For the past four weeks I've had a cycle of maintaining (actually gaining - .1 and .3) for a week, and then dropping for a week. Last week was a 'good' week where I dropped. I'm happy about that, but I'm tired of this cycle. So this week - no maintaining, no gaining. I want to see progress! I've made a good start of it. Down 1.2 since weigh in on Saturday.
Yep, I'm below 205! I usually give myself a few days before 'officially' proclaiming a milestone reached, but I'm going to celebrate my first day under 205 just a little ;)
Still, as happy as I am, the focus is on Onderland... Onderland... Onderland :) to that end, I would like to be below 202 by Saturday. I don't know if it's possible but I'm going to follow 'the plan' with that goal in mind.
What really struck me today is how really really nice it is to put on clothes today and not have them be tighter then yesterday. After 2+ years of dreading getting up and facing my closet, wondering "What going to not fit today..." In fact, the pants I put on today might be gaping just a little around the waist... and I just started wearing them again! Now THAT'S the way to start the morning!
Exercise planned for the week:
Did a 30 minute bike ride - kept it between 11-16 MPR. Nice and easy recovery from Saturday. Tonight I'll go for a run - 3 miles minimum as I start a 1/2 marathon program this week in prep for my 'Big' triathlon in September. Wednesday is a longer bike ride (1 hour). Thursday 3 Mile run. Friday a bike and a long open water swim, and then Saturday Hubby and I are doing a 14 mile run/walk called the Double DipSea. (it's more a 'hike' then anything).
I'm still trying to keep my calories around 1000 - like I said, below that and I don't feel well.
The biggest challenge this week will be Wednesday. I've been 'asked' to attend a customer appreciation event at the Oakland A's since one of my bigger clients will be there. I'm sure many of you are going... ooo you get to go watch the Giant's vs the A's in a luxury box?! what's your beef!? Well #1 I'm not good at... what's the word I'm looking for... schmoozing. I do my job and do it well, no matter my personal feelings, but making small talk with someone that I don't give two shakes about... bleh. Then there's the fact that I don't like baseball. Ok maybe 'don't like' is too mild a word, but let's just say I've actually fallen asleep at Candlestick during a double header. just doesn't do it for me. So what's left? Well I used to go for the food and the booze. MMMMMMM baseball food. But, my guess is nothing provided will be 'on plan', so that means I'm going to have to go to extraordinary efforts to get my meals in that day.
alright, I'm done /whine lol!
Anyway - I'm saying all of this more to get it down in writing and to keep myself accountable. -- Cause it's all about Onederland baby! lol
Friday, June 26, 2009
swim/bike/run
Hey everyone how's your collar bones looking today? Mine are working their way to the surface :)
Yesterday ended well. Hubby was tired and didn't want to go run around the lake, so we went home instead. I was ok with that because he does the driving - so I try to be considerate of how he's feeling.
So, we drove home, I changed, grabbed the dog, and headed out for my run.
Now, many of you might not know that my next big Triathlon (I'm doing some 'baby' ones before then) is in 12 weeks and it's going to be a tough one. 1.5 mile swim from Alcatraz to SF. a 2.5 mile run after that (it's called a warm up run - huh?) a 9 mile bike, and then another 7.5 mile run. That's a total of 10 miles running. I struggled with deciding what kind of running plan I would do to try to get myself to this kind of mileage, and finally I figured out a 'hybrid' of my own.
I started with the Novice 1/2 marathon plan from Hal Higdon. I had used his plans before and I liked them. I also figured training for the longer distance of 13 miles couldn't hurt me do better on race day. But - I really like my "10K" running program from podrunner intervals the tempo tends to push me, and I like the interval format for getting faster and going longer. So I decided to blend that in as part of my program. Thursday night's runs would be the interval program from Podrunner and the other two runs would be as written by Mr Higdon.
That made last night my 'interval' day. So I plugged in my head phones and off I went :)
It was so much fun! :) I really like interval training because I feel like I can really push myself during the shorter run segments and know I'll have time to recover. So, last night's workout looked like this:
BPM Chart
5 min. warmup @ 137-142 BPM
4 min. @ 153 BPM
2 min. walk @ 142 BPM
4 min. @ 153 BPM
2 min. walk @ 142 BPM
4 min. @ 153 BPM
2 min. walk @ 142 BPM
4 min. @ 153 BPM
2 min. walk @ 142 BPM
4 min. @ 153 BPM
2 min. walk @ 142 BPM
3 min. cooldown @ 142-137 BPM
After my cool down, since I wasn't home yet, I went ahead and let the workout repeat and walked for 2 and then ran until I got home.
The exciting part is that I DID push myself on every run segment and kept below a 12 min/mile pace on each one! I have a feeling with the short run on Monday - the interval run on Thursday and a weekend long run... my fitness levels are going to go through some interesting changes over the next 12 weeks!
So, tonight the plan is to try out my new Friday Night routine. I'm going to change at work, BART to the car - where I've left my bike, and then ride my bike to Shadow Cliffs and swim with my tri team. Hubby will pick me up after he gets off work! Should be FUN!
Next week I'm adding weight lifting back in... look out world - cause believe it or not, weight lifting is my first love :P
Everyone have an excellent weekend. Get out, enjoy the summer. It'll boost your body's natural levels of vitamin D and keep you out of the kitchen!
PS: weight is at 202.6 still...
Yesterday ended well. Hubby was tired and didn't want to go run around the lake, so we went home instead. I was ok with that because he does the driving - so I try to be considerate of how he's feeling.
So, we drove home, I changed, grabbed the dog, and headed out for my run.
Now, many of you might not know that my next big Triathlon (I'm doing some 'baby' ones before then) is in 12 weeks and it's going to be a tough one. 1.5 mile swim from Alcatraz to SF. a 2.5 mile run after that (it's called a warm up run - huh?) a 9 mile bike, and then another 7.5 mile run. That's a total of 10 miles running. I struggled with deciding what kind of running plan I would do to try to get myself to this kind of mileage, and finally I figured out a 'hybrid' of my own.
I started with the Novice 1/2 marathon plan from Hal Higdon. I had used his plans before and I liked them. I also figured training for the longer distance of 13 miles couldn't hurt me do better on race day. But - I really like my "10K" running program from podrunner intervals the tempo tends to push me, and I like the interval format for getting faster and going longer. So I decided to blend that in as part of my program. Thursday night's runs would be the interval program from Podrunner and the other two runs would be as written by Mr Higdon.
That made last night my 'interval' day. So I plugged in my head phones and off I went :)
It was so much fun! :) I really like interval training because I feel like I can really push myself during the shorter run segments and know I'll have time to recover. So, last night's workout looked like this:
BPM Chart
5 min. warmup @ 137-142 BPM
4 min. @ 153 BPM
2 min. walk @ 142 BPM
4 min. @ 153 BPM
2 min. walk @ 142 BPM
4 min. @ 153 BPM
2 min. walk @ 142 BPM
4 min. @ 153 BPM
2 min. walk @ 142 BPM
4 min. @ 153 BPM
2 min. walk @ 142 BPM
3 min. cooldown @ 142-137 BPM
After my cool down, since I wasn't home yet, I went ahead and let the workout repeat and walked for 2 and then ran until I got home.
The exciting part is that I DID push myself on every run segment and kept below a 12 min/mile pace on each one! I have a feeling with the short run on Monday - the interval run on Thursday and a weekend long run... my fitness levels are going to go through some interesting changes over the next 12 weeks!
So, tonight the plan is to try out my new Friday Night routine. I'm going to change at work, BART to the car - where I've left my bike, and then ride my bike to Shadow Cliffs and swim with my tri team. Hubby will pick me up after he gets off work! Should be FUN!
Next week I'm adding weight lifting back in... look out world - cause believe it or not, weight lifting is my first love :P
Everyone have an excellent weekend. Get out, enjoy the summer. It'll boost your body's natural levels of vitamin D and keep you out of the kitchen!
PS: weight is at 202.6 still...
Swim/Bike/Run
Yesterday ended well. Hubby was tired and didn't want to go run around the lake, so we went home instead. I was ok with that because he does the driving - so I try to be considerate of how he's feeling.
So, we drove home, I changed, grabbed the dog, and headed out for my run.
Now, many of you might not know that my next big Triathlon (I'm doing some 'baby' ones before then) is in 12 weeks and it's going to be a tough one. 1.5 mile swim from Alcatraz to SF. a 2.5 mile run after that (it's called a warm up run - huh?) a 9 mile bike, and then another 7.5 mile run. That's a total of 10 miles running. I struggled with deciding what kind of running plan I would do to try to get myself to this kind of mileage, and finally I figured out a 'hybrid' of my own.
I started with the Novice 1/2 marathon plan from Hal Higdon. I had used his plans before and I liked them. I also figured training for the longer distance of 13 miles couldn't hurt me do better on race day. But - I really like my "10K" running program from podrunner intervals the tempo tends to push me, and I like the interval format for getting faster and going longer. So I decided to blend that in as part of my program. Thursday night's runs would be the interval program from Podrunner and the other two runs would be as written by Mr Higdon.
