[967] Pushing Myself

I've been able to do three jogs a week of my previously posted about new zone 2 training routine. It's been erratic when I actually do it, I just make sure I do at least 3 of them a week. I'm hoping I can eventually increase it to 4, maybe when it's a bit warmer and the sun rises earlier.

I don't mind the cool weather at the moment, but it's been a real challenge to get myself to go out. It also doesn't help that there are areas in my route where it's really dark so I have to change my pace and be careful.

I'm surprised I'm able to complete three laps, even more surprising is completing my minimum distance jogged per lap. I guess I just have to be mindful of my pace because I've noticed the past two or three sessions I've been going a bit faster with my pace.

I'm not sure going faster is good, I'd rather establish my pace at a somewhat slow but steady one. If I'm reading my data right I'm averaging around 9kmh when I jog, and I think I should tone that down to around 8kmh or so.

I'm after consistency in my pace so I can eventually increase the distance jogged. Maybe in a few weeks. We'll see, I guess.

Out.

Edit (28 Jan 2023)

It seems that I really need to slow down when I jog because I'm going at a pace that isn't in zone 2 anymore. I guess this will take practice and months to get right.

Out (again).

[966] Training Update

I've been doing a lot of thinking and I've decided to revise my zone 2 training. I'll still be doing my original 1.1 km route and jogging around 700 meters, but now I'll start my exercise jogging.

The reason for this is so I can still complete 700 meters per 1.1 km. If I start with walking I'll be shorting myself around 400 meters of jog. I'll also limit myself to three full laps, or around 3.3 km, instead of four. I just need to remember to do some warm ups and stretching before I go out.

My plan is to do this MWF and have TTh as either rest days or bike days. I will do my best not to go walking on TTh because I did that last Tuesday and when I did my jog on Wednesday my legs were hurting a lot more after.

As for cycling, I figure that will be low impact cardio so I can do that on my non-jogging days. I also am still hoping to hit my target of 20 km of activity a week on adidas Running.

I have no desire to go back to ARCA South to ride since they have bike policies I don't agree with and have no desire to discuss on this public forum.

Out.

[965] Zone 2 Training

I've been talking with a friend of mine about zone 2 training. Since he's the one more interested and perseveres more he's done more research on it. We were talking about it because of long distance bike rides and how some of the best pro cyclists in the world do hours of zone 2 training a week.

So what is zone 2 training? Basically zone 2 is 70%-80% of your max heart rate. I'm 42 years so my zone 2 is around 124 to 142 bpm.

By some amazing coincidence my friend told me it was nearly impossible to achieve zone 2 doing brisk walks, which I could confirm using my Tozo S2 Smart Watch my mom gave me a few months ago. I'm still not sure how accurate it is but I finally found a good position along my forearm that the watch can get good readings during both my walk and cycling sessions.

During this time I was also talking to someone else and he mentioned that if I'm planning to do long bike rides I should go jogging to improve stamina. He did say that this was the training he would do for a few weeks before some of his long rides. I thought this was strange since shouldn't I just ride my bike to build stamina?

So at first I tried riding my bike on the trainer for around ten minutes or so, because I really find it boring and uncomfortable. I've already bought myself a pair of MTB cycling shorts so I'll try riding on the trainer wearing this because it might improve my comfort levels. Anyway when I checked my heart rate from those ten minutes I didn't even go over 100 bpm, though I was sweating and panting hard. Maybe I didn't put the watch on correctly or something, I don't know.

I finally decided to try jogging small sections of my original 1.1 km route just to see my heart rate. Lo and behold I was averaging 130 to 150 bpm during my jogs, which is right around zone 2. Aside from that I was able to jog a relatively longer distance than I remember, roughly 700 meters.

My first "zone 2 training day" I just did two laps where I jogged the 700 meters, and the last lap was a partial distance since I start jogging near the end of my 1.1 km lap. I was pleasantly surprised that I could jog that distance and recover enough to do it twice.

So earlier this morning I tried it again and did it three times. I'll probably stick to four laps for my training and around three of those four laps will have the full 700 meter jog, with the last lap around 250 or so meters since I will end in front of my house.

My goal for this now is not to increase the number of laps I do, I'm perfectly happy doing roughly 4.3 km per training. I'm hoping to eventually be able to jog the whole training session.

