tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-126741032024-03-13T20:16:34.781+00:00Old Git FitnessAn Old Git Tring To Keep Fit In The Highlands Of Scotland.
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07916016432908322902noreply@blogger.comBlogger155125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12674103.post-41450519799939139752017-09-30T19:16:00.001+00:002017-10-04T21:22:55.768+00:00How To Be Healthy Pt 1 DietI'm going to keep this as simple as possible and show you what works, I will give links to further info where possible. Bottom line is I'm going to show you what I do and what I know works. I will tell you whether it's something you <span style="color: red;">MUST</span> do or if there's a little <span style="color: blue;">leeway</span>.<br>
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You are going to need a smart phone of some kind to help you get fit, some other gadget are usefull and we will cover them too.<br>
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Lets kick things off with diet.<br>
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1. <span style="color: red;">First of all you need to know how much you are eating. </span>Get Myfitnesspal app to track your calorie intake. Here is how you should set it up. On the desktop version, under MyHome- Settings-update diet/fitness profile.<br>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Jevs_lJxWuA/Wc0RQbCqXWI/AAAAAAAA0bc/TTFNyLwYKIQbDypvdXy6RxKhoKd-Zf8EwCLcBGAs/s1600/Myfitnesspal1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="728" data-original-width="665" height="640" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Jevs_lJxWuA/Wc0RQbCqXWI/AAAAAAAA0bc/TTFNyLwYKIQbDypvdXy6RxKhoKd-Zf8EwCLcBGAs/s640/Myfitnesspal1.png" width="584"></a></div>
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Choose what you want for your goal weight, <span style="color: red;">always choose sedentary and no workouts as we will add our exercise another way</span>. At the bottom you get to choose how much you want to lose. <span style="color: blue;">I would go no higher than .5kg a week. I started with this and quickly reduced it to .25 then changed to maintain weight</span> ! You may or may not know what weight you should be. Use a BMI calculator as a guide, or if you were thin and fit before, recall what weight you were when you could run and cycle with ease.</div>
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Then go to MyHome- Goals and fill out the information. </div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tQvkdppzuuw/Wc0UDGKzcJI/AAAAAAAA0bs/w0QW4D4mJGQzSUkX3671COsPaWiUNAHpQCLcBGAs/s1600/Goals.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="484" data-original-width="501" height="618" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tQvkdppzuuw/Wc0UDGKzcJI/AAAAAAAA0bs/w0QW4D4mJGQzSUkX3671COsPaWiUNAHpQCLcBGAs/s640/Goals.png" width="640"></a></div>
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I set my meals up that way somewhere else in the app, it's not that important but makes sense to me working different shifts.</div>
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2. Now heres one of the most important things in this guide. Your Macros.</div>
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<span style="color: red;">The key here is to start with your Protein intake.</span></div>
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<span style="color: red;">Take your weight in Kg and multiply by 1.75 That number is how many grams of protein you need to eat in a day. You need only match this with grams of carbs and the rest will be healthy fats.</span></div>
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<span style="color: red;">This vid is about low carb, it also demonstrates why you need to base your intake on Protein.</span></div>
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<span style="color: red;"><br></span><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/C-oYyMNMmkw/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/C-oYyMNMmkw?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
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Above you can see I have manipulated the Macros in daily nutrition goals to be 25/40/35 PFC. I'm going to move to 25/45/30. Any extra Carbs <span style="color: red;">must be earned in exercise.</span></div>
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You can link something like Strava or Trainingpeaks to Myfitness to automatically add your 'free' calories you earned with exercise.</div>
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3. We are almost there. All you need to do now is not go over your daily limit. A good way of doing this is following a 16-8 eating plan otherwise known as intermittent fasting. I'm usually finished eating at 1900 and try to go until 1100, often I have food at the standard tea break time of 1000 :) This is not always practical and if I have planned a long cycle or other rather difficult workout I WILL eat in the morning. That said, I can easily do a zones 2 cycle for 90 mins before I break the fast at 1200 on my days off. </div>
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The 16-8 has health benefits and makes it easier to stick to you calorie goals so its a win win.</div>
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So we have 3 things to remember. </div>
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1. Carefully monitor your intake. </div>
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2. Eat enough Protein </div>
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3. Try fasting</div>
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Do it.</div>
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<br>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07916016432908322902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12674103.post-28178032952919565822017-04-28T18:00:00.000+00:002017-04-28T18:00:19.881+00:00Zwift. Is it any good ? Should I try it ?Q. Zwift any good ?<br />
A. Yes and No.<br />
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First of all let me just say that I would recommend you use a power meter or smart trainer for these apps. If you think your Fluid 2 alone is good enough then have a look at this video.<br />
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<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/hdy-nTUcpdk/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hdy-nTUcpdk?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
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I'll come clean right away and tell you I have used Trainerroad for many years and for 'Training' it is fantastic. The User Interface has everything you need for specific workouts and the training plans are really well thought out, it's very very good indeed !<br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5GkMRoF16Bo/WQN6wsc4HHI/AAAAAAAAvjM/g9BWDcEVpPw4GznorH550epXzAK9MwcGgCLcB/s1600/eric.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="328" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5GkMRoF16Bo/WQN6wsc4HHI/AAAAAAAAvjM/g9BWDcEVpPw4GznorH550epXzAK9MwcGgCLcB/s640/eric.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<i> Stick some music on, follow the graph and keep that wee white ball where it should be. Simples !</i><br />
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<br />
So, that was Trainerroad and this blog is about Zwift but I just wanted to give you a bit of background for what is to come next.<br />
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Zwift in workout mode just isn't as good as Trainerroad, There i've said it Trainerroad blows it out of the water.<br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-o2fzKCG1JvY/WQOAp3Fy10I/AAAAAAAAvjk/fQL5Nzc3WJwx-QBvkv6p5Y3Mx1FeaFgKgCEw/s1600/zwift.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-o2fzKCG1JvY/WQOAp3Fy10I/AAAAAAAAvjk/fQL5Nzc3WJwx-QBvkv6p5Y3Mx1FeaFgKgCEw/s640/zwift.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bmHjrDyfTnA/WQN7iDkCcSI/AAAAAAAAvjU/uKN98g7CVP83XoRUXY-91IDyOAeKj9sqQCLcB/s1600/zwifty.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bmHjrDyfTnA/WQN7iDkCcSI/AAAAAAAAvjU/uKN98g7CVP83XoRUXY-91IDyOAeKj9sqQCLcB/s640/zwifty.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<i>Too much useless info ?</i><br />
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The above shot shows a virtual cycle around a virtual island, there is a schedule down the left so you can see what's to come in the workout. The top middle shows <i>some </i>useful info but NOT your average power for the lap. The 'wee white ball' does this well on Trainerroad. The bar on the right is useful in another aspect of Zwift but completely superfluous in workout mode. The HR line and graph at the bottom are just stupid !<br />
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So although you will hopefully get your workout done, the user interface needs a complete overhaul.<br />
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Zwift for group riding? I hear you ask.<br />
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Yes, Yes YES.<br />
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<br />
The various group rides and races are brilliant !<br />
This is what Zwift was made for. Have a look at Zwift Events and you will see a whole host of rides, usually there will be a description of the event PLEASE read this and follow the instructions :)<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5RJFrziqbew/WQOBTteT5bI/AAAAAAAAvjs/bvIrqsAr4ms2MMaMpC5yg8O1CC8gwVB8wCLcB/s1600/2017-02-23_1050410.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="346" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5RJFrziqbew/WQOBTteT5bI/AAAAAAAAvjs/bvIrqsAr4ms2MMaMpC5yg8O1CC8gwVB8wCLcB/s640/2017-02-23_1050410.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<i>Me on one of the MGCC Winter Rides</i><br />
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If you just want to get the lie of the land then may I suggest the ZZRC sub 2 ride or if you have decent ability the sub 3 ride. The 2 and three refer to Watts per Kg. If you don't know then stick to the sub 2 for now and go back through my blog posts.<br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xWMlh1ndtdg/WQOCNCpgkhI/AAAAAAAAvj0/Uo9VAbXhlzQkp-ESvlUriBGLapkqwdK0QCLcB/s1600/2017-04-15_1536264.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="346" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xWMlh1ndtdg/WQOCNCpgkhI/AAAAAAAAvj0/Uo9VAbXhlzQkp-ESvlUriBGLapkqwdK0QCLcB/s640/2017-04-15_1536264.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<i>The very interesting WBR Buffalo Herd Ride</i><br />
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For races there will quite often be A to D categories based on your FTP Watts/Kg. Some events have a one lap warm up where you must stay with the leader followed by a two lap race. Others are handicapped in such a way as D'd start first followed 2 mins later by C's and so on look for the MGCC ( in the winter ) for these ones. Another good one was with WBR Buffalo Herd ride on a Saturday where the leader messages various drills to do during the ride.<br />
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So is Zwift any good ? Yes and No :)<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07916016432908322902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12674103.post-91023126074784332032016-10-29T18:36:00.002+00:002016-10-30T19:15:45.545+00:00Homemade Sealant Check TimeI have been making my own tubeless tyre sealant this year. The recipe is:<br />
<br />
1pt Liquid Latex - get mine from Hobbycraft<br />
1pt Slime - the kind for car tyres<br />
1pt Antifreeze - I use the new friendlier MPG type<br />
2pts Water - you get this stuff from your tap !<br />
<br />
I last filled the FANTASTIC S-Works Fast Trak tyres at the end of June. its now 4 months later and time for a look.<br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Sa493WE13nU/WBTqE5zBk0I/AAAAAAAArkU/2IFdtD4Cg8EzIUJnE0scVVAnDdz8ETu9QCKgB/s1600/IMG_20161028_145420.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Sa493WE13nU/WBTqE5zBk0I/AAAAAAAArkU/2IFdtD4Cg8EzIUJnE0scVVAnDdz8ETu9QCKgB/s640/IMG_20161028_145420.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Front tyre, seems only the green colour from the slime is left and it's rather thin.<br />