That made last night my 'interval' day. So I plugged in my head phones and off I went :)
It was so much fun! :) I really like interval training because I feel like I can really push myself during the shorter run segments and know I'll have time to recover. So, last night's workout looked like this:
BPM Chart
5 min. warmup @ 137-142 BPM
4 min. @ 153 BPM
2 min. walk @ 142 BPM
4 min. @ 153 BPM
2 min. walk @ 142 BPM
4 min. @ 153 BPM
2 min. walk @ 142 BPM
4 min. @ 153 BPM
2 min. walk @ 142 BPM
4 min. @ 153 BPM
2 min. walk @ 142 BPM
3 min. cooldown @ 142-137 BPM
After my cool down, since I wasn't home yet, I went ahead and let the workout repeat and walked for 2 and then ran until I got home.
The exciting part is that I DID push myself on every run segment and kept below a 12 min/mile pace on each one! I have a feeling with the short run on Monday - the interval run on Thursday and a weekend long run... my fitness levels are going to go through some interesting changes over the next 12 weeks!
So, tonight the plan is to try out my new Friday Night routine. I'm going to change at work, BART to the car - where I've left my bike, and then ride my bike to Shadow Cliffs and swim with my tri team. Hubby will pick me up after he gets off work! Should be FUN!
Next week I'm adding weight lifting back in... look out world - cause believe it or not, weight lifting is my first love :P
So, we drove home, I changed, grabbed the dog, and headed out for my run.
Now, many of you might not know that my next big Triathlon (I'm doing some 'baby' ones before then) is in 12 weeks and it's going to be a tough one. 1.5 mile swim from Alcatraz to SF. a 2.5 mile run after that (it's called a warm up run - huh?) a 9 mile bike, and then another 7.5 mile run. That's a total of 10 miles running. I struggled with deciding what kind of running plan I would do to try to get myself to this kind of mileage, and finally I figured out a 'hybrid' of my own.
I started with the Novice 1/2 marathon plan from Hal Higdon. I had used his plans before and I liked them. I also figured training for the longer distance of 13 miles couldn't hurt me do better on race day. But - I really like my "10K" running program from podrunner intervals the tempo tends to push me, and I like the interval format for getting faster and going longer. So I decided to blend that in as part of my program. Thursday night's runs would be the interval program from Podrunner and the other two runs would be as written by Mr Higdon.
That made last night my 'interval' day. So I plugged in my head phones and off I went :)
It was so much fun! :) I really like interval training because I feel like I can really push myself during the shorter run segments and know I'll have time to recover. So, last night's workout looked like this:
BPM Chart
5 min. warmup @ 137-142 BPM
4 min. @ 153 BPM
2 min. walk @ 142 BPM
4 min. @ 153 BPM
2 min. walk @ 142 BPM
4 min. @ 153 BPM
2 min. walk @ 142 BPM
4 min. @ 153 BPM
2 min. walk @ 142 BPM
4 min. @ 153 BPM
2 min. walk @ 142 BPM
3 min. cooldown @ 142-137 BPM
After my cool down, since I wasn't home yet, I went ahead and let the workout repeat and walked for 2 and then ran until I got home.
The exciting part is that I DID push myself on every run segment and kept below a 12 min/mile pace on each one! I have a feeling with the short run on Monday - the interval run on Thursday and a weekend long run... my fitness levels are going to go through some interesting changes over the next 12 weeks!
So, tonight the plan is to try out my new Friday Night routine. I'm going to change at work, BART to the car - where I've left my bike, and then ride my bike to Shadow Cliffs and swim with my tri team. Hubby will pick me up after he gets off work! Should be FUN!
Next week I'm adding weight lifting back in... look out world - cause believe it or not, weight lifting is my first love :P
A Blast from the Past
A Long Long Long time ago I heard that Dr Beck had a new book out. So, being the diet book junkie that I am (sorry about using the "D" Word ScottO, but it's what best describes them) I had to order it. Only, it seems the announcement of the book's release was premature. The book wasn't actually 'out' yet. Well, I soon forgot about it. Moved on, gained more weight, did a triathlon, read other books, joined Metifast... you know how it goes.
Last night, however, there was a package on my porch from Amazon. I was really confused because Hubby and I have made a deal to not spend 'frivolous' money for a while. All my 'play money' has been going to race entry fees. So, a package from Amazon meant I hadn't kept up my end of the 'deal'. I opened the package and there was the 'Green Book' Dr Beck's "The Complete Beck diet for life"!
Seems that while I had forgotten that I had ordered the book, amazon hadn't and shipped it as soon as they got some in stock. HA! -- Oh well, I love Dr Beck and I'm sure I can learn some awesome stuff from her as well as get a refresher. You may see me pulling some highlights from it over the next few weeks.
Last night, however, there was a package on my porch from Amazon. I was really confused because Hubby and I have made a deal to not spend 'frivolous' money for a while. All my 'play money' has been going to race entry fees. So, a package from Amazon meant I hadn't kept up my end of the 'deal'. I opened the package and there was the 'Green Book' Dr Beck's "The Complete Beck diet for life"!
Seems that while I had forgotten that I had ordered the book, amazon hadn't and shipped it as soon as they got some in stock. HA! -- Oh well, I love Dr Beck and I'm sure I can learn some awesome stuff from her as well as get a refresher. You may see me pulling some highlights from it over the next few weeks.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Random Stats that Amuse me- and various other ramblings
I've been on plan for 82 days/almost 12 weeks
I've lost 36.4 lbs - that's .44 lbs a day or 3.11 per week
Other then my first week, the most I've lost is 4.5 lbs, the least was a gain of 0.3
My average weight my first week was 233. My average weight last week was 206.
I give myself a small reward every two pounds (I have to be three days at or below that weight). The longest time between rewards was between 212 and 210 (12 days). The shortest was between 210 and 208 (1 day). The average time to drop 2 lbs is 5.5 days.
I've gone from a size 18W (pants) to size 16 (no W). I've gone from a size XXL shirt to XL.
Since I got my body bugg (April 26th)my average calories burned per day is 2550. On my highest Day (Yeah I did a tri that day) I burned 4260. On my lowest 1850 (This is what I burn if I do nothing but sit on my keester all day).
I average over 10,000 steps a day
So what does all this mean? Well, it means that I really like data and numbers... lol.
So what else is going on with me? Well ballpark food (even lean & Green Ballpark food) combined with a late night and not much sleep has the scale stall. That's ok - it'll even up eventually.
I pulled a pair of pants out of my closet of shame this weekend that were just a LEETLE too tight (you know - some zipper strain) but when I put them on this morning they zip just find and are actually baggy around the waist. How did that happen?! Bodies are just so weird.
Hubby and I are going to go run with the 'group' tonight around Lace Merced. 4.5 miles - I hope it's easier then Tuesday night's run was. When I told hubby that I was looking forward to running with the club tonight he responded that he was looking forward to the cookies they provide after the run! lol - hey whatever motivates you right?
Ok - so now I want to ask you guys a question. I was reading another blogger and she mentioned that she's purging her closet. Getting rid of all her 'too big' clothes and it got me wondering. When do you declare something 'too big'? Is it when the next size down fits? Or is it when it falls off your ever shrinking bootie? do I just stage a huge fashion show and let hubby tell me what's not fit to wear anymore?
What have you all done?
I've lost 36.4 lbs - that's .44 lbs a day or 3.11 per week
Other then my first week, the most I've lost is 4.5 lbs, the least was a gain of 0.3
My average weight my first week was 233. My average weight last week was 206.
I give myself a small reward every two pounds (I have to be three days at or below that weight). The longest time between rewards was between 212 and 210 (12 days). The shortest was between 210 and 208 (1 day). The average time to drop 2 lbs is 5.5 days.
I've gone from a size 18W (pants) to size 16 (no W). I've gone from a size XXL shirt to XL.
Since I got my body bugg (April 26th)my average calories burned per day is 2550. On my highest Day (Yeah I did a tri that day) I burned 4260. On my lowest 1850 (This is what I burn if I do nothing but sit on my keester all day).
I average over 10,000 steps a day
So what does all this mean? Well, it means that I really like data and numbers... lol.
So what else is going on with me? Well ballpark food (even lean & Green Ballpark food) combined with a late night and not much sleep has the scale stall. That's ok - it'll even up eventually.
I pulled a pair of pants out of my closet of shame this weekend that were just a LEETLE too tight (you know - some zipper strain) but when I put them on this morning they zip just find and are actually baggy around the waist. How did that happen?! Bodies are just so weird.
Hubby and I are going to go run with the 'group' tonight around Lace Merced. 4.5 miles - I hope it's easier then Tuesday night's run was. When I told hubby that I was looking forward to running with the club tonight he responded that he was looking forward to the cookies they provide after the run! lol - hey whatever motivates you right?
Ok - so now I want to ask you guys a question. I was reading another blogger and she mentioned that she's purging her closet. Getting rid of all her 'too big' clothes and it got me wondering. When do you declare something 'too big'? Is it when the next size down fits? Or is it when it falls off your ever shrinking bootie? do I just stage a huge fashion show and let hubby tell me what's not fit to wear anymore?
What have you all done?
Thursday Night DSE Running
Hubby and I are going to go run with the 'group' tonight around Lace Merced. 4.5 miles - I hope it's easier then Tuesday night's run was. When I told hubby that I was looking forward to running with the club tonight he responded that he was looking forward to the cookies they provide after the run! lol - hey whatever motivates you right?
I can't see my weight loss - and The Paper Towel Theory
So I've seen a lot of rumbling lately from folks who aren't seeing their weight loss. Or, who aren't seeing it where they would like to see it, etc.
