Well I have fully recovered from the little bug I caught a few weeks ago. I am fully rested and I got back on the 'horse' yesterday after a short break. Why the short break? Well a couple of reasons, I was starting to feel extremely tired, the result of some late nights (understatement of the year) due to University work, and partly my own lack of appreciation as to how long the MSc Thesis can be!! So as I had a submission deadline on Mon 8th Feb, I decided that that would be a great time to start training again, give myself a chance to recover, not be too concerned about thinking I should be training, and time to concentrate on the Thesis Proposal. Sunday night was a bit hectic, and I was up until 0330 putting the finishing touches to the proposal!! I decided to leave the final proof read until the morning, when a relatively fresh pair of eyes (which did look like proverbial p**sholes in the snow - to coin a relatively popular military phrase) could go through it in detail.
I must admit getting to sleep on Monday morning was difficult, my mind was buzzing (probably the whirr for the laptop being the causal factor) and the fact that I was going over the document in my head making a mental note of anything that I might have missed, for inclusion in the morning! Relaxation, concentration and meditation exercises were all used to allow me to get into a frame of mind where I could think of nothing, or even just one thing and one thing only! All to no avail, and I fell into a coma like state just after 4am!
We have a pair of alarm clocks which arise anywhere between 7-8am typically, which was fortunate for Pedro, as I got up showered and went straight back to the laptop to start work on the proposal. How to career academics do it I frequently asked myself?? The whole process of devising a MSc topic, writing the proposal, doing the data collection, data processing, the literature review, the drafts, the final write-up is perceptively endless!! I did have a few ideas of doing some further research after this topic, that has now been well and truly quashed!! ;-)
I must mention some help I received from the WikiEducator Community, albeit due to a last minute post by me to their mail group. I was confused over the types of statistical tests I should be using to examine a sample size of only 10-12 participants. I am still not convinced there is a 'right' answer out there. The statistics books appear confusing, to me anyhow, and do not give a definitive answer to the question!!
So back to RAAM training. I managed to squeeze a 'refresher' session in on Monday afternoon, whilst Fraser was cruising around the road on his bike. Thankfully for the cold weather he got pretty chilly and then decided to go inside, which was perfect timing as I had only strapped a head-torch to his helmet and it was getting dark outside!! 30min was enough as my legs were feeling it, after the layoff I had just had.
Yesterday I planned to do 2x1hr in the morning and afternoon/evening with a weights session at lunchtime. I did the morning session (40min sweetspot) and the weights at lunchtime. However the evening session fell off the plot as I fell asleep at 7.30pm and did not wake up until 5:30am!! Perfect time to get back up and onto the bike. The temperature must have been about -3-4degC, think ice outside on the roads, and I was just relieved that I was not cycling into work. I did 45mins at sweetspot power, after a good warm-up and some one-leg spins. Lunchtime was filled with a swim (1500m) which was plenty as I have not trained properly in the water since August!! I really felt it, and that is an understatement.
I will do another hour tonight. It is evident that even in a week, my power output has dropped slightly. I am not concerned as it is just a temporary hitch and I will recover provided I listen to my body, get sufficient rest and eat properly.
Speaking of which I am about to start the Paleo diet for athletes. No dairy and limited carbohydrate products, with plenty of protein from fish, lean meats and nuts and seeds. I am looking forward to it. Joe Friel, the triathlon coach, contributed to the book (The Paleo Diet for Performance Athletes) and tweaked the diet to include a little carbohydrate.
More to follow on the diet stuff!!
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