A weighty issue

At the moment I find myself obsessing a little about my weight.  There are three basic reasons for that:

1.  Its a number.  Weight is measureable against an easily understood standard, be it in pounds, kilograms or stone.  Its also pretty easy to measure.  How I feel, the spring in my step, the feeling of lightness when I run can been felt but not really measured.  Do I feel lighter than I did six months ago? Yes.  Do I feel lighter than last week? Well, I don’t know, actually I don’t think I do (in reality I am lighter but I’ve pushed up my running load so everything ‘feels’ heavy right now).  I could do the same with body fat, strength, VO2 max, power max etc – those are great numbers, probably better than weight to track – but they are hard to track too.  These output measures require all sort of special tests, equipment, skills etc.  Weight just requires a scales and the ability to stand still for a few seconds.

2.  It’s a number that really puts my transformation into perspective.  I started this trip at 128 kg, I’m now 106 kg, I’ve lost 22 kg.  I’ve lost almost 15% of my body weight.  Put it another way, I used to try and run, ride and swim with one of those big 20 kg plate weights strapped to my guts. But I’m not finished.  My goal is around (not sure what my final race weight is) 97 kg.  That means I’ve got another 9 kg to lose, that’s 9% of my current weight.  When I’m done I will have lost 31 kg (almost 70 pounds!) or nearly a quarter of my body weight.  That’s a barrage of numbers I know but it’s a barrage that makes me feel great, those numbers are like friends cheering me on, saying “look what you’ve done!”.

3.  I can control weight.  I can’t get taller, I can’t make my hands and feet bigger, my hips narrower, etc but I can make myself lighter and leaner.  In a sense this is the real point of monitoring my weight.  That weight is a nice easily measured and understood number is handy but not really a reason to measure it.  After all I’ve spent most of my professional life complaining about pointless measures put in place solely because they are easy to get.  But my ultimate purpose isn’t to be light; its actually to live longer and better.  My purpose is to compete, maybe even excel, at something again.  Weight, especially the useless fat I was carrying (and still am to be honest) gets in the way of those aims.  And I can remove it!  Its hard, I’m often hungry, often sore, always a little tired but I can do it – if I know what ‘it’ is.  Watching, managing and ultimately reducing my weight is a big part of ‘it’. 

Gear review. Tyres. Continental Ultra Race

Context.

I have been back on a road bike for approximately 4 months after 15 years away from the sport.  I have (seriously) ridden one bike in that time, my Avanti Giro 4.  I have ridden about 2500 km in that time.   I'm a big  guy, when I started I weighed 127kg and even now I'm 108 kg.  I ride around Newcastle NSW, an industrial city whose roads are rough and strewn with debris.

Tyres I've used.

Continental Ultra Race.  These are the subject of this review.

Specialized All Condition Armadillo Elite.  These are the principle basis of comparison (but wont get a detailed review themselves yet.)

Feeling.

The Continental Ultra Races felt great.  They provided fantastic feed back, I always felt confident that I knew exactly what was happening under me, I knew what the road was doing and how the bike was going to react so I felt in control.  Given that these were the first 'modern' tyres I've ridden on in 15 years I think that these tyres, so skinny and so hard made me comfortable is a testament to them.

The Continental Ultra Races are far superior to the Specialized All Condition Armadillo Elites here.

Performance.

Ok, not a great database here.  I havent ridden a lot of tyres and I dont have a store of carefully conducted performance tests to give you a clear idea of the quality of the Continental Ultra Races.  What I have is seat of the pants feel.

So, these tyres felt grippy.  Unless I was riding through sand or gravel across the road I never once slipped or slid in 2000 km or riding.   I didnt ride in the rain a lot but in the wet they still felt nice and stable.  When I braked hard I had plenty of retarding force and never had to worry that the brakes would overpower the tyres.  I'm sure the brakes can overpower the tyres but I never had to push it that far.

Despite the feel issue, I've got to admit however that the Continental Ultra Races arent actually superior to the Specialized All Condition Armadillo Elites here however. Both these tyres seem to be pretty sticky.

