Nostalgia, supplements, hydration and maybe a fellow sufferer

Clearing through piles of photos the other day I came across this one - me and my first set of wheels! The brake looks like it was one of those rod types, the mud guards look a bit battered and the tyres...would they be solid?


There's not enough detail to see properly, but the knees look unscarred, unlike now! Check out the blond hair too! Cute eh?..well...ok. cuter than~~60 years later!







I remember later on being desperate to have a "boys" bike..the sort we all have now. But at the time girls had "girls" bikes...no top tube and a sit up and beg type set up...just like this one..my second set of wheels and the scowl says it all! donja just lerv the woollen helmet.

Hydration is now the topic of the week...how do I cope with racing and not drinking for 60 minutes? Do I practise a routine of overhydrating and then riding for an hour? Too much water just goes straight through me resulting in me trotting when I should be warming up. I went to a sports dietitian who is researching the topic...trying to find a drink that will not go through at a rate of knots. Glycerol was mentioned; its legal and there is research confirming that it allows you retain fluid but there's no strong evidence that the fluid is retained in a usable way. So you might retain an extra litre, but all it may do is make you 1kg heavier.

Supplements. I seem to be surrounded by people who take supplements of one sort or another; me I just eat food! But should I be taking something??? would it make me any better? I certainly felt alot better last Sunday when I succumbed to the overwhelming urge to have some chocolate !!!

My training is going well...coupla days ago I was s'posed to do 60 mins mixed wattage and as I approached my house I'd been out 55 mins....now previously I'd have said..oh well 55 is close enough. BUT now all my graphs get read and so I'm accountable. Result... I cycle past my house and attack one more hill, returning at 61 min....how good am I?!

I was delighted to get an email from a friend and rival telling me she's been reading my blog and was interested in doing the hour too. She's in the age group younger than me, so no conflict there. It'd be good to have a fellow sufferer. Time will tell if she decides to go with it.