Moving Home

After some hunting around and struggle to get the email subscription to work I've decided to move to www.ewenlewis.wordpress.com You can subscribe by email to this and it works!! I've reproduced the content and will be removing it from here and eventually removing this blog all together. Ewen

Back to the Start Again

Sunday - Managed to get out on the bike.

I've not been on my lovely bike for 7 weeks due to run training and I also had a new 80mm stem to try out.

I went out to Uffington, a usual route as I enjoy the countryside and quaint small villages. Turned out to be a good 38 miles (60km) cycle. However I soon realised why my pace for the first 18.5 miles was a little faster than usual. I turned back for home into a cold head wind, basically it was a bit of a punishment session for the route back.



But my new shorter 80mm Stem seems to work as I'm nearer the bars, I just need to try it out with the tri-bars (That's if i ever get brave enough!!).

Monday  -  The subconscious mind is very intriguing.

Whilst in Dublin after the marathon I put my ipod nano to one side, as it was sticky due to squished jelly beans. After arriving home I sorted out all my washing and couldn't find it and presumed I had left it in Dublin. Days have past since but when I woke on Monday morning however I rushed downstairs rattled thru the laundry and low and behold ipod found attached to the back of a shirt.


So I must have been pondering this in the night during sleep as I hadn't thought about this at all previously. The subconscious mind is very strange but at least I've got my ipod back!.  



So Monday was also first full day of my back to basics plan. All the Crisp, Chocolate and treats have gone including alcohol which I think is best for the time being as I just cannot manage it properly.

I had an excellent Run at lunch time did a 9.3km run at 5:10km pace, probably a little fast for my first run back since Dublin and I also managed to get an evening 1km swim in at the gym.

I then went shopping, I decided to go for the simple stuff so I had a big stir fry consisting of 1 chicken breast and plenty of vegetables (Carrots, Onion, Peppers). This was probably the healthiest meal I've had in over 6 months. I followed this up with some yogurt for desert.

Surprisingly I didn't find today as tough as I was expecting so all in all a very good day. Let's see how I get on later in the week.

Numb

During Dublin Marathon i had some very strange side-effects to my energy gels which I was later to find was down to being a complete numpty on my part.

At the 5k point I took gel number 1. This feels a little weird my fingers feel funny and my lips are a tiny bit numb, okay must just be dehydrated drink up and crack on.

Hit 10k and same thing happens at this point I was considering whether it was safe for me to continue as the feeling in my tongue had went! I wasn't even pushing the pace at all.

However after taking energy gel 3 a slow realisation past my mind. I had packed my ibuprofen gel (no top) and energy gels in the same bag for the flight over.  So basically as you've kinda guessed each energy gel was dipped in ibuprofen.

This isn't any secret marathon running formula I've come up all on my own but it did cancel any doubts I might have had about whether liquid ibuprofen actually works.

Surely I'm not the only one to do something silly like this?

This is the Ugly Truth

It's a full week since Dublin Marathon and a whole 12 weeks since Ironman UK most people would expect I would be feeling amazing and on top of the world but something is wrong and just isn't right.

The harsh reality is that I still haven't faced up to my demons. Both my weight and eating have spiralled out of control once again. I'm drinking too much alcohol eating more treats and generally making bad food choices and not as one offs.

I thought I was well over this cycle but ever since I switched to endurance challenges and did my first marathon in April 2012 I've been making excuses. lots of them in fact.

The training volumes have increased. the level of the challenge has increased and got bigger and bigger but ultimately this has given me an easy excuse and like a creature of habit the more I've gotten away with it by training hard the more I've kept it up.

The stats don't lie I'm 6ft 1in and I weigh in at 16st 4lbs (I even still tell myself I'm 15st 7) with around 23% body fat, this is heavier than I was in Jan 2012 when I set out to do a marathon and is around 2-2.5st over weight!!!

That is just what I've been doing letting myself down little by little, I've been kidding myself that it is okay but it isn't this is holding me back massively from achieving what I can in triathlon and if I stopped training today or reduced it I know I would put on 2-3st easily and go back to how I was and I cannot face that prospect.

It is hard to put into words but I'm an emotional eater/drinker whenever I feel happy and sad I want to eat and when I feel lonely or low I eat things that i like to make me feel better it is a horrible cycle.

2014 is a big big year for me I've signed up to do the 70.3 Wimbleball, Ironman UK Bolton  and also mentally Ironman Wales this challenge will be hard enough for someone in peak condition let alone with me making it harder with each extra lb or biscuit to carry up the Welsh hills.

Well today is a new day and hopefully a new starting point on my journey it won't be easy but it is going to be interesting.