I TOTALLY understand this feeling :) Even though my husband told me almost daily that he could tell the difference, even though I was fitting into smaller clothes, for a while there, I couldn't tell I was loosing weight when I looked in the mirror.
But, there is a reason for this (other then body dismorphication). It's called the Paper Towel Theory. I read it on Dr Hussman's website many years ago and thought it might be beneficial to share it here.
The Paper Towel Theory
As it turns out, you can get fairly good estimates of your bodyfat composition simply from a single skinfold, or by passing a tiny electrical current through your foot, ankle or hands. What this really means is that fat is distributed fairly precisely on the body. And while it's true that some people have larger fat deposits on some parts of their body than others, it's also true that percentage-wise, the fat on your body comes off fairly evenly.
That's important to remember when you measure your progress. See, one of the first places you're probably looking for fat loss is on those areas of your body that you think are "too fat." But in fact, that's the last place you should look, because I can guarantee that those areas are still going to look "too fat" for a little while.
Think of it this way. If you have a roll of paper towels (or a cassette tape), and you start to unravel it, you can get a good amount off of the roll before you really see a visible change. But as you get further down that roll, even taking off a little more is very apparent.
The same is true with your body. The first place you're going to see greater definition is at those areas where the fat deposits are relatively thin already. For most people, this is around the shoulders and clavicles (the two long bones that run just under your neck, connecting your two shoulders to the breast plate).
Another reason why this is important is that advertisers often prey on the belief that fat can be "spot-reduced." All the twisty ab-crunchers on the market are perfect examples. Basically, these companies get a fitness model that has followed months or years of weight training, aerobics, and proper nutrition, and have them roll back and forth in one of these things, as if they actually got in shape that way.
Or look at all the books promising to help you lose fat "for your type" - pear shaped, apple shaped, dodecahedron shaped - you name it. It's true, for example, that people who are insulin resistant tend to store more fat in the midsection, and that women tend to store more fat in the thigh area. But so what? If you lose the fat, it comes off EVERYWHERE. If a problem area looks "too fat", training that area with exercise may very well improve the definition of the underlying muscles and the overall form of that area. But it will not accelerate fat loss relative to other parts of your body.
If the body didn't lose fat uniformly, we'd all wobble around like Weebles because our relatively fixed bone and muscle structure wouldn't be able to tolerate the variation. The best way to change the size of your body is through caloric deficits. The best way to change the shape is through resistance training. The one thing you need to achieve a total physique and fitness transformation is to do EVERYTHING - aerobics, intervals, resistance training, cross-training (physiologist Covert Bailey calls these the "four food groups of exercise"), small frequent meals, high-quality protein and carbohydrates, low-glycemic nutrition, proper supplementation, water, and rest. As Shawn Phillips says, "the one thing, is everything."
So again, if you're looking for results in the mirror, look for the first signs of improved definition at those areas where muscle is relatively close to the surface. For most people, this is the upper chest and shoulder area. After two weeks, you probably won't see enormous visible changes elsewhere. But those changes are happening anyway.
You should definitely be keeping track of how your clothes feel. Go to the closet and pick out an outfit that's just a little too tight. Put it aside. You'll want to try it on occasionally. Waist measurements can also capture fat loss that isn't necessarily evident in the mirror.
------------------------------------
There you go! :)
Now - if you really want an eye opener - try the Paper Towel experiment. Take a brand new roll and take off one piece (one pound). doesn't really make a visable difference does it? What if the roll is 1/2 gone? Take off a piece... ooo, you can kind of see that can't ya? How about if it's almost gone? Take off a piece - WOW! can you see that!?
Yeah, it can be discouraging in the beginning to think. This one (or three or four) pounds aren't going to make a difference. But they do... That paper towel roll isn't going to unwind itself! You can't grab a sheet out of the middle no matter how much you might want to.
I guess what I'm trying to say is - hang in there folks! Every pound matters weather you 'see' it or not!
I TOTALLY understand this feeling :) Even though my husband told me almost daily that he could tell the difference, even though I was fitting into smaller clothes, for a while there, I couldn't tell I was loosing weight when I looked in the mirror.
But, there is a reason for this (other then body dismorphication). It's called the Paper Towel Theory. I read it on Dr Hussman's website many years ago and thought it might be beneficial to share it here.
The Paper Towel Theory
As it turns out, you can get fairly good estimates of your bodyfat composition simply from a single skinfold, or by passing a tiny electrical current through your foot, ankle or hands. What this really means is that fat is distributed fairly precisely on the body. And while it's true that some people have larger fat deposits on some parts of their body than others, it's also true that percentage-wise, the fat on your body comes off fairly evenly.
That's important to remember when you measure your progress. See, one of the first places you're probably looking for fat loss is on those areas of your body that you think are "too fat." But in fact, that's the last place you should look, because I can guarantee that those areas are still going to look "too fat" for a little while.
Think of it this way. If you have a roll of paper towels (or a cassette tape), and you start to unravel it, you can get a good amount off of the roll before you really see a visible change. But as you get further down that roll, even taking off a little more is very apparent.
The same is true with your body. The first place you're going to see greater definition is at those areas where the fat deposits are relatively thin already. For most people, this is around the shoulders and clavicles (the two long bones that run just under your neck, connecting your two shoulders to the breast plate).
Another reason why this is important is that advertisers often prey on the belief that fat can be "spot-reduced." All the twisty ab-crunchers on the market are perfect examples. Basically, these companies get a fitness model that has followed months or years of weight training, aerobics, and proper nutrition, and have them roll back and forth in one of these things, as if they actually got in shape that way.
Or look at all the books promising to help you lose fat "for your type" - pear shaped, apple shaped, dodecahedron shaped - you name it. It's true, for example, that people who are insulin resistant tend to store more fat in the midsection, and that women tend to store more fat in the thigh area. But so what? If you lose the fat, it comes off EVERYWHERE. If a problem area looks "too fat", training that area with exercise may very well improve the definition of the underlying muscles and the overall form of that area. But it will not accelerate fat loss relative to other parts of your body.
If the body didn't lose fat uniformly, we'd all wobble around like Weebles because our relatively fixed bone and muscle structure wouldn't be able to tolerate the variation. The best way to change the size of your body is through caloric deficits. The best way to change the shape is through resistance training. The one thing you need to achieve a total physique and fitness transformation is to do EVERYTHING - aerobics, intervals, resistance training, cross-training (physiologist Covert Bailey calls these the "four food groups of exercise"), small frequent meals, high-quality protein and carbohydrates, low-glycemic nutrition, proper supplementation, water, and rest. As Shawn Phillips says, "the one thing, is everything."
So again, if you're looking for results in the mirror, look for the first signs of improved definition at those areas where muscle is relatively close to the surface. For most people, this is the upper chest and shoulder area. After two weeks, you probably won't see enormous visible changes elsewhere. But those changes are happening anyway.
You should definitely be keeping track of how your clothes feel. Go to the closet and pick out an outfit that's just a little too tight. Put it aside. You'll want to try it on occasionally. Waist measurements can also capture fat loss that isn't necessarily evident in the mirror.
------------------------------------
There you go! :)
Now - if you really want an eye opener - try the Paper Towel experiment. Take a brand new roll and take off one piece (one pound). doesn't really make a visable difference does it? What if the roll is 1/2 gone? Take off a piece... ooo, you can kind of see that can't ya? How about if it's almost gone? Take off a piece - WOW! can you see that!?
Yeah, it can be discouraging in the beginning to think. This one (or three or four) pounds aren't going to make a difference. But they do... That paper towel roll isn't going to unwind itself! You can't grab a sheet out of the middle no matter how much you might want to.
I guess what I'm trying to say is - hang in there folks! Every pound matters weather you 'see' it or not!
The Game is Over
And I survived. I got my excercise for the day in. I got lost inside the stadium twice and walked the whole thing both times! Yeah, I'm that good.
the best part of the night was that they actually had food that wasn't hot dogs :) sliced turkey and veggies whoo hoo! Yeah, I lean and greened at a baseball game.
I'm on my way home now, but I wanted to share one little thing that occured to me while I was hiking around the stadium in work clothes.
You often hear the expression "never let them see you sweat". Well I propose that the female version of that is "never let them see you limp"
yeah, I was wearing heels tonight. :)
the best part of the night was that they actually had food that wasn't hot dogs :) sliced turkey and veggies whoo hoo! Yeah, I lean and greened at a baseball game.
I'm on my way home now, but I wanted to share one little thing that occured to me while I was hiking around the stadium in work clothes.
You often hear the expression "never let them see you sweat". Well I propose that the female version of that is "never let them see you limp"
yeah, I was wearing heels tonight. :)
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Exercise planned for the week:
Did a 30 minute bike ride - kept it between 11-16 MPR. Nice and easy recovery from Saturday. Tonight I'll go for a run - 3 miles minimum as I start a 1/2 marathon program this week in prep for my 'Big' triathlon in September. Wednesday is a longer bike ride (1 hour). Thursday 3 Mile run. Friday a bike and a long open water swim, and then Saturday Hubby and I are doing a 14 mile run/walk called the Double DipSea. (it's more a 'hike' then anything).
My 3 mile run last night was hard. I don't know if it was the low calorie day I had on Monday, the lack of sleep over the weekend, the heat or all of it, but I struggled. But, I did it - got it done, logged in the books and I'm sure my body benefited from it. My training partner (the dog) thought it was tough too :) He actually let me squirt him with the hose when we got home when normally he runs as soon as he hears the water turn on!
