Day 2, done and dusted

Today was my second day back at training after I took a ten day break due to Flu. At first I thought it was just some cold but before I knew it I was on Antibiotics and in no state to train.

Yesterday was an easy 2100m swim session, with the main set 7x300m, just to get back into things. One thing I found when I swim is I can easily feel if the lungs are in good shape or not. Maybe it's the controlled breathing that make you more attend, don't know.

Today I did a 45 minute bike ride, also easy just to get back in the groove. This evening's run session I upped the pace a bit but still kept it short and did 5.3km in 23minutes. Happy that I could maintain round about a 4:35min/km pace, since I haven't done a lot of running lately.

Nothing like running with a new pair of shoes! Bought the Newtons some weeks ago but waited for the green light to run before I pulled them out of the closet.

Today was my final check up at the specialist after the knee surgery and he is very happy with the strength and the flexibility of the knee. He gave me the go ahead to run but reminded me to plan my running sessions carefully as the knee had it's fair share of cartilage removals.

Amazing how strong the mind is. Before I picked up flu I was running at 5+min/km and was scared to go too fast in case something happen to the knee. This evening I run almost at 4:30 pace without any discomfort and not even thinking about the knee-"cause doc said the knee is fine"

One thing about running and don't think anybody can argue is you loose weight went running even if your eating habits aren't that great.

DJ and one of her friends at the Valentines dance this past Friday night

During the past couple of weeks I've gained some weight and although I cycled and swim, the scale just moved in the wrong direction. Hopefully now that I'm back at running the weight will move to the opposite direction.

I've also embarked on a new experiment to improve my weight and eating habits. Don't know how long it will last but I like trying out new things. It's only the second day and today was much better than yesterday.

I've read a lot about the Paleo way of eating and am giving it a try. No grains, dairy products, sugar or any processed foods and refined sugar. The eating plan consist of lean meats, fish, veggies and fruit and that's it!

Amazingly I have more energy than I though I would have if I don't eat any bread, oats and all those things. At this stage I don't think it is something I will do for the rest of my life but they claim that you will have just as much energy as when you eat grains and you will loose weight real quick.

Well after two days I've lost one kilogram, just another seven to go!

Max, Kim's cat getting really old now and all he do is sleep. Think he is 16 years old!

24hr Mountain Bike Charity Ride

This weekend was our second charity ride and it was time to entertain the mountain bikers as last year's ride was a road event.

We initially thought we will do one event charity event a year and with our last one being October we still had a whole year to plan but after we learned about Cailyn we decided to do a charity ride as soon as possible.

Cailyn was born deaf and can't hear or speak but the good news is she will be able to hear again if she can get a cochlear implant. She's been for all the tests and she is suitable for the implant but she doesn't have any medical aid and her mother is a single parent who is doing everything possible to raise the R300 000($43 000) to do the surgery but really struggles.

With the help of the Highveld Mall and the local cycling club we arranged a 24 hour Mountain bike ride starting at the Mall and going through the veld behind the mall. In total one lap was just over 5km long and you could ride at your own pace. We had a great turnout of just under 60 riders who each paid a R100 entry fee.

The mall provided an area where the bikers could camp and we received some sponsors to supply meat, pap and all the things you need for a BBQ.

The ride started at 12 noon on Saturday and we asked Cailyn to cut the start ribbon and it ended today with prize giving at 1pm. We had some prize money for the first three places in the four different categories. The categories were one, two, three and four man teams.

Most of the riders who received prize money gave it back as a donation towards the fund.

We also had some spot prizes again and two prizes for the raffle. We could rely on Marco from Cycle Tech again who gave us a mountain bike for the raffle and Incredible Connection gave us a Notebook.

At prize giving the biker who won did just over 450km in the 24hours and we had to give a special prize to one cyclist who didn't do the most kilometers but was on his bike for 21 out of the 24hours.

We are still far from reaching the R300k we need for Cailyn to have the surgery and we're waiting for some pledges received but after a quick count it looks like we raised just short of R40k. Cailyn already have R60k in her trust and with our effort the trust is now at R100k, just another two thirds to go.