Luigi - back on track
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[quote name='Luigi']<br />
The bridges are basically hills and mean fuckers at that. All in all, very tough for a 100 kilo ex prop. But I should have done better.<br />
[/quote]<br />
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Isn't it shit how bridges aren't flat? Dirty bastards put hills in the middle of them as I found out walking/running the Harbour Bridge here in Sydders during a previous health kick -
Basking in the afterglow of England's annihilation of Australia in the 7s, I decided emulate my heroes with a run.<br />
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Fuck me, what a shocker.<br />
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Even worse than yesterday! I got a bastard stitch after only half a mile which felt like someone was running a rusty knife along one of my rib bones.<br />
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I managed to get to the turn point in my 4 mile loop and had to walk. Shameful.<br />
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'Why is this so fucking hard?" I kept asking myself. One of the clues is staring me right in the face everytime I try and look at my shoes - a fat, wobbly gut. <br />
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I reckon I'm carrying a least a stone more than when I was running last. I try to visualise carrying a stone in weight in my arms while I'm running - it gives me another stitch just thinking about it.<br />
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But I'm determined to carry on. -
[quote name='Luigi']<br />
Basking in the afterglow of England's annihilation of Australia in the 7s, I decided emulate my heroes with a run.[/quote]<br />
<br />
:-k How do you manage to buy a ref when going for a run?<br />
<br />
<br />
<img src='http://www.daimenhutchison.com/invision/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/wink.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' /> -
[quote name='Nick the Aussie']<br />
[quote name='Luigi']<br />
Basking in the afterglow of England's annihilation of Australia in the 7s, I decided emulate my heroes with a run.[/quote]<br />
<br />
:-k How do you manage to buy a ref when going for a run?<br />
<br />
<br />
<img src='http://www.daimenhutchison.com/invision/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/wink.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' /><br />
[/quote]<br />
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To be honest, I think our lads were so shocked at not having to overhaul a 10 point home field advantage before the off that they were a little confused and took a few silly options.<br />
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Loved watching Tuqiri scrabbling for a piece of Varndell as he got burned on the outside. -
You started it <img src='http://www.daimenhutchison.com/invision/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' />
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I don't know what hurts the most - my legs or my lungs.<br />
<br />
My weekend was not too naughty, even considering it was my birthday on Sunday. Friday night was a few vin rouge after work and a fish and chip supper, which I left half of. <br />
<br />
Saturday I umpired a hockey game and made an effort to run around a lot. Saturday night was a pub crawl with a mate during which I sank a great deal of Guinness and talked the most marvelous bollocks all evening. I think a kebab may have made an appearance at some point between closing time and the sofa.<br />
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Sunday I was good. Me and Mrs Luigi walked across the fields and through the woods to the pub, occasionally holding hands and talking. THIS IS A GOOD THING to do apparently. A marvelous roast dinner was washed down with more vin rouge and the evening was topped off at home with a couple of DVDs<br />
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Monday I had a full day at work so no training but I managed to keep the refueling down to rye toast for breakfast, soup for lunch and chicken risotto for dinner.<br />
<br />
And so to this morning.<br />
<br />
I was hoping my third run of the campaign would be a little easier. Not a bit of it. The stitch has moved and now set up camp somewhere above my left tit. My left knee feels like it has gone rusty and I can feel both achilles graunching up and down in their sheaths. But it is the shortness of breath that is worst. I only really have one pace and that is too fast for my condition at the minute. Hence I can feel the ventricles that used to carry oxygen to my blood supply being forced open to cope with the renewed demands on the system. It hurts, to be honest. And it hurts more because less than three months ago it was a lot easier.<br />
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Still, I am determined to keep going. As they said in the Commonwealth Triathlon at the wekend - it's about who is prepared to suffer the most.<br />
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I will provide a weigh-in when I get to a decent set of scales. -
Back again.<br />
<br />
