Two-week diet
I don’t normally go on diets. If my weight climbs it is because I’m not exercising enough. That’s true at the moment, and I will do something about it, but to get started I’m going to diet for two weeks.
Nothing complicated. I will restrict myself to cereal, seafood, soup, fruit and vegetables for 14 days. I aim to lose 10 pounds.
The reason for writing it here is that I will be accountable to myself.
Beaten in the fun run
I wrote a few weeks ago that Michael Jnr, aged 11, was starting to get the better of me, aged 40, in sporting events.
In the earlier article I described how Michael beat me over 25 metres in the pool and I bravely stated that “I would expect to hold the upper hand in athletic and cycling events for the time being”.
Well, today that theory came unstuck when he finished ahead of me in the GMF Health Fun Run. Results haven’t been posted yet, but Michael thinks he covered the 4km distance in about 18 minutes and I’m tipping 21 minutes for myself.
Last year I came sixth in the event with a time of about 19:30. There were a lot more competitors this year and I’m not as fit.
Young Michael had never run over that distance before (school cross countries are 2km for him at the moment) and had plenty of energy to spare at the finish. Next year he should complete the event in about 16 minutes, is my guess.
Bike ride to Beechworth
I enjoyed a bike ride to Beechworth today for the first time this year. I started at Tarrawingee and met with some Alpine Health staff at Everton before tackling the hill.
The pace was sedate and we had a good break for lunch in Beechworth before rolling back down. The total trip was 47km.
Bike ride to Ovens
Juliet and I rode with the babies today to Ovens, where we met some people from Alpine Health for lunch at the pub. It was the longest ride that Juliet has done and the longest that I’ve towed the babies.
It took us exactly an hour to cover the 20km there. For lunch we had potato wedges with sour cream and a platter of cold meats, cheese and salad. It was an enjoyable day, made perfect by the wind at our backs for the ride home.
We saw an echidna at close quarters, also a black snake, rabbits and a brown snake.
Mount Buffalo ride
For the third Sunday in a row I ventured up Mount Buffalo, this time with my trusty bike secured to the back of Suzie.
I completed three different rides, starting with a dirt and gravel track to the Reservoir and continuing along the Rocky Valley Trail.
The track doesn’t appear to have been graded since the fires and was in shocking condition for riding. I carried or walked the bike nearly as much as I rode it. The boggy sections and snow patches were to be expected, but flood scouring and total rock cover caused most of the problems.
The snow has nearly all melted now, but still covered the track in a few places. I found it’s impossible to cycle through soft snow, and again had to push the bike or carry it.
It was very enjoyable though. The snowplain doesn’t attract many visitors at this time of year and I had total solitude in which to appreciate the natural beauty.
I want to fire a broadside at Parks Victoria, however. They still haven’t finished repairing tracks that were damaged by bushfire in January 2002, despite the government pouring millions into rehabilitation.
Their communication of track closures is also ordinary, to say the least. I wanted to try and reach the Rocky Valley camp site today, but the track is closed about 3km from the Reservoir. Likewise, last week I wanted to walk to Andersons Peak, only to find the track closed.
Notices should be placed at the beginning of walks, instead of halfway along them. Newsletter updates should also be given when you pay $9.50 to enter the National Park.
Having cleared the air on that one, I can return to today’s ride. After cycling back to the car I completed two shorter trips on the main road.
Firstly I went to The Chalet, which was about 2.5km from where I had parked, or 5km return. Then I went about 3km in the other direction to Dingo Dell past Lake Catani (6km return).
I’ve only ever driven through this area, so it gave a new insight to see familiar features from the bike instead.
The weather started fairly mild and I abandoned my jumper to soak up the sun. I like to gain a bit of color early in the season.
Later though it turned cold and some light drizzle started. All up, I rode about 26km, which isn’t a lot except when you consider I carried the bike for perhaps two or three of them.
I passed a few road cyclists on the way up, awestruck at their fitness to climb over a 1000 metres. I found the 100 metre climb to Dingo Dell challenging enough.
I guess if I had the right sort of bike I could give the big one a shake. I also have to admire sport cyclists for how they handle the downhill runs. It was scary enough staying in control of my Repco hybrid doing 40kmh around the downhill bends.
Baby bench press
The rainy weather continues and my exercise program suffers accordingly. Confined indoors I’ve adopted some innovative techniques.
The “baby bench press” is good for upper arm development. Holding a seven-month-old infant firmly in two hands you repeatedy push them skywards while maintaining a solid grip.
James is a mini tank weighing 8kg. In bursts of 10 at a time I managed to press him 70 times and sister Margaret (7kg) 50 times after she wanted to join the fun.
It’s easy to be distracted by giggles and dribbles, but the exercise is good value if you have the equipment.
4km run achieved
Today I ran 4km for the first time in at least 22 years. I doubt I’ve run that far more than a dozen times in my life. I did it without stopping, except for two small breaks to suck in some air and blow my nose (I thought you needed to know that).
Yesterday I ran 3km in 15 minutes and 56 seconds. I thought that was fairly good until tonight when I learnt that 11-year-old boys run the distance in less than 11 minutes at the Victorian state championships.
One of our neighbors achieved that honor and will run in Melbourne in a few weeks. I’ve offered to help him train, now in the knowledge that I will be soundly beaten over the distance.
