It's been awhile since I've blogged - I've spent the last week not feeling too well. The big down-side to that is that my weight loss stopped, and I even put on a little. Not a lot, but a little.
Anyway, Bartman calls BowWow and says, "hey, it's just above freezing, but there's not much wind, how about we do an outdoor ride out to Mountain View this afternoon?" As it turns out, BowWow wasn't able to make it, but Chico, myself, and Bartman headed out.
As we're leaving town Bartman turns around and says, "Now, we're all out here just to enjoy being outdoors, right? No hammer-fest?"
I replied, "absolutely, just happy to be out here."
Chico replies, "no comment"
Oh oh.
The wind kicked up and before we're completely out of town we're fighting a 35km/hr headwind. Not the worst we've fought, but it also tends to make things a little colder, too. Not to worry, with the headwind and climbing (it's all up-hill on the way out) our heart rates are all in the 160's and we're keeping warm. We stayed together and got a pretty good 3-man paceline going. By the time we got to the turn-around point we running nice and smooth.
I remember when Mtn View was tough to get out to in an hour when there was no wind. We got there in an hour today after fighting this wind all the way out! Our turn-around was another kilometre past Mtn View.
We hit the turn-around, and the fun began almost immediately. There's these little roller climbs - only about 4-5%, and about half a km long. On every one of those Chico hammered up 'em. Bartman and I just sat back and let him do the work, but we had to work pretty hard to stay with him.
Across the false flats (about a 1% downhill run) Bartman and I were running out of gears. We had our climbing gears on, which gave us a 50/12 combination - Chico had a 52/11. Finally we get to Monson's Hill. This hill averages 8%, and lasts for just over a km - a great climb. Chico took the lead, and Bartman and I jumped on his wheel. Half-way up Chico kicks it up a notch, I match him, Bartman doesn't. By the time we get to the top I've still got more I COULD go, but I'm saving a bit. Bartman got DROPPED (he decided not to let his HR go over 173) We waited for him on the backside of Monson's, then Chico hammered up Little's Hill - Bartman and I both stood and sprinted to catch back to his wheel - and I caught him just as we crested. Bartman dropped off and we didn't see him again until the end.
Over the next few hills Chico and I hammered one another trying to push the other guy harder.
Finally, we hit town. There's a side-road that runs parallel to the highway, and I glanced over at it and saw a big SUV just up the road from us. I pointed it out to Chico and warned him that she'd probably blow through the intersection in front of us. As we approached, she stopped. Wow, I thought, that's unusual. We came around the corner at about 40km/hr - and then she turned in front of us. I swung out wide to give some more room and locked 'em up. She stopped in the middle of the intersection so that we'd have a nice broad target to run into T-bone style. Somehow we both managed to avoid her. Guess that'll learn me to trust my instincts on that corner!
Only a few more blocks left - Chico kicks the speed back up, we hit the last corner at 45km/hr, and just as I'm about to start my sprint Chico backs off and says "go ahead, take it." WHAT?! Oh well, I like to finish it off with a good sprint, so I unleashed my sprint for 2 blocks and crossed the finish at 60km/hr spun right out at 120.
Once again - a nice little stroll in the hills... finished in 1:40 for 50km - (hit the turn-around at 1:03, so 'twas a quick return.) No hammer-fest there!
It felt so good to be outside riding again. I won't get a chance to even get on my bike on a trainer for another week now, as I leave tomorrow to hit the road for a week. It'll be YMCA and hotel gymns for the next few days. Now, if maybe I could tape my mouth shut to food....
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
New PB!
This morning I decided to try and hammer to a new PB on the 40km ITT course. It's a relatively tough course, the first 12km are all up hill, the first 8km at 4.6%, the next 4km at 2%. Then a 1.8% downhill ride for 8km to bring you to the half-way mark. From that point on it's pretty flat - the biggest climb is 1.8%, the biggest decline is .8%.
When I started I checked my previous best time - 1:11:30 - and 204 watts to get there. So, that was going to be the goal, better than 204 watts average. I quickly cranked it up to the 200 watt range and was pleasantly surprised by how good that felt. As I hit the hills, I decided to push it a little, and I think I managed about 250watts average on most of the 4.6% climb. I checked the HR - still around 166, so no problems there.
the next 4km I cranked it up a bit more - and actually averaged around 270 watts for a good chunk of the 2% grade. On the down hill I pushed it and kept the wattage in that 210 -215 range. Things felt pretty good! Hit the flats.
