IanC

Such a shame about the accident,as the cycling was obviously beneficial and doing you good. Hopefully you can at least continue to do what you are currently doing I did some oudoor cycling during the covid days (approx 20 miles 3 times per week) - but generally prefer to cycle on the indoor bikes, mainly due to the poor state of the roads,and having to take blood thinners following a stroke 13 years ago - which isn't a good recipe in the event of coming off the bike with a high heart rate if you hit a disguised 6 inch deep water filled pothole. I'm now 67,but still weigh pretty much my racing weight of approx 62 kg. I do wish i had come across bi-athlons (bike/run),as that would have been ideal for me. Back in the day i had best times of.... 5k in 15.19 5 miles in 25.30 10k in 32.16 10 miles in 54.05 Half marathon in 71.22 With the indoor bikes, outside of the spin classes (45 mins,3 times per week), i usually spend approx 20-25 mins, and try to keep the power to weight ratio around 2.5-3.5 watts per kg (ie around 160-210 watts for), but for much shorter time periods than you were doing. I would usually do 4 mins increasing effort (starting at gear 14,15,16,20 with recovery of approx 45 secs at gear 11 or until heart rate dropped by 40+ bpm,from 150+ down to 105), then repeat 4 or 5 times.

No idea of your age and weight - but that looks a pretty impressive, sustained effort - avg 17.5 mph over 2+ hours.

Definately - although i would add that once you have reached a certain level of fitness over a period of time and then take a break - you can get away with a couple of weeks away without too much harm. Much longer than that though and you will need to work your way back into it a bit - not unlike footballers returning from injury. One thing i did find really useful was to invest in a chest strap heart rate monitor (Myzone, garmin, polar etc). Most people would be very surprised to find out that when working out in the gym - partcularly aerobic/cardio workouts - that they are just not working anywhere near as hard as they thought they were. Wrist worn fitness trackers are just not in the same ball park for accuracy compared with the chest worn heart rate monitors. For those that train regularly the chest worn trackers are a great aid for tracking measurable improvments over a period of time such as a reduction in resting heart rate, improvement in blood pressure, healthier stronger heart - no matter how young or old you are when you make the decision to start.

The hardest step is always the first. My journey started back in 1981 - as a recently married young man of 24, who had gradually been putting on weight over the preceeding couple of years following a knee injury playing local league football - requiring several weeks rehab, after which i never really got back into football - instead being a heavy smoker (40+ per day) who became the proverbial couch potato. Long story short, after several months i vowed to stop smoking, and my first step was to try jogging - a 2 mile out and back route - which nearly killed me. But on the basis of taking no smoking 1 day at a time - i persevered and gradually started to enjoy it. Fast forward a year or 2 i joined a running club (shelton striders) , and started entering the occasional race and running with others on club nights - which was great personal motivation. It also turned out i was quite decent at this running lark, and progress was being made. Coming across the running term PB's (personal bests), was like a red rag to a bull and over the years ran to a level that led to qualification for the Derbyshire team for the Inter Counties Cross country a few times in the early 1990s (via a top 10 finish in the Derbyshire cross country championships). Also once competed in the great north run (1988) and finished in the top 200. Competed pretty much until 1998, when chronic OA of the knees forced retirement from competition - very soon after my last competitive race - as part of the Derby & County AC Vets team that finished 5th in that years National Vets 8 stage road race relays in Aldershot. Even then its nor been the end of the story. I can no longer run (indoors or out), but am now a member at Springwood Gym Oakwood,and have been for the last 20+ years - which is a really friendly and welcoming place, and great value. The adrenaline buzz from an aerobic cardio workout, is till a great lift and boost - and keeps me coming back for more. Even now, as a 67 year old OAP , i can be found in the gym most days and concentrate mainly on aerobic / cardio workouts such as Stairmaster Stepper - 1500-2300 steps - (5-6 days per week) in 16-22 mins at 98-99 steps per minute - 2200 steps is approx the number of steps at the World Trade Center in NY + Xtrainer - 2.25-3.5 miles - (5-6 days per week) in 15-24 mins - in intervals of 1 min build/recovery 4 mins at twice the power of the recovery + Concept 2 Rower - 1-2.5miles (5-6 days per week) - at 7 mins 15 secs per mile + Stationary bike (Watt bike or Keiser) - 3-4 miles (3 times per week) at 3.15 per mile plus 2-3 spin classes per week (12.5-13.5 miles per class in 45 mins) + These days as i still work part time, i have 3 x shorter gym days (60 mins) + 3 x longer ones (95 mins and which include the spin classes). Compared to many i may overdo it - but it does give a great boost to mental health, as well as physical wellbeing. The Just start gradually and try to get into a routine. Common problems that people face - particularly with jogging / running - is that they always start too fast , simply because they think they are going too slow. It always takes your heart several minutes (upto 10) before it gets used to what the body is demanding of it - so go as slow as you need to to get past that 10 minute mark - i guarantee that once you can do that, you get into rhythm that can actually feel quite enjoyable and which gets those endorphins flowing through your system.