My Jacaranda tree is in full bloom!

Well, things went pear shaped. Woke up on July 20th with a scratchy throat, which then progressed to a head cold which then progressed to bronchitis for the rest of the month.

Sickness in chest means zero exercise and also put an end to the diet - I didn’t gain weight, but without exercise it’s far too hard to maintain a significant calorie deficit.

Off to Malaysia in a couple of days, so will resume once I’m home.

Diet wasn’t too bad this week. Most days were good, apart from Friday when I was out for lunch, afternoon beers, then dinner and staying up late watching the Tour de France. Not conducive to watching food consumption.

Still got work to do on the snacking front too.

Exercise

• Bike: 133km
• Walk: 7km
• Weights: 45m

Better this week. Got in all the riding I had planned, though Monday’s ride was a bit short. Weights is going well - easy & quick at the moment, but will load up in due course and the rests between sets will need to increase.

So, I’m on a diet.

General laziness and aimlessness over the last few years had seen me gain weight in discrete steps, but a recent MTB crash and attendant enforced restrictions on exercise saw what little fitness I had plummet and my weight peak at 95.5kg.

To put that in perspective, 25yrs ago when I had finished Uni and was still swimming competitively, my weight was around 76kg and as recently as 5 years ago when I was cycling regularly it was around 86kg, so I’m currently almost 10kg over my “doing some exercise but eating what I like” weight.

Time to address the metaphorical elephant in the room.

The “diet” at this stage is just eating decent food with normal portion sizes, minimizing useless snacks like biscuits and trying to get some consistent exercise going again.

Tracking is this attached to the fridge. Columns for Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Snacks and Exercise. Green = good, Red = bad, Orange = not crap, but could be improved. Week 1 done and it’s clear breakfast and lunch are under control, but dinner and snacks need some work.

We’re off to Malaysia on holidays at the beginning of August, so I’ll keep this approach going until then to see what happens. If there’s no significant change in weight by then, I’ll tighten things up when I get back from Malaysia.

Exercise

• Bike: 101km
• Walk: 11km
• Weights: 30m

Not too bad given I’m basically starting from zero and have no fitness. Was aiming to get a longer ride in yesterday (Sunday) but wind was too strong/gusty so went for a walk and did weights instead.

Things finally returned to normal this week. Chest had cleared up by Monday, so decided I’d start back training this week. Not doing much mind you, but starting the process of actual exercise again.

30min eBike and bodyweight strength stuff on Monday, just a walk on Tuesday as work was hectic and I didn’t have time for anything else, then another 30min on the normal bike on Wednesday. That, plus work stress was enough to see a downward trend on morning HRV, so yesterday was an easy day (short walk, short, easy eBike) and then today was the first day since getting Covid that my HRV was back in my normal range, at 71.

I’ll aim to get another short bike ride today and tomorrow, plus another bodyweight session and see how that works out.

Good to be finally 🤞🏻over Covid!

Went for my first bike ride in weeks yesterday. Probably should have waited a couple of more days, but the forecast wasn’t great and the weather was perfect, so figured what the hell.

Did 30 minutes nice and easy, though got my HR up quite a bit higher than intended on all of the small rises around the place, culminating in 160+ atop the small rise to my house. That’s quite a bit more intensity than I wanted right now.

Woke up this morning and HRV took another dive, so probably not ideal, though work’s a bit hectic at the moment which doesn’t help either.

I took the eBike out instead for a longer ride today. I can cruise along on the flats doing a little work at 100-110bpm which is perfect, and then bump up the assistance on any climb to prevent HR spikes. That went well, so I think I’ll do a bit more of that as a more gentle introduction to exercise again.

Feeling almost OK now, so opted to do some v. basic bodyweight exercise this afternoon, after going for a short walk. Will see how I feel tomorrow.

Would be nice to be able to get outside on the bike again this weekend 🤞🏻

Went for a 40min walk this morning, then later took the e-bike out to do groceries, then came home and mowed the front lawn (15mins). Tired now!

Definitely still feeling the effects and notice the congestion in my chest, even though I’m not doing much and everything I did do was at pretty low intensity.

I guess it’s still only 2 weeks since I tested positive, but I’m impatient to start doing some exercise again. Looks like another week of only walks ahead though.

Feels like a bit of a setback today. Head congestion has cleared up over the last couple of days, but congestion is going deeper into my chest.

Woke up this morning and my HRV scores were in the toilet again, dropping to 15, which is tied for lowest ever score with the day I actually got Covid. For reference, “normal” for me is in the 70-80 range and if I woke up one morning with a score under 40 then that would be a day I’d skip any training I had planned.

Over the last week, scores have been improving into the high-40s and I’ve slowly been feeling better. Yesterday I was even thinking I’d try a short bike ride this weekend. Today, not so much. A few more really easy days on the cards yet.

Slowly getting better, but still a bit congested.

After doing two walks on Monday without issue, I took the e-bike out yesterday morning for a 10km ride visa the coffee shop. Felt good this morning, so no issues as a result of that either.