I watched as my average wattage kept climbing - I was suprised to see it pass 225, that's more than I expected! I checked my HR, and it was steadily climbing, but I didn't feel like I was dying yet. Was pretty consistently in the 173 range (where I'd previously calculated my LTL to be.)
With 6km to go I realized I was not going to break one hour (my long-term goal) but decided to really lay it down. I don't remember what song was playing on the ipod now, but it was a good hammer-fest tune, and I decided to stand and hammer - I held it there for the whole song, keeping my cadence at 89 and turning the 53x12 gear. I checked the wattage and I was average 290watts during this section. My wife and son came over and watched my little hammerfest progress for a bit - with my son there I sure wasn't going to sit-down anytime soon! I kept pounding it out.
Finally, I crossed the line - time was 1:06:42 a new PB. HR average was 169, Maxed at 189, and average speed was 35.96 This was a tough ride, and I really felt like I'd pushed it. Yet even after this go 'round I didn't feel like I was going to fall off the bike! Bike fitness is definitely improving, and wattage is going up - I averaged 241 watts for the 40km! I think I'm going to have to raise that another 20 watts to break one hour at my current weight - but, of course, losing weight and maintaining this wattage output should get me there, too.
Today's weight came in at 83.5kg. Up a little from Sat, but not bad considering Sunday and Monday were off days. A little more consistency in the diet and I'll be well on my way to some very light days.
When I started I checked my previous best time - 1:11:30 - and 204 watts to get there. So, that was going to be the goal, better than 204 watts average. I quickly cranked it up to the 200 watt range and was pleasantly surprised by how good that felt. As I hit the hills, I decided to push it a little, and I think I managed about 250watts average on most of the 4.6% climb. I checked the HR - still around 166, so no problems there.
the next 4km I cranked it up a bit more - and actually averaged around 270 watts for a good chunk of the 2% grade. On the down hill I pushed it and kept the wattage in that 210 -215 range. Things felt pretty good! Hit the flats.
I watched as my average wattage kept climbing - I was suprised to see it pass 225, that's more than I expected! I checked my HR, and it was steadily climbing, but I didn't feel like I was dying yet. Was pretty consistently in the 173 range (where I'd previously calculated my LTL to be.)
With 6km to go I realized I was not going to break one hour (my long-term goal) but decided to really lay it down. I don't remember what song was playing on the ipod now, but it was a good hammer-fest tune, and I decided to stand and hammer - I held it there for the whole song, keeping my cadence at 89 and turning the 53x12 gear. I checked the wattage and I was average 290watts during this section. My wife and son came over and watched my little hammerfest progress for a bit - with my son there I sure wasn't going to sit-down anytime soon! I kept pounding it out.
Finally, I crossed the line - time was 1:06:42 a new PB. HR average was 169, Maxed at 189, and average speed was 35.96 This was a tough ride, and I really felt like I'd pushed it. Yet even after this go 'round I didn't feel like I was going to fall off the bike! Bike fitness is definitely improving, and wattage is going up - I averaged 241 watts for the 40km! I think I'm going to have to raise that another 20 watts to break one hour at my current weight - but, of course, losing weight and maintaining this wattage output should get me there, too.
Today's weight came in at 83.5kg. Up a little from Sat, but not bad considering Sunday and Monday were off days. A little more consistency in the diet and I'll be well on my way to some very light days.
Saturday, January 13, 2007
Kitty Hunting in the Alpes
I figured today would be a great day for a LSD ride - I was thinking something around 2 hours, flat, and about 60km. I wasn't even gonna let my HR get over 150. Nice and easy. Then Bartman called.
"Hey," he says, "wanna come over - I got my new toy!"
Now how am I supposed to say no to playing with a new bike toy? Especially when the toy is a new Tacx Fortius trainer! I threw my gear on, and headed out the door.
Then came the set-up problems. We tried to get it set-up on my macbook, running parallel, but couldn't get it to work. I'm gonna have to play with that for a bit. So, I hauled out my PC laptop and loaded it up on there - no problems. What course to ride to test this thing? Ahhhhh, yes, the Alpes.
I guess I kind of bit off a little more than I could chew - I decided to ride the whole course - it's about 82km long. Doesn't sound like much, right? It is if the first 20km is up the Col de Galibier (first 10km at 7-8%, last 10km at 10%) Then, a nice long decent of 20km - and then the next climb (can't remember name now) of about 15km, short decent - and finally, the Alpe D'Huez - 13.9km of 9-11% grades.
