3 Month Check Up.

We've had a busy week, or so. Last weekend we had a birthday party for Kirsten and the other eight babies from our NCT (National Childbirth Trust) group. We all had a lovely afternoon, with party games (for the adults) and soft play for the kids. Kirsten is teething again, so our sleep is a bit disturbed at the moment, last night she kept us awake for three hours between 12:30 and 3:30. She has had another tooth come through and a second is very close, so, obviously causing her some discomfort. Added to this the fact that Kirsten only wants me during the night, means, that noone is getting much sleep at the moment.

The low point of the last few weeks was definitely yesterday. We went to BCH for Kirsten's three month post op check. We were under the assumption that this was mearly a formality, as she has been doing so well. Unfortunately during the scan Dr. Stumper found that the artery from her heart to her right lung is restrictive (we knew after the operation that there was a slight restriction to her right lung) and causing the blood to back flow into her heart. This, unfortunately, means she will need another operation in March to widen the artery. This operation will not be as major as the previous one, as it's not open heart surgery this time. She will need to have a catheter inserted and a balloon used to expand the artery to reduce the restriction. This all sounds very straight forward, and we have been told not to worry about it, as it's not urgent, but, it has brought us all down a bit and put a dampner on things.

We are all looking forward to Christmas now. Kirsten loves all the lights and decorations and squeals every time she sees a Christmas tree. We will have fun next year when she is walking, I think the Christmas tree may get undecorated many times.

Training Week 7

Week seven of following Dr Palmer's training plan and I have successfully met my initial target weight of 79.9Kgs. I am still doing all my training on the turbo trainer, but, I am now increasing the duration again, this means I don't really have an opportunity to have an early night, which would be handy sometimes. I've also borrowed a speed and cadence sensor from Steve, so should have a measure of my improvement from the endurance training over the coming weeks.

So, next step in Dr Garry's training plan is to add a threshold training session once a week. Clearly this is going to hurt a lot more than the training I am used to, however, it's for a shorter duration. I will need to do this until January and then I will need to have another session with Dr Garry to readjust the training to better match my, hopefully, better cardiovascular fitness.

I still haven't managed to get back out onto the road to see what benefits the training is giving to my real pace. Hopefully I can get out for a ride before Christmas. If I'm able to ride endurance on the route to and from work, then I may start commuting again, as this would mean the training will have a smaller impact on my time at home and means I can go to bed earlier. Currently it's taking me nearly half an hour to drive to work due to the traffic queues caused by the high numbers of staff on site.

This is all great planning, but, currently the things I plan never work out that way, so, I'll just have to play it by ear and see what happens.

Even More Turbo Training

OK, so my posts are getting a bit predictable at the moment, but, I have had to work hard to improve my base fitness. I have spent the last two weeks slogging away on the turbo trainer. Slogging is definitely the word to describe it, even watching the TV isn't always enough to distract you from how slowly time goes by. In the last two weeks I've spent eight and a half hours on the turbo and burned five thousand calories.

Last week was a bit of a strange one as I had to work around Kirsten's first birthday on the Saturday and my birthday on the Wednesday. Training on the Monday and Tuesday was pretty hard, due, to lack of sleep and some long days out. However, everything seems to be back on track now and endurance zone training feels much more like I could ride for a lot longer. Just need to work out how to relieve the tightness from my knees during the longer sessions.

Entries for the Maratona are now closed and we are supposed to be included, but, we haven't appeared on the participants list. Apparently, this is to be expected since we are joining through Cycling Weekly, but, it would be nice to see our names on the entry list. I need to approach the company now to see if they are willing to sponsor the team with jerseys and transport.

More Turbo Training

I've now completed my third week of training follow Dr Garry Palmer's training plan and I'm feeling pretty good.
I completed three hours forty-five minutes this week (all on the turbo trainer). My cardiovascular fitness is clearly improving and I'm riding in a bigger gear at the same cadence, so I must be getting faster as well. Definitely need a ride out on the road now just to see the change in speed.

I've also lost more weight this week and I'm down to 80.8kg. I've still got another four weeks to reach my target of 79.9kg, so, that would appear to be achievable.
I've been training in the house for the last two sessions, which does mean I get a lot hotter, but, I can still spend time with Kate in the evenings.

I just need to work the Friday session up to an hour and a half over the next few weeks before the step up in training intensity at the start of December.

