Training good - scales bad!
Happy New Year! After a relatively quiet new year’s eve, it wasn’t too much of a struggle getting up for a 3-hour steady ride out into the Worcestershire lanes. Fittingly as I drank my mug of tea and prepared kit for the ride, BBC Breakfast was replaying Kevin Sinfield’s magnificent 7 in 7 challenge and the pictures of him giving his great mate Rob Burrow a hug and Doddie Weir sending him on his way left me feeling pretty emotional again. If I’d needed the motivation to get out and ride, this would undoubtedly have done the trick. As luck would have it, a bright, sunny, if slightly breezy, morning and a pleasant route ahead was more than enough motivation to get me moving.
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Overall, I’m pleased with the progress made in week one of eighteen weeks of preparation for my 7-in-7 Reloaded challenge for MNDA. Even more pleasing, the fundraising has had a good week jumping up to £322 already for the Motor Neurone Disease Association, and the Midlands Air Ambulance total is up to £694 – Thanks, everyone let’s keep those totals rising steadily!
I’m pleased with twelve hours of riding squeezed between Xmas and New year celebrations and the improved zone accuracy following the #Spoked Alpine Sportive plan, so a good start training-wise.
Healthy nutrition was always going to be a challenge this week; stepping on the scales on the first day of 2023 indicated an unwelcome and reasonably hefty weight gain over December; thus, 7kg of excess baggage needs to be shed over the next four months if I’m to hit what I believe is my optimum cycling weight when I arrive in Wigtown in April.
On the plus side, I continue to be delighted with the energy bars I bought from #Veloforte. Tasty with a natural, not overpowering sweetness and great texture from the combination of dried fruit and nuts. I can’t pick my favourite, but I love them all. The gels, however, have not been quite such a hit. The Riba (Blackcurrant and elderflower) was ok, but the beetroot and lemon fusion in the Primo is not my bag!
Next week the key focus will be on trying to keep all of the uneaten Twiglets, Quality Street, Highland Shortbread etc., out of reach and to successfully plan the week to enable maximum training time via my commutes. Getting into healthy eating habits with the help of my fitness pal app and #Huel will be a top priority! Fingers crossed, the scales will start moving in the right direction!
Logistics planning for the challenge has also progressed with a slight change to the itinerary. I have booked the Belfast-Liverpool ferry for the return journey, preferring 8 hours on the water to save a few hours of driving. Hopefully relaxing/recovering in the “premier lounge” rather than sat cramped behind a steering wheel will be £15 well spent.
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