We came back from Corralejo, Fuerteventura, in early May 2023 so this month was a mixture of real-world cycling, virtual cycling and the occasional walk.
These are the stats:
May 2023 Stats
Activities: 29 Distance: 502.23 km Time: 22:12:12 Calories: 18,956
Moving on to weight, at the end of April I weighed 85kg but by the end of May I was down 2.9kg to 82.1kg with a low of 81.8kg.
April 2023 was spent in Corralejo, Fuerteventura, so that meant lots of real-world cycling and the occasional walk or hike during photoshoots/location scouting.
One downside was an ear infection needing a visit to the Centro Salud – which is still not properly sorted – that seemed to be going around friends and family.
Still, these are the stats:
April 2023 Stats
Activities: 28 Distance: 304.14 km Time: 18:27:44 Calories: 12,657
Moving on to weight, at the end of March I weighed 83.7kg but by the end of April I was up 1.3kg to 85kg due to family being out for 2 weeks plus my birthday meals. {sigh}
We were still out in Corralejo for the first half of August 2022.
Back in London, it was a case of hammering the cheapo indoor bike, thinking we’d buy a Peloton bike when we move to Surrey and have a bigger garage and separate gym. The Amazon special was OK, but I couldn’t stand up on it despite the Apple Fitness+ trainers suggesting I could.
And then a couple of things happened: a news article about Peloton’s losses being “an existential threat” made us think about whether a Peloton would be a good idea after all. They’re very expensive and rely on a paid subscription to Peloton if you want to do the guided rides (which I had really enjoyed in Big Sur). If they went bust, the screen would effectively be useless and the purpose of the really expensive bike would go with them.
I looked at what Apple recommended/were using for their Fitness+ workouts and they were Schwinn bikes. In the UK they’re supplied by – amongst others, I’m sure – Fitness Superstore and they had an offer on the Schwinn 800IC (formerly the IC8): already listed at half list price, they had an additional 10% off for the Bank Holiday weekend, so I pressed the button on one for delivery in early September.
Here are the stats for my 266km in August 2022:
July 2022 was spent out at our home in Corralejo, Fuerteventura.
This meant I could use the mountain bike I have out there for lots of bike rides and the occasional walk – rather than vice versa – and I racked up around 250km that month:
Back in June 2022, I was walking for fitness but was having a lot of pain in my bad knee, the one that I’d seen a consultant about back in 2012 who said I should stop running … before I ran the Berlin Marathon and a couple of half-marathons.
I had been recommended cycling, so was trying to introduce more of this into my training and then went to the USA in early June to do the Pacific Coast Highway. While we were there, I tried a Peloton fitness bike in a really expensive hotel we stayed at in Big Sur and started looking into buying one, just before seeing my consultant again.
He again recommended some weight loss and half an hour every day on a bicycle, with a recommendation for a cheap static bike. That got me into finally using Apple Fitness+ and 30 minute rides.
So, here are my stats for June 2022.
This morning I went for my first attempt at running since last October.
My Garmin f?nix 7S records or interpolates from the stride data/cadence when you’re running and when you’re walking which is useful.
In other blog news, I’ve long been sharing my Garmin Connect activities with Strava, so in the absence of ‘proper’ integration with Garmin Connect, I’ve added Strava’s activities list over there in the margin and a separate page up there at the top.
I’ve had a quick read of my running blog and I mention – but only in passing – the crash I had back in July 2019 that left me with “life-changing injuries”.
Since that other blog post with most of the details, I’ve had the rest of my little finger amputated (in December 2020) and I’m left with constant pain and a sufficient degree of disability to have qualified for a “blue badge” here in the UK. Part of the pain management has been for us to move for part of the year out to Corralejo on Fuerteventura, one of the Canary Islands off the coast of Morocco with its low rainfall and warm temperatures all year round, which definitely helps reduce the pain in my hand and pelvis.
It also means that I am more able to go for walks and cycle rides to try to loosen up my joints, lose weight (to lessen the duty on my pelvis/hips) and to work on my ‘wellness’ generally.
The aim is still to try to run but I try to avoid painkillers and running piles that pain on! So it’s a slow and steady race to reduce weight for less strain on my joints – my consultant years ago told me to avoid running because of my knee gradually wearing out – by exercising and eating healthily, especially as I hit 60 years old this year.
Out for a walk after working from home, but this time it’s from our new place in Corralejo.
Not a good year at all: lots of injuries and illnesses plus work getting in the way.
Over the course of the year, that showed by a weight gain of 2.6kg/5.7lbs.
I cycled 119km in May, June and August rather than trying to cycle regularly at the weekends.
My running was limited to just 121km and May’s total came purely from just the MK Half-Marathon.
Walking to and from work with the occasional weekend wandering led to a total of 666km, which wasn’t really “Beasting” it…
Must. Try. Harder.
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