Sleep - it does a body good
One thing about being go go go on the weekends is that I don't get to catch up on my sleep like in the 'old days'. Luckily, I can work from home now and then and on those days instead of getting up at 5AM I can wake up at 9 - it's bliss. Today was a work from home day (at least in the morning) - so I got my extra few hours of sleep and it seems to have had some benefits because I weighed this morning and I'm in the 202's! I like the way that looks!
My 3 mile run last night was hard. I don't know if it was the low calorie day I had on Monday, the lack of sleep over the weekend, the heat or all of it, but I struggled. But, I did it - got it done, logged in the books and I'm sure my body benefited from it. My training partner (the dog) thought it was tough too :) He actually let me squirt him with the hose when we got home when normally he runs as soon as he hears the water turn on!
Had a small NSV last night :) I know, this may sound weird to some people... lol. But I'm a 'center of attention' kind of girl. I have what some call a sanguine personality. I pretty much thrive on positive attention. One of the things that weight gain does is tends to make one 'invisible'. Which can really be disheartening to one who likes to burst in the room to "Hi NORM!" if you know what I mean. Of course you start to erode your self confidence and sometimes that makes getting the weight off even harder. My husband even mentioned at one point. "I miss the old self confident you" And he was right, that person was buried under the weight gain and all the mental crap that went with it.
One of the things completing Lavaman did for me was give me a sense of accomplishment and self worth that had been lacking for so long. For the week we spent in Hawaii after words people would recognize my purple hair and go "You did Lavaman didn't you! I remember you! Awesome job!" I was still riding the high from all of that when I came home and there, waiting for me was my first order of Medifast. The timing couldn't have been more perfect.
Although I'm only 30% of the way toward my goal I feel 100% better. My confidence is back, I walk with my head up, I meat people's eye when I walk down the street, I'm 'me' again. Hubby is back to stopping me in the middle of dinner, just to wrap his arms around me and snuggle, and I'm thriving.
But last night, something happened that hasn't happened in years. Again, this is probably going to sound really weird to folks, lol!
Yesterday I had on my favorite slacks, there's something about them that's really flattering - just the perfect cut, perfect length, and one of the few blouses that that actually show off my waist. As I left work, I had stashed what is my almost always present sweater in my bag because, it was hot, and I headed down the street toward BART. I was almost to BART when I heard it...
"Whoa MaMa!"
A CAT CALL!
For me! I haven't had that in AGES. Maybe that makes me shallow, but I'll take a compliment when it's given - hahah.
Look out world - Shawn is back!
My 3 mile run last night was hard. I don't know if it was the low calorie day I had on Monday, the lack of sleep over the weekend, the heat or all of it, but I struggled. But, I did it - got it done, logged in the books and I'm sure my body benefited from it. My training partner (the dog) thought it was tough too :) He actually let me squirt him with the hose when we got home when normally he runs as soon as he hears the water turn on!
Had a small NSV last night :) I know, this may sound weird to some people... lol. But I'm a 'center of attention' kind of girl. I have what some call a sanguine personality. I pretty much thrive on positive attention. One of the things that weight gain does is tends to make one 'invisible'. Which can really be disheartening to one who likes to burst in the room to "Hi NORM!" if you know what I mean. Of course you start to erode your self confidence and sometimes that makes getting the weight off even harder. My husband even mentioned at one point. "I miss the old self confident you" And he was right, that person was buried under the weight gain and all the mental crap that went with it.
One of the things completing Lavaman did for me was give me a sense of accomplishment and self worth that had been lacking for so long. For the week we spent in Hawaii after words people would recognize my purple hair and go "You did Lavaman didn't you! I remember you! Awesome job!" I was still riding the high from all of that when I came home and there, waiting for me was my first order of Medifast. The timing couldn't have been more perfect.
Although I'm only 30% of the way toward my goal I feel 100% better. My confidence is back, I walk with my head up, I meat people's eye when I walk down the street, I'm 'me' again. Hubby is back to stopping me in the middle of dinner, just to wrap his arms around me and snuggle, and I'm thriving.
But last night, something happened that hasn't happened in years. Again, this is probably going to sound really weird to folks, lol!
Yesterday I had on my favorite slacks, there's something about them that's really flattering - just the perfect cut, perfect length, and one of the few blouses that that actually show off my waist. As I left work, I had stashed what is my almost always present sweater in my bag because, it was hot, and I headed down the street toward BART. I was almost to BART when I heard it...
"Whoa MaMa!"
A CAT CALL!
For me! I haven't had that in AGES. Maybe that makes me shallow, but I'll take a compliment when it's given - hahah.
Look out world - Shawn is back!
One of my weight loss goals...
Is to be as sexy as my car ;)
I was going to wait until 200 to post a picture, but it was too nice a day, and I was feeling too good to not snap a quicky before heading off to the city.
I was going to wait until 200 to post a picture, but it was too nice a day, and I was feeling too good to not snap a quicky before heading off to the city.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Breaking the Cycle - and Holding Myself Accountable
For the past four weeks I've had a cycle of maintaining (actually gaining - .1 and .3) for a week, and then dropping for a week. Last week was a 'good' week where I dropped. I'm happy about that, but I'm tired of this cycle. So this week - no maintaining, no gaining. I want to see progress! I've made a good start of it. Down 1.2 since weigh in on Saturday.
Yep, I'm below 205! I usually give myself a few days before 'officially' proclaiming a milestone reached, but I'm going to celebrate my first day under 205 just a little ;)
Still, as happy as I am, the focus is on Onderland... Onderland... Onderland :) to that end, I would like to be below 202 by Saturday. I don't know if it's possible but I'm going to follow 'the plan' with that goal in mind.
What really struck me today is how really really nice it is to put on clothes today and not have them be tighter then yesterday. After 2+ years of dreading getting up and facing my closet, wondering "What going to not fit today..." In fact, the pants I put on today might be gaping just a little around the waist... and I just started wearing them again! Now THAT'S the way to start the morning!
Exercise planned for the week:
Did a 30 minute bike ride - kept it between 11-16 MPR. Nice and easy recovery from Saturday. Tonight I'll go for a run - 3 miles minimum as I start a 1/2 marathon program this week in prep for my 'Big' triathlon in September. Wednesday is a longer bike ride (1 hour). Thursday 3 Mile run. Friday a bike and a long open water swim, and then Saturday Hubby and I are doing a 14 mile run/walk called the Double DipSea. (it's more a 'hike' then anything).
I'm still trying to keep my calories around 1000 - like I said, below that and I don't feel well.
The biggest challenge this week will be Wednesday. I've been 'asked' to attend a customer appreciation event at the Oakland A's since one of my bigger clients will be there. I'm sure many of you are going... ooo you get to go watch the Giant's vs the A's in a luxury box?! what's your beef!? Well #1 I'm not good at... what's the word I'm looking for... schmoozing. I do my job and do it well, no matter my personal feelings, but making small talk with someone that I don't give two shakes about... bleh. Then there's the fact that I don't like baseball. Ok maybe 'don't like' is too mild a word, but let's just say I've actually fallen asleep at Candlestick during a double header. just doesn't do it for me. So what's left? Well I used to go for the food and the booze. MMMMMMM baseball food. But, my guess is nothing provided will be 'on plan', so that means I'm going to have to go to extraordinary efforts to get my meals in that day.
alright, I'm done /whine lol!
Anyway - I'm saying all of this more to get it down in writing and to keep myself accountable. -- Cause it's all about Onederland baby! lol
Yep, I'm below 205! I usually give myself a few days before 'officially' proclaiming a milestone reached, but I'm going to celebrate my first day under 205 just a little ;)
Still, as happy as I am, the focus is on Onderland... Onderland... Onderland :) to that end, I would like to be below 202 by Saturday. I don't know if it's possible but I'm going to follow 'the plan' with that goal in mind.
What really struck me today is how really really nice it is to put on clothes today and not have them be tighter then yesterday. After 2+ years of dreading getting up and facing my closet, wondering "What going to not fit today..." In fact, the pants I put on today might be gaping just a little around the waist... and I just started wearing them again! Now THAT'S the way to start the morning!
Exercise planned for the week:
Did a 30 minute bike ride - kept it between 11-16 MPR. Nice and easy recovery from Saturday. Tonight I'll go for a run - 3 miles minimum as I start a 1/2 marathon program this week in prep for my 'Big' triathlon in September. Wednesday is a longer bike ride (1 hour). Thursday 3 Mile run. Friday a bike and a long open water swim, and then Saturday Hubby and I are doing a 14 mile run/walk called the Double DipSea. (it's more a 'hike' then anything).
I'm still trying to keep my calories around 1000 - like I said, below that and I don't feel well.
The biggest challenge this week will be Wednesday. I've been 'asked' to attend a customer appreciation event at the Oakland A's since one of my bigger clients will be there. I'm sure many of you are going... ooo you get to go watch the Giant's vs the A's in a luxury box?! what's your beef!? Well #1 I'm not good at... what's the word I'm looking for... schmoozing. I do my job and do it well, no matter my personal feelings, but making small talk with someone that I don't give two shakes about... bleh. Then there's the fact that I don't like baseball. Ok maybe 'don't like' is too mild a word, but let's just say I've actually fallen asleep at Candlestick during a double header. just doesn't do it for me. So what's left? Well I used to go for the food and the booze. MMMMMMM baseball food. But, my guess is nothing provided will be 'on plan', so that means I'm going to have to go to extraordinary efforts to get my meals in that day.
alright, I'm done /whine lol!
