100km Week

This week it was time for my First Cycling Goal, to cycle 100km in a week. Given my ‘big idea’ that I am keeping to myself at the moment the 100km week is the first of what I think will be 5 goals that I need to achieve before I am ready to commit (and announce) my big plan (well it is big to me, will hardly register with anyone else to be honest).

I entered the week having done a couple of 30km+ rides as well as my ‘usual’ 18km ride.

35.26km

30.65km

For me the main challenges were going to be sticking to a schedule (has been a while since I have been disciplined enough), length of time in the saddle (the hardest part of the two 30km+ rides), and the recovery time between rides (being very unfit still and with the old bodies injuries).

Planned Schedule

Saturday 15th: 35km Bike Ride
Sunday 16th: Long walk with dogs
Monday 17th: Mountain Bike Ride
Tuesday 18th: 35km Bike Ride
Wednesday 19th: Jog
Thursday 20th: Rest Day
Friday 21st: 35km Bike Ride

How The Week Went

Day One: Saturday 15th March.
Possibly not the best preparation going out for lunch on Friday (Fish, Chips & Mushy Pees helped along by 3 glasses of red wine and 2 gin & tonics) but on the plus side having crashed on the sofa with some potato chips and chocolate I was in bed by 9.30pm, full of water and a headache tablet! (Am such a light weight drinker these days!)

Saturday Sands takes the dogs for a walk with a neighbour, and they stop off for breakfast, so I am on apartment cleaning and cat duties, which is actually a pretty good way to wake the old body up before any exercise as it involves a couple trips up the stairs onto the roof, some bending and lifting (litter trays) and some sweeping, hovering and moving of furniture.

That done was time for some coffee and fruit and then time to don the old (well new actually) Lycra.

Only the second time I have done this circuit and at the moment the hardest part is length of time in the saddle (numb bits) and lungs (fitness and residual food intolerance). The second hardest part is the mental toughness to go round a second a time as I pass the apartment after the first lap!

Back home it was a handful of dried fruit, small piece of chocolate and then scrambled eggs with asparagus and baked beans.

An afternoon on the sofa watching the Rugby (no booze), a walk on the beach with the dogs, then a Quorn Chilli, wraps and nachos for dinner.

Day Two: Sunday 16th March
One of the two days a week that we take the dogs for a long walk and stop off for breakfast (the summary below stops when we stopped for breakfast but we have another 1km walk back to the apartment from marina).

Thought I would measure the walk out of interest.

Breakfast was a tostado, coffee and fresh orange juice.

Then it was out for lunch at a friends house. A extremely rare event as I resist pretty much every attempt to get me to a) accept invitations ahead of time, b) go and eat at someones house, and c) go out when Man Utd are on TV.

Far too much to eat and drink as anticipated.

Day Three: Monday 17th March
St Patricks day, so like ay half decent Englishman I was going to have a couple of pints of Guinness.

Started the day with a walk on the beach with the dogs which tends to give me a reasonable walk but they get a great run.

Breakfast of scrambled eggs with mushroom and asparagus, with baked beans then a gentle ride round on the mountain bike to get some movement into the legs and try and get into the habit of using the bike more (I still have hopes of ‘getting into’ the mountain bike as a means of getting fitter)

As I was only having a couple of Guinness (more tradition than anything else) I took the opportunity to take the Road King Classic for a spin first, then headed into the marina. Two Guinness and some chicken wings so pretty good, and Quorn Chilli and wraps for dinner.

Day Four: Tuesday 18th March
Had planned to take the dogs for a walk on the beach and then do a bike ride but ended up at the dentist to have a tooth extracted so afternoon spent on sofa with gauze in my gob and blood dribbling down my chin!

To be fair he is a great dentist and the tooth extraction was painless.

On a positive note a nice relaxing day and not much consumed food wise: some cereal and toast in the morning, then a risotto in the evening.

Day Five: Wednesday 19th March
Nice not to have tooth ache when I woke up, but slightly daunted by the day ahead as Wednesday is the one of the two days we take the dogs for a long walk along the beach and marina (2+ hours) and then stop off for some breakfast (coffee, orange juice, toast) so concerned a) how I will get on with a long walk and a long bike ride on the same day and b) how my mouth will handle the toast!

Had a Plan B in mind:could do a 18k ride today and an 18km ride tomorrow if necessary as had to rearrange a trip to Malaga on Thursday following tooth extraction on Tuesday (long story!). Wasn’t intending to use Plan B but …… flat tire on the first circuit sort of took the wind out of the ride (and the tire) so decided to do two 18km ones instead.

Food wise: soup for lunch, haddock and spinach for dinner

Day Six: Thursday 20th March
Didn’t get round to breakfast: walked the dogs on the beach, ran a few errands, soup for lunch then fell asleep as not 100% (chesty cough showing signs of returning)

But I did the 18km circuit late afternoon (not helped by the second flat tire in two days) followed by a bath, lazy evening on the sofa and a chicken salad.

Day Seven: Friday 21st March
Started the day on the beach with the dogs, did a 29.49km bike ride and took the dogs for a walk when I go back.

Food: scrambled egg with asparagus & mushroom and baked beans for breakfast, chicken salad for dinner.

So 100km in a week.

So compared to the planned schedule not bad: no jog and only two 36km rides and two 18km rides, but for a First Challenge I am happy with how it went. I learnt that I am good at changing inner tubes, that it is going to be a long hard slog to build up for long hours in the saddle, but that I still have (some) ability to stay focused! I feel a little fitter, a lot stronger in the legs, and I am really enjoying the bike!

If you want to see what I am riding check out this post

3 thoughts on “100km Week

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