Toys Toys Toys (aka Money Money Money the sequel)

So as I mentioned in my previous post I have some new bits of kit. First off is the Tacx Flow turbo trainer. I had a Tacx Satori before and I highly recommend it, in some ways I prefer it to the new one, its certainly a lot prettier! But the flow does have a lovely LCD display that is bright and clear to read. It is also (to a certain extent) customisable in its display. As I said in my previous post its a shame it won't upload to the PC but it does show power, and in terms of being able to measure performance and progression over time that's vital. And as I sold my Satori to a friend it didn't even cost that much!

The next thing is a Polar RS400 SD. Again this was a serious eBay bargain but that aside I am a big fan of this watch. Its actually a running HRM as it comes with a foot pod, now obviously I have no need for this, it was just what was on offer. You can get a cadence sensor for it but I have the Edge 705 for that, this is purely for spinning heart rate uploads. Its got a big clear display which again can be customised (I'm a big fan of this, I like data to be where I want not where someone else decided, one of the big plus points of the 705 in my opinion). Its easy to use and program. Uploading to the PC is also a breeze, you just put it next to the infra-red USB key (supplied) and let the software do the rest, its really that simple. Some other nice features include the "night mode" where if you bring the watch close to the HR sensor on your chest the display lights up. That would be very very useful when running outside. I do also think its very nice to look at. My only gripe with it is the buttons on the sides, they a not easy to "click" and are too fidly. Apart from that though its lovely.

Money Money Money

I am quite well known within a small circle of friends (ok, mainly just Simon) for spending rather a lot of money on cycling, and related bits and pieces. I put my hands up to this, as I can hardly deny it. 2 years ago I got my first bike and (eventually) all the clothing to go with it, as necessitated by this country's amazing weather. Then this time last year I started putting together my dream bike (aka hardcore bike p*rn). So THIS Spring I had figured I had bought all I could, had everything I need and that I could finally save a few pennies. But then I got a coach.

While I knew this would obviously cost in terms of his time, I had not accounted for needing more / replacement toys. I already had a turbo, but ideally now I needed one that measures power. I already had a heart rate monitor but now I needed one that would upload data from my spin classes (I did consider taking in my Edge 705 for this, but just felt that was too expensive an item to risk maybe losing in my gym, on my commute or whatever). While these things were not absolutely the-world-might-stop-spinning-otherwise vital, if you have read Simon's post on Excellence you will know that I believe if a job is worth doing then its worth doing properly. In my mind its silly to go to the cost of a coach for his valuable advice, and then ignore it when he says ideally you need some new things. But that's just me.

At this point I have to thank God for eBay. Both the new turbo and HRM were "nearly new" second hand items and they were (relatively speaking) bargains and I'm very pleased with them. Even better is that around this time a friend emailed me to say he had decided he needed a turbo and did I have one to sell! Outstanding.

So now I have everything I need. The new turbo doesn't upload to the PC sadly, but I am NOT spending the amount of money I would need to for that. I have the power numbers in front of me and I can write them down, that's good enough.

Compression Tights

I've been using compression tights for a while now, and decided to share my thoughts.

It doesn't really help matters than men are expected to wear these things called "tights". But that aside my initial thought at reading up on them was simply that what if putting on some tights after training really could improve my recovery? Could I really afford not to try them? Worst case it wouldn't do any harm.

Now though I really wouldn't be without them. Initially I wasn't sure about the change, until the first time I didn't put them on after a training ride. I really knew about it the next day. More recently I have used them when my legs have been feeling tired and after several hours of wearing them I feel good to go again. In my humble opinion they are nothing short of miraculous. Putting them on after training is now as important in my routine as the training itself.

Very, very highly recommended.

Coach

I officially have a coach! As I have already said I am feeling rather child like excited about all this (still that doesn't happen often so I'm going to cut myself some slack).

His name is Mark Ticker and there is some great information on him (including some just rude PB times) here. I count myself very lucky to have him as one of my spinning instructors, which is obviously how I found out about him. I signed up with him through http://www.trainingbible.co.uk/.

If I pick up just a few of the things he knows this should go pretty well! My breathing is obviously still not 100% but is improving all the time. Really can't wait to get into this now.

Twit

I just thought I'd mention that I'm also on twitter where I update various bits and pieces. Its not as a replacement to this blog but more a compliment as I can do short random updates while out on the move. You can follow me here:

https://twitter.com/edwardjmason

I mainly use it to follow professional cyclists (which is getting interesting now as the Tour Down Under is about to start), although I do put quite a few fitness related things on there too. Umm, as well as some not fitness related things!

