Saturday 14 July 2007

Niggles and Wiggles

Just had another lazy week. The achilles niggle and associated knee pain thankfully disappeared by Tuesday. On Tuesday evening I'd planned to go out on the bike but didn't make it thanks to the washing machine breaking down and me stripping it down to find that it wasn't repairable (spares not available on the internet) so I did some exercises indoors instead. These seemed to have reached the parts running can't reach as the very tops of my calves were aching on Wednesday. Nevertheless I went out on the bike in the evening and had a cracking ride. Another gorgeous summer evening through and round Ashridge forest. Saw a fox and another herd of roe deer. I felt great and was pushing hard for most of the hour and three quarters I was out. However, on Thursday the top of my left calf was extremely sore. I couldn't tell if it was strained or just good old fashioned sore from the exercise. I was worried as the last calf strain cost me six weeks off running. Fortunately it seems to have been the latter as it has just about gone now so I'll be out again tomorrow if not this afternoon. I'm having to tread a thin line with this training, getting in enough without causing some problem that stops me.


While out buying a new washing machine I also picked up a new set of scales that also tell you your % body fat and water content. It says my % body fat is 15.5 which is at the bottom end of the normal range for blokes of my age. It also gave me a water content reading of 56% which is above normal and a surprise to my normally dehydrated self. The instructions said that the algorithm it uses to make these calculations don't work on athletes but I don't think I have to worry about that just yet.


The downside is that the new scales reckon I'm 12st 5lb whereas I'm hovering around 12st on our old scales. Either way I've certainly changed shape over the last couple of months. When I last put my cycling bib shorts on there were bumps and bulges all over the place. I'm looking a lot more streamlined now. Those love handles have bitten the dust.


Just got to avoid these bloody niggles.

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