Anyway - I'm saying all of this more to get it down in writing and to keep myself accountable. -- Cause it's all about Onederland baby! lol
Monday, June 22, 2009
Again with the Progress!
You guys - I'm in tears right now...
This might not be something that everyone can relate to, but I hope you will join me in celebrating anyway :)
They finally posted the results from my tri on Saturday. Up 'til now, all I had was my finish time - nothing else.
Well, now I know more and it's... well, for me it's a NSV that still has me stunned.
First of all:
My finish time (as you know) was 2:02:33 - that was fast enough for me to place 139th out of 177 people. That is my BEST finish time to date and in and of itself was very heartening.
Of the women who competed I finished 33rd out of 57 - again a really pleasing number.
of women my age (40-44) I finished 10 out of 14 -- again, for me that's good and those numbers along were enough to make me do a happy dance, but -- there was more.
If you read my report you know that I felt like I struggled on the swim. The results paint a slightly different picture. My time for the 500 yard swim - 11:54. That was fast enough to finish 81st out of the 177 competitors. I was in the top 1/2!! and better yet, only 16, YES 16! women finished in front of me! Oh My God!! I was in 17th place out of 57 (women) when I was done with the swim!
The bike and run numbers weren't nearly as dramatic. On the bike I was 134th out of 177, and on the run I was 146th. Just the fact that I finished the run faster then about 30 people is still, a really, really big deal. I'm making progress!!
This might not be something that everyone can relate to, but I hope you will join me in celebrating anyway :)
They finally posted the results from my tri on Saturday. Up 'til now, all I had was my finish time - nothing else.
Well, now I know more and it's... well, for me it's a NSV that still has me stunned.
First of all:
My finish time (as you know) was 2:02:33 - that was fast enough for me to place 139th out of 177 people. That is my BEST finish time to date and in and of itself was very heartening.
Of the women who competed I finished 33rd out of 57 - again a really pleasing number.
of women my age (40-44) I finished 10 out of 14 -- again, for me that's good and those numbers along were enough to make me do a happy dance, but -- there was more.
If you read my report you know that I felt like I struggled on the swim. The results paint a slightly different picture. My time for the 500 yard swim - 11:54. That was fast enough to finish 81st out of the 177 competitors. I was in the top 1/2!! and better yet, only 16, YES 16! women finished in front of me! Oh My God!! I was in 17th place out of 57 (women) when I was done with the swim!
The bike and run numbers weren't nearly as dramatic. On the bike I was 134th out of 177, and on the run I was 146th. Just the fact that I finished the run faster then about 30 people is still, a really, really big deal. I'm making progress!!
Sharing an NSV (Non-Scale Victory)
You guys - I'm in tears right now...
This might not be something that everyone can relate to, but I hope you will join me in celebrating anyway :)
They finally posted the results from my tri on Saturday. Up 'til now, all I had was my finish time - nothing else.
Well, now I know more and it's... well, for me it's a NSV that still has me stunned.
First of all:
My finish time (as you know) was 2:02:33 - that was fast enough for me to place 139th out of 177 people. That is my BEST finish time to date and in and of itself was very heartening.
Of the women who competed I finished 33rd out of 57 - again a really pleasing number.
of women my age (40-44) I finished 10 out of 14 -- again, for me that's good and those numbers along were enough to make me do a happy dance, but -- there was more.
If you read my report you know that I felt like I struggled on the swim. The results paint a slightly different picture. My time for the 500 yard swim - 11:54. That was fast enough to finish 81st out of the 177 competitors. I was in the top 1/2!! and better yet, only 16, YES 16! women finished in front of me! Oh My God!! I was in 17th place out of 57 (women) when I was done with the swim!
The bike and run numbers weren't nearly as dramatic. On the bike I was 134th out of 177, and on the run I was 146th. Just the fact that I finished the run faster then about 30 people is still, a really, really big deal. I'm making progress!!
This might not be something that everyone can relate to, but I hope you will join me in celebrating anyway :)
They finally posted the results from my tri on Saturday. Up 'til now, all I had was my finish time - nothing else.
Well, now I know more and it's... well, for me it's a NSV that still has me stunned.
First of all:
My finish time (as you know) was 2:02:33 - that was fast enough for me to place 139th out of 177 people. That is my BEST finish time to date and in and of itself was very heartening.
Of the women who competed I finished 33rd out of 57 - again a really pleasing number.
of women my age (40-44) I finished 10 out of 14 -- again, for me that's good and those numbers along were enough to make me do a happy dance, but -- there was more.
If you read my report you know that I felt like I struggled on the swim. The results paint a slightly different picture. My time for the 500 yard swim - 11:54. That was fast enough to finish 81st out of the 177 competitors. I was in the top 1/2!! and better yet, only 16, YES 16! women finished in front of me! Oh My God!! I was in 17th place out of 57 (women) when I was done with the swim!
The bike and run numbers weren't nearly as dramatic. On the bike I was 134th out of 177, and on the run I was 146th. Just the fact that I finished the run faster then about 30 people is still, a really, really big deal. I'm making progress!!
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Silicone Valley Mountain Bike Tri - Race Report - 06/20/09
After the disaster that was Achorman, I needed a good race to get my confidence back. The Silicone Valley Mountain Bike Tri was a bit of an unknown. Given that I’ve never actually ROAD true ‘mountain bike’ style, it could go really, really badly. But, since it seemed to be a more ‘everymans’ race then Achorman – it could be ok.
The night before the race was the usual for me. Carefully laying everything out. Going through each part of the race in my mind and making sure I had everything I needed. I also spend some time making food for myself to take along in order to make sure I didn’t have any excuses to eat ‘crap’. By the time I was done, it was 12:00AM! Ack!
Packet pickup was slated for 6:30AM and I knew I wanted to be there about that time. Since I live over an hour from San Jose where the race was held, that meant leaving at 5:30 and getting up at 5:00.. ugh!
Luckily I had no trouble falling asleep and no trouble getting up in the morning. In no time we were all in the car and on our way.
We arrived just after 6:30 and my hubby dropped me off in front of the park. I was quickly unloaded and rolling my bike to transition while he went off to find a parking spot. I walked through the racks and finally found a spot I liked. On the end so I didn’t have to fight people on either side of me. I hooked my bike on the rack to save my spot, dropped my bag off and went to find the packet pickup table.
I was really surprised at the line at packet pickup. There was probably already 20 or more people in line, at it wasn’t moving quickly. Because this was a USAT sanctioned race, everyone needed to either have a day, or a year membership, so almost every person was going up to the table, then having to fill out paperwork, pay, then wait for them to find chip, packet, t-shirt, swim cap… it was taking, FOR EV-ER! Finally, they opened another line and while the process was still slow, they were at least getting twice the number of people through. Since I already had my Yearly USTA membership, I just flashed my card, got my stuff and was out of there (although I had to correct the guy when he tried to hand me a ‘mens wave’ swim cap. I mean seriously, I’m not the prettiest girl around, but there are two undeniable marks that I am a chick... they sit on my chest J
Anyway, once that was cleared up, I headed back to transition and started setting up my stuff. They seemed to have plenty of room for the number of athletes which was really nice, and my ‘end position’ on the rack let me hang my swim jacket up as an extra marker to guide me to my spot later. I was feeling really good about the day so far. I checked my watch and I still had plenty of time… unlike last time at anchorman – whew! But, I wanted to be able to warm-up and test he water on the swim so I went ahead and climbed into my wetsuit, always a workout in and of itself.
Once the wetsuit was on, I headed down to the water. The beach was nice and clean. The water was… lake water not very clear at all, but clearer then the bar, not too cold either. I was feeling good. I swam around a bit to accustom myself to the temperature and then got out to await my wave start.
The starts were nicely spaced and seemed to be a good number of people. The ‘men 30+’ might have been a little large, but overall everything seemed to be going smoothly. As usual, my wave was last and I got into the water and headed out to the starting line. I had decided that this time I wasn’t going to hang back. I’m a strong swimmer and it’s time to stop putting myself behind from the start. I floated up to the front of the pack, and took a spot on the edge with a clear shot to the first buoy . The countdown started and whoosh we were off. And MAN was I off. I set myself a pace like I had never set before and was happy to feel that I was holding my own fitness wise, and looked to only have only one person in front of me speed wise. That lasted until the first buoy . It seemed to take forever to get around the stupid thing, and people were catching up and passing me while I floundered! I finally got around it and soon was headed toward the second marker. Still I couldn’t seem to get a rhythm going. It felt like I was swimming in slow motion. I had no idea where I was in the pack anymore, but it felt like last! About half way through the straightaway I felt the muscle in both my gluts cramp. I couldn’t believe it – this was not how I wanted to start this tri! I relaxed and slowed down a little, grinding my teeth as more people passed me. Slowing down seemed to ease the cramping so I put my head down and started swimming for real again. It seemed to take forever to reach the second buoy , and I was so glad to finally reach it. I had a line on the buoy and was swimming toward it when suddenly I was on the wrong side of it! I still don’t really know what happened. I don’t know if a gust of wind took it, or someone kicked it, or what but I had to quickly reverse in the water in order to go around the correct side. But, as I tried to swim around it, it just kept moving – at one point it actually went over the top of me! I was so frustrated! I finally got it straightened out and got around the stupid thing and headed to shore. When I turned to shore I could actually see how many people were in front of me and I started to get discouraged. The swim is supposed to be my strong suite, and yet here I was limping in at the back of the pack (or so it seemed). I swam a bit to shore and that’s when it hit me. My form… it sucked! For some reason I had started focusing so hard on going fast, that I had let all I had learned about body rotation go out the window! I quickly shifted into correct form and everything seemed to ‘click’. I was breathing easier, passing people, and my stroke count was down. I could visibly see the shore coming closer when I sighted. I was kicking myself for screwing up something so simple, but at the same time, I was glad to have found the problem and had learned a valuable lesson.