I’ll still stick to the plan of no proper exercise this week, though might do a normal bike ride at the weekend if improvement continues.

Up for a dawn walk today. Also been for lunch outdoors at a café and just back from another walk with Jacqui & visiting the rellies. Nice to be back in the world.

Cough and congestion pretty much gone now.

In terms of exercise, general consensus seems to be do bugger all for a week after your symptoms are gone, so I think this week will mainly be walks, plus a few rides on the e-bike for coffee runs etc. Will see how that feels and maybe do a short, real bike ride towards the end of the week.

Still improving. Only v. minor congestion in nose and chest remaining. Back to normal sleep patterns too.

Last day of iso today, but snuck out for a short pre-dawn walk. I’m still iso when there’s no-one around at 6am and it’s 4°C.

15min walk, fresh air, nice sunrise and back home.

Continuing to improve. Only minor nasal congestion and occasional cough left. I also have a low tolerance for work still, but not sure whether that’s a covid fogginess thing or just a very low tolerance for meetings while still not 100%.

Keen to get outside and do some exercise again, even if it will just be walks for a couple of days. One more day in iso.

Feeling much better this morning. Definitely turned a corner. Still a bit congested and have a bit of a cough, but at least starting to feel somewhat normal again.

Morning heart rate dropped 10bpm & HRV has overshot up on the upside, but no longer depressed.

It is a weird pattern on the rMSSD readings. A big hit on the 8th which must be when it gets into my system. Then two relatively normal days before taking another nosedive on the 11th when I tested positive and it’s been gradual improvement from then.

Does this mean it takes your body two days to muster defences before launching all out war on the invaders?

Definitely the sickest I’ve been in 15 years or more, but given illness for me only means an annual head cold or two, that’s not saying much. Clearly the vaccinations are doing their job and hopefully that means no long-term complications.

The only downside is that they’re now saying with the latest variants that I can be re-infected in as little as a month!

Back to mask wearing!

Getting better, I think. I’m feeling better this morning than I was yesterday, and sleep was better last night as well, so hopefully this means I’ve turned the corner.

Still pretty tired though!

Watching the Tour and Rafal Majka is continuing to ride despite a positive test. Low viral load apparently, but I can’t imagine doing any exercise, let alone riding a Tour stage. Can’t understand why you’d keep him around if he’s positive either - surely you’re just asking for it to spread to rest of the team members?

Still on a downward slope. Now adding chesty cough to the mix. Sleep is still terrible, waling up every 90mins and was wide awake between 2.30am and 4am before dozing for another hour or two.

Feel OK during the day, but pretty lethargic still. Will probably take another couple of days before trying to do some work again.

Downturn today. Headcold. headaches and general fatigue. Haven’t had the flu for years, but feels like the flu at this stage.

Went to sleep last night, then woke up thinking I’d had a great sleep only to find 30mins had passed. Woke up every 90mins after that too.

Tested positive this morning, via RAT test. Jacqui tested positive via PCR on Thursday, I tested negative via PCR on Friday. However, woke up with a very slight blocked nose this morning, so figured I should check and sure enough, there it was. The dreaded second line!

I’d seen research which suggested morning HRV was a good predictor of Covid infection, registering two days before a positive test. Sure enough, looking back at my data, Friday morning was my worst ever rMSSD score.

I got a PCR test that morning but it came back negative. Too soon as it turns out.

Anyway, will see how things go from here. So far, very mild blocked nose and what feels like the beginning of a sore throat.

Am in isolation at home for 7 days. Recommendations from other people who’ve had it is a minimum of 10 days rest.

Was detrained already anyway.

CTL 20.9

Some good points for consideration here in 50 Ideas That Changed My Life.

Preference Falsification: People lie about their true opinions and conform to socially acceptable preferences instead. In private they’ll say one thing. In public, they’ll say another.

Part of the explanation for how Trump got elected when every poll said he was going to lose. Now that he’s been in power for 4 years, I wonder if the polls will be more accurate as his supporters are more confident about expressing their true opinions?

Via Negativa: When we have a problem, our natural instinct is to add a new habit or purchase a fix. But sometimes, you can improve your life by taking things away. For example, the foods you avoid are more important than the foods you eat.

Yep.

The Paradox of Abundance: The average quality of information is getting worse and worse. But the best stuff is getting better and better. Markets of abundance are simultaneously bad for the median consumer but good for conscious consumers.

A precise summary of the Internet. If you put in the effort, you can find world-class information at your fingertips. If you let the information come to you, you get dross.

In How Mozambique’s Gorongosa National Park is rebounding from war, National Geopgraphic takes a look at conservation efforts which include the local community, protecting wildlife by improving the lives of local farmers and families.

Circumstances were just as grim on the lands surrounding the park. About 100,000 people lived in what planners now call the buffer zone—mostly families growing corn and other subsistence crops, barely able to feed themselves, their children shorted on education and health care. When the soil tired and the corn failed to thrive, the farmers would cut forest, burn the slash, and try again on a new patch.