2011

Maybe we are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel,but it is a very long tunnel. Elaine went up to Auckland hospital two weeks ago where she was to get a pacemaker and then a cardiac ablation to cure her of her fibrillations. They were only able to put the pacemaker in place and will do the ablation in February. She was taken twice to hospital with her heart fibrillation the week before she went up to Auckland. Her illness has become very stressful for both of us.

She is back home now and the important thing is for her not to do anything stressful so I'm into making beds and some cooking hanging up washing.

I managed to get training sessions in over the last few weeks. Its just a matter of trying to maintain my fitness until I can get training properly again.The past year has been good in parts,being able to get in quite a bit of cycling but Elaine's ilness has been very energy draining.The nursery has been partially successfull,though in the last couple of months has been neglected. I don't know if it is because of the drought,the economy or perhaps we have just saturated the town with plants having sold in excess of 10000 in the last decade.The towns population is only 2000.The nursery is an important part of our lives.

I hope I'm on track for the 100k Flyer in April. All I need to do is increase my long rides,eventually up to 80ks. Last time I rode,which was three years ago, I was given a Timex Ironman watch for being one of the oldest riders. An older rider got a coffeemaker.

Well now into 2011. There seems so little time and er energy to do all I want and then I discovered a new law of relativity using Einstein's maths.I won't go into that. Few would understand anyway. It concerns the speed of time. viz. The speed of time is relative to the age of the observer. The older the observer the faster the speed of time.

The most important thing is to get Elaine well and fit again.

Second week in December 2010

This last week has been full of ups and downs.Tuesdays race was a real up for me as I beat three riders who had a month previously beaten me on the same course, and two others ahead of me are now within my sights. I feel my two long rides have paid off.Then on Thursday buoyed up by my success I had a really good hill interval training period. Friday saw me doing a very heavy job in the garden finishing off a little private patio at the back of the house and clearing away several wheelbarrow loads of paving stones. I did it to surprise Elaine who had been taken to hospital twice in the week.The picture of the patio garden is just to brighten things up.

Well I suppose something had to give in the end. I planned to have a long ride on Saturday but it turned out to be a real dismal affair. I was lethargic and just had no energy at all. I managed just thirty two ks. stopping several times for no reason at all. I suppose I had just overdone it during the week and was upset about Elaine's continuing illness.

The Polar RS300X Heart Rate Monitor is working exceptionally well. I was able to record my eight hill lap intervals and then download them to my computer and had a printout. You can see the eight laps and the rest periods in between,showing my average HR for each lap and the HR at the end of each lap. Unfortunately it does not show the Maximum HR for each lap which occurs just a few seconds after the lap is completed. It is usually about three beats higher than the HR at the end of the lap. It also shows how my HR gradually increases with each lap. It is very difficult to do each lap in exactly the same time, so it is not possible to compare each training session but maybe in the long run I will be able to see a trend.

Working out can help you look and feel younger

When I was in my fifties I told a friend that as you get older you must exercise more not less. I have kept this in mind though in practice it is not so easy. Anyway the point is that when you are in middle age you don't actually have to exercise at all but as you age you can become so inactive that your muscles decline in strength alarmingly, so you have to exercise to make up for your inactivity.
An interesting article on working out can be found here

A study found endurance exercise like a jog or spinning class increases the number of stem cells in our muscles, helping rejuvenate them.

{snip}
‘When we age, we experience sarcopenia, a decline in mass and function of muscles.
{snip}
‘As a result, our musculoskeletal system is more susceptible to daily wear and tear, which also explains the increased risk of falling in the elderly. For the first time our findings can explain why older people who have exercised throughout their lives age more gracefully.’

So, firstly exercise throughout your life.

Secondly a good balanced diet without being a food faddist and that includes Vitamin D from sunshine.
Thirdly an absence of pollutants; smoking, alcohol, air pollution and chemicals used in agriculture and industry.The last three are difficult unless you live in a windy area near the sea away from industry and grow your own veggies, and don't forget to choose your parents wisely.

What brought this post on it that few weeks ago I was helping a lady in her fifties carry two pieces of carpet to our house. Hers was the bigger one, yet I was having more difficulty carrying my piece. I realised that my upper body strength had decreased in the last two years. I have since started a weight lifting programme to see if it will help as I have a big building project in the new year. Says I hopefully.

I purchased my weights 63 years ago.