“….when he attempted to move, the pain that shot through him was so unexpected that it wrenched a groan from him.” The Far Pavilions, M. M. Kaye
So it begins. As promised to myself I began the actual cycle training today – Sunday January 12th. Initially I planned to start on the first weekend of January, but as my loop was going to take me round Hyde-Park, which at that point was still occupied by the Christmas Fair, I delayed the start for a week.
Then over the course of the week, I was actually planning to start the cycle on Saturday – but that didn’t happen either, mainly due to my recent addiction to Chinese dramas on Netflix. Ended I binge-watching one till 4am, so I was never gonna cycle on Saturday after waking up 11am. By mid afternoon I was really quite annoyed with myself for making excuses, being stupid and not getting enough early rest and watching Chinese Drama’s till 2am in the morning. This whole training malarkey is going to prove to be really challenging. I’d rather stay on a sofa and crochet, or paint or do anything other than go exercise. The effort required – there is actually physical requirement for me to get my brain in gear and do something. Additionally, according to weather forecast I picked up during the week, rain was due on Sunday.
When I woke up on Sunday morning – actually morning and not middle of the day – I half hoped the rain was still due. The two sides of my brain fighting with each-other, one hoping to stay at home, the other knowing that I had to do something. I peeked at my phone, and the forecast had changed – it was now due to be cloudy, but dry. I was resolved, I would do something – as in I would cycle. By 10:30 I’ve had my breakfast and was slowly getting ready to leave the house. That’s usually part of my challenge getting ready to go out. I find that if I start the day by already putting on the gear, even if it’s piece-meal, it helps me to keep the resolve.
Thus, by just after 11am I was dressed, ready for action. I packed a small bottle of water in a my backpack, a bus ticket, in case I was going to give up on the exercise plan, half way through, and headed out, dragged my bum towards the nearest Boris Bike station.
My plan, for this first session – as stupid as it sounds, and the slightly more intelligent side of me knew it – was to push myself as hard as I could, cycle as long as I could, do as many kilometres as I could. The initial 15/20 minutes on the bike were hard. The enormity of the task at hand coming back to me time and again, as did the reality of how much I hate structured exercise. Or any exercise for that matter. Once I pushed past the first couple of kilometres I was reminded of how much I like to be outside, how enjoyable cycling was and how much fun I was having.
I kept at it. I kept at it for nearly 3 hours and just over 32 kilometres. There were moments before then when I nearly gave up, but each time I had a little break, drunk some water and cycled on an easy section, I felt like I could keep going. Around kilometre 24, I started to feel my legs giving way slowly; and as it became increasingly difficult to cycle up the few small inclines around Horse Guards, I started to slowly make my way back towards home. Towards the end, I did few round loops on local streets and around local gardens to add to the distance.
It was only when I eventually got off the bike that I realised how much my legs were suffering from my stupidity. There was a point to it, I needed to know what I had to work with, and now I do. It will now take me a week to recover from this session, just in time for the next one. The idea being that for the next 4 weeks I do major cycling only once a week a week, and take the week to recover, concentrating on walking, stairs and that’s it. Later in February, I will add a cycling session during a week, a smaller one – I’m thinking cycle from work towards Hyde Park then do a loop around the park – basically aim for about an hour on a bike which according to today’s calculations is around 12/14 kilometres.
Oh, but I’m going to feel the effects of today tomorrow, badly, I can tell. I’ve spent the rest of the afternoon replenishing my water levels and sugars; after a hot shower I barely moved from the sofa. I can feel the weakness in my legs. My bum is worse though. It’s hurting already. No idea how I’m going to sit tomorrow.
Lesson’s learned from today:
- Don’t push yourself to the limit – it’s not worth it
- Need shoes with a little stronger sole, as I can feel the pressure on my feet
- Need wrist-guards/supports – or change my cycling stance. I’ve been fully supporting my upper-body weight on my wrists, rather than just using my heads to steer the cycle.
- Get cycling shorts or soft seat pad.
- Days left: 375
- Weight: 90.1 kgs
- Distance travelled: 32.41 kms
- Total Distance travelled: 32.41 kms
- Stupidity Level: Out of this world
Hate To Exercise 