Lets get rid of it and add a fresh batch.<br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eBm-ePKMMhQ/WBTqfUHD5FI/AAAAAAAArkY/yFMnaaybYsYOZSh_tQl-74CK4gPrACeFQCKgB/s1600/IMG_20161028_151433.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="476" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eBm-ePKMMhQ/WBTqfUHD5FI/AAAAAAAArkY/yFMnaaybYsYOZSh_tQl-74CK4gPrACeFQCKgB/s640/IMG_20161028_151433.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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I just sooked it up with a syringe, new batch already made up and 60ml added.<br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-p_5sX76Xnoc/WBTqzPUikjI/AAAAAAAArkc/qN9xcR-lwr0xoEMpQBHvn5E0mpQ45SyaQCKgB/s1600/IMG_20161028_151625.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="476" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-p_5sX76Xnoc/WBTqzPUikjI/AAAAAAAArkc/qN9xcR-lwr0xoEMpQBHvn5E0mpQ45SyaQCKgB/s640/IMG_20161028_151625.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Pa6-X7w11A8/WBTq5XJ4YqI/AAAAAAAArkg/o4sPSMtf3_Ilga_-OqTGYvPi-R4825PkQCKgB/s1600/IMG_20161028_151657.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="476" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Pa6-X7w11A8/WBTq5XJ4YqI/AAAAAAAArkg/o4sPSMtf3_Ilga_-OqTGYvPi-R4825PkQCKgB/s640/IMG_20161028_151657.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
Sorted.<br />
<br />
The rear tyre was quite dry, with a thin skin on the tyre.<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tIOsuBhz_Hw/WBTrL5nj_gI/AAAAAAAArko/dYoukPGYGyMC0LL7hgssKwDeUBn4GAC-QCKgB/s1600/IMG_20161028_152338.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="476" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tIOsuBhz_Hw/WBTrL5nj_gI/AAAAAAAArko/dYoukPGYGyMC0LL7hgssKwDeUBn4GAC-QCKgB/s640/IMG_20161028_152338.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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60ml fired in here too. I then pump up with a normal track pump. You here the tyre 'crack' when it seats. I pump up to 50 psi just to make sure, go for a wee ride about the garden and leave overnight. When ready to ride I lower the pressure to 27 psi and away we go...Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07916016432908322902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12674103.post-91902118484146458342016-10-29T18:36:00.001+00:002016-10-29T18:37:13.460+00:00Homemade Sealant Check TimeI have been making my own tubeless tyre sealant this year. The recipe is:<br />
<br />
1pt Liquid Silicon - get mine from Hobbycraft<br />
1pt Slime - the kind for car tyres<br />
1pt Antifreeze - I use the new friendlier MPG type<br />
2pts Water - you get this stuff from your tap !<br />
<br />
I last filled the FANTASTIC S-Works Fast Trak tyres at the end of June. its now 4 months later and time for a look.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Sa493WE13nU/WBTqE5zBk0I/AAAAAAAArkU/2IFdtD4Cg8EzIUJnE0scVVAnDdz8ETu9QCKgB/s1600/IMG_20161028_145420.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Sa493WE13nU/WBTqE5zBk0I/AAAAAAAArkU/2IFdtD4Cg8EzIUJnE0scVVAnDdz8ETu9QCKgB/s640/IMG_20161028_145420.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
Front tyre, seems only the green colour from the slime is left and it's rather thin.<br />
Lets get rid of it and add a fresh batch.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eBm-ePKMMhQ/WBTqfUHD5FI/AAAAAAAArkY/yFMnaaybYsYOZSh_tQl-74CK4gPrACeFQCKgB/s1600/IMG_20161028_151433.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eBm-ePKMMhQ/WBTqfUHD5FI/AAAAAAAArkY/yFMnaaybYsYOZSh_tQl-74CK4gPrACeFQCKgB/s400/IMG_20161028_151433.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
I just sooked it up with a syringe, new batch already made up and 60ml added.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-p_5sX76Xnoc/WBTqzPUikjI/AAAAAAAArkc/qN9xcR-lwr0xoEMpQBHvn5E0mpQ45SyaQCKgB/s1600/IMG_20161028_151625.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-p_5sX76Xnoc/WBTqzPUikjI/AAAAAAAArkc/qN9xcR-lwr0xoEMpQBHvn5E0mpQ45SyaQCKgB/s400/IMG_20161028_151625.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Pa6-X7w11A8/WBTq5XJ4YqI/AAAAAAAArkg/o4sPSMtf3_Ilga_-OqTGYvPi-R4825PkQCKgB/s1600/IMG_20161028_151657.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Pa6-X7w11A8/WBTq5XJ4YqI/AAAAAAAArkg/o4sPSMtf3_Ilga_-OqTGYvPi-R4825PkQCKgB/s400/IMG_20161028_151657.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Sorted.<br />
<br />
The rear tyre was quite dry, with a thin skin on the tyre.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tIOsuBhz_Hw/WBTrL5nj_gI/AAAAAAAArko/dYoukPGYGyMC0LL7hgssKwDeUBn4GAC-QCKgB/s1600/IMG_20161028_152338.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tIOsuBhz_Hw/WBTrL5nj_gI/AAAAAAAArko/dYoukPGYGyMC0LL7hgssKwDeUBn4GAC-QCKgB/s400/IMG_20161028_152338.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
60ml fired in here too. I then pump up with a normal track pump. You here the tyre 'crack' when it seats. I pump up to 50 psi just to make sure, go for a wee ride about the garden and leave overnight. When ready to ride I lower the pressure to 27 psi and away we go...Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07916016432908322902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12674103.post-84462330338874978602016-10-28T20:03:00.000+00:002016-10-28T20:06:43.097+00:00Headset or Steerer Tube From Straight To Tapered Conversion.All is not lost. If you have a lovely set of old forks and have acquired a new frame with a tapered head tube all may not be lost.<br />
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Now lets forget for the moment that the steerer tube may already have been cut too short for the new frame, because we are going 'glass half full' here OK :)<br />
<br />
Well the company Hope do a converter for your race to sit on which takes the 1 1/8th crown to a 1 1/2.<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MpeHYKE_XNk/WBOo8M9CuiI/AAAAAAAArhQ/6eoVOdK4BK49Umjet5fa_f9Vohx_0XBwQCLcB/s1600/Snapshot%2B6%2B%252810-21-2016%2B4-20%2BPM%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MpeHYKE_XNk/WBOo8M9CuiI/AAAAAAAArhQ/6eoVOdK4BK49Umjet5fa_f9Vohx_0XBwQCLcB/s400/Snapshot%2B6%2B%252810-21-2016%2B4-20%2BPM%2529.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
However, I discovered a better solution.<br />
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First though I need to explain what I have done to the headtube on the bike. This was actually a straight 1 1/8th top and bottom but I converted the bottom to take a future tapered fork !<br />
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I used the Cane Creek 40 series converter called EC 44/40.<br />
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Now, that's what you get in the pack. headtube race, bearing and crown race.</div>
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On one set of 1 1/8th forks I installed the Hope converter and Cane Creek crown race.</div>
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When I installed the headtube race it was 3mm proud of the headtube due to the internal space being 9mm and there being 12mm on the cup. I removed it. I took it to a professional called Davie who removed the excess with a high tech machine while I watched in amazement !</div>
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He even out a champ-fer on it !</div>
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Anyhoo, back to the story. I actually found a better solution when looking for a race for another set of forks I found that Cane Creek do a converter/race in one for the 40 series headsets !</div>
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I duly got hold of one and fitted it to the lovely Reba SL forks.</div>
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Now we have a set of rigid carbon forks which will allow a 29er wheel, and also the Reba suspension forks in a tapered style to use on the 26er hard tail.</div>
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More changes are coming, but lets have some fun on what we have first.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07916016432908322902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12674103.post-46889157688362671252016-10-28T15:06:00.000+00:002016-10-28T15:06:26.712+00:00And So Began The Upgrading and Swapping Of ComponentsAfter <a href="http://highlandmist.blogspot.co.uk/2016/10/upgrading-mountain-bikes-to-1x11.html">running the 1x11 for a while</a> I realized just how good it was. The Shimano XT M8000 kit is nice to use with very positive feedback from the shifter and mech. It also made the whole bike over 400g lighter, and there's only one shifter to worry about which in turn makes for a tidier cockpit.<br />
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I then set to work on other bikes.<br />
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The Rockstar<br />
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Now that's a 30t on the front, I have settled on a 32t at the moment but may change to a 30t for tough races.<br />
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The Prophet also got it.<br />
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I had now discovered that shimano did an 11-46 ( my original before the One-Up was 11-42 ) So I chose the 11-46 for the Prophet. </div>
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However, I'm not bloody made of money so the full sussers got the 1x11 at the expense of the poor 'Test Model' the Cube, which went back to 2x10 :)<br />
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Now you can probably see something else has changed by this picture, that will be the subject of my next post.<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07916016432908322902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12674103.post-66999552066069527372016-10-15T14:57:00.001+00:002016-10-28T15:19:52.395+00:00Upgrading Mountain Bikes to 1x11 First of all let me tell you that upgrading to Shimano M8000 XT 1x11 is easy and should not pose any problems as long as you have a half decent bike tool kit.<br />
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I have built up a collection of tools over the years some have become obsolete and new ones have appeared.<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: "roboto" , "robotodraft" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">I was quite fortunate as all my bikes have an BSA 68-73mm threaded bottom bracket.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: "roboto" , "robotodraft" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">I first started on a Cube LTD Race, 26er from around 2007. This had a Shimano triple. I bought all necessary upgrade kit from <a href="https://www.evanscycles.com/">Evans Cycles</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: "roboto" , "robotodraft" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">When finished the bike was about 500g lighter ! I added some Absolute Black chainrings to my collection at this stage also.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: "roboto" , "robotodraft" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Now the kits came with an 11-42 cassette, but I wanted more range so I purchased the One Up Shark which gave me 11-50 !! I also could increase the chainring to 34t or even 36t.</span><br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-enWOKdh0f5Q/WAJBp1hACGI/AAAAAAAArJk/QcBj_I7skSs1Np3PRUFqbLpmH98Dpn9owCKgB/s1600/IMG_20160718_131451.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="442" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-enWOKdh0f5Q/WAJBp1hACGI/AAAAAAAArJk/QcBj_I7skSs1Np3PRUFqbLpmH98Dpn9owCKgB/s640/IMG_20160718_131451.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: "roboto" , "robotodraft" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: "roboto" , "robotodraft" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Above pic is not the finished article, this was a start there were more developments later on so stay tuned.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07916016432908322902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12674103.post-58775474387070962122016-04-03T11:11:00.000+00:002016-04-03T11:11:54.606+00:00Flurry Of Activity and a Triathlon, Modifications and Mountain Biking.Seems ages ago now but on 19th March 2016 I completed a Wee Triathlon. It was actually called 'The Wee Triathlon'.<br />
