Cycling is still easier... I think.

Because I'm going to do this big cycle ride I've been riding twice a week, more to get my butt used to the saddle more than anything else. But what has become quite clear to me again is that I find cycling a lot easier than running. I don't know why but I suspect that it's because while running you are continually lifting your body of the ground, energy that is expended which doesn't move you forward. Perhaps I run badly. With cycling all your effort goes into forward motion, so perhaps thats why it seems easier to me.

About the Great Mpumalanga Bike Ride that I'm doing early next month, I thought I'd give an over view for those of you who think I'm mad. I know the ride will be quite hilly, but considering we have an entire day to get to the next camp site, I hope I can take it slow enough not to be entirely exhausted at the end of every day. I'm sure the scenery will make up for the effort required to get from site to site. I'm going to try to keep a diary, which I might post when I get back.

The route is as follows:
Day 1 Saturday 5 April - Nelspruit to Sabie 45km
Day 2 Sunday - Sabie to Lydenberg 43km
Day 3 Monday - Lydenberg to Brandraai 62km
Day 4 Tuesday - Brandraai to Pilgrems Rest 77km
Day 5 Wednesday - Rest day at Pilgrims Rest, I think I might need this day!!
Day 6 Thursday - Pilgrims Rest to Hazy View 47km
Day 7 Friday - Hazy View to White River 38km
Day 8 Saturday - White River to Nelspruit 20km

Ok so now that I put it down like that and look at it... and look at it again I'm a bit scared!! But I think I'm pretty fit, if anything I'll just fall into bed every evening and sleep like I've never slept before. Oh and it's a camping trip so no terribly comfy bed... I think I'm going to invest in one of those expensive self inflatinf airmattresses.

I would have liked to take a GPS to record this, alas my GPS willl run out of juice after the first day. Perhaps I can rig up some kind of charger so I can record the route... and especially the contour!!

I'm sure this won't be my last post about this, I'm getting quite excited.

Week 9 Exercise Log

Felt a lot better this week, my lungs were clear and I didn't cough as much. I didn't go any faster but it felt easier, it also feels like it's been cooler the past few days, maybe that's why. I'm not sure if I posted about it yet, but I'm going to do the Great Mpumalanga Bike Ride next month. It is not a race, it's a tour of the countryside at a snails pace. Nevertheless, I feel I should at least get my butt used to sitting in a saddle again, so my alarm time has been changed to 5:30... I'm lucky if I can drag myself out of bed, and even when I do get out of bed and get dressed, it's very lucky if I don't go back to sleep for another "2 minutes". However on Wednesday I did manage to do 20 minutes on an exercise bike, and another 30 minutes on Thursday, and the plan is to do more on Sunday. Oh and I almost forgot this week I did the Deloitte Pretoria 10km Race

Monday 25 February 2008
Distance: 6km
Total time: 55:00
Intervals: 30/60
Pace: 8:59
Average HR: 129
Route: Lynwood

Wednesday 27 February 2008
Distance: 5.2km
Total time: 42:12
Intervals: 30/60
Pace: 8:18 min/km
Average HR: 150
Route: Death on tar... I mean Premier

Friday 29 February 2008
Rained out

Saturday 1 March 2008
Distance: 10km
Total time: 1:19
Intervals: Don't know
Pace: just under 8min/km
Average HR: Don't know
Route: Deloitte 10km