Weight loss/training for L-C-L

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Alan O

Alan O

Über Member
Location
Liverpool
Even if you don't want to do the whole run, if you aim for 60ish miles, by May, then you could do the Manchester -> Eureka first half (52miles), you'd then have a gentle 7 miles or so to the station in Chester. I wouldn't worry too much about pace, from what I remember it was a gentle 13 or so mph for the full route, and there were plenty of people who took longer. Plus you always ride faster when on a group run, and its a lot more fun.
Ooh, yes, that sounds plausible - I might well go for that, thanks :okay:
 

si_c

Guru
Location
Wirral
Ooh, yes, that sounds plausible - I might well go for that, thanks :okay:

No probs, if you do go, there is a thread under cyclechat rides, just post your interest there, and you'll get updates. No commitments though till nearer the time.
 
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Alan O

Alan O

Über Member
Location
Liverpool
We had a nice day here after yesterday's storm, and I arranged my work so I could have a few hours off (I'm self-employed and my boss is a pushover) so I could go for a ride.

I covered 25 miles, which is my furthest since I started cycling again, and I'm quite pleased by that at this stage.

It was entirely on the Liverpool Loop Line cycle/footpath, and I was surprised how much storm debris there was. The whole path was strewn with twigs and branches of various sizes (with plenty that could have jammed a wheel), and it was completely blocked by fallen trees at two points.

It's about a mile from home to join the path, then I rode to each end and back (plus an extra bit around a park at the southern end to get the miles up a bit).

I felt a bit tired at the end of it, but really not too bad.

Alan
 
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Alan O

Alan O

Über Member
Location
Liverpool
The at less bit is wrong, you can eat loads more, if its the right stuff.
Yes indeed - with the substitution of lower-cal foods for higher-cal foods (eg sprouts for KFC) it is easily possible to eat more weight/volume and consume fewer cals.
 
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Alan O

Alan O

Über Member
Location
Liverpool
I hit a bit of a wall yesterday.

I chose this week to replace drive chain components because the weather forecast was lousy - and then, with bikes in bits, it turned out sunny! So I went out walking instead, doing approx 6 miles in about 1h 45m.

About half a mile before home, my legs suddenly felt like lead and I just ran out of energy. I made it back, felt ravenously hungry, and had a couple of emergency jammy scones. After about an hour sleeping in a comfy chair ("Cardinal Fang...") I felt a bit better, but it wasn't until this morning after a good night's sleep that I felt back to normal.

I guess it's a reminder that I really need to focus on the fitness and put the weight loss at the back of my mind for now, and start upping my crab carb intake a bit to make sure I've got enough energy for the exercise levels I'm trying to maintain.

Alan
 
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I hit a bit of a wall yesterday.

I chose this week to replace drive chain components because the weather forecast was lousy - and then, with bikes in bits, it turned out sunny! So I went out walking instead, doing approx 6 miles in about 1h 45m.

About half a mile before home, my legs suddenly felt like lead and I just ran out of energy. I made it back, felt ravenously hungry, and had a couple of emergency jammy scones. After about an hour sleeping in a comfy chair ("Cardinal Fang...") I felt a bit better, but it wasn't until this morning after a good night's sleep that I felt back to normal.

I guess it's a reminder that I really need to focus on the fitness and put the weight loss at the back of my mind for now, and start upping my crab intake a bit to make sure I've got enough energy for the exercise levels I'm trying to maintain.

Alan
Yep eating crabs will deffo sort you out.
 
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Alan O

Alan O

Über Member
Location
Liverpool
It was mostly a bike repair/maintenance week this week while the weather was bad (and walking for fitness), but with my MTB fixed up again by the weekend I got in a fun 12.5 mile ride.

Very light misty drizzle when I set out, so I headed off to Croxteth Hall and the surrounding woods, plus a couple of detours. It was a lot of fun, lots of mud, and the bike was working perfectly again after I'd replaced its broken derailleur hanger and chain.

I thought it was a reasonable distance for off-road, and I could quite easily have ridden further - but I headed for home when the rain started getting heavier, my feet were getting a bit too cold, and the mud was starting to seep into places where it really shouldn't be :rolleyes:

This week I want to fit some handlebars on the bike I'll actually be doing the big ride on, and start doing some miles on that (it's a Raleigh Royal frame I built up last year, with a Biopace triple, cantilever brakes, Schwalbe Marathons and a Brooks Cambium).
 