I chose this one because, well I can't really swim ! Last October I got into the pool and could swim only 20m before I had to stop for a rest. This Triathlon had a 400m pool swim which I thought I might be able to manage. During training I managed to get my time down from 25 minutes to 16 minutes. During the Triathlon I did it in 12 minutes.<br />
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My finishing times were as follows<br />
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I'm happy I managed the swim without panicking/drowning. I also enjoyed the cycle and run, which were quite hilly.</div>
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I also got a new bike and did a lot of work on it and the other bikes since I had two weeks off work.</div>
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First changed rims on new bike and went Tubeless</div>
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Then serviced the Reba forks<br />
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Took the both the new bike and the Cube with the serviced forks out on a 48 Km ride with various off-road terrain types. The 26er hardtail Cube was better on steep uphills ( it's lighter ) but the 29er FS was a lot better on technical descents.</div>
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Overall they both did the cycle in exactly the same time !</div>
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We also took the 29er and a Cannondale Prophet 26er FS to a trail center and found them to be 'overall' about the same and as much fun as each other.</div>
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I my age, for anything really rough I'm going to use one of the FS bikes every time, for forestry roads with lots of climbs its the Cube.</div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07916016432908322902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12674103.post-64823631808968446192015-10-26T22:46:00.002+00:002015-10-27T09:59:02.512+00:00Quick Start Guide To Turbo TrainingLets face it, turbo training is boring but it doesn't have to be. What follows is what you SHOULD do to make it work for you.<br />
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I'll start right away with what gear I think you should get because I know it works.<br />
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A decent fan.<br />
Cycleops Fluid 2 Turbo Trainer<br />
Some Sufferfest video's.<br />
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Next Stage<br />
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Garmin Edge 500 with HR Strap and the Speed Cadence Sensor<br />
Swift or Trainerroad<br />
ANT+ dongle for your PC ( Garmin or Suunto will work ).<br />
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Next Stage<br />
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A power meter. ( optional but much better than speed ot virtual power)<br />
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Why the above suggestions and how to implement them.<br />
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Using a Turbo trainer in a cold garage isn't going to keep you motivated unless you are REALLY REALLY committed. Doing a structured workout based on heart rate on something like a Garmin Edge 500 will make it easier and you can keep a record of your progress.<br />
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Following a Sufferfest video and either using perceived effort or substituting your heart rate training zones can make it easier.<br />
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Now by easier I mean that you feel more motivated to do it, you can actually achieve a harder and or more rewarding workout !<br />
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The next stage would be using an on-line service such as Trainerroad or Zwift. This really is the next stage in both training and motivation, it's what I use. To this set up you can add a power meter for more accuracy.<br />
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Zwift is just coming out of beta and has just started a Workout mode which I will try this week. Zwift is a virtual world animation of both imaginary and now one real location. It has also now introduced some pre made workouts to do in those worlds. It's going to be 8 quid a month. Trainerroad can be used on its own or along with the Sufferfest videos and is 6 quid a month.<br />
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Trainerroad looks more scientific and just shows you a bar graph of what speed/power you should be doing. It is workout and training plan oriented and you can sync Sufferfest videos with corresponding workouts.<br />
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Now I will let you google both Trainerroad and Zwift to see which one you prefer.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07916016432908322902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12674103.post-77174033235011210312015-07-12T13:50:00.001+00:002015-07-12T13:50:32.144+00:00Cholesterol Fat and Heart Disease.I found out I had arthritis at 46 I immediately knew I probably had it two years earlier as this is when I started suffering continuous knee pain and swelling.<br />
I had put on a little weight in those years, so I began to change my eating habits.<br />
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I saw a TV documentary about what later became the 5:2 diet and tried this with some success. When I had a cortisone injection and was able to cycle again I found the 5:2 rather annoying as I had to eat when my cycle trips became longer.<br />
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This whole time I was looking at the latest research and studies on diet and health and was discovering something I did not at first believe. Eating fat might actually improve your health !<br />
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I have come a long way since then. I never stopped reading the latest developments and research and I reduced my carbohydrate intake in favor of fat. My weight dropped and then stabilized. It changes slightly depending on what type and volume of exercise I have been doing.<br />
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Most people, including the Nutrionists that advise the government seem to think that fats are bad for you, in particular saturated fat (SFA). They say they cause Cardiovascular Disease ( CVD ) and Coronary Heart Disease ( CHD ). So lets look at the latest evidence.<br />
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Since I started more and more research has been published supporting the fact that most fats are not harmful but actually healthy ! One of my favourite studies found that eating yoghurt regularly decreased your chances of heart disease.<br />
<i> </i><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Lato; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px;"><i>The consumption of yogurt, and other dairy products, in observational studies is associated with a reduced risk of weight gain and obesity, as well as CVD, and these findings are, in part, supported by randomized trials. </i>However, </span><i> </i><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Lato; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; line-height: 26px;">Replacing SFAs with carbohydrates of high glycemic index is also associated with a higher risk of CHD.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Lato; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; line-height: 26px;"> </span><br />
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So beware of choosing Low Fat Yoghurt. They probably have taken out the healthy SFA's and replaced it with sugar !<br />
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<b>What to Eat</b><br />
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This is going to depend a lot on how much exercise you do and you're age. Making it simple.<br />
1. Please ignore the UK GDA ( Guidline Daily Amouint )<br />
Here is what is recommended by the <a href="http://oldgitsfitness.blogspot.co.uk/2014/12/why-are-uk-government-making-you-fat.html">industry funded government advisers</a><br />
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I'm afraid it's complete nonsense and quite meaningless. For instance, performance athletes and anyone over 37 should be eating 2g per Kg lean mass of protein a day. So around 110g for me. Also that amount of carbs on a sedentary ( normal ) person is going to make them FATTER !</div>
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Also they are ripping you off, it only adds up to 1870cals.</div>
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<a href="http://highlandmist.blogspot.co.uk/2015/07/one-whole-week-food-and-exercise.html">I have listed what I normally eat in a day in a previous blog.</a></div>
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If I go out for a cycle which I know will be at a decent pace and over 90 minutes I WILL consume carbohydrates. I adopt a before, during and after formula. That's all you need to know for now :)<br />
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I've learned that we can all drastically reduce our carbohydrate intake and replace the lost calories with good fat.<br />
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<b>Cholesterol</b><br />
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The thing about cholesterol is that people get excited if its high. Over five is meant to be high but most people in the UK are 5.5 It's split into HDL and LDL ( high density lipoprotein and low density lipoprotein ). It's in the body for a reason, it carries the necessary molecules around to make repairs in you're arteries. HDL is called good :) and LDL is bad ( more on this later ).<br />
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When you get a test at the doctor's they will tell you the Total cholesterol, the HDL count and the ratio.<br />
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Example Tot 5.8 HDL 1.7 Ratio 3.4, HDL should be over 1 and a good level is 1.5, if the percentage of HDL to Total is 20% then the risk of CHD is average if it's greater then the risk goes down. In this example the percentage is 1.7/5.8(*100/1) = 29% so very good !<br />
The above example is me on a LCHF diet for 18 months !!<br />
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It is of course a wee bit more complicated. For years researchers have been finding out that LDL has two types or patterns larger more buoyant type A and a smaller denser type B. The Type A don't seem to pose a risk, however the Type B have been associated with a greater risk of CHD.<br />
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<span style="background-color: #fffffe; color: #030303; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><i> The vast majority (but not all) show a significant univariate association of small, dense LDL with increased coronary heart disease (CHD) risk. (</i></span><span style="color: #010101; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit;">Low-density lipoprotein size and cardiovascular risk assessment, M Rizzo, K Berneis 2005)</span><br />
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What's more frightening is that the Type B are linked to the consumption of carbohydrates.<br />
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More research is always needed but the majority of the latest research strengthens the theory ( scientific theory = fact backed up by evidence ) that carbohydrates and not fats are undoubtedly responsible not only for obesity and type 2 diabetes but also CVD and CHD.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07916016432908322902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12674103.post-67903495143743712552015-07-12T13:44:00.000+00:002015-07-12T13:44:06.236+00:00One Whole Week. Food And Exercise.<br />
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OK folks here it is. I took the trouble to record everything I ate and the exercise I performed for one whole week.<br />
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12 minutes of exercise on Wednesday, 90 minute cycle on Friday, 25 min run on Saturday and another 12 minutes of exercise on Sunday.</div>
