Reboot

There has been no running whatsoever since I aborted Wednesday's LSR attempt at mile 6. I had 14 on the schedule but even I can recognise when carrying on is pure folly. So I have rested ... in my own fashion! I've racked up a double digit week timewise on the bike for the first time in a mighty long time. I will confess that time and weather constraints mean that probably 5 hours of that was indoor cycling. For the rest of that time, I freed my bike from the turbo and made the most of the frost free conditions. I had a child free weekend (thank you Scout camp) so I even managed a nice ride out to Loch Lomond. This one: http://www.sustrans.org.uk/assets/files/leaflets/CLYDE%20LOCH%20LOMOND%202004.pdf

There aren't many nicer places to stop and have your flapjack and chocolate milk.

It's a decent enough route - dedicated cycle paths all the way from the city centre except for a short stretch when you pass through Dumbarton - and just gets prettier the further you go. From the grimness of Clyde-side through to the splendour of Loch and Ben Lomond. It looks a little something like this (not my pic - my hands were too numb to take photos!)

There's a stunning pic of it here too but I can't link. It's beautiful! Go check it out. http://www.flickriver.com/groups/1184068@N23/pool/interesting/

It's my longest ride outside in quite some time and although I have been spinning and turbo training all winter, I can feel the effects of a proper ride. DOMS in everything from my calves to my glutes, my core to my triceps (I do hills like Djamolidine Abdoujaparov did sprints - Tashkent Terrier coming through, give me a wide berth!) I love a bit of DOMS so no complaints there but it does make me wonder slightly about the different impact of indoor vs outdoor training. Outdoor is clearly better for a multitude of reasons - how many indoor races do I do? how much better does it feel to get a daily dose of vitamin D? - but time-wise, indoors makes a lot of sense. I can't leave my child home alone for an hour while I nip out on the bike but I can certainly spend an hour or so on the turbo once he's in bed. It made me wonder if I should be upping the intensity of my indoor sessions, or at least trying to replicate an outdoor ride more accurately. For me turbo sessions are fairly well regulated: timed intervals or  pyramid sessions working through the gears. Perhaps I should employ a more casual sort of fartlek principle? Hills outside aren't regulated after all and if you come across one, well you just have to get up the damn thing whatever it takes.

I have also dedicated more time to yoga this week (clearly I needed it - talk about tight!) and I have recommitted to my strength regime. I will admit that I had scaled my strength training back. I have several disciplines to master and many miles and hills to conquer - extra weight (be it muscle or fat) is not particularly welcome at this point. But truthfully, I feel like I'm being unfaithful to myself if I don't do it. I just don't feel like me. Putting in more miles on the bike has made my legs more muscular again and that is a truly welcome return to form. Regardless of what size I am, softness is just not me (and I don't care if that's what guys like - I do not). I need my muscles. When I have done the endurance thing to death, I fully intend to compete as a figure athlete. Genetically, I am not gifted with the ability to run fast or to go long distances. Anything I achieve there is purely due to slog and sweat. Figure training however - I am the right build, I have good proportions and I don't find it difficult to put on muscle. In terms  of genetics, I am far better suited to that. However, it's one of the few physical arenas where age is not a disadvantage. There are frankly amazing female figure athletes all the way up to women in their sixties and seventies. One of the few areas where age is not a barrier to success. It can wait till I've dispatched some other business first. In the mean time, there is some serious work being done ... and it's boosted my mood by a good 50%. It's me. It's what I need to do. I will have my body back the way I want it and that will give me the confidence I need to do anything else.