Once out of the water it was a short run to transition. I stripped the top half of my wetsuit off and jogged in, easily finding my bike. I grabbed my swim towel and draped it over my head while I finished stripping my wetsuit. Then I rinsed my feet, stood on my second towel, before packing my swim towel around my lower body to absorb some of the moisture while I put on bike shirt, helmet and sunglasses. Then it was quick jump into bike shorts, socks, and shoes and I had my bike out and I was OFF!
I felt good on the bike. My husband and I had walked part of the bike course and I felt good about it. I had talked to one of the other athletes while waiting for the swim start and she had said there weren’t many hills. Just a short one about half way through and then it was all down hill from there. Whew! So I felt great, felt confident and best of all felt strong! My bike seemed to be just EATING through the miles and a quick check of my GPS showed that to be true. I had only been on the course for 12 minutes and I had already gone more then 2 miles! This was going to be an epic bike day for me, I just knew it! And the best part of all? No one was passing in me! Finally, I could see the hill in front of me. It didn’t look bad, not bad at all! And I faced it with confidence. It didn’t even have to downshift all the way to get up it. “Now it should be downhill” I thought to myself. Only, hmm there was another hill. To my surprise I caught up with a girl and passed her!? And she said something to me about being “half way” I checked my GPS. “Not Quite… we’re just past 3 miles”
I kept rolling and soon found myself catching up to other people! OMG I was actually catching people on the bike! I put my head down and pushed and found I was closing the gap without wasting myself. Then there was a turn and then I saw something that made my stomach drop. It was a hill. Not just a hill but a HILL. It was steep, steeper then anything I’ve climbed before and it long… some claimed it was over a mile, I was too busy trying to survive it to clock it.
I quickly downshifted and put my heart into making it to the top of the hill. There were four people almost to the top of the hill that were pushing their bikes and two people who were right in front of me who, like me were down shifting and pedaling furiously. The first one gave up about half way and started pushing. The next made it just a little past her before she started pushing too. I made it just past both of them before I couldn’t do it anymore and I stepped off my bike too. We all put our heads down and gutted our way up that hill on foot. It was brutal. Even on foot I was barely managing a 23 min/mile pace!
But the end did come and the reward – an amazingly steep downhill! I hopped on with a feeling of joy and hit the decline with all I had… only, crud, there’s a 90 degree turn at the bottom.. BRAKES!!! I made the turn without a problem but was bummed that I didn’t get to use all of the hill the way I would have liked. There was another wonderful quick decline with another 90 degree turn at the bottom and then the entire race changed!!
Up till now the race had been on wide fire roads and even surface streets. I had laughed a little at the “Mountain Bike” name of the tri up ‘til now. But then, we were over a curb, back into the park and on a trail. A REAL trail. “this is interesting” I thought, before pelting through the brush and down the trail. The trail widened a bit, went down a hill and, whoa! There was water! I slowed down and tried to see where the trail turned, but it didn’t. There it was, on the other side of the rather wide, deep creek! Did I mention I’ve never really road on trails before, much less crossed water on my bike! I shrugged mentally and went for it. I figured if I crashed, hey it was water, no biggie. I did ok, actually. But the water was deep enough to get my feet wet as I tried to pedal through. And unfortunately I bogged trying to get back up out of the water and ended up having to put my food down, soaking both shoes and socks!
The rest of the race was just a blur of, ‘Oh Crap’ and ‘Weeeee!’ moments. Every time I turned a corner there was something else I had never done before. Ride my bike through river rock – done it now. Down a hill with a ninety degree turn, that if you miss dumps you in the creek – done it now. Over roots – done it. Duck under trees while pedaling for your life – done it. And through it all – I stayed ahead of the few people I knew were behind me! I have to say, it was the most fun I had ever had on a bike, and while I won’t trade in my road bike, I can certainly say that there will be some single track in my future!
Once out of the trails and back on fire roads, I knew I had this bike ride beat. I just tucked into my handlebars and road it the rest of the way into transition.
The transition to run was made very easy by wearing the same shoes for bike and run. For modesty sake I stripped off my bike shorts and threw off a running skirt, but other then that, all I needed was to grab my Garmin and I was off. Only... uh, where’s the run? I wandered around a little bit losing time before someone showed me where the run out from transition was and I was on my way.
I had no deletions about the run. I knew I was tired and that most people would be outpacing me, but I was determined to hold noting back. I settled into a pretty comfortable run/walk pattern that served me for the remained of the race. The run was actually really nice. With an out and back run you get to see people as they are finishing and most are friendly. Smiling, nodding, cheering you on. I just focused on keeping my feet moving and trying to relax to the finish. I did occupy myself a little bit with noticing that the race seemed to be miss marked, and that the mile 1 marker was actually at 1.25 according to my Garmin, and every other mile marker was off a similar degree. What really surprised me though was when I actually caught up to (and passed) an man and his son! I had seen them during the ‘out’ portion of my run. So I knew they had been quite a ways in front of me. But here I was, passing them! It was a GREAT feeling. They eventually passed me again, as we came into the finish, but the fact that I had made up that much ground was enough to satisfy me.
I literally charged into the finish and was rewarded by loud cheers from everyone as I headed into the chute. It felt fantastic to hear people yelling “Way to finish strong!” and “Go Go Go!” And better yet to finish and know that I had given EVERYTHING out on the racecourse.
I needed a day like that…
And best of all was finding out I finished in 2:02:35!!! (My last sprint finish was 2:21:17) Not a number I ever expected to see. My training (and weight loss) is paying off!
Thank You FREECYCLE!!
If you've never logged in to freecycle.org, please, do so now. Find out if there's a group near you and sign up. It's, ummm FREEEEEE!
Anyway, I signed up a few weeks ago and have watched some nice things come and go. The other day though, an add caught my eye, I replied to it, and yesterday I came home with two HUGE hefty bags (lawn size) full of clothes size 12 to 9! Jeans, shirts, sweaters and some nice dresses - all in sizes that I'll be able to wear in a few months. This is going to save me a ton on clothing that I would just 'shrink out of' anyway!
I plan to 'pay it forward' and offer my stuff up there as soon as I'm done with it.
Go check it out now!
Anyway, I signed up a few weeks ago and have watched some nice things come and go. The other day though, an add caught my eye, I replied to it, and yesterday I came home with two HUGE hefty bags (lawn size) full of clothes size 12 to 9! Jeans, shirts, sweaters and some nice dresses - all in sizes that I'll be able to wear in a few months. This is going to save me a ton on clothing that I would just 'shrink out of' anyway!
I plan to 'pay it forward' and offer my stuff up there as soon as I'm done with it.
Go check it out now!
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Finished!!!
Yep - I finished! It was a GREAT race. Well run and so much fun!
500 Yard swim
9 mile bike (mountain bike, single track)
3.5 mile Run
Finished in 2hours 2minutes! whoot!
Finished!!!
Yep - I finished! It was a GREAT race. Well run and so much fun!
500 Yard swim
9 mile bike (mountain bike, single track)
3.5 mile Run
Finished in 2hours 2minutes! whoot!
500 Yard swim
9 mile bike (mountain bike, single track)
3.5 mile Run
Finished in 2hours 2minutes! whoot!
Awww Shucks
205.4 this morning. Didn't hit my goal, but I got pretty darn close! I'm on my way to my race. So, I can't type much. Have a great day everyone!
Friday, June 19, 2009
Run Girl Run!
So, as I mentioned earlier - Hubby and I met up with a running group in San Francisco after work and did a run with them. It was our first time with this group so we didn't really know what to expect. I've had bad experiences running with folks in San Francisco before because... well they are all so FIT. But this group seemed to be a nice cross section and I felt really comfortable.
The plan for tonight was to do a 4.5 mile run around Lake Merced. At the designated time we all lined up, someone yelled "GO" and we were off!
I really wasn't expecting to be able to keep up with the pack. It's just not the way it is for me - I'm slow and I know it :). They all pulled away at first and then, magically, they stopped gaining ground! I did a mental check and found that i wasn't struggling, really, so I just went with the flow, keeping a few folks in site.
The first mile rolled past rather quickly and I checked my watch.. WHAT! 11 minutes!? I kept going. Mile two came -- another 11 minute mile!? But now the running path was starting to head up hill. I was hitting the wall that I always seem to hit somewhere in mile three. I was tired, I was winded, I was hurting... But I was determined. Even as I saw the others pulling away and eventually go out of site I knew what my goal was. I was going to run 3.2 miles (a 5K).
I kept running. I felt like I was barely moving. I wanted to stop, to walk for a while, or even maybe halt all together to catch my breath. But I kept running. I was determined, no matter how slow I had to go, that I would reach my goal of 3.2 miles.