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Carbs were highest on the Cycling day, I thought the cycle would be longer <i class="_4-k1 img sp_0FWTQ_K3bWk sx_72c37c" style="background-image: url(https://fbstatic-a.akamaihd.net/rsrc.php/v2/yS/r/ckxre_asY0y.png); background-position: 0px -8033px; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: auto; display: inline-block; height: 16px; vertical-align: -3px; width: 16px;"><u style="left: -999999px; position: absolute;">smile emoticon</u></i></div>
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To cut a long story short, I lost 1.5 Kg this week.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07916016432908322902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12674103.post-70040677124995156282014-10-17T19:47:00.003+00:002014-10-17T19:47:41.444+00:00The Best Heart Rate Zones For Running ?From around 2010 through most of 2013 the slightest bend of the knee in the wrong direction could result in painful swelling for days or weeks.<br />
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After much hard work I have recently, quite hesitantly started running again. It's slow, more like gentler jogging. As with the cycling I am trying to follow some sort of plan. With cycling I could use power zones along with heart rate zones, with running it's going to be pace zones.<br />
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I established my pace zones by putting my time for a given distance into a pace calculator.<br />
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Here is one from <a href="http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/general/rws-training-pace-calculator/1676.html">Runners World</a> but there's one on Strava settings if you use that and they both give the same result.<br />
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So here's mine. Yes the pace is very slow, if you've had my trouble over the past few years you will appreciate my softly softly approach. Something else I needed was heart rate zones.<br />
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Now there's the easy way to get HR zones and then there's the better way ! You could work out you're max HR by going for a run and getting steadily faster until you eyes pop out of your head, then set up your zones as percentages of this. It's better than using 220 minus your age but it's still not right.<br />
It does not factor in your resting pulse like this.<br />
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Look at the formula box to see that resting pulse is a factor of the zones, it's added on. I used this method up until last year when I started training on the bike. I then discovered the Coggan method of using your Lactic Threshold Heart Rate. I established this on the bike by doing my 20 minute power test to find my Functional Threshold Power. This is fully explained <a href="http://home.trainingpeaks.com/blog/article/power-training-levels">HERE. </a><br />
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So what I did this time was find the last run I did for an event, which is where I ran as hard as I could for 40 minutes, my average HR was 178. This gave me the following zones.<br />
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What did I hope to gain from this BETTER method ? Hope fully a correlation between running pace zone and HR zone. Now I know from my cycling power zones and HR zones that there is always some overlap, and that this would probably be worse with running especially when there was any sort of gradient involved. Here is my first try at running in Pace and HR zone 2.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-h0TspaRFYmY/VEFwAkGXPvI/AAAAAAAAUt8/SH6vaA5iAVY/s1600/Zone2Pace.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-h0TspaRFYmY/VEFwAkGXPvI/AAAAAAAAUt8/SH6vaA5iAVY/s1600/Zone2Pace.JPG" height="492" width="640" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Logd3o9ESfU/VEFwArkwgWI/AAAAAAAAUuA/6ie9v3_HBRQ/s1600/zone2HR.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Logd3o9ESfU/VEFwArkwgWI/AAAAAAAAUuA/6ie9v3_HBRQ/s1600/zone2HR.JPG" height="274" width="640" /></a></div>
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I'm pretty happy with the results. 85% in pace zone 2 and 96% in HR zone 2 ! You may have noticed that I have six pace zones and only five HR zones ? Well I'm going to wait and see if I need to adjust things. I am doing mostly zone two running with one of either tempo, VO2max or Threshold per week so it may take a few weeks for me to decide what to do, if anything.<br />
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Watch this space and hope I don't get a knee injury.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07916016432908322902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12674103.post-56292522806048887802014-10-08T01:04:00.000+00:002014-10-08T01:04:06.188+00:00One Year GoneI have now past a year since returning to cycling.The last few months I have been doing a lot of standing up on the pedals for short periods when out cycling, something I could still not do without feeling a bit of knee pain.<br />
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Although I am Totally Metric, I also completed my first ever 100 mile cycle.<br />
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A great Highland Cycle, I took it easy and felt great at the end. Probably won't match this distance again until next summer. So far this year I have clocked up 3500 Km cycling.<br />
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You can see it's my best year yet.<br />
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My knees have been feeling so good I took an extraordinary step last week. I went for a run !<br />
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Now during my years of unending knee pain and swelling I visited three different physiotherapist, all of them told me my running days were probably over. I may be pushing the boat out a little too far here but I want to give it a try.<br />
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I did get a bit carried away and went a wee bit too far and fast for someone with my knees.<br />
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So to set the record staright I went out again a few says later and went a bit shorter and slower !!</div>
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Both these runs were done in fields of stubble, as the weather gets worse or thses fields are ploughed I will have to do some running on the road. I was told about <a href="http://www.hokaoneone.eu/en/hokaeurope.html">Hoka One One</a> running shoes. After a bit of research I purchased these.</div>
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I have made up a couple of workouts based on the pace guides from runners world I have from years ago. These pace zones tie in pretty well with the zones generated by Strava.<br />
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Yeah the pace zones are fairly lethargic, but bare with me. Proper specific training has helped me over the last year and I'm hoping it will help me with running too.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07916016432908322902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12674103.post-30643597950307719352014-08-04T12:04:00.003+00:002014-08-04T19:16:01.676+00:00Why Are The Government Making You Fat ?I'm going to cut straight to the answer for those of you who get bored with reading.
It's very profitable for big business that's why. Yes it's all about making money.
Still with me ? Want to know more ?
Here's how it's happening.
You are being told to eat far too many carbohydrates, mostly in the form of sugar.
A recent critical analyses study into the treatment of Diabetes with a low carb diet was packed full of useful information.
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2wKHthZoxfU/U99vHBNX6eI/AAAAAAAAUDQ/qUKjwBuJfXo/s1600/lowcarbdiabetesTable1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2wKHthZoxfU/U99vHBNX6eI/AAAAAAAAUDQ/qUKjwBuJfXo/s400/lowcarbdiabetesTable1.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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The table explains that the obesity epidemic started after carbohydrate intake reached 43% of total daily calorific intake. For a man eating 2500 calories a day this is 269 grams per day.</div>
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So lets have a look at the government guidlines in the UK.</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-a6WoaKbLju4/U99xZd767hI/AAAAAAAAUDc/0tn9sVTKd3c/s1600/govtGuidlines.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-a6WoaKbLju4/U99xZd767hI/AAAAAAAAUDc/0tn9sVTKd3c/s1600/govtGuidlines.jpg" height="564" width="640" /></a></div>
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Well what do you know ? The UK guidelines say you can eat 300g a day. For a man that's 48%, way over the amount that causes obesity !</div>
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So why are the government advising you to eat far too many cabohydrates/sugars ? I told you, money.</div>
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There are eight advisers to the government on Nutrtion and 5 of them are in the pay of sugar and confectionery companies.</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7py2yYKJT90/U99ybniildI/AAAAAAAAUDo/RZ284xJJzQc/s1600/sugar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7py2yYKJT90/U99ybniildI/AAAAAAAAUDo/RZ284xJJzQc/s1600/sugar.jpg" height="218" width="640" /></a></div>
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You can read the full article <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-2543052/Obesity-tsars-sugar-firms-paying-fortune-VERY-unhealthy-relationship.html">HERE</a></div>
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So how do you lose all that fat the government and big business have been feeding you. You eat fat, that's right, eat less carbs and more fat. Eating fat does not make you fat, carbs do.</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/mNYlIcXynwE" width="420"></iframe></div>
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<a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/journalists/sarah-knapton/10703970/No-link-found-between-saturated-fat-and-heart-disease.html">Eating fat is healthy there is no link between fat ( whether saturated or not ) and heart disease</a>. In fact it looks likely that Carbohydrate intake is linked to coronary disease.</div>
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Even our 'Fast Diet' friend Dr Michael Mosley has now been <a href="http://www.independent.ie/life/health-wellbeing/healthy-eating/the-full-fat-diet-is-not-as-unhealthy-as-you-think-30468627.html">convinced that we had it all wrong</a>.</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Rl_3ieQagBI/U9921Vo9Z0I/AAAAAAAAUD0/am5GkNMZPZs/s1600/mosleyFat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Rl_3ieQagBI/U9921Vo9Z0I/AAAAAAAAUD0/am5GkNMZPZs/s1600/mosleyFat.jpg" height="348" width="640" /></a></div>
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A low carb. high fat diet is the way to a healthy life, I know I'm on one. </div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07916016432908322902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12674103.post-26223213908232405712014-04-21T19:27:00.000+00:002014-04-24T08:14:18.875+00:00Carbohydrate Intake During ExerciseI'm sure you all know that in order to maintain your ability to run or cycle over 90 minutes you must intake carbohydrates. Certain companies who supply carbohydrate powders and gels would like you to take up to 90g per hour.<br />
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I'm no expert but I do like to experiment with my training and nutrition. Since October 27th 2013 I have been mostly on a Low Carb High Fat LCHF Diet.<br />
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It's great ! Initially on exercise days I ate more carbs especially on days with long and/or strenuous cycles. Lately I have been reducing the amount of carbohydrates consumed on exercise days.<br />
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For example, I would consume around 50g carbs on a non exercise days and up to the government guideline amount of 300g on a workout day. ( <span style="color: red;">WARNING: If you follow the governments advice on Carbohydrate intake, you WILL get fat !</span> )<br />
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Now it's around 150g or less more when exercising. I don't even bother with the essential post workout carb intake. I just have protein.<br />