But his time instead of talking the talk and not walking the walk, I have purposefully left it a full month to report on my big push towards fitness.<br />
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First things first: I am off the booze completely and have been for 4 weeks yesterday. This is the longest I have been without a drink since my late teens, which is saying something (something bad that is). I have had some tricky moments, most notably during a business trip to Italy where my charming hosts were anxious to showcase various wines from the region during dinner. My strategy here was fairly simple - I accepted the glass but didn't drink any. With a fullish glass in front of me, there was never any reason to take anymore. Simple.<br />
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Hand in hand with the lack of alcohol has been a complete change of diet. This is obvious - more 'chick' food as PAJ would have it and no naughty stuff.<br />
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In exercise terms I have started running with the trail running group locally on Weds and Sats, usually around 4 miles through the woods and across the common. This has been bloody hard but the feel-good vibe afterwards is worth it. I have run this morning too and feel great, although I had to grind out the last mile. I intend to up the running to three times a week and try and start to add more miles to get me out of any comfort zone I might have fallen into (as if).<br />
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I have also joined a gym locally, but this one is a funky little Rocky style operation rather than the posing palaces you got to for 'mirror' muscles. Part of my programme is the rowing machine, which is quite the bastard. I am only on it for 10 minutes a session but I record my distance and try and beat it every time. Fuck me, it gets you going! The rest of the workout is weights and stretches plus core stability exercises.<br />
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Finally, I am back on the bike. Sadly I had my very expensive mountain bike stolen so I have got back into road cycling on my Scott AFD Expert. It's not a bad bike - certainly good enough for me. but like NtA, I have a bit of a addiction to bike exotica and would love to upgrade. Part of my evil plan to convince Mrs Luigi has been to buy her a bike too so we can go out [i]together[/i]. I've lashed out on the Trek 1500 with the Shimano Ultegra groupset for her, thinking that when it's time for my new steed I will similarly be able to get something up the scale. I have a hankering for a Colnago with Campagnolo throughout, but we'll see.<br />
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Anyway, where we live is in the middle of some chalk hills called the Chilterns. So we've been out and about on the bikes up and down a variety of inclines from mean little fuckers to long slow drags uphill. This Friday just gone we managed to grind out 38 miles after work around a route we affectionately call the 'Hilly Mofo'. Fuck I was shagged at the end, but again feeling very pleased. <br />
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So with all this activity - what's been the benefit?<br />
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Well, I was weighed in the gym on 06/06/06 (how spooky) and came in at 112 kgs. On the 23/06/06 I tipped the same scales at 106kgs. So six kilos in just under three weeks.<br />
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I'm fairly pleased with that because it will give me the boost I need to keep going. If I could do the same in the next 3-4 weeks I would make not drinking well worth it. -
[quote name='Paj']<br />
Nice on Luigi.<br />
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Can't quite work out if thats you in your avator or not?<br />
[/quote]<br />
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Yep, it's me at the end of the New York Marathon. You can get a hint of my feelings at the time. :whistle:<br />
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Up this morning for a 3 mile run along the canal and back with Mrs Luigi, who completed her first triathlon at the weekend. While she's loping along barely out of breath, I'm huffing and puffing my way to a minor coronary. But it has to be done.<br />
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Good way to start the day - get it over and done with. Might go out on the bikes later too and introduce Mrs Luigi to pedals with clips. That'll teach her. :twisted: -
Invite us over mate, she'd love to see you. <br />
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Me, I could care less. <br />
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<img src='http://www.daimenhutchison.com/invision/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/wink.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':rolleyes:' /><br />
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For a bit of fun, have a look at this ...<br />
<br />
[url="http://homepage.mac.com/lewiseckett/comiclife/"]http://homepage.mac.com/lewiseckett/comiclife/[/url]<br />
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[quote name='Luigi']<br />
<br />