Dude ran in the recent zone championships at Wangaratta, against boys from there, Benalla, Wodonga and Shepparton, and came 54th out of more than 110 runners. He’s only eight years old and most of them were nine or 10.
Wangaratta ride
I rode 78km on the rail trail today from Wangaratta to Porepunkah. That’s the longest ride I’ve ever done in 33 years of pedalling.
I started at 10.15am and made it home about 2.45pm. Allowing for half an hour in meal breaks and photo stops I completed the journey in four hours of riding. That’s roughly a rate of 20kmh, which I’m happy with over that distance.
The rail trail distance from Wangaratta to Porepunkah is about 10km longer than the road trip. The old railway line was built to the north of Wangaratta, presumably to avoid the construction cost of extra bridges along the floodplain.
It was confusing to follow the trail out of Wang, as it shares various roads and tracks until it reaches Bowser. Signage wasn’t great either. I got thoroughly confused at the Vine Hotel, where the trail heads in the opposite direction to what you think it should.
I had gone about 10km before I felt I was going anywhere. There’s a nasty little underpass just after Bowser, which looks a real safety risk. It’s basically a one-lane tunnel on a road that appears to have a fair bit of traffic. Drivers are supposed to stop and look before they enter, but I wasn’t taking any chances and sped through there as quickly as I could.
The next 10km to Tarrawingee was flat and straight and would have been boring except I’d never been there before. I had a meal break at the Tarrawingee rest station.
It’s 5km up a gradual rise from Tarrawingee to Everton Station. This was a junction on the old railway line. One track heads to Beechworth and the other to Bright.
I turned right and enjoyed a downhill section from there to the Great Alpine Road. It surprised me how close the rail trail goes to Everton township. The decision to build the station out in the sticks must have been a controversial one in its day.
From Everton to Bowman, near Whorouly, is also straight and not very interesting. From Bowman there’s a fairly steep ascent to Taylors Gap through bush.
Taylors Gap to Gapsted is a pleasant downhill ride. From there it was back into Myrtleford and onwards to home over much-covered ground.
I felt good at the finish and could easily have carried on to reach 100km in the day … just a bit saddle sore, as one might expect.
Some photos are here.
Stretching out
I went for a short run this morning; well, I sort of shuffled for about 2km in just over 11 minutes. There’s nothing impressive about that, except it’s the first time I’ve stretched out over that distance in 14 years!
I see running as a good alternative to bike riding on days when I’m too busy, or if the weather is bad. I pulled up okay after the first effort and still had fuel in the tank.
Correct weight
I tipped the scales this morning at 12st 6lb, which is one pound shy of correct weight for my height (5′10) according to BMI calculations.
It also means I’ve lost nearly four stone since I started my fitness crusade 12 months ago. I wasn’t always 16 stone, but I did gain weight quickly last summer and that provided a catalyst for doing something positive about it.
I saw several people today for the first time in a year and it was nice that they commented on how much weight I’ve lost. Even my doctor is impressed. I’ve lost a stone since I last saw him around Christmas.
Of course, everyone wants to know how I did it.
The short answer is exercise. I made some minor dietary changes, which I’ll discuss later, but my overall strategy was to burn more fuel than I consume.
Exercise
Starting from a zero fitness base in March 2003 I began walking 20 minutes a day, five days a week. The first strolls around Porepunkah revealed just how unfit I was, embarrassing really.
I gradually increased the length and difficulty of the walks. There are plenty of hills around here to strengthen lazy leg muscles.
The intensity lifted gradually with harder bush walks. By December I was scaling Mount Buffalo, Mount Feathertop and Mount Porepunkah without too much trouble.
When summer kicked in I lost the enjoyment of walking. The flies and heat were too much, so I took to bike riding.
I started with short rides into Bright and back (11km), then to Eurobin (19km return). It was hard at first, but pleasurable.
It also helped accelerate weight loss, which levelled around 13 and a half stone for a month or two.
I now ride 30km most days of the week, sometimes more, but rarely less. With winter coming I will probably revert to walking and save the longer bike rides for weekends.
My weight has levelled again, although I seem to lose a pound every fortnight on the current routine, so I don’t feel the need to change anything.
My weight can fluctuate by up to three pounds over the course of a week depending on how much exercise, what I eat and possibly other factors.
Diet
I stopped eating fatty foods like pizza, pies and sausage rolls. I hardly ever have takeaways now, when previously I bought them three or four times a week, especially for lunch.
I increased the amount of seafood I eat substantially. This helped raise my good cholesterol.
I’m not a big fruit and veg fan, but I drink fruit juice and have vegetables with stir fry meat several times a week. I switched to low-fat versions of products like milk, butter, cheese and mayonnaise.
I rarely eat cake or sweet treats, except some occasional chocolate after a meal.
I now read supermarket labels to check the fat content of food.
Overall, I probably eat as much now as I did a year ago. Food consumption was less while I was walking, but now that I’m cycling I actually get hungry and snack on dry biscuits or dried fruit.
I find that I have a lot more energy, which is important with the babies and my workload.
Whereas in the past I would have complained there was too little time for exercise I now make time and find that I have more time.
Being fit changes your outlook on life. In the past I would have looked at a mountain and thought it impossible to climb. Now I wonder what the view will be like from the top.
The horizon has become a lot closer.
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