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Lets go straight in and look what I did at the weekend.<br />
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A 4 hours cycle over 100km<br />
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You can see average heart rate is 149 BPM, for me this is classed asTempo (Zone 3)as per my LTHR zones.<br />
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My effort was averaged out as 139 watts which is Endurance ( Zone 2 ). There's always a wee bit of crossover here depending on other factors.<br />
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Anyway after 90min I really should have been tucking away up to 90g carbs to keep my muscles going right ? Well no.<br />
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What I had was one scoop of High 5 2:1 Energy Source in each 750ml drinks bottle which lasted me the whole four hours. Each serving ( which is two scoops ) provides 44g carbohydrate. So I only consumed 11g per hour. No cramp, no exhaustion.<br />
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Ah, maybe I just scraped home before my carb supply ran out. Well luckily I have been monitoring my blood glucose during this experimental period. If I have two Weetabix ( under 30g carbs ) for breakfast my blood glucose after two hours in around 5.5-5.8 m/mol. Immediately after this ride it was 5.8 m/mol.<br />
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Wait a minute, if I had consumed all those recommended carbs I would have done a much better job right ?<br />
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Let's see.<br />
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Trust me, that's the same ride from three weeks ago. Shows how accurate the Garmin is when you look at the Km. Anyway, I knocked 10 minutes off the ride time and with a lower heart rate and power output than in this one.</div>
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Food for thought, so long as you keep your carbs lo :)</div>
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#LCHF</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07916016432908322902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12674103.post-8734110184492664292014-03-18T20:24:00.000+00:002014-03-20T02:40:23.347+00:00Using A Power Meter: Power Curve.In my effort to combat the effects of arthritis I had managed to overcome the knee pain hurdle by slowly increasing my cycling distance and intensity. I also had a cortisone injection !<br>
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Having made some good gains cycling outdoors I could see myself losing this initial fitness during the winter so bought a turbo trainer and joined Trainer Road. Full details of this are <a href="http://highlandmist.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/latest-training-aid-virtual-power-v.html">HERE.</a></div>
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The decision to buy a power meter was made easier with the introduction of the Stages Power Meter, why ? Price. I did consider the Powertap G3 hub, but the hassle of having to get it built into my wheel put me off, it would have meant a week of missed training with me driving to our NOT LOCAL bike shop.</div>
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So now I've used power for training, what next.</div>
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The other thing Trainer Road does with my data is that it builds up a power curve. It uses the power I am able to produce over given time periods.</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QDLJBVejsbY/UyinvnSAu7I/AAAAAAAASd0/5GgU1u8ddBM/s1600/TRcurve.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QDLJBVejsbY/UyinvnSAu7I/AAAAAAAASd0/5GgU1u8ddBM/s1600/TRcurve.jpg" height="302" width="640"></a></div>
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It builds a graph with this data. All the above data has been gathered during my training sessions which have been Sweetspot Intermediate Base 1. I won't show you the program, you'll have to join Trainer Road.</div>
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I also use Strava, and the premium version will also build a power curve for you. I upload my Trainer Road workouts to Strava but I can also include my outdoor rides.</div>
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Today I went out and did a 30 second all out sprint, and then a 5 minute paced effort, they were both on uphill Strava segments.</div>
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http://app.strava.com/activities/121733658</div>
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You can see three of my attempts on this segment. Position 3 and 2 were last year when I had started building my strength outdoors. In October I beat my September result by pushing the lap button and trying to beat my previous speed.</div>
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I achieved my fastest time yesterday by pushing the lap button and simply looking at the Watts I was producing. Time and speed were not an issue, I knew it would be 5 or so minutes and what wattage I hoped to produce.</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-trzBl2PtLVY/Uyk-VXSBDfI/AAAAAAAASek/eefXvLK6bWE/s1600/strategyMyresults.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-trzBl2PtLVY/Uyk-VXSBDfI/AAAAAAAASek/eefXvLK6bWE/s1600/strategyMyresults.jpg" height="216" width="640"></a></div>
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Overall on the segment this gave me a pretty good result.</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6inrSvNMW2g/Uyk-k3G_t7I/AAAAAAAASes/31vPkXLlnu8/s1600/strategyFull.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6inrSvNMW2g/Uyk-k3G_t7I/AAAAAAAASes/31vPkXLlnu8/s1600/strategyFull.jpg" height="368" width="640"></a></div>
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I did well, segment wise and I also gleaned valuable power information. I actually paced the 5 minute effort, based on recent efforts so that I didn't blow up halfway into the 5 minutes.</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jWN4D8IFVYk/UyiqvUJ54gI/AAAAAAAASeA/Pm08TecCvEw/s1600/stravapower.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jWN4D8IFVYk/UyiqvUJ54gI/AAAAAAAASeA/Pm08TecCvEw/s1600/stravapower.jpg" height="370" width="640"></a></div>
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I now know that I should be able to maintain 267 watts over 5 minutes.</div>
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The Strava curve also gives you Watts/Kg.</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KB-i6A1G6N8/Uyirz2nbnoI/AAAAAAAASeI/NyZi46QZTyQ/s1600/wattsKg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KB-i6A1G6N8/Uyirz2nbnoI/AAAAAAAASeI/NyZi46QZTyQ/s1600/wattsKg.jpg" height="370" width="640"></a></div>
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Now for comparison. My 4 w/Kg would make me CAT4. The pro riders are pushing out 6-7 w/Kg !</div>
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So to stand a chance I would have to increase my 5 minute power from 267 watts to 462 watts !!</div>
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After my training is done I'm going to be doing an FTP test, more about that later.</div>
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<br>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07916016432908322902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12674103.post-27138193734492820812014-03-13T20:11:00.000+00:002014-04-29T12:44:04.753+00:00What Do I Eat ?I got back into cycling at the end of last year. Read the full story about my arthritis <a href="http://highlandmist.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/the-fight-against-degenerative-knee-pain.html" target="_blank">HERE</a> and the motivational tools and training aids <a href="http://highlandmist.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/sport-tracks-strava-and-trainer-road.html" target="_blank">HERE</a><br />
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There is still a missing parameter in the fitness and health equation, my diet.<br />
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The word diet has all sorts of connotations and people have tried to get around this by saying, this is not a diet is a lifestyle ! Well, this is just the stuff I eat after a lot of research, several attempts at similar eating regimes and a little give and take I arrived at this.<br />
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It is to a large extent Low Carb High Fat. Yes, I'm a cyclist and I'm saying <a href="http://www.dietdoctor.com/lchf" target="_blank">LCHF </a>! Also see bottom of page for info.<br />
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That may sound crazy, Carbs are your easy fuel, to cycle you need to eat as much as possible right ? Well not really. Take a look at what I have eaten over the past few days. Now I don't usually track my food all the time, However I was away from home last week and ate the food in the Hotel so I'm just checking I'm back on track again.<br />
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Normal day with no planned workout would be something like this:<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OoK_y4rdXSA/UyIEr-CODXI/AAAAAAAASaY/1oMAzplLLW8/s1600/FridayNoEx.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OoK_y4rdXSA/UyIEr-CODXI/AAAAAAAASaY/1oMAzplLLW8/s1600/FridayNoEx.jpg" height="640" width="476" /></a></div>
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The food tracker is Fatsecret and I have set a RDI of 2200 calories. You can see the small amount of carbs consumed and fat eaten in it's place. What about the Protein I hear you ask ?</div>
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Well a recent article in Cycling Fitness by an Olympic Nutritionist suggests that over 35 years of age should consume 2g of Protein per Kg of body weight. <i>(Dr Sharon Madigan )</i></div>
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At 66kg - 67 Kg that's 132g. Having eaten that regularly over the last few months I'm pretty sure that most over 35's are NOT getting enough !</div>
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Anyway, onto a workout day. This was a 60 minute turbo session workout around the Sweetspot, see my <a href="http://highlandmist.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/sport-tracks-strava-and-trainer-road.html" target="_blank">Trainer Road blog.</a></div>
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Aye the good old Weetabix for breakfast, two hours before the training session, also there's the PhD ISO 7 drink post workout. I never even managed to get near the set RDI. I'm actually just eating to hunger, as I said I don't usually even track what I eat. Last Fridays 2225 calories may have been related to the fact that I ate quite a lot of carbs at the Hotel the day before. I have discovered that when you eat carbs it actually makes you hungrier throughout the day and the next day !</div>
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Tuesday and we are having a day off again. Few carbs and lots of lovely fat.</div>
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So what's eating all that fat done to my body and my fitness ? Well I have beaten all my Strava segment times from the past few years so I'm a lot fitter and have MORE muscle mass.</div>
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My cycling performance has increased. Here are my results for a local hill climb.</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tQ1PGhm4oY8/UyM81AWGdmI/AAAAAAAASb4/B9n2DJQ2D3A/s1600/tomich1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tQ1PGhm4oY8/UyM81AWGdmI/AAAAAAAASb4/B9n2DJQ2D3A/s1600/tomich1.jpg" height="640" width="606" /></a></div>
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I had been back cycling since August and only started my exercise and diet program at the end of October. I thought my September time was fast and that I would not easily beat it !</div>
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As for my weight and body fat, well here is the graph. I was 71Kg in October 2013 and 22.1% body fat.</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-X0vZ2AU3aQY/UyIEteoqSaI/AAAAAAAASaw/6S_7MlV1BKQ/s1600/weightgraph.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-X0vZ2AU3aQY/UyIEteoqSaI/AAAAAAAASaw/6S_7MlV1BKQ/s1600/weightgraph.jpg" height="236" width="640" /></a></div>