And I did! I finished that 3.2 miles in 37:15 - averaging an 11:38min/mile pace! (that's 5.2 @ 1% incline if you're used to the treadmill).
But I wasn't done yet. Nope - the route was 4.5 miles long. I had reached a milestone, but wasn't to the finish yet! The last 1.3 miles I did a run/walk combo and in the end, I finished the 4.5 miles in 53:53 - averaging a 12:06 min/mile pace. Not too shabby!
What was really exciting was that when I got to thinking about how far I've come...I realized that the first "Marker Set" we did while training to do Lavaman we were asked to run 2 Miles and record our time. That first time out (On 11/20/09) I ran that 2 miles in 31:35. Just a little faster then I ran OVER 3 miles tonight! WHOO HOO!!
Run Girl Run!
So, as I mentioned earlier - Hubby and I met up with a running group in San Francisco after work and did a run with them. It was our first time with this group so we didn't really know what to expect. I've had bad experiences running with folks in San Francisco before because... well they are all so FIT. But this group seemed to be a nice cross section and I felt really comfortable.
The plan for tonight was to do a 4.5 mile run around Lake Merced. At the designated time we all lined up, someone yelled "GO" and we were off!
I really wasn't expecting to be able to keep up with the pack. It's just not the way it is for me - I'm slow and I know it :). They all pulled away at first and then, magically, they stopped gaining ground! I did a mental check and found that i wasn't struggling, really, so I just went with the flow, keeping a few folks in site.
The first mile rolled past rather quickly and I checked my watch.. WHAT! 11 minutes!? I kept going. Mile two came -- another 11 minute mile!? But now the running path was starting to head up hill. I was hitting the wall that I always seem to hit somewhere in mile three. I was tired, I was winded, I was hurting... But I was determined. Even as I saw the others pulling away and eventually go out of site I knew what my goal was. I was going to run 3.2 miles (a 5K).
I kept running. I felt like I was barely moving. I wanted to stop, to walk for a while, or even maybe halt all together to catch my breath. But I kept running. I was determined, no matter how slow I had to go, that I would reach my goal of 3.2 miles.
And I did! I finished that 3.2 miles in 37:15 - averaging an 11:38min/mile pace! (that's 5.2 @ 1% incline if you're used to the treadmill).
But I wasn't done yet. Nope - the route was 4.5 miles long. I had reached a milestone, but wasn't to the finish yet! The last 1.3 miles I did a run/walk combo and in the end, I finished the 4.5 miles in 53:53 - averaging a 12:06 min/mile pace. Not too shabby!
What was really exciting was that when I got to thinking about how far I've come...I realized that the first "Marker Set" we did while training to do Lavaman we were asked to run 2 Miles and record our time. That first time out (On 11/20/09) I ran that 2 miles in 31:35. Just a little faster then I ran OVER 3 miles tonight! WHOO HOO!!
But there was something else I realized tonight. I was thinking about how like a MediFast Journey my run was.
We start out so gung ho. We're (usually) losing at a fast pace... We're excited, pumped up, we feel like we can do anything.
Then, at some point, we hit that wall. Our body/mind screams at us to stop... Let me catch my breath... Let's lay down, this is too hard! And we have two choices at that point. We can stop, and hope we're able to get going again, or we can keep our goal in site, keep moving. Yeah, we might slow down a bit... The fat may not be dropping at quite the same rate, and we can let that discourage us. But if we just keep moving in the right direction. If we keep pumping our arms, keep focused on breathing and putting one foot in front of the other over and over again... We'll make it to our goal! And maybe making it to goal, doesn't mean we get to lie down. We may need to keep walking and even running some, but the sense of accmplishment from reaching that goal will help propel us along. And all the pain will be worth it.
Keep running my MF friends. At YOUR pace. As I was told when training for Lavaman. Even if you come in last, you're still ahead of every person who's at home sitting on their couch right now.
Even if your weight loss has stalled, even if your struggling a little with BLT - or whatever. You're still ahead of every person who hasn't chosen to step on this path and start this weight loss journey.
We're all winners - dang it! - now where's my metal?! :)
The plan for tonight was to do a 4.5 mile run around Lake Merced. At the designated time we all lined up, someone yelled "GO" and we were off!
I really wasn't expecting to be able to keep up with the pack. It's just not the way it is for me - I'm slow and I know it :). They all pulled away at first and then, magically, they stopped gaining ground! I did a mental check and found that i wasn't struggling, really, so I just went with the flow, keeping a few folks in site.
The first mile rolled past rather quickly and I checked my watch.. WHAT! 11 minutes!? I kept going. Mile two came -- another 11 minute mile!? But now the running path was starting to head up hill. I was hitting the wall that I always seem to hit somewhere in mile three. I was tired, I was winded, I was hurting... But I was determined. Even as I saw the others pulling away and eventually go out of site I knew what my goal was. I was going to run 3.2 miles (a 5K).
I kept running. I felt like I was barely moving. I wanted to stop, to walk for a while, or even maybe halt all together to catch my breath. But I kept running. I was determined, no matter how slow I had to go, that I would reach my goal of 3.2 miles.
And I did! I finished that 3.2 miles in 37:15 - averaging an 11:38min/mile pace! (that's 5.2 @ 1% incline if you're used to the treadmill).
But I wasn't done yet. Nope - the route was 4.5 miles long. I had reached a milestone, but wasn't to the finish yet! The last 1.3 miles I did a run/walk combo and in the end, I finished the 4.5 miles in 53:53 - averaging a 12:06 min/mile pace. Not too shabby!
What was really exciting was that when I got to thinking about how far I've come...I realized that the first "Marker Set" we did while training to do Lavaman we were asked to run 2 Miles and record our time. That first time out (On 11/20/09) I ran that 2 miles in 31:35. Just a little faster then I ran OVER 3 miles tonight! WHOO HOO!!
But there was something else I realized tonight. I was thinking about how like a MediFast Journey my run was.
We start out so gung ho. We're (usually) losing at a fast pace... We're excited, pumped up, we feel like we can do anything.
Then, at some point, we hit that wall. Our body/mind screams at us to stop... Let me catch my breath... Let's lay down, this is too hard! And we have two choices at that point. We can stop, and hope we're able to get going again, or we can keep our goal in site, keep moving. Yeah, we might slow down a bit... The fat may not be dropping at quite the same rate, and we can let that discourage us. But if we just keep moving in the right direction. If we keep pumping our arms, keep focused on breathing and putting one foot in front of the other over and over again... We'll make it to our goal! And maybe making it to goal, doesn't mean we get to lie down. We may need to keep walking and even running some, but the sense of accmplishment from reaching that goal will help propel us along. And all the pain will be worth it.
Keep running my MF friends. At YOUR pace. As I was told when training for Lavaman. Even if you come in last, you're still ahead of every person who's at home sitting on their couch right now.
Even if your weight loss has stalled, even if your struggling a little with BLT - or whatever. You're still ahead of every person who hasn't chosen to step on this path and start this weight loss journey.
We're all winners - dang it! - now where's my metal?! :)
Thursday, June 18, 2009
A Peacefull Easy Feeling
Not much to say today. Took my rest day last night so no workout. And my weight rebounded a little bit this morning. No worries, I was expecting it.
The plan tonight is to go run with one of the local running clubs. They do a 4.5 mile loop around Lake Merced every Thursday, so hubby and I are going to stop there, and do that before heading home. I can hardly believe that I look at a 4.5 mile run as such a 'normal' thing now. I like it.
Otherwise - not much else to say... lol. Perhaps I'll have some amazing insight later on today :)
A Peacefull Easy Feeling
Not much to say today. Took my rest day last night so no workout. And my weight rebounded a little bit this morning. No worries, I was expecting it. Still expect to be at or below 205 on Saturday which was my ultimate goal. Food has been 'easy' again. I like days like this.
The plan tonight is to go run with one of the local running clubs. They do a 4.5 mile loop around Lake Merced every Thursday, so hubby and I are going to stop there, and do that before heading home. I can hardly believe that I look at a 4.5 mile run as such a 'normal' thing now. I like it.
Otherwise - not much else to say... lol. Perhaps I'll have some amazing insight later on today :)
The plan tonight is to go run with one of the local running clubs. They do a 4.5 mile loop around Lake Merced every Thursday, so hubby and I are going to stop there, and do that before heading home. I can hardly believe that I look at a 4.5 mile run as such a 'normal' thing now. I like it.
Otherwise - not much else to say... lol. Perhaps I'll have some amazing insight later on today :)
Monday, June 15, 2009
I had the most amazing workout!
The night started like any other. I got home, looked outside and really really didn't want to get on my bike. (we're having a really 'un-california' like spring - windy, cold and threats of rain).
So, like many a night I told myself "I'll get on the trainer instead".
As the night wore on I found myself putting off my ride. Trying to keep myself focused on training while inside 'spinning' is really hard, and I usually end up giving up within 30 minutes or less if I even manage to force myself on it at all. So, I decided to scan the internet to try to find something to make my indoor rides a little more interesting.
Podcasts to the rescue! Since I use podcasts to run with I thought I would do a little search over at iTunes and see if anyone else had the indoor training issues I have had and whether someone had filled that need with a podcast. Low and behold, someone (a few someones) had! After searching and reading and reviewing I finally found one that sounded promising, 'subscribed' and downloaded the first workout. It was called The SufferFest And trust me, it's aptly named (in a good way)
The Sufferfest #5 started easy enough. And then things heated up! Here's the description per the website...