Out.

[964] The Honda Brio

I really wasn't considering the Honda Brio as a possible candidate for a used car until I just saw a couple yesterday when I was out with my wife.

To be honest they look pretty good, and reading a few local reviews online tells me they're pretty fuel efficient as well. Size looks decent too.

So why didn't I consider it before? Just like with the Honda City I always had the stigma that Honda cars are expensive to maintain and hard to sell. I always thought spare parts would cost more and be harder to find, but during these past few months it's become apparent to me that that isn't the case anymore.

For second-hand cars I'd probably rank it behind the Mirage and the Wigo, though that may change.

My biggest concern would be how easy it would be to sell it when the time comes. I'm not sure if my preconceived notion of Honda cars having expensive re-sale values is true. I'm also not sure how easy it is to re-sell a Honda.

Going through a quick listing in Carousell (with a lot of filters added in) I only saw two Brios there. Both may be relatively new but their mileage is also relatively high compared to the age of the vehicle.

So again, more stuff to read about. Not that I mind.

Out.

[963] Car Decision Matrix Part 2: Cars

I posted yesterday about the "car decision matrix" I'm planning on creating. Thinking about it now I've decided to list down cars I'm considering to add to the list. So here are the used cars I'm considering.

The hatchbacks. Toyota Wigo, Mitsubishi Mirage, Honda Jazz, Suzuki Swift, and the Toyota Yaris. I'm not that hopeful about the latter three though since the Jazz listings I've seen have relatively expensive and older options. The Swift has a smaller displacement engines available, and the Yaris are mostly older models. I'm just including them to widen the net.

The sedans. Toyota Vios and Honda City. I've heard and read positive things about both cars, and while I won't limit myself to the 1.3L Vios, there are more listings of the 1.5L Honda City that sell for almost the same price. Of course they're also a few years older.

The family haulers. Honda Mobilio and Suzuki Ertiga. I've seen some of these being sold within my budget and have also considered these simply because in the event my parents will be going out with us we can all still fit in relative comfort inside these cars. Plus they've got bigger storage space whether the third row seats are folded up or down.

So there are nine cars I will be considering, and a couple of cars I decided not to consider. The cars I've decided against are mostly Kias, Hyundais, and the Honda Brio and Suzuki Celerio. I'm not that big a fan of the Brio because it doesn't have the magic seat system the Honda Jazz has.

Out.

[962] Car Decision Matrix

I love checking out used car prices of different makes and models. I've also been considering if I can afford to get a relatively newer, more fuel efficient second-hand car. I've done my research both by checking reviews and fuel consumption figures online, and asking different people about their opinions about certain cars and brands.

Yet I still can't make up my mind, until a good friend of mine told me about a decision matrix. So what is a decision matrix? At its most basic it appears to be a grid where you assign different categories for columns and rows. Here's a link for a more complex explanation of what a decision matrix is.

So what's my game plan? Well I guess I need to find a few categories I've been considering for what second-hand car I want. Off the top of my head these are some of the categories I've been considering.

• Fuel efficiency. I'll be more than happy if whatever car I pick can give me at the worst maybe 8km/L consumption when the car is used to bring my wife and daughter to their respective destinations everyday. I always take consumption figures online with a grain of salt, and I really appreciate Autodeal for always saying that their consumption tests usually just involve one person in the car and one backpack. So I basically subtract 1-2km/L from what is written. So if you get 10km/L in really bad traffic, I assume it will be 8km/L considering there will be at least 3 passengers and a lot of bags.
• Reliability. I don't want to get a used car that will need a lot of repairs, and I know this is a big what if when getting a used car. So I'll listen to personal accounts, read reviews, and also see how readily available parts are for each car, including alternative parts that aren't made by the original manufacturer.
• Looks. I really love hatchbacks. I have a bad feeling this will cloud my judgement but I really wish I could find a hatchback that meets all my categories. I don't want to buy a used car that's a compromise because in the end it's my money and my happiness.
• Bang for buck. I have no idea how to explain this but I guess the most features, least mileage, and best combination of the other categories would give me the best bang for the buck.

I'll probably try to work on this decision matrix soon so I can give a solid presentation to my folks just in case they want to find out what I'm thinking of doing. And hopefully with this matrix I can finally score all car options I like and come up with a decision I won't regret.

Out.