The Ultra Races also felt light. I havent got figures to back this up but the bike felt responsive and ready to pounce with the Continental's fitted.  The Specialized cant match the Continentals here, by comparison the Armadillo's feel heavy.

Durability.

Now this is where the Continental Ultra Races low price is explained.  These tyres were going great, I felt I had uncovered the impossible, the tyre that was fast, cheap and reliable (whereas usually you have to just pick two of these three possibilities).   But then I had five punctures in four days.  I had a hard look at the tyres and found that they were done.  The contact area was completely rounded off and in the thinned areas on the tyres there were lots of holes and cracks.  It really looks like the tyres do ok for a while but when they gos they really fall off the cliff.  

Conclusion.


The Continental Ultra Races arent mythically good.  They are light, responsive, grippy and give you a lovely connectedness with the road.  They are also pretty cheap - which is always nice.  But they arent that tough, I've found that they will wear quickly and when they wear a bit they will go down hill very very fast.  I acknowledge my conditions (heavy rider, crap roads) are pretty rigorous but ultimately I cant really recommend the Ultra Races because I'd always worry that one day they will let me down, leaving me out of spare tubes and CO2 canisters, and that's not a place I like to be.

The beauty of running

A while ago the idea of me posting something titled 'the beauty of running' would have been a joke.  At best it would have had to make reference to the notion of me watching other people running.  And yet, here I sit having gone for a quick run this morning and having really enjoyed it.  Not, endured it, not felt it was ok, but I seriously had a good time.

Part of this is because I've lost weight and simply get off on the almost floating sensation I have now.

But this morning the biggest chunk of the fun I had was getting out really early in a place I've lived in before (Canberra) and seeing it in a whole new way.


View 2011-09-24 07:16 in a larger map

This was my run.  From the hotel, and around the bridges in center of Canberra.  Not a huge distance - 8km - and not fast - a tick over 10 kph - but far and fast enough.  But apart from the training benefit it was lovely to see the city this way.  And all it took was a pair of trainers, shorts and a t shirt (and Walkman).  Thats the beauty of this running thing, the lack of stuff needed to make it happen.  That total lack of pissing around required before and after.  For me its get up, throw on clothes, eat half a cereal bar, turn on gps, turn on music and run.  Thats it.  I'm thinking I can keep doing this!

My first serious gear change - Tyres

As part of my fitness regime months ago I started riding to work. Then, when I started actually "training" I took my morning rides and turned them into what Joe Friel refers to as an anchor session - a core component of my training regime. This has been outrageously successful.

Until last week.

After months of very occasional problems last week I got three flat tyres in three days. Apart from forcing me to rely on mates to cover for gear shortages, making me late for work, and generally pissing me off this run of issues has me questioning my gear and my reliance on cycling. Suddenly the cornerstone of my entire training regime is uncertain.

So how bad had the problem become? Well without really noticing I discovered I had this nasty tangle of bike tyre entrails that had quietly accumulated in my garage over the past few months:

From Instant Upload

Discussing my problem it appears my tyre choice was appalling. The continental ultra race tyres that came with the bike rode nicely, had good grip and were quite quick but its appears they offered all the protection of a rice paper condom on Newcastle's seriously industrial debris strewn roads. Well the obvious choice was the continental gatorskin, after all I was generally happy with the conti's I had and it made sense to stick with what I sort of knew.

The problem was I couldnt find any in Newcastle. Usually I would just order them over the net (after all its so much cheaper) but I really wanted to do this before my next commute next week. Luckily all was not lost. A local shop (Drift Bikes) offered an alternative, the all-condition armadillo elite . And here they are:

From Instant Upload

Now the tyres are fitted but thats as far as I've got, I havent even tested them yet. I'll let you know how they go in a week or so.

One week, some disappointment, but triumph

So, one week into my 29 week program and already off plan. I had a simple task this week, just 9 hours training, in a preparation phase so nothing extreme. My plan wasn't difficult, my basic anchor workouts (riding to work and my lunch run/swim bricks) knock over 6.5 hours so a few gym sessions and even a little work on the weekend and I was done.

But I didnt make it to just nine hours - instead I only managed 7:39, what the?