5 minute warm up – Get the legs going while watching some 1987 Paris Roubaix, 1988 Gavia Pass Giro D’Italia (truly, truly horrific what they had to do that day) and 1987 Tour of Switzerland (Bob Roll in his early, timelessly classic days).
1minute interval – Crank it up and climb with Hampsten in the 1987 Tour of Switzerland as he tries to limit the damage to Winnen on the climb to Laax.
2 minutes tempo – Tempo along with the front group in the 1987 World Championships as Stephan Roche takes the win.
2×25 second sprints with 30 seconds rest – Winnen wants the sprint, but Kiefel wants it more. Sprint hard for 25 seconds and then recover while the pack returns to Zurich velodrome.
3×10 minute over/under slogs – Now it gets seriously hard. Here is how it works…you’ll do this three times. The first time you’ll follow Lemond and Hinault in the 1986 Tour de France Alpe d’Huez stage (stand up when Lemond stands up), then Lemond and Fignon in the 1989 Paris time trial, then Argentin and Kelly in the 1992 Milan San Remo final.
4×40 second heavy resistance climbs with 20 sec recovery - Here, with Paris Roubaix 87 and Tour de France 86, you get 20 seconds of moderate resistance and then 40 seconds of heavy, heavy, heavy resistance while standing.
5 minute(ish) warm down – Take it easy. You deserve it after that misery. Some more cyclocross, then some classic quotes from 89 Tour and 87 Tour of Switzerland.
-------------------
I seriously couldn't believe I did the whole thing, but I did. Yes, it was hard and yes I wanted to quit a few times, but I did it and MAN do I feel great.
Uh-better get some sleep now!
'night all!
P.S. -- Can someone help me up the stairs now?
So, like many a night I told myself "I'll get on the trainer instead".
As the night wore on I found myself putting off my ride. Trying to keep myself focused on training while inside 'spinning' is really hard, and I usually end up giving up within 30 minutes or less if I even manage to force myself on it at all. So, I decided to scan the internet to try to find something to make my indoor rides a little more interesting.
Podcasts to the rescue! Since I use podcasts to run with I thought I would do a little search over at iTunes and see if anyone else had the indoor training issues I have had and whether someone had filled that need with a podcast. Low and behold, someone (a few someones) had! After searching and reading and reviewing I finally found one that sounded promising, 'subscribed' and downloaded the first workout. It was called The SufferFest And trust me, it's aptly named (in a good way)
The Sufferfest #5 started easy enough. And then things heated up! Here's the description per the website...
5 minute warm up – Get the legs going while watching some 1987 Paris Roubaix, 1988 Gavia Pass Giro D’Italia (truly, truly horrific what they had to do that day) and 1987 Tour of Switzerland (Bob Roll in his early, timelessly classic days).
1minute interval – Crank it up and climb with Hampsten in the 1987 Tour of Switzerland as he tries to limit the damage to Winnen on the climb to Laax.
2 minutes tempo – Tempo along with the front group in the 1987 World Championships as Stephan Roche takes the win.
2×25 second sprints with 30 seconds rest – Winnen wants the sprint, but Kiefel wants it more. Sprint hard for 25 seconds and then recover while the pack returns to Zurich velodrome.
3×10 minute over/under slogs – Now it gets seriously hard. Here is how it works…you’ll do this three times. The first time you’ll follow Lemond and Hinault in the 1986 Tour de France Alpe d’Huez stage (stand up when Lemond stands up), then Lemond and Fignon in the 1989 Paris time trial, then Argentin and Kelly in the 1992 Milan San Remo final.
- 2minutes “Over” – Get your effort just barely above your anaerobic threshold. If you don’t know what that is, then find the point where you just about can’t talk anymore and really wish the pain would end. Then go a bit harder.
- 2minutes “Under” - Get your effort just below that threshold. It should be pretty damn hard, but you should be able to recover just barely enough to make the big effort again.
- 2minutes “Over”
- 2 minutes “Under”
- 2 minutes “Over”
- 4mins rest - Recovery pace between each slog (If you do these right, you’ll thank me for every second of this recovery). Follow Sven Nys, the cyclocross cannibal, during a snow covered 2008 world cup race (sorry, no 80s cyclocross footage…). Don’t let your heart rate drop too much though…keep it just in the aerobic zone.
4×40 second heavy resistance climbs with 20 sec recovery - Here, with Paris Roubaix 87 and Tour de France 86, you get 20 seconds of moderate resistance and then 40 seconds of heavy, heavy, heavy resistance while standing.
5 minute(ish) warm down – Take it easy. You deserve it after that misery. Some more cyclocross, then some classic quotes from 89 Tour and 87 Tour of Switzerland.
-------------------
I seriously couldn't believe I did the whole thing, but I did. Yes, it was hard and yes I wanted to quit a few times, but I did it and MAN do I feel great.
Uh-better get some sleep now!
'night all!
P.S. -- Can someone help me up the stairs now?
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Deer Valley Tri
Finally posted the photos from the Deer Valley Tri - and so I bring you:
Start
Swim
Bike
Run
Finish
All photos per my loving and wonderful husband! :)
Start
Swim
Bike
Run
Finish
All photos per my loving and wonderful husband! :)
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Ummmm - Holy Cow!
When I signed up to do Anchorman - I thought the challenge would be the .75 mile swim in the bay. Well today I finally got the race maps working and took a look at the bike... ULP!!! As you know, hills arn't my strong suite (yet). Check out the elevation map on the puppy!
Oh and we're supposed to do that - twice.
It's good thing I've been doing 1/2 my training on my rides into the wind!
Oh and we're supposed to do that - twice.
It's good thing I've been doing 1/2 my training on my rides into the wind!
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
The ride of (for) my life
Tonight I had a 10 mile bike ride on my schedule. I may have mentioned before that I live in a really small community – it’s barely 6 miles square; so long bike rides have been a problem for me. I either have to start in and ride around another town or I have to ride on the country roads around here where people drive fast and there is no shoulder. I certainly can’t ride on those kinds of roads in the dark (I wouldn’t even if I had a caltrans set of super lamps traveling over the top of me the whole time) so, when we got home late tonight (BART delays – AGAIN) and I was facing riding in the dusk, I knew I was going to have to figure out another route. As soon as we got home, I got changed, kissed my hubby and headed out on my bike. The idea I had was to ride a circuit around the outside of our community (about 6-7 miles) and then do part of another circuit to total 10 miles. The ride started ok, I was fighting a cross wind, but riding around here, (where the wind is always blowing) I’ve gotten used to it. I made my first turn and hit the headwind; this was my chance to do ‘hill training’. Since there are no hills on my planned circuit, I shift my bike into a low gear and hit the wind like it’s a hill. It’s quite the workout! I made the next turn and just kept on riding. Things were going great, just as planned. The next turn took me onto the busiest road on my route – Byron Highway. Hubby and I had scoped out this road before. Although it’s a highway with a posted 60MPR speed limit (which means people go 70 to 80), it’s got nice big shoulders, and we’ve seen people riding on it before so I had figured I was good to go. As soon as I turned I realized that things weren’t going to be as easy as I thought. On this side of the road there was construction going on and there were big cement barricades in the shoulder. It looked like it was only for 100 yards or so, so I went ahead, and kept going. Only, the barriers didn’t stop! Now I was worried. I was on a highway, were cars regularly ZOOM along at ridiculous speeds, at dusk and having to ride in the road with a cement barrier between me and the safety of the ‘non-road’! So I started peddling as fast I could. Surely the barriers would end soon. I peddled, and peddled, praying that no cars would come. My lungs were burning, my legs were shaking and still there was no shoulder and OH NO! a car was coming. I could hear the tires of a giant 4X4 coming up behind me, and fast! And worse, there was a car coming in the opposite direction! I hugged the barrier as close as I could and was practically riding with my eyes closed waiting for the truck to pass me. It did, and as you might already guess, I survived! As much as I wanted to stop I had to keep going, and going fast, I wasn’t to the turn off yet. I finally hit the corner, made the turn and slowed down. My legs were shaking so bad I couldn’t even stand on my peddles and I was gasping for breath, feeling a little sick from the air in my tummy I had sucked in. And yet… I felt fantastic! I had pushed myself harder then I ever thought possible and survived! The rest of the ride I was in a cloud of euphoria. I hit the wind tunnel and pushed my legs again. I weaved my way through the neighborhoods back to home and finished up at 9.6 miles and it took me a little less then 40 minutes. The best part was getting home and looking at my GPS download. That section of road that I pushed through was 1 mile long and I didn’t drop below 20 MPR the entire time! For me – someone who was struggling to maintain 11 MPR on my rides a few months ago – that’s a BIG DEAL! Now remember, 7 months ago my idea of a 'workout' was walking up the stairs to go to bed at night. And that used to make me out of breath. And yet - here I am doing 20MPR bike ride! I'm not AT my goal, I'm not in perfect shape but I'm doing it. I'm getting out there and making improvements every day. It took me starting out 'running' 1 minute and walking 90 seconds at first. And getting on my bike and barely managing to ride 3 miles @ 8 MPR before I was exhausted and my girl parts hurt so bad I couldn't pee afterwards. (I've since done a 30 mile ride - it was so much fun) It just takes one step. Do as much as you can do TODAY, and then tomorrow take two steps, and then next day three. If you say "I can't" then you're right. Don't place those kinds of limits on yourself!
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