Finally all the answers

I am absolutely delighted to be able to say that my breathing is continuing to improve and after this mornings appointment with my consultant I now understand everything that has happened. I had figured out a lot of it for myself / while talking with friends, but there were a few things I still didn't get. Being the kind of person I am its great that things are improving but its really great to have it all explained. If you are vaguely interested, its like this:

I have to take drugs that supress my immune system and this makes me very susceptible to (in my case) chest infections. I get 3-4 or more a year. I can feel them the first day they start, a tiny tiny feeling in my chest and as I know what's coming I get to the docs for antibiotics. 7 days later all is fine. In September though I got a chest infection at the start of a 2 week holiday while abroad (with no antibiotics) which gave it a really good time to bed in. During that time (I now know) it got bad enough that it exacerbated food intolerances I didn't even know I had. So ironically a lot of the stuff I ate while I stopped traning (to let it sort itself out / see the specialist etc) was keeping it there / making it worse.

The problem also increased my asthma which explains why I got worse in the cold. It also (again asthma related) explains my dehydration.

I have been told (and am very happy about) that I must keep a supply of antibiotics at all times so I can start taking them immediately I feels the symptoms, in order to prevent this from happening again. Fine by me!

I'm so so happy to know its on the mend, I feel like a kid at Christmas. Great timing too because as I have said before I need to be riding (weather permitting) outdoors from next month.

So now the training can really start in ernest, which should lead nicely into my next post as I'm getting a coach! Bring on the Marmotte :-)

Maybe, just maybe...

My breathing is improving. Its a tiny, tiny change, but its noticable.

I used the turbo trainer twice over the weekend, and today I did both Body Balance and Body Pump classes. While its not suddenly easy to take a full breath I did notice an improvement. "What happened" you may ask? (oh go on, please). The difference is that I have cut out as many items as I can from my food intolerance list as I can. Now I'm not a scientist or proclaiming to know more than my (very) expensive consultant but my eating is the only thing that has changed and I've seen an improvement.

So maybe the food is a problem, but the cold sure as hell is too. All 4 bits of exercise mentioned above were performed in warm rooms and I noticed that as soon as I was out in the cold after things were worse - although not as bad as they were mind you. So if I'm right then spin won't go so well tomorrow lunch time (as the room is always freezing at the moment).

Still I reckon this is good information to take to my next appointment on Thursday. Will of course be interesting to see what she says, or if I just get laughed out of the room.

Ups and Downs

Happy New Year everyone. I hope you had a great time, and to those of you who are currently snowboarding in the UK - I am insanely jealous!

I said when I started this I would blog the ups and downs, after all what plans go to the letter? I know I have not posted any weight updates (this is due to not being able to get properly hydrated so the numbers are completely messed up, see "downs" below) but tonight the overall weight is down from the first measurement I took in December. Not down by much mind you, maybe half a pound, but this is the tricky side of Christmas / New Year and I will happily take the fact that I have not ballooned! I've also updated my training totals for everything I completed in December. As I originally listed anything in December as being a bonus, I'm also pretty happy with this.

Sadly though my breathing is actually getting worse. Just before Christmas the mild-out-of-breathness I get turned into a full blown chest infection. Thankfully I had some antibiotics I could take. Now though its just generally worse, especially during / after exercise. Its not like I'm gulping for air, its just not that comfortable. It may seem silly to continue like this (and I can't really argue with that), but when I rested for 2 months my symptoms were so mild no-one thought anything was wrong. At least this way I might get their attention. And still, no one has actually told me to stop yet, so hey...

The most frustrating thing is still having no idea what is wrong. I am always tired and can sleep for 11+ hours without trying. I am really feeling the cold this year, and as I mentioned above I just cannot get hydrated, no matter how much I drink through the day. Oh, and I have definitely linked my breathlessness after eating to certain foods. This all points (in my humble opinion) to some kind of virus / infection, but then other things like my peak flow readings don't really add up with this. Like I said, I really don't know what's going on. I'm back there next week when I will offer to give as many pints are needed to have every blood test ever invented! And I could really do with this being sorted soon, I have to ride outdoors next month. Still, I have to stay hopeful.

I hope you get everything you want in 2010. I would just suggest that you don't wait for it to fall in your lap (like a lot of people seem to) - go out and make it happen instead :-)

Oh yeah, and I will really try to get better at updating this!!!!