Day 6/28 – I biked it, I steak it!

I crave red meat

Going into this diet, I was just as determined to shed the weight as I was about not cutting back on my lifestyle too much.

I’m pretty social so turning down meals can feel like torture. Enter Easter Sunday brunch with my friends… hmm, do I stay away or… do i go for a long bike ride to pre-burn some calories.

8am, Sunday: I was on my bike and pedaling pretty hard from Longhouse-Kranji-Bukit Timah-Home which left me winded during some bits but got my heart racing hard enough to burn 1,000 calories in 1:45 mins.

There were a few times I thought of packing it in to escape the honking cars and the blazing sun but I wanted to enjoy brunch and I was going to have to earn it.

Almost a shade darker later, I found laughing and sitting with friends as I tucked into a beautiful 120 gm steak (apprx 500 calories) and even had the “allowance” for a few gin & tonics (bliss!).

Cliche as it sounds, I enjoyed the meal so much more because of the work put in before. Perhaps sacrifice isn’t always a bad thing, especially when it fetches unsolicited compliments!

The dry run

If I had to do this mini-tri all over again I probably would do things a little differently.

For the most part – and this is totally my fault – I’ve been navigating through this like a blind person.

I am three days from this event and i have NO idea what to eat, how to carb load or even what in the world to wear on Saturday!

And in about 30 minutes time i am going to attempt to ride home from work on a racing/road bike…. never been on one before, wish me luck!

However, i did attempt to do a dry run on Sunday. I roped in my long suffering niece Sarah to run with me, while my vacationing buddy Simei came for the swim with me.

Shiny, happy (exhausted) people

I didn’t do the full distances but I now have a rough idea of how hard it is going to be on the day itself. My legs really felt like jello going from the swim to bike, and after run (and subsequent bike home) I was laid up on my couch feeling rather sorry for myself. But interestingly, while my body was tired, my mind was racing.

All this exercising has had quite a few advantages. I’m amazed at the changes I’ve seen happening with my fitness. At the start of the year I was barely able to make it pass 1km on the treadmill. Last week, I went for a 45 minute run two times after work with Lyn – see photo! – and even combined one run with a cycle home. Amazing.

Keeping a sense of humour is important!

While I will probably never be super duper fit… I love that I am fitter, and relieved that it didn’t take as long as I thought it would.

Now, I just need to cross that finish line within the three hour mark. Here’s hoping.

And if hope is not on my side, I’ve told everyone I know who will be there (and now you) to HURL ABUSE at me should they see me flagging or looking like i want to give up.

Trust me, it is the only way I’ll keep going!

So if you see me on Saturday – race number (S370) – please unleash your inner sailor and curse at me!

Pedal power!

Hallelujah! I am alive!

Last Friday, I decided I could not put off cycling training for the mini-triathlon, and since I hated Spin Classes with a passion, I decided to cycle to work.

All 13 km in 40 mins and not one car swipe. Thank you God!

I have to say I don’t scare easily but cycling on the road is very, very scary, and I certainly did not help matters going helmet-less.

RELAX… I have one now (thanks Muffs!).

However, over the last few days I have observed a few strategies to ensure I don’t get mowed down.

1)Squeaking ‘get away from me’, ‘good away!’, ‘omg!’, ‘can you NOT see me?’ is not going to keep the traffic away. Pay less attention to worrying about getting run over and more attention to the road and you’ll be right.

2) Work out the route well ahead of time. Use Google Maps (http://maps.google.com), it is a godsend! Back roads help a lot!

3) Don’t try and cross lanes if you see even the tiniest bit of traffic coming your way. Just wait.

4) Cycling behind a bus is not a bad idea. Think about it, this way you won’t get mowed down (cause you’re behind it) and any other bus on the road will spot you cause guess what? They’re looking out for the bus in front of it.

5) Merging with traffic, NOT fun and very very high ‘accident’ potential. So, either wait for the coast to be clear or pedal like hell!

While I’m not quite ready to invest in a bike – big shout out to Edwin for loaning me his! – I am enjoying cycling to work. My head isn’t as foggy when I get into work, and amazingly I’m arriving on time – another miracle!

Hallelujah!

I made it! Hurrah!