weight

September 2022 Stats

| Richard

With the Schwinn’s arrival came physiotherapy, pain consultations and then experiments with Apple Fitness+, the first year’s free subscription to Bowflex’s JRNY app, and a trial of FulGaz.  The latter two are different from Fitness+ in that Apple are offering different duration classes only whereas the other two offer virtual rides using video of the actual routes.

In FulGaz’s case, they are adaptive workouts: speeding up or slowing down the videos to suit your pace/power which the app reads from the Schwinn.  They’re also linked to my Garmin f?nix 7S for my heart rate.

The other benefit of using FulGaz is that after each ride, it emails you a FIT file which you can import into Garmin Connect giving you the full details of the ride.  JRNY does not do this, sadly.

So hitting the Schwinn every has been beneficial for me, but also for my weight which has been coming down slowly, thereby improving the load on my knee.

Here’s my stats for the 399km – mainly virtual/indoor – in September 2022:

September 2022 Statistics

August 2022 Stats

| Richard

We were still out in Corralejo for the first half of August 2022.

Back in London, it was a case of hammering the cheapo indoor bike, thinking we’d buy a Peloton bike when we move to Surrey and have a bigger garage and separate gym.  The Amazon special was OK, but I couldn’t stand up on it despite the Apple Fitness+ trainers suggesting I could.

And then a couple of things happened: a news article about Peloton’s losses being “an existential threat” made us think about whether a Peloton would be a good idea after all. They’re very expensive and rely on a paid subscription to Peloton if you want to do the guided rides (which I had really enjoyed in Big Sur).  If they went bust, the screen would effectively be useless and the purpose of the really expensive bike would go with them.

I looked at what Apple recommended/were using for their Fitness+ workouts and they were Schwinn bikes.  In the UK they’re supplied by – amongst others, I’m sure – Fitness Superstore and they had an offer on the Schwinn 800IC (formerly the IC8): already listed at half list price, they had an additional 10% off for the Bank Holiday weekend, so I pressed the button on one for delivery in early September.

Here are the stats for my 266km in August 2022:

August 2022 Stats

July 2022 Stats

| Richard

July 2022 was spent out at our home in Corralejo, Fuerteventura.

This meant I could use the mountain bike I have out there for lots of bike rides and the occasional walk – rather than vice versa – and I racked up around 250km that month:

July 2022 Statistics

 

An Update and Refocus

| Richard

I’ve had a quick read of my running blog and I mention – but only in passing – the crash I had back in July 2019 that left me with “life-changing injuries”.

Since that other blog post with most of the details, I’ve had the rest of my little finger amputated (in December 2020) and I’m left with constant pain and a sufficient degree of disability to have qualified for a “blue badge” here in the UK.  Part of the pain management has been for us to move for part of the year out to Corralejo on Fuerteventura, one of the Canary Islands off the coast of Morocco with its low rainfall and warm temperatures all year round, which definitely helps reduce the pain in my hand and pelvis.

It also means that I am more able to go for walks and cycle rides to try to loosen up my joints, lose weight (to lessen the duty on my pelvis/hips) and to work on my ‘wellness’ generally.

The aim is still to try to run but I try to avoid painkillers and running piles that pain on! So it’s a slow and steady race to reduce weight for less strain on my joints – my consultant years ago told me to avoid running because of my knee gradually wearing out – by exercising and eating healthily, especially as I hit 60 years old this year.

Vegetarian Marathon Runner Diet Plan

| Richard

Just putting this lot here as a reference for some advice and meal plans.

Although I’m largely omnivorous, I’m currently tending towards being pescatarian and/or a bad vegetarian; going vegan is a step too far for me at the moment, although we’ve just bought some vegan cookbooks, so you never know.

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/vegetarian-marathon-meal-plan

https://www.livestrong.com/article/444757-vegetarian-diet-plan-for-runners/

https://vegnews.com/2015/7/the-best-vegan-diet-tips-for-long-distance-running

 

Weight a Minute…

| Richard

First weigh-in of 2019 and it’s a doozy: 93.4kg, up 1.6kg (3.5lbs) since October. To be fair, that’s usual for me as Christmas is a time of overdoing it every bloody year!

April Fool

| Richard

Weighed myself this morning and I’ve gained 5lb since Christmas, despite starting to eat more vegetarian food (cheeky Nando’s on Friday notwithstanding…).

I now need to knuckle down for the Milton Keynes Half Marathon at the start of May: only 5 weeks away!

2017 Summary

| Richard

Not a good year at all: lots of injuries and illnesses plus work getting in the way.

Over the course of the year, that showed by a weight gain of 2.6kg/5.7lbs.

I cycled 119km in May, June and August rather than trying to cycle regularly at the weekends.

My running was limited to just 121km and May’s total came purely from just the MK Half-Marathon.

Walking to and from work with the occasional weekend wandering led to a total of 666km, which wasn’t really “Beasting” it…

Must. Try. Harder.