Me and The Cat had a good chase back and forth up the Galibier - but then I gave him "the look" and dropped him as I accelerated up a 10% section. I was putting out about 400watts during that acceleration, held it for about 1 minute, and then eased back down to 200wats of output. I managed to hold that all the way up the Galibier.
At the bottom of the Galibier I realized I wasn't going to have enough time to do the next climb AND Alpe D'Huez, so I stopped, and restarted at the bottom of Alpe D'huez. Holy cow this one was a killer! My legs were pretty cooked from the last climb, but I wanted to see what it was like. I passed lots of cyclists on the way up (like I said, the video on this is amazing!) - and, of course, one of them was Kitty (he got a head start on me.) He really looked like he was suffering. Pooor KItty! Unfortunately, half way up I had to stop as my wife called and reminded me that I had the vehicle and she needed it...
My foot cramped up pretty bad afterwards, and I realized that I"m going to have to spend more time on some long rides, and maybe look at getting some work done to my shoes.
All in all - a GREAT work-out! I really enjoyed riding Bart's new toy, and getting to drop Kitty was a real bonus. At my weigh-in today I'm down to 83.2kg. A little less than 3 more kg to get to my January goal.
As for the questions re: my sense of taste. I have no memory of anything different - so I won't say that I have no sense of taste - I think I taste things! I do, however, tend to really like spicey food, and I suspect that's a big reason why. Everybody around here always says, "wow, how sad, you can't even smell your wife's perfume!" I usually reply with, "yeah, but I couldn't smell her when she got sprayed by a skunk, either - so it's a wash."
"Hey," he says, "wanna come over - I got my new toy!"
Now how am I supposed to say no to playing with a new bike toy? Especially when the toy is a new Tacx Fortius trainer! I threw my gear on, and headed out the door.
Then came the set-up problems. We tried to get it set-up on my macbook, running parallel, but couldn't get it to work. I'm gonna have to play with that for a bit. So, I hauled out my PC laptop and loaded it up on there - no problems. What course to ride to test this thing? Ahhhhh, yes, the Alpes.
I guess I kind of bit off a little more than I could chew - I decided to ride the whole course - it's about 82km long. Doesn't sound like much, right? It is if the first 20km is up the Col de Galibier (first 10km at 7-8%, last 10km at 10%) Then, a nice long decent of 20km - and then the next climb (can't remember name now) of about 15km, short decent - and finally, the Alpe D'Huez - 13.9km of 9-11% grades.
Me and The Cat had a good chase back and forth up the Galibier - but then I gave him "the look" and dropped him as I accelerated up a 10% section. I was putting out about 400watts during that acceleration, held it for about 1 minute, and then eased back down to 200wats of output. I managed to hold that all the way up the Galibier.
At the bottom of the Galibier I realized I wasn't going to have enough time to do the next climb AND Alpe D'Huez, so I stopped, and restarted at the bottom of Alpe D'huez. Holy cow this one was a killer! My legs were pretty cooked from the last climb, but I wanted to see what it was like. I passed lots of cyclists on the way up (like I said, the video on this is amazing!) - and, of course, one of them was Kitty (he got a head start on me.) He really looked like he was suffering. Pooor KItty! Unfortunately, half way up I had to stop as my wife called and reminded me that I had the vehicle and she needed it...
My foot cramped up pretty bad afterwards, and I realized that I"m going to have to spend more time on some long rides, and maybe look at getting some work done to my shoes.
All in all - a GREAT work-out! I really enjoyed riding Bart's new toy, and getting to drop Kitty was a real bonus. At my weigh-in today I'm down to 83.2kg. A little less than 3 more kg to get to my January goal.
As for the questions re: my sense of taste. I have no memory of anything different - so I won't say that I have no sense of taste - I think I taste things! I do, however, tend to really like spicey food, and I suspect that's a big reason why. Everybody around here always says, "wow, how sad, you can't even smell your wife's perfume!" I usually reply with, "yeah, but I couldn't smell her when she got sprayed by a skunk, either - so it's a wash."
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Socked-in
Well, the cold, blizzard conditions are here. It's now -30C out there and the temp is rapidly falling. Can't even get outside for a quick run. Heck, running to the car is bad enough. I suspect I won't be getting outside much at all tomorrow. Thank goodness I've got that computrainer!