Second week of Training

Completed my second week of training. Have built up the time on the bike to an hour at a time.

The family have all had a viral throat infection, so I missed out on Tuesday's training. I then managed an hour on Wednesday, fifty minutes on Friday and an hour on Sunday. My weight is slowly decreasing, so getting into shape.

Training, Sportstest and Turbo Trainer

Been a bit busy, but, still managed to fit some training in last week, cycled to work last Tuesday. I needed to rest on Wednesday because I had a sportstest with Dr Garry Palmer on Thursday (along with the rest of the guys) to work out my optimum training zones. The test consisted of about 15 minutes of cycling at two different power outputs followed by a ramp test to check out max power. The initial stage of the test is supposed to be within your aerobic zone, however, I was running anaerobic from the start of the test which showed, not only how unfit I am, but also that I have been training at the wrong heart rate.
The ramp test showed I managed to output 231 Watts, which is a bit low, but not unexpected due to the length of time since I last did any proper exercise.

So, the result of the test showed I needed to take it easier for the next 6 weeks or so to be sure to improve my cardiovascular fitness and since I have to work hard to climb the hills on the way to and from work, this wasn't going to happen. So the answer was to get a turbo trainer.

The turbo turned up on Monday and is now set up in the garage. So far I have managed 45 minutes on Tuesday night and 30 minutes last night. According to my training schedule I need to do 45 minutes on Friday, which should be OK (if a little boring).

First Week of Training

Cycled to and from work three days last week and also managed a ride on Sunday. Training now in full swing. My heart rate has come down and moving speed is increasing. My legs are a bit tired at the moment when off the bike, but, seem to be better again once I'm moving.

Cycled 86 km, burned 2,500 Calories and managed to lose 3 Lbs in the process.

I have a Sports Test on Thursday with Dr. Garry Palmer, so should find out where my training zones should be. Back on the bike tomorrow and then a rest day on Wednesday.

First ride to work

Rode to work for the first time today. Not my longest ride, but, I do need to cycle home!
Here is the Garmin data

First Goal Achieved

Second training ride today, but, on a bike from this century! This was a hard ride, which was pretty much entirely down to the lack of power in my legs. Every little rise appeared to sap the strength and push my heart rate up. Although, it being one of the hottest October days on record didn't help either.

On the plus side I made it to the Chesterton Windmill which was the climb that finished me off on the previous ride. It also means I can now cycle to work, which will mean training won't eat into time with family as much .

Garmin data of the ride is here - Second training ride

I now need to get into more regular training.

Kirsten's Operation

Kirsten has now had her operation, is back home and doing well.

The operation took four and a half hours and went as planned. Carrying her down to theatre and then leaving her there asleep was the most difficult thing I have ever had to do. Finding things to do for the next four hours was very hard, we walked full circuits of each floor of the Bull Ring shopping centre both with our mobile phones in our hands, just in case.

When we finally got the call at seven minutes past one, we still didn't know if everything was OK. Seeing her lying on a big bed with so many wires and tubes sticking out of her wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. She spent twenty-four hours in PICU and was then transferred back to the ward and into the High Dependency Unit. She then spent forty-eight hours on HDU where she was weaned of oxygen and morphine.

After the first day on HDU, she was more alert and we could see our little girl coming back. She was then moved back onto the main ward where she improved daily. On Sunday (5 days after the operation) she had her chest drains removed and this made it much easier to pick her up and change her nappy.

The next day she was allowed to go home. It took about a week for her to get fully back to her normal self and get back to a normal sleep pattern.

There are photos of Kirsten before and after the operation at the following link (Not for the faint hearted).
Kirsten's operation photos

Update

We have a date for Kirsten's operation. She is due to be admitted to BCH on Monday the 12th September for her operation on the 13th. With all this going on I haven't done anymore training.

We have successfully managed to assemble a team of six victims, I mean volunteers, (including me) willing to suffer to raise money for the charity.

Thanks to Steve, Simon, Nick, Mark and Gavin for volunteering (although Steve and Nick didn't take much convincing), it is appreciated.

First Training Ride

Monday 29th August was my first training ride. After a minor mechanical issue when my chain came of on the first climb, I managed 10.35 miles in 51:58 minutes. I'm a bit disappointed with the result as it was a climb that finished me off. However, this is the first structured exercise since before the birth of my daughter and my first time on a bike for nearly twenty years, so things can only get better.