So why the shortfall? First, my bike broke - nothing serious, just a little wheel problem but three days off line and I lost a few training options. Secondly what was supposed to be three hours of swimming because 90 minutes as I simply couldnt get in the pool as much as I wanted to (and my arms gave out as I started training for the first time in 20 years.). But probably worst of all, I had nothing for Saturday and had to take the day off.

But there was an upside. Friday.

Denied my ride, but getting home early I decided to go for a run. A few minutes done and a k and a bit behind me I felt good. So I hit my usual turn point but thought fuck it, I'm feelin good - lets press a little further. So I just kept running. Then I hit the beach and I love running along the beach, so I did. Then I had to come home and well I could run along the beach a bit more so why stop. Finally it was a quick run to home and well...actually then it stopped. I was spent, the joy was gone. But now it became the challenge. I would finish this, I would. So a little prep and off I pushed.

The last bit was a grind, but I made it. So that was that. In the end I ran my first ever 10k. I felt shattered, I hurt all over, I wanted to die. I was in love, this was great. But it cost me training on Saturday.

But you know what? it was worth it. That 10k has pushed my through a barrier. Today I ran (and swam) my work brick harder than ever, felt great and could have gone longer harder except I had to get back to the office. It hurt, and put me behind schedule, but that 10k has pushed me to a place I've never been before and a place I plan to push past.

Two milestones achieved

A big day today.

1. I finally managed to be classified as Overweight (ie a BMI of over 26.9 but under 30). That might not sound like an achievement but remember I came it overweight from obese (BMI over 30) so getting down to overweight is great. When I started this journey I weighed 128 kgs, at 192 cm this gave me a bmi of 34.7. Frankly, this was scary for me, I felt sick all the time and was seriously concerned I was heading for a heart attack. Now I'm 109.3 kg, for a BMI of 29.7.

I'm not at my goal weight yet, and even then this isnt really about weight. At some point I'm going to stop worrying about weight and start tracking fat content.

My next weight goal is to get under the tonne - that is 99kg. This would also give me a BMI of 26.8 so put me in the healthy range. Note, I know the BMI is a flawed metric not really suitable for tracking individual health but still its a commonly understood measure.

2. I also ran 10.3 km today. This is the longest run I have ever tried. I had to slow to a walk twice on the return leg, for about 50 meters each time, as I just couldnt keep it going. More than anything the small (but very steep) hills on my 'course' really sucked the life out of my legs.

But, one thing I learned from my first triathlon is that no course is flat and if I want to improve I must get used to hills.

The best news is, however, what I dont have to report. I have no foot, ankle, knee or back pain to report. That is fantastic! That said I'm interested to see how I pull up in the morning.

First triathlon completed - now I just want more!

Mt first triathlon is done and I loved it! I want to do it again but better. Still I'm glad I've got a few more weeks of training because as much as part of me just wants to go again the part of me that remembers how badly I dealt with some tiny hills, a gentle head wind and the odd little dip and rise on the run knows I need to train more.

What do I need to do:

1. I need to keep losing weight. On the morning of the tri I weighed 112 kgs. Not bad considering I was 128 when I started getting ready for this back in May but still too heavy. Next race is in four weeks and I want to be in the 108-109 range at least.

2. I need to work on my swimming. I was the first out of the water (in the very small field doing the short course) but I did bugger all training. I did very, very little training in the water before this event, I can make this a lot faster relatively easily.

3. I have to build more hills into my riding. I'm ok on the flat but being a fat bastard the hills really hurt and I need to work on this in training so that I dont go to pieces in the race.

4. I need to stretch my running distance.

Ok, so those are the lessons. But what were my results? Well remember, for my first ever triathlon I did a tiddler, a half sprint;a 250m swim, 10k ride, 2.5k run. And my times were 4:57 (swim), 25:28 (ride), 16:09 (run). I didnt achieve the tao of tri though - my form sucked, my transitions were the definition of sloppy and I had to fight my body on a couple of occasions. But still I'm starting.

My next race is 2 Oct. I'm planning to do another half sprint. My plan is to go a little better across the board. Depending on how that goes I could be attacking a full course sprint in November. Stay tuned for more.