04/27/2015  4   75.63   4:42:29  1,229   16.1   4,701

For the week starting May 27, I biked 4 times for a total of 75.63 Miles over 4:42 hours. Elevation gained was 1,229 feet, averaging 16.1 mph, and a total burn of 4701 calories. I ran twice for a total of 2 Miles.

Yes, that’s the most exciting for the week: I started running . Just a weasly, measly Mile; but that’s exactly where I need to start. My plan is to condition the Achilles and Gastroc over a long period of time before I start training with a purpose.

Running

My 2nd Santa to the Sea 5k will be in December of this year, so I plan to do some organized training starting sometime in October. Until then, it’s only conditioning the soft tissues to adapt to the stress. How much will I run?

Time, distance, and speed are entirely irrelevant. My only concern is to run without any issues whatsoever. I expect to feel just as fantastic after my runs as when I finish my bike sessions- no less.

In retrospect, I was way too aggressive with my running last year, and didn’t realize how long soft tissue adaptation takes at 62. In my defense, I’ve never been there! Clearly, what worked a decade ago is no longer the norm.

The Plan is very simple: May starts with one Mile per run, per day, two Miles in June, 3 Miles in July. My run days are every other day on my off cycle days. I’ll reevaluate at the end of July. The only stipulation for the next 3 months of running is an absolute lack of any pain.

Cycling fun

It’s been too much of a blast! Every time I go out, I’m stronger and faster. Not that I’m trying, I’m becoming much stronger as well as more efficient. I can feel, as well as see, all the leg musculature growing. I’m able to do more work with less energy which is the definition of muscular adaptation and conservation of energy.

Again, my plan for cycling is very simple. I’m currently riding every other day, working on form, fluidity, RPMz, and sustained power to the pedals with no buffeting or dead spots. I’m not concerned with Speed, Time, or Distance. I’ll let those come when my Body tells me.

I’ve found a wonderful riding loop that is about 3 miles, and I’ve set my Garmin to lap every 3 miles. If you go to myGarmin, you can see the stats for these loops. The loops I used to do at 16mph 2 weeks ago, this week I did at 18mph; that’s progress .

Regardless of what my weekly distance is, I plan to add another day of riding next month and that will be my training response increase. I’ve noticed that I’m also recovering faster, so that day may well see me riding in the morning and running later that night. How exciting, double workouts!

Fat Loss Torch

My God, you can eat it all and lose it all! On April 16, Day 274, I went riding with my friend John. He was very strong on the course, so I asked him what he ate beforehand. He said he never eats before rides because it’s just not necessary and teaches your body to burn fat.  He replenishes immediately after however. That comment was not lost on me, so I decided to contemplate this in the future.

In the next 7 days, as my weight stayed in the 178-179 range, I decided to forgo feeding until I got back from my rides. The result was instantaneous! I opted out of breakfast starting April 23rd, Day 281, and my weight at 8am was 178.7  before my ride. Day 282 I was 177.7, Day 283 I was 175.2, and Day 284 I was 174.5.

Moral of the story: there is no need for breakfast at this time for me. I’m not training enough yet to warrant it. It was necessary before a 100 Miler up Pacific Coast Highway in the 80s; but not now before a mere 20 miles. I’m sure age fits in there as well; although we’ll see towards the end of 2016.

In any case, I was just eating too much, no wonder I couldn’t lose the fat! If you’re a biker, you know how critical weight is to performance, so I was motivated to find a way to lose. The funny thing is, I’ve never had breakfast since and I’m never hungry in the mornings or during my rides and I’ve got all the energy I need.

In the 7 days before my breakfast opt-out, my weekly morning average was 178.8 pounds. My weekly average for the next 7 days was 175.4, a net average loss of 3.4 pounds. Concurrently, my caliper readings went from 15mm- [minus] to 14mm+ [plus]. I had been stuck at 15mm for months!

So there you go, If I’m a private trainer, how come I couldn’t figure it out? Again, I’ve never been 62 before .

Here are the links to my daily trainings for the week excluding Day 285 featured in the map at the top of this post. You can click the details link in the map to go to myGarmin and forward each day to see the daily training and observations. If you prefer, you can go to the individual days with the links below:

Day 286
Day 288
Day 289
Day 290
Day 291

As always, thanks for reading and I trust that my epiphanies in training can be of help to some of you out there seeking your own paths. Rock on!