“I was obliged to let it lie where it was as a memorandum to teach me to be wiser“, The Life And Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, D. Defoe
By Saturday – practically a full week after the initial training session I felt that my body has almost completely recovered from last week’s cycling session. There was still some residual bottom pain, but that’s about it.
Surprisingly when I woke up on Sunday morning, at a very early for me time of 8am, and actually rose out of bed by 8:15, I was quite prepared to go cycling. Determined as per the plan formulated earlier in the week to do another 32kms – split over 2 sessions. Even more surprisingly, I was out of the house by 9am and by 9:10 on a bike and heading towards Hyde Park. I’ve reset the Ride Tracker to count off each kilometre traversed (not 2 like last week), and off I went. I knew I had to do at least 16kms in the morning, although by 8km I felt that more would be required if I was to meet the goal, because already the idea of getting on the bike again at the end of the day begun to be daunting. Luckily around 3/4 of a way through the session I received a phone call form a friend – which helped me to traverse another 4kms without feeling the physical or psychological pain, as I was concentrating on the conversation, avoiding human obstacle in my path, and not on the distance I had yet to travel.
21.4kms later I was done in. Nowhere near as exhausted as last week. Hot shower, massive lunch and souffle pudding later I was faced with a prospect of having to get on a bike again. There is a considerable difference between getting on a bike for a journey to a specific destination, which takes 5kms or 10kms, the way I used to travel from work, versus the idea of doing kilometres around a park, for no other reason than to clock-up kilometres on a counter – a very different matter. It took me three loops around St Jame’s park (Sandra, it’s the way we walked back to your hotel) to clock up just over 6kms. That’s depressing. This whole cycling thing is getting boring already and I’m not even a month in. I’m hoping that in February, when I add a short cycling session during a week to the routine, things will become easier. It’s like the Exodus Cycling Fitness plan says – make it part of your life. The thing is I have so many excuses not to – all these other things I’m supposed to be doing. This requires me to completely re-order my life, make exercise part of my life, when it never has been, at least not in these doses.
Thus with each kilometre travelled I had to remind myself why I’m doing this, and that I can give it up after the holiday. It didn’t help that my Bluetooth headset broke in the afternoon and refused to connect to the phone, so I had no way to listen to music – a distraction in and of itself.
But I managed it. Not only the remaining 11kms to hit previous target, but a little more. I suppose I don’t have to hit 70kms just yet, providing I can get to a point where I can get to at least 30, several days in a row. Don’t I? Hmm – maybe I’m just trying to find excuses for myself again – not good. I think at least once during this entire training year, I should ensure that I have a day hitting 70kms. Just to see if I can do it – not in one go, obviously. Perhaps in 4 x 90 minute stints? That’s for later.
- Days to trip left: 368
- Weight 90.1 kgs
- Distance travelled: 35.5 kms
- Total distance travelled: 67.9 kms
- Stupidity Level: Not so bad
Hate To Exercise 