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Today I'm 66.4Kg and 18.4% body fat, the main thing is I feel great aswell ! Another great benefit is NO heartburn/indigestion. Over a year ago I was taking Ibuprofen and Paracetemol for my knee pain. I stopped because of an upset stomach but the indigestion continued all year until I started my new way of eating !</div>
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When I first started doing this along with cycling I had a lot more carbs before, during and after excercise. I have been cutting this back recently with no negative effects. As I continue to experiment I will take food or a gel out with me just in case I need it :)</div>
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I would just like to say a big thanks to <span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"><a href="http://www.dietdoctor.com/lchf" style="background-color: white; color: #666666;" target="_blank">Andreas Eenfeldt</a><span style="color: white;"> </span></span></div>
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It's nice to see some sense in a sea of diet confusion and stupidity !</div>
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If you want an excellent example of a self inflicted scientific study with proper control and all the data ( even more than me ) have a look at this. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqwvcrA7oe8" target="_blank">Peter Attia, experiment.</a></div>
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Another cycling and triathlon specific story can be found here <a href="http://thornefx.com/endurance-performance-high-fat-diet-bob-seebohars-account/" target="_blank">Bob Seebohar</a></div>
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Get fit and lose weight, there's no excuse. LCHF !</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07916016432908322902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12674103.post-50495594043413768012014-03-03T09:16:00.000+00:002014-03-18T19:38:50.596+00:00Stages Power Problems Timeline.This is a more concise version of events for those who don't want all the data, tests and pictures.<br />
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<a href="http://highlandmist.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/stages-power-meter-battery-drain.html" target="_blank">Full Report Here.</a><br />
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<span style="color: red;"> 8th February</span>. Used for indoor turbo trainer sessions. First battery lasted 7 hours. Replacement battery lasted around 5.5 hours.<br />
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With the third battery I did tests to make sure the ANT+ and Bluetooth were 'going to sleep' when the unit was not in use and concluded that they were, so something else is draining the battery.<br />
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<span style="color: red;">22nd February</span>. Meanwhile I had contacted stages Technical on and later posted a link to my blog report on their facebook page.<br />
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<span style="color: red;">25th Feb</span>. Stages' Evan Gaspar replies after reading my blog and says he will send out a new unit.<br />
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<span style="color: red;">6th March </span>Email from Saddleback saying my new Power Meter has been sent out.<br />
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<span style="color: red;">11 March</span> New Power Meter arrives, fitted in minutes. I will leave the battery in. Have an indoor session tomorrow and an outdoor on the 13th.<br />
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<span style="color: red;">18 March</span> After a week and several rides and workouts I used the Stages App to check the device and the battery was still showing full :) Happy days.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07916016432908322902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12674103.post-5650763913133866532014-02-23T13:40:00.003+00:002014-12-20T21:17:09.685+00:00Stages Power Meter Battery Drain !<h3 style="clear: both;">
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If your don't want to read the whole thing then hit the link below for the very short summary.</h3>
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<span style="color: red;"><a href="http://oldgitsfitness.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/stages-power-meter-simple-timeline.html" target="_blank">Updates and complete timeline now here.</a></span></h3>
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I have contacted Stages to see if they can help as I'm in the UK and the unit was purchased for me by a friend in Colorado Springs.</div>
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I emailed Stages Technical about the problem on 22-Feb-2014.</div>
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Well the first battery lasted for a total of 7 hours riding time. I didn't panick at this stage although it had not quite achieved the claimed 200 hours !<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-x1FYm7QbxWY/Uwn7yR8a7qI/AAAAAAAASPk/q0bU_hkt2Mk/s1600/2014-02-23_134530.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-x1FYm7QbxWY/Uwn7yR8a7qI/AAAAAAAASPk/q0bU_hkt2Mk/s1600/2014-02-23_134530.jpg" height="118" width="320" /></a></div>
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I replaced the battery with new one. It lasted around 5 hours. The third Duracell is being taken out when not in use.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ELN6khXS-Aw/UwoWvnUAbII/AAAAAAAASRI/FxCH8nSif-Q/s1600/IMG_20140223_143148.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ELN6khXS-Aw/UwoWvnUAbII/AAAAAAAASRI/FxCH8nSif-Q/s1600/IMG_20140223_143148.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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The sad thing is that Stages haven't made an Android app so I have to take my bike to an iPad user to get the data. If there was an Android app I would leave the battery in and check it throughout the day.<br />
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Duracell battery put in the day before but removed overnight.<br />
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My firmware is up to date 2.0.38</div>
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I don't see the point of the zero reset, it merely shows you a figure and doesn't reset anything to zero !</div>
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Don't know what the slope or DPOT values are for.</div>
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I have discovered that the earlier ones shipped to the UK had similar problems.</div>
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<a href="http://www.tritalk.co.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?t=93866" target="_blank">Tri Talk Forum</a> and here <a href="http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=40013&t=12953022&hilit#p18671621" target="_blank">Bike Radar Forum</a></div>
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I decided to perform a test on my 'unworthy' Android device as it does support Bluetooth 4 and so can see the power meter when its awake and transmitting. </div>
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Look at the times in the upper right. I had woken up the device in the first pic and then let it alone for ten minutes to put it back to sleep. You can then see me searching for it at 15:06 and it is not found after several attempts. I backed up this test with the Garmin Edge 500 and the same thing happened for ANT+.</div>
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I have decided to leave another battery in and check it tomorrow night if I can get access to an i-device.</div>
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It's now the next evening 24-Feb-2014 at 18:30 GMT.</div>
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No reply from Stages yet. I will link this blog on their Facebook page.</div>
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The battery has been in place for 30 hours but only two of those were spent cycling.</div>
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No access to an i-device tonight so lets try the Excellent Trainer Road.</div>
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Trainer Road attempts to find Stages Power Meter.</div>
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Nothing happens. Also nothing on the Garmin Edge 500. I remove and check the battery on a battery meter which says the voltage is good so I replace it.</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Vq7yb3USCKk/UwujHJX8f0I/AAAAAAAASSM/67W8ib4W_Hs/s1600/2014-02-24_191949.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Vq7yb3USCKk/UwujHJX8f0I/AAAAAAAASSM/67W8ib4W_Hs/s1600/2014-02-24_191949.jpg" height="320" width="310" /></a></div>
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I get something but the signal goes from good to poor to bad. I'm going to leave it for another day, this time in the house.</div>
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Here is what I hope will be the penultimate update. I arrived home tonight to do my 1 hour turbo session. I had left the bike in the house overnight. I got ready, put on Trainer Road which detected my HR monitor. Then I spun the crank and Trainer road detected the Power Meter.</div>
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Got on the bike to start the workout and NOTHING, battery out battery in still NOTHING. Removed battery replaced with another new one and away we go, no problem. I later tested both batteries on a simple good/bad battery meter and they both moved the needle to the same good position. I'm baffled.</div>
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The good thing is I got a very good and detailed response from Evan at Stages who is going to send outa new one. That's why I hope I'll only be making one more update to the blog :)</div>
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<a href="http://oldgitsfitness.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/stages-power-meter-simple-timeline.html" target="_blank">Updates and complete timeline now here.</a></h3>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07916016432908322902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12674103.post-55429404564826240422014-02-18T19:10:00.000+00:002014-02-18T19:10:06.423+00:00Latest Training Aid. Virtual Power v PowerWhat can I say. I love using my turbo trainer now ! Yes. I sold two in the past because it's soul destroying, boring as hell.<br />
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<span style="color: red;"><b>Now it's great. </b></span>The reason is <a href="http://highlandmist.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/sport-tracks-strava-and-trainer-road.html" target="_blank">Trainer Road. </a><br />
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I mentioned this before in my last blog so hit the above link if you haven't got beta on it yet.<br />
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I started off using Virtual Power to determine my FTP and all subsequent workouts were based on this. My Training plan was the <a href="http://www.trainerroad.com/cycling/plans/category/1-sweet-spot-base" target="_blank">Intermediate Base 1</a> a six week program working on the 'sweetspot' range of power output.<br />
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I got on well with this program with obvious improvements out in the real world. I did however notice that it wasn't quite right. I had been lazy with the bike setup. I should have checked my tyre pressure on the rear wheel to make sure that everytime i connected it to the turbo trainer the same amount of resistence was being generated. In reality the slow loss of air was making my workouts easier !! When I noticed I re inflated the tyre to over 100 psi and found that my FTP was actually much lower than I had thought.<br />
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Before this though I had already made the decision to get a more accurate view of my power, one that didn't care about tyre pressure, one I could use out on the road. I ordered a power meter.<br />
