A month since writing anything (been kinda sick of looking at computers in all honesty).
However, up to three weeks ago I was actually making strong progress on the fitness and running.
I was also starting to make inroads on that stone in weight i want to drop (not much of an inroad, but hey, baby steps).
In order to improve the fitness, and burn some more calories, i also started into a lot of cross training; both bodyboarding and biking. Also some hill/trail running in the local park with my own kids and once a week with the kids in the running club (absolutely great fun, must do it more often).
I also took advantage of the bike-to-work scheme, and after two years of himming & hawing, finally bought a cyclo-cross bike to get to work on.
Crosstraining Craic
Bodyboarding, I think, was invented so that forty something year old men could have fun in the water without looking stupid falling off surfboards....
We went down to Roslare with my extended family for the June bank holiday. Weather was crap, but while the rest of the clann sat indoors and cursed the rain, myself and the two eldest boys grabbed the wetsuits and headed to the beach.
Waves were high and fun was great. My dad came down for a look and was surprised at the speed we could get up to on the waves.
I scuffed my knee on the rocks on the beach and was feeling rather sorry for myself until i got on the bike to get into work the following tuesday.....
Crosstraining Calamities
The first thing i realised about my new bike was the speed...and i loved it.
A 35-40min journey on my old mountain bike suddenly dropped to 28-29 mins as i flew to work.
However, the bike differs from my old mountain bike in another respect. On the tuesday after the long weekend i cycled to work on wet roads after an overnight rain. After 7km i went to hop up onto the path to avoid traffic. The hop was over a barely there kerb, a doddle to a mountain bike...if i had been riding a mountain bike.
Wheel one passed over the lip withno trouble, wheel two however decided it was happier on the road and i was ungracefully slammed into the pavement sideways....
Although i was fairly cut up i walked the last 3.5k to work, then spent an hour trying to clean out my cuts before giving up the ghost and heading home.
There followed a week off work, xrays for suspected wrist fractures, and a very embarrassing session where a neighbour who is a nurse cleaned the gravel out of my hand, all the while with my tensing up, yelping, sucking in breath, and generally emasculating myself in front of her.......
Both wrists were fierce sore, i lost a good bit of skin off the right palm, and left knee, and a bit less on the other hand/knee. My knees also wouldnt bend for 2 weeks so it was a fortnight before i was back running......and i only started to cycle again yesterday. I cycled home yesterday and back in to work today, all the while very nervous of faceplanting into the ashphalt again....ah well, a few more days to ease myself back in....
Oh, and to prove i was hurt.....(look away if squeamish)......it hurt a lot more than it looks now that i look back at it........
However, up to three weeks ago I was actually making strong progress on the fitness and running.
I was also starting to make inroads on that stone in weight i want to drop (not much of an inroad, but hey, baby steps).
In order to improve the fitness, and burn some more calories, i also started into a lot of cross training; both bodyboarding and biking. Also some hill/trail running in the local park with my own kids and once a week with the kids in the running club (absolutely great fun, must do it more often).
I also took advantage of the bike-to-work scheme, and after two years of himming & hawing, finally bought a cyclo-cross bike to get to work on.
Crosstraining Craic
Bodyboarding, I think, was invented so that forty something year old men could have fun in the water without looking stupid falling off surfboards....
We went down to Roslare with my extended family for the June bank holiday. Weather was crap, but while the rest of the clann sat indoors and cursed the rain, myself and the two eldest boys grabbed the wetsuits and headed to the beach.
Waves were high and fun was great. My dad came down for a look and was surprised at the speed we could get up to on the waves.
I scuffed my knee on the rocks on the beach and was feeling rather sorry for myself until i got on the bike to get into work the following tuesday.....
Crosstraining Calamities
The first thing i realised about my new bike was the speed...and i loved it.
A 35-40min journey on my old mountain bike suddenly dropped to 28-29 mins as i flew to work.
However, the bike differs from my old mountain bike in another respect. On the tuesday after the long weekend i cycled to work on wet roads after an overnight rain. After 7km i went to hop up onto the path to avoid traffic. The hop was over a barely there kerb, a doddle to a mountain bike...if i had been riding a mountain bike.
Wheel one passed over the lip withno trouble, wheel two however decided it was happier on the road and i was ungracefully slammed into the pavement sideways....
Although i was fairly cut up i walked the last 3.5k to work, then spent an hour trying to clean out my cuts before giving up the ghost and heading home.
There followed a week off work, xrays for suspected wrist fractures, and a very embarrassing session where a neighbour who is a nurse cleaned the gravel out of my hand, all the while with my tensing up, yelping, sucking in breath, and generally emasculating myself in front of her.......
Both wrists were fierce sore, i lost a good bit of skin off the right palm, and left knee, and a bit less on the other hand/knee. My knees also wouldnt bend for 2 weeks so it was a fortnight before i was back running......and i only started to cycle again yesterday. I cycled home yesterday and back in to work today, all the while very nervous of faceplanting into the ashphalt again....ah well, a few more days to ease myself back in....
Oh, and to prove i was hurt.....(look away if squeamish)......it hurt a lot more than it looks now that i look back at it........
 |
| 24 hours later |
 |
| A few days later |
 |
| Healing slowly, a week later |
