A Return To Africa – Part 2.

This month was characterized by loads of sickness and my first trip to a nutritionist.

In March 2012 I had my first attempt at finishing the 800 km Cape Epic. It proved to be disastrous. This is the second part of my journey back to fitness and my return to Africa to finish some very unfinished business.

The Race
The Absa Cape Epic takes place every year around the last week of March and the first week of April. The race is held over 8 days and includes a time-trial prologue. The route changes every year, and leads aspiring amateur and professional mountain bikers from around the world through approximately 800 kilometres of the unspoilt nature of the Western Cape and up approximately 15 000m of climbing over some of the most magnificent passes in South Africa.

February 16 – February 28
The first hiccup. My youngest daughter had not been feeling well and over a couple of days the pain in her stomach became worse and worse. We made a trip to the Starship and ended up having her admitted. The worst part – the Doctors couldn’t diagnose what was causing the pain. We had blood tests, X-rays and the only thing that emerged was an enlarged liver. The pain had continued to get worse and a morphine trip was inserted via a lure. This bought back very bad memories from all our time in the hospital as Greer was being treated for cancer. This time we only ended up in the Starship for 8 days. We left still not clear on what had been causing the pain but were just glad that she was getting better.
Needless to say training this week did not happen. I am finding it really hard to get into a regular routine and I am not getting any fitter or leaner.

March 1 – March 10
The beginning of the month started with more consistency and regular rides. I have started coaching the school cycling team again and have found this a great way to get back on the bike. I try and ride for an extra hour or two after the kids training rides in order to get my mileage up.

March 10 – March 20
I am not sure how I am going to have a solid run to my training. I am totally over the hassle of trying to get organized and make sure I always have the right gear with me so I can squeeze in an hour of training here and there.
I had also been hoping that our family had finished with sickness when we were all stricken with the Norovirus. This took another week out of me. I got off quite lightly with only 24 hours of sickness but everyone else in the family was totally hammered.

March 20-April 1
My first trip to the nutritionist. I have lost about 4.5 kilos since I started training meaning I only have another 15 to go! The worst thing about going to nutritionists – most of what they tell you is common sense.
What did I learn from this visit? The first thing is the most basic. I need to ensure that I have 3 meals a day and 2 healthy snacks. This sounds very simple but the reality for me is I can go the whole day without eating when I am busy at work. I will have coffee and nothing else. This has meant my energy levels are down by mid afternoon (common sense!). Furthermore I need to ensure that 3 cups of coffee a day is my maximum and try not to have any after lunch time. The most important thing for all people training is to make sure you have a proper breakfast. There is no excuses (even though I have made every excuse under the sun for the last 20 years).

*What else have I learnt from this session:
• There is no such thing as good and bad food – just better choices that you make everyday. It is ok to eat chocolate but make sure all treats a moderate.
• I am fortunate in that I get outside every day. This is really important. Getting some sun helps your body regulate some of its hormones and boosts your serotonin levels. This can actually help you sleep better (something I have had a lot of trouble with).
• Do not overdo the carbohydrates. I need to make sure I have them and especially when training but not overdo them in the evening.
• I need to drink around 1.5-2 litres of water every day. In the past I would be lucky to have consumed 1 litre.
• Make sure that the snacks I eat are healthy (no more Jelly babies). The examples of healthy could include mixed nuts, boiled eggs, raw veggies, fruit, low fat unsweetened yoghurt. The worst suggestion was a green smoothie (2 handfuls of spinach, banana, water and chopped apple – seriously?).
• Snacks to eat when I am training can be more substantial such as Hi Fibre crackers with peanut butter and corn thins with lite tuna. To be perfectly honest these do not sound like substantial snacks to me!
• Another interesting thing that I did learn was about mindfulness (http://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/mindfulness). This is something I had been working on but is something that you should extend to your eating. I am particularly bad at eating on the run but now need to focus on only eating when seated at a table. I need to chew my food at least 10 times before swallowing and put my fork down between mouthfuls. This is the polar opposite to how I have been eating my whole life!
• The only supplement that was recommended was fish oil which is a significant source of the Omega-3 fatty acids DHA and EPA. These fatty acids have (apparently) numerous, documented health benefits such as improved cholesterol balance, reduced inflammation and better immune system function.
• I was also recommended to take 1-2 brazil nuts at breakfast to ensure a daily selenium dose.
• I need to ensure that I am eating around 1900 calories every day. This should see me gradually and healthily get leaner (this is my estimate – the nutritionist did not want to give a target as her belief is that eating in a more healthy way and treating food in a more healthy manner will ultimately have the same result as counting calories). Personally I like to have goals on a daily basis so am working with this.

April 1 – April 15
I was just getting back to health and a routine for training when I had a business trip to India. I was there for 10 days and found it really difficult to get the time to train. My woes were complete when I came down with the dreaded “Delhi Belly” in my last week. I had been a little bit slack with where I ate and ended up with an upset stomach for the last half of my trip. My friends had joked that this is the only way that I can loose any weight and although this may be true I can safely say that it is not a recommended option.
I have had a rough time over the last 6 weeks and the Cape Epic seems like a long way away. It seems a long way in time and it seems a long way out of my current capability. The difficulty with these races is that you have to spend months just building your base and if you leave this too late the whole event becomes insurmountable. At the moment I keep postponing my training routine with the self justification that “there is still heaps of time”. This time will evaporate rapidly and I need to start making some real progress over the next 2 months.

Next Issue
I will be sharing the first fitness test results.