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I settled on the <a href="http://www.stagescycling.com/stagespower" target="_blank">Stages power mete</a>r, I had to wait a month as they were out of stock. Many thanks to my friend and fellow cyclist John Macleod for facilitating the acquisition of the power meter.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nwTmvxTfm60/Ut46yLXleSI/AAAAAAAAR7A/7a-Skfk9R5E/s1600/20140120_194612_Brodie+Grove_resized.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nwTmvxTfm60/Ut46yLXleSI/AAAAAAAAR7A/7a-Skfk9R5E/s1600/20140120_194612_Brodie+Grove_resized.jpg" height="179" width="320" /></a></div>
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The above one is on the bike of Richie Porte of Team Sky, they can't be that bad then I hear you say ?</div>
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The upshot is that my <i>REAL</i> FTP is 191, I'm more or less a beginner again :) I have restarted the six week Intermediate Base 1 program. I'm in week 2.</div>
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I have noticed that the Power Meter is very sensitive and its a lot harder to be bang on the power demanded by the workout. Even though I have reset my FTP, the workouts feel a wee bit harder. I immediately noticed that it was harder to achieve the low power 'warm up' and 'recovery' wattage. Needless to say I'm glad I went back to Base 1 and didn't plough into Base 2 !</div>
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Here's an example of the same workout, the first is using Virtual Power and the second is done with the Power Meter.</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zV4KVV8k7V4/UwOoor4akyI/AAAAAAAASMg/v8GR69Hf8_I/s1600/EricWithVirtual.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zV4KVV8k7V4/UwOoor4akyI/AAAAAAAASMg/v8GR69Hf8_I/s1600/EricWithVirtual.jpg" height="378" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GaPbJLYai4Q/UwOo2EXxO0I/AAAAAAAASMo/9SbFfunffbc/s1600/EricWithStages.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GaPbJLYai4Q/UwOo2EXxO0I/AAAAAAAASMo/9SbFfunffbc/s1600/EricWithStages.jpg" height="382" width="640" /></a></div>
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You can claerly see the 'shakier' plot of power with the second picture.</div>
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Now lets examine the heart rates. Remember the FTP has been adjusted down from 251 virtual to 191 power meter.</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AyBq-ZhMjPU/UwOqB2q8ceI/AAAAAAAASM0/eSv3fKFuFLA/s1600/virtualHeart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AyBq-ZhMjPU/UwOqB2q8ceI/AAAAAAAASM0/eSv3fKFuFLA/s1600/virtualHeart.jpg" height="180" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-X8B7Hl1KiUQ/UwOqLTvXp1I/AAAAAAAASM8/W-F5XVPN3AM/s1600/stagesheart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-X8B7Hl1KiUQ/UwOqLTvXp1I/AAAAAAAASM8/W-F5XVPN3AM/s1600/stagesheart.jpg" height="182" width="640" /></a></div>
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It's perfectly clear that I'm running a higher heart rate in the second (power meter) picture. Remember this is a sweetspot workout, admittedly power orientated, but I feel that the HR results than in the first ( Virtual ) picture are far too low.</div>
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So there you have it. I have heard a lot of people say that the results they have had with Virtual power match up pretty good with the power meter but, maybe it's my lazy attitude to setting up, it didn't really work out for me. All was not in vain, as I said, I still made improvements out on the road and trail with vitual power.</div>
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I'm looking forward to the next 4 weeks of the program but most of all getting back out to test myself on some Strava segments in a month :)</div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07916016432908322902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12674103.post-6806565321269279972014-01-19T16:01:00.002+00:002014-01-22T09:20:52.340+00:00Sport Tracks, Strava and Trainer Road<div>
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If you want to record and analyse your bicycle rides or runs, you'll need some sort of GPS enabled device. I have a <a href="https://buy.garmin.com/en-GB/GB/sports/running/forerunner-310xt/prod27335.html" target="_blank">Garmin Forerunner</a>. After my ride I can upload this to my PC and analyse the data using <a href="http://www.zonefivesoftware.com/" target="_blank">Sport Tracks.</a><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gE2YNjCp4UE/UtvoxRNc9RI/AAAAAAAAR4k/SZc3vrJweZk/s1600/SportOverview.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gE2YNjCp4UE/UtvoxRNc9RI/AAAAAAAAR4k/SZc3vrJweZk/s1600/SportOverview.jpg" height="337" width="640" /></a></div>
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Here is my last ride up a local hill called Fyrish. Whilst out on the trail you can hit the lap button, but you can also add the lap positions using SportTracks. I also have a record of my heart rate and what zones my heart rate was in throughout. This particular ride has some tough parts which would have been spent in Zone 4 and 5.</div>
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Here's the profile of the ride which also shows the grade in percent and my heart rate.</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EC37ZrAtYwo/UtkyvtUfwtI/AAAAAAAAR2s/Yzh8vqv-hxY/s1600/Fyrish+16-01-2014%252C+Elevation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EC37ZrAtYwo/UtkyvtUfwtI/AAAAAAAAR2s/Yzh8vqv-hxY/s1600/Fyrish+16-01-2014%252C+Elevation.jpg" height="384" width="640" /></a></div>
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There's also a section where you can generate reports and charts of your rides. Here's a nice one showing what heart rate zones I spent my time in during 2013.</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-b_iA2EMCeWA/Utvquhoj4II/AAAAAAAAR4w/I0W5KIS__Fk/s1600/Total+distance.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-b_iA2EMCeWA/Utvquhoj4II/AAAAAAAAR4w/I0W5KIS__Fk/s1600/Total+distance.png" height="384" width="640" /></a></div>
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You can also get plugins which extend the useability into whatever analyses you want. One I have discovered recently is training load. A wonderful visual interpretation of your training. This extra plugin is $12.</div>
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What you get here is basically, Blue = Fitness Red = Fatigue Green = the balance between the two. The orange spikes are my workouts and cycles. You can see how my fitness has progressed since September and my week off at Christmas time.</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PWRnOVAV3Hk/UtjGFDMlqCI/AAAAAAAAR18/BYuoBrFH5Uo/s1600/Training+Load+2014-01-17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PWRnOVAV3Hk/UtjGFDMlqCI/AAAAAAAAR18/BYuoBrFH5Uo/s1600/Training+Load+2014-01-17.jpg" height="384" width="640" /></a></div>
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The full version of Sport Tracks is now $35, it was cheaper many years ago. There is no subscription just a one off payment.<br />
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<h3>
Strava</h3>
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You can also upload your rides to Strava. They have a bot that will automatically highlight an interesting part of your ride and make it into a segment. This could be a hill. Anyone else who rides that hill will be added to the leaderboard.</div>
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The good thing is, you can also make your own segments so if they missed your favorite offroad hill climb or downhill you can just add it yourself.</div>
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<a href="http://app.strava.com/activities/106730245" target="_blank">Here is Strava's representation of the same ride I showed in sporttracks.</a></div>
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You can see the list of all the segments I covered on the ride.</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZCPjbJkV_vI/Utvv1A5WtAI/AAAAAAAAR5A/353DEn6xqSw/s1600/Strava.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZCPjbJkV_vI/Utvv1A5WtAI/AAAAAAAAR5A/353DEn6xqSw/s1600/Strava.jpg" height="420" width="640" /></a></div>
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This is the Car Park To Monument segment. It's the biggest hill climb on the ride.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ysG-IdLQGsw/Utv0pmtukyI/AAAAAAAAR5c/VVHfqWCgE1g/s1600/StravaList.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ysG-IdLQGsw/Utv0pmtukyI/AAAAAAAAR5c/VVHfqWCgE1g/s1600/StravaList.jpg" height="528" width="640" /></a></div>
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Strava can also provide more in depth analyses based on your power meter reading and heart rate but you have to pay for them and there not as good as the the Sport Tracks tools. </div>
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<h3>
Trainer Road</h3>
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This is my latest discovery and a real help if you struggle with the boredom of indoor Turbo sessions.</div>
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For six dollars a month you get structured sigle workouts or whole workout plans lasting several weeks, you can even make your own workouts and add in video workouts from the likes of Sufferfest !</div>
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Set the bike on the trainer, plug in your ANT+ dongle pick a workout and away you go.</div>
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The plans are based on your personal LTHR or FTP, this is basically the amount of power you are capable of delivering over a period of time. If you don't know it, then sit there fitness test, The Rubber Glove.</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QnQOxmC2Hzg/UtvzTVOg3GI/AAAAAAAAR5Q/EX9oqlB7UGw/s1600/Rubber.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QnQOxmC2Hzg/UtvzTVOg3GI/AAAAAAAAR5Q/EX9oqlB7UGw/s1600/Rubber.jpg" height="412" width="640" /></a></div>
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From that moment forward ALL your workouts will be derived from your FTP. Power readings can be taken from your chosen power meter or derived from virtualPower, that is related to the speed of your Turbo Trainer. This is very dependent on your turbo set up and tyre pressure, consistency is the key.</div>
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Heres a quick view of some of my workouts whilst following a program based around threshold power.</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yLP2tDbCKi8/Utv2JzAnOGI/AAAAAAAAR5o/CvO0sIXNLgI/s1600/workouts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yLP2tDbCKi8/Utv2JzAnOGI/AAAAAAAAR5o/CvO0sIXNLgI/s1600/workouts.jpg" height="558" width="640" /></a></div>
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Whilst training you can have Netflix or Youtube running on screen. Or you can choose a <a href="http://www.thesufferfest.com/" target="_blank">Sufferfest</a> video to ride along with. They have one for rubberglove. The videos are perfectly synced and start when you start pedaling.</div>
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All of the above tools help me to stay motivated and when I'm not out or on the Turbo Trainer I can spend hours analysing my rides :)</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07916016432908322902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12674103.post-8223808639652370752014-01-19T14:51:00.000+00:002014-01-19T14:51:52.887+00:00The Fight Against Degenerative Knee PainOver the years I have enjoyed many outdoor pursuits from running to rock climbing. I have had some minor knee issues since the mid nineties but always overcame them. The knee pain started getting the better of me in the mid noughties accompanied by shoulder and thumb pains.<br />
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Several visits to the physio later we realized the knee problems were of a degenerative nature, basically arthritis.</div>
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Here's a look at how my cycling was affected after managing to get back on the bike and put in some mileage in 2008 then suffering constant pain and swelling over the next few years.</div>