Finally, I am back on the bike. Sadly I had my very expensive mountain bike stolen so I have got back into road cycling on my Scott AFD Expert. It's not a bad bike - certainly good enough for me. but like NtA, I have a bit of a addiction to bike exotica and would love to upgrade. Part of my evil plan to convince Mrs Luigi has been to buy her a bike too so we can go out [i]together[/i]. I've lashed out on the Trek 1500 with the Shimano Ultegra groupset for her, thinking that when it's time for my new steed I will similarly be able to get something up the scale. I have a hankering for a [b]Colnago with Campagnolo throughout, but we'll see.[/b]<br />
<br />
[/quote]<br />
<br />
don't be a sheep every bastard has a colnago.. and for someone of your weight it'll be like riding a wet noodle.<br />
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Get a Pinarello F4:13. Decent price as the stock setup (about half the cost of a colnago)... then of course you can do what i did and stick on full record groupo and some ksyruim ES's and you'll want to go riding that sucker everyday!<br />
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Super rigid fulla i'm still hanging around the 100kg mark and it is the nuts. A defo crowd pleaser too. -
The bastards are doing a nice price on the Trek 1500 over here - $2200 Aussie pesos and Mrs the Aussie won't give me budget approval :evil:<br />
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Luigi - I also looked at getting a Lemond Poprad (yes - a cyclocross rig) in order to get something a bit stronger to cart my chubby arse around on, and getting it kitted out with full Ultegra gear and some of these:<br />
<br />
[url="http://velocityusa.com/wheels/road-deepvroad.php"]http://velocityusa.com/wheels/road-deepvroad.php[/url]<br />
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Strong buggers. I'm not a fanatic for super light weight but if I ever get budget approval then these are definitely going on the next rig. A mate of mine just got his Merckx frame in and is just waiting for his components to arrive before slapping it together. He's promised me a go on it but he's got a 63cm frame which might prove a bit of a stretch for me. -
Thanks for the advice!<br />
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I was thinking of a new bike only when I have - ahem - slimmed down a little. Â<br />
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My Dad has a Colnago mouldering in his garage, but I think it will be too small for me. Plus, now that Colnago is outsourcing some of its production to Korea (?) it does seem to have lost some of its cachet as a brand. At a recent Tri exhibition here the UK importer had bikes on show clearly marked as 'made in' the Far East. <br />
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I will check out the Pinarello though. -
[quote name='Nick the Aussie']<br />
The bastards are doing a nice price on the Trek 1500 over here - $2200 Aussie pesos and Mrs the Aussie won't give me budget approval :evil:<br />
<br />
Luigi - I also looked at getting a Lemond Poprad (yes - a cyclocross rig) in order to get something a bit stronger to cart my chubby arse around on, and getting it kitted out with full Ultegra gear and some of these:<br />
<br />
[url="http://velocityusa.com/wheels/road-deepvroad.php"]http://velocityusa.com/wheels/road-deepvroad.php[/url]<br />
<br />
Strong buggers. I'm not a fanatic for super light weight but if I ever get budget approval then these are definitely going on the next rig. A mate of mine just got his Merckx frame in and is just waiting for his components to arrive before slapping it together. He's promised me a go on it but he's got a 63cm frame which might prove a bit of a stretch for me.<br />
[/quote]<br />
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Hey Nick, there's also a bit of a renaissance here in fixed-wheels. Bit of an old-school vibe about riding fixed. Not sure it's for me though.<br />
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Specialized are doing some interesting things with their version called the Langster, plus a cyclocrosser called the TriCross. Some people just don't get on with Specialized, but might be worth a look.<br />
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You can drive yourself nuts with bikes aye. -
Not to mention broke mate <img src='http://www.daimenhutchison.com/invision/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' /> I'm going to keep it simple - strength, durability, and Ultegra.<br />
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This mate of mine with the Merckx (and the Scott CR-1 and the Merlin Cyrene and the Trek 2200 <img src='http://www.daimenhutchison.com/invision/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/rolleyes.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':rolleyes:' /> prick) recently rode Adelaide to Darwin in 18 days on his Merlin towing a Yak and loved it. Clocked up 250km (160 miles) one day which is not bad for a bloke in his 40s. Then again, he rode Perth - Sydney in his 30s :nta<br />
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He can't understand why Mrs TA won't give me $3K to blow on biking gear - but then, he's about to sell his shares in the company he owns for a tidy sum <img src='http://www.daimenhutchison.com/invision/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' />