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Alan O

Alan O

Über Member
Location
Liverpool
And I've picked up a bit of an achilles tendon strain :sad:

It felt a bit tight yesterday, and today it was quite painful even when I just did a gentle walk to the shops. I do get this from time to time, and it's usually fine after a couple of days of rest, so I'm in for a frustrating spell sitting with my feet up :sad:

Alan
 
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Alan O

Alan O

Über Member
Location
Liverpool
I didn't get much done last week with my achilles tendon strain, but after a few days rest and then some gentle stretching and exercises it was fine - I damaged it years ago and it plays up every now and then, and that's the approach that always does the trick.

Anyway, it was a nice day today and work wasn't too demanding, so I took a day off and went out on my MTB - I've swapped out the knobbly tyres for Schwalbe Land Cruisers as it was mostly on tarmac and hard surfaces.

I rode to and around four city parks, for a total of 31.8 miles, which I'm pleased with at this stage.

Alan
 

lutonloony

Über Member
Location
torbay
I suffer from arthritis and occasional Achilles inflammatory problem.my specialist told me to stretch it, resting does not help
 

griff488

Active Member
Location
Tamworth
Hi Alan
You sound like you are in a similar position to myself. I weigh around 100kg and have signed up for my first century ride (Ride London) in July.
At the present moment I am combining gym work with a few short fastish rides each week. I have struggled to get out and ride recently though due to crashing my Giant and snapping the frame. That's all sorted now and the insurance have replaced my bike so I am going to follow one of the training plans on the Ride london website: https://www.prudentialridelondon.co.uk/training/training-plans/
These may help you with formulating a plan to increase the mileage although you seem to be doing a good job so far.
I will be starting the intermediate plan I think to start with and see how it goes.
The main thing I have struggled with in the past when doing longer distances is fuelling on the bike. I can't seem to get the eating and drinking right at all. I don't like the energy drinks so only take squash with me. I can ride for 35-40 miles fine then crash into the wall and completely run out of energy. Something I really need to work on!
Good luck with your training.
Cheers Griff
 
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Alan O

Alan O

Über Member
Location
Liverpool
Hi Alan
You sound like you are in a similar position to myself. I weigh around 100kg and have signed up for my first century ride (Ride London) in July.
At the present moment I am combining gym work with a few short fastish rides each week. I have struggled to get out and ride recently though due to crashing my Giant and snapping the frame. That's all sorted now and the insurance have replaced my bike so I am going to follow one of the training plans on the Ride london website: https://www.prudentialridelondon.co.uk/training/training-plans/
These may help you with formulating a plan to increase the mileage although you seem to be doing a good job so far.
I will be starting the intermediate plan I think to start with and see how it goes.
The main thing I have struggled with in the past when doing longer distances is fuelling on the bike. I can't seem to get the eating and drinking right at all. I don't like the energy drinks so only take squash with me. I can ride for 35-40 miles fine then crash into the wall and completely run out of energy. Something I really need to work on!
Good luck with your training.
Cheers Griff
Thanks Griff, that looks like useful stuff.

I've had a couple of weeks of almost no training/exercise, because just as soon as I got over my strained tendon I caught a bug of some sort that knocked me flat. But I'm over that now, I took my old Mum out for an 8-mile push in her wheelchair yesterday to Croxteth Hall Park and around the woods, I'm doing a gentle 5-mile walk this evening to visit a friend in hospital, and I've taken tomorrow off to go for a ride. I'll do a circular city ride (which I can do mostly on cycle paths and canal path), so I can adjust the distance to how I'm feeling, but I'm hoping for 30-40m.

I've never really had any problem with fueling. I don't find it really matters what I eat, as long as I eat little and often - Tomorrow I'll take some sausage butties, cake of some sort, a couple of bananas, and some Kendal Mint Cake. For drink, I mix 6 tsps of sugar and 1 tsp of salt per litre of water (I used to use 0.5 tsp of salt, but I've had cramp a couple of times lately so I've upped the salt), which is effective and cheap - tomorrow I'll take two 750ml bottles, probably with some lemon juice in one for flavouring, and I'll stop and buy other drinks while I'm out.

Anyway, why not let us know how you get on with your training here too - we can give each other moral support!

Cheers,
Alan
 

si_c

Guru
Location
Wirral
@griff488 as @Alan O says, little and often is good for a fuelling strategy. If I'm doing a longer solo ride I aim to eat one item of food (flapjack, banana, chocolate bar etc) every half an hour, and water around the same time. Doing that (and stopping for a sandwich / beans on toast halfway) means I'm good to go.
 
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