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All this time ( since 2008 ) I had been using a piece of software called <a href="http://www.zonefivesoftware.com/" target="_blank">Sport Track</a>s to record my rides, this is done by taking a GPS device and in my case a heart rate monitor on all the rides.</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LzAq-N_zwfg/UpHtQsc3JRI/AAAAAAAARaE/ixyxVqm6xx8/s1600/2013+-+1" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LzAq-N_zwfg/UpHtQsc3JRI/AAAAAAAARaE/ixyxVqm6xx8/s1600/2013+-+1" height="320" width="192" /></a></div>
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I hate to be a plot spoiler but you may have noticed that something happened in 2013 ! Well lets just see how bad it got by looking at the record I kept that year. The daftest thing like bending the knee too much whilst crouching down would results in a wee of limping and my knee swelling up up like a football !</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nTv2KbF0g3s/UtvbZGubvAI/AAAAAAAAR4I/3RLBecWaWwU/s1600/Screenshot_2014-01-19-13-59-54.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nTv2KbF0g3s/UtvbZGubvAI/AAAAAAAAR4I/3RLBecWaWwU/s1600/Screenshot_2014-01-19-13-59-54.png" height="320" width="192" /></a></div>
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I tried to cycle more in 2013 and it did seem to help a little, sometimes my knee was so swollen that I cimply couldn't turn the cranks. Running had been completely abandoned after even the shortest run left me crippled.</div>
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I slowly increased my cycling mileage but I was still in a lot of pain and could not stand on the pedals, I needed a wee boost to help me out so arranged for a cortisone injection in September 2013.</div>
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Eureka. Cue the mileage increase, the fitness increase and the muscle increase !</div>
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I re-discovered <a href="http://app.strava.com/athletes/834203" target="_blank">Strava</a>. The first time I tried it I wasn't sure that racing on certain segments every time I went out was going to be enjoyable, but now it was the perfect training motivation for me. I uploaded GPX files that I had from 2008 and tried to beat my times. I would just take it easy on the non segmented parts and go all out on a segment. My mileage (Km) increased.</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kf-XG4EKdgU/UpHtQhWOe2I/AAAAAAAARaQ/yjcPDW6nowg/s1600/2013+-+2" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kf-XG4EKdgU/UpHtQhWOe2I/AAAAAAAARaQ/yjcPDW6nowg/s1600/2013+-+2" height="320" width="192" /></a></div>
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I knew the cycling was working and helping to keep the pain and swelling away even though the effectiveness of the injection must have been slowly wearing off. I needed something else to make sure I could cycle with the winter weather approaching.<br />
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I needed a Turbo Trainer. I had one years before and sold it as it was so boring cycling in the house. I then discovered <a href="http://www.trainerroad.com/career/highlandmist" target="_blank">Trainer Road</a>. This is an excellent online tool with workouts and full programs.<br />
<br />
All this time ( since 2008 ) I had been using a piece of software called <a href="http://www.zonefivesoftware.com/" target="_blank">Sport Tracks</a> to record my rides, this is done by taking a GPS device and in my case a heart rate monitor on all the rides.<br />
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All of the above, Sport Tracks, Strava and Trainer Road have helped me in my battle, there's also the work on the road and trail but that's the fun part.<br />
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Its now January. I have minor niggles and can still feel pain whilst cycling or even walking down the stairs, but its nowhere near as bad as it was and I don't have the frequent swelling to deal with anymore.<br />
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I'm still beating my times on Strava segments from 2008.<br />
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I'll do a separate, more in depth blog on the above tools and how they can be used together to keep you cycling.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07916016432908322902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12674103.post-12365612361587338462013-09-03T14:29:00.002+00:002013-09-03T14:29:56.551+00:00Recent Cycles.<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="454" scrolling="no" src="http://app.strava.com/athletes/834203/latest-rides/53c98cac488018fc280d13b7df535e50424a1839" width="300"></iframe>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07916016432908322902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12674103.post-51948662647191905062013-08-30T05:04:00.001+00:002013-08-30T05:07:25.944+00:00Orange Dolphin PAYG - Credit Theft and Other Scams.I had been with Vodafone for several years but their refusal to offer 3g in my area led me to but an Orange sim on PAYG Dolphin.<br />
I bought this on 15th June 2013 and monitored it closely using the online account.<br />
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When you top up with £10 you get 1gb of data and 400 texts to use in a month.<br />
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Pretty soon things went a bit funny. I had checked my account online in the morning, and sent out some texts in the afternoon. I had £8.51 credit in the morning but not enough credit to send the texts. I checked online to find 11p.<br />
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I tried to phone customer services but, of course, didn't have any credit. To cut a long story short it took two weeks of correspondence with the Orangehelpers on twitter to sort it out and get my money back.<br />
It was a 'Technical Glitch'.<br />
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READ THIS FROM THE BOTTOM TO THE TOP<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1F_apTUqhsI/UiAkcdMtnbI/AAAAAAAAQ6w/zLgdbUiinXQ/s1600/photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1F_apTUqhsI/UiAkcdMtnbI/AAAAAAAAQ6w/zLgdbUiinXQ/s640/photo.jpg" width="384" /></a></div>
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I had tried customer services who said they would contact me but never did !</div>
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The next time I wanted to top up I saw this great way to do it on my online account. Pay £50 and Orange will automatically top up £10 a month for 6 months, which is £8.33 a month and I get my monthly data and text benfits without any fuss ! Great.</div>
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It's the Ready Deal 50 in the box on the right.</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4pQA93P6DA0/UiAlbKlczxI/AAAAAAAAQ68/8uIPlwyeQ9g/s1600/orange+lockout.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="313" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4pQA93P6DA0/UiAlbKlczxI/AAAAAAAAQ68/8uIPlwyeQ9g/s640/orange+lockout.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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All is not what it seems with Orange. After paying the £50 I got a text saying I had topped up £50, had 3gb data and would need to top up next month for free data and texts. In other words it was treated as a normal £50 top up. Over to orangehelpers again.</div>
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They agreed that I had got the deal details correct.<br />
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READ THESE FROM THE BOTTOM UP<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pb29iQ0dKIo/UiAmDxwk8vI/AAAAAAAAQ7M/5khLsulIt7s/s1600/Screenshot_2013-08-29-19-09-05.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pb29iQ0dKIo/UiAmDxwk8vI/AAAAAAAAQ7M/5khLsulIt7s/s400/Screenshot_2013-08-29-19-09-05.jpg" width="240" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eSpVnyytGik/UiAmEMF3y-I/AAAAAAAAQ7Q/uQdGlniMqNM/s1600/Screenshot_2013-08-29-19-09-19.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eSpVnyytGik/UiAmEMF3y-I/AAAAAAAAQ7Q/uQdGlniMqNM/s400/Screenshot_2013-08-29-19-09-19.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aw3sd170TW0/UiAmEnp45fI/AAAAAAAAQ7g/6f3qUa3D68k/s1600/Screenshot_2013-08-29-19-09-34.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aw3sd170TW0/UiAmEnp45fI/AAAAAAAAQ7g/6f3qUa3D68k/s640/Screenshot_2013-08-29-19-09-34.jpg" width="384" /></a></div>
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Basically the offer on my online account page was a trap to get me to spend £50. They said I was not eligible for the offer and that to get it I would have to take a new new phone number and a new account !!!! WTF.</div>
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They were quite happy to take my money and have not offered to refund it !</div>
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False advertising anyone ?</div>
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Oh and I still get this text whenever I top up £10 and get my free data and texts.</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GeAnIQfBYDI/UiAmDt7vxvI/AAAAAAAAQ7U/b6nZukHul5U/s1600/Screenshot_2013-07-19-18-02-31.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GeAnIQfBYDI/UiAmDt7vxvI/AAAAAAAAQ7U/b6nZukHul5U/s640/Screenshot_2013-07-19-18-02-31.png" width="384" /></a></div>
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TWATS !</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07916016432908322902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12674103.post-89375944030666656762013-07-05T16:41:00.000+00:002013-07-05T16:41:06.434+00:00Do Orange Steal Your Credit ?On 15th June I decided to try an Orange PAYG sim in my phone. I went for the Dolphin option as advised by the shop assistant. I topped up with £10 credit there and then which gave me 400 texts and 1GB of data.<br />
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I don't make many calls and changing to Orange would give me 3G where I live so I could take advantage of the data :)<br />
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I removed my Vodafone sim and started using the Orange one. Everything was lovely. I set up my online account so that I could keep a close eye on my new account.<br />
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On Monday 24th June I still had £8.51 credit, everything was going fine. That evening I decided to let some of my friends know I had a new number. I sent five texts and then received a text from Orange informing me that I didn't have enough credit !!<br />
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Checking online my credit had gone down to 11p ! I looked at my usage and there were not any charges ?<br />
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I had to insert my Vodafone sim to contact Orange customer support as I needed credit to phone them. They said they would check in 24hrs and text me back. In the meantime I topped up another £10 on Orange. No text came from customer support so I contacted @orangehelpers on twitter.<br />
They needed an additional 72 hrs. I contacted them again and they conformed I had not used the credit and elevated my concerns.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DU8bZ4-cQzM/UdGvR2ZNfFI/AAAAAAAAP1Y/J6X5Dv2iOuo/s1600/photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DU8bZ4-cQzM/UdGvR2ZNfFI/AAAAAAAAP1Y/J6X5Dv2iOuo/s640/photo.jpg" width="384" /></a></div>
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Its now July 7th, I have heard nothing but there's been a development. I am no longer able to track my usage. When I log into my account it's grey, I cannot click on anything. I have been locked out !<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-B76hz0mQUpk/Udb2y1iIrnI/AAAAAAAAQAw/_WxY81zpUDk/s1600/orange+lockout.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="313" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-B76hz0mQUpk/Udb2y1iIrnI/AAAAAAAAQAw/_WxY81zpUDk/s640/orange+lockout.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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I wonder how often this happens and whether people just keep topping up regardless ?Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07916016432908322902noreply@blogger.com0