a couple of the cars would have hit me; they were that close.

Overall, another good week. Bank Holiday Monday will be another rest day and then it will be head down for some more steady miles. Let's hope the sun starts to shine soon, It is April after all.

Train smart folks.