I learned today that a good friend, Talimena Tammy, will be joining us at Triple Bypass. Wow, what a great group of people that are going to be there! I'm looking forward to seeing alot of my "old bikejournal buds" and meeting some new ones. I've noticed that there's alot of people I've never met from bikejournal that are planning on being there.
My diet today was pretty good - not great, but good. I'm hoping for a new "low" at tomorrow's weigh-in.
Also had a Dr. visit today to get my "smeller" checked. For those who don't know, I have no sense of smell. Lately I've also developed some infection problems and after a really hard work-out sometimes the mucus build-up in the back of my throat constricts my breathing bad enough that it's really hard for me to breathe. Well, the news wasn't good.
I will probably never regain a sense of smell. Dr. suspects that I contracted an infection while younger and it damaged the "smeller organ" - sometimes it heals, sometimes it doesn't. Doesn't look good for me.
On the hard-time-breathing after a hard-work-out issue, he figures it might be able to be fixed by more humidity. (Southern Alberta is really a desert) In other words, sorry, there's nothing we can do about that, either. Not a big deal, I generally only feel that crappy after a really hard indoor ride.
I learned today that a good friend, Talimena Tammy, will be joining us at Triple Bypass. Wow, what a great group of people that are going to be there! I'm looking forward to seeing alot of my "old bikejournal buds" and meeting some new ones. I've noticed that there's alot of people I've never met from bikejournal that are planning on being there.
My diet today was pretty good - not great, but good. I'm hoping for a new "low" at tomorrow's weigh-in.
Also had a Dr. visit today to get my "smeller" checked. For those who don't know, I have no sense of smell. Lately I've also developed some infection problems and after a really hard work-out sometimes the mucus build-up in the back of my throat constricts my breathing bad enough that it's really hard for me to breathe. Well, the news wasn't good.
I will probably never regain a sense of smell. Dr. suspects that I contracted an infection while younger and it damaged the "smeller organ" - sometimes it heals, sometimes it doesn't. Doesn't look good for me.
On the hard-time-breathing after a hard-work-out issue, he figures it might be able to be fixed by more humidity. (Southern Alberta is really a desert) In other words, sorry, there's nothing we can do about that, either. Not a big deal, I generally only feel that crappy after a really hard indoor ride.
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
Hammer Time!
This morning's ride was going to need to be relatively short, as I had gotten a late start to the day. Hmmm, I guess I could do the TDF Long course again (I don't know why it's called that, it's only 24.5km long. - and I think it's identical to the TDF short course.)
Anyway, as I was getting dressed and ready to jump on the computrainer (hey, it's CANADA - you didn't think that I was riding outside, did ya?) I decided that maybe an attempt at a new personal best without drafting was in order.
I started out with a pretty good cadence, the course has a slight positive grade the first couple of km, and let my legs warm up. The first 15 minutes of any ride always hurt until I get warmed up. I decided that the effort would be based largely on wattage output. I have yet to do a ride where I average over 200watts for the whole ride, so I decided that this time, that was gonna be my goal.
By the time I hit the flats my HR was pounding in the mid 160's and I had managed to keep my average wattage around 195. The rest of the course is either flat or slightly uphill and I figured now would be the time to try and bump the average wattage. The nice thing about riding a trainer for personal bests is that you can go all-out and if you crash and burn it's not like you have to find a way to get back home. The Kitty, I mean, computer generated rider, in front of me kept my pace high and hard. At one point I actually dropped back a loooooong ways (like 140 bike lengths).
With 1km to go my average wattage was at 207, and it's a slight down-hill run to the finish. I kept kicking the pace up, holding the wattage output in the mid 200's, and then with .2km left, I sprinted - HARD! I hit almost 700 watts and pushed my HR above 180. I wasn't completely exhausted, but I'd done a new PB both time-wise and average wattage-wise. I managed a 208 average. Now to extend that over a 40km ride.
I'd really like to break one hour for a 40km ITT this year. If I can manage that and get my weight down, look out Kitty!!
Anyway, as I was getting dressed and ready to jump on the computrainer (hey, it's CANADA - you didn't think that I was riding outside, did ya?) I decided that maybe an attempt at a new personal best without drafting was in order.
I started out with a pretty good cadence, the course has a slight positive grade the first couple of km, and let my legs warm up. The first 15 minutes of any ride always hurt until I get warmed up. I decided that the effort would be based largely on wattage output. I have yet to do a ride where I average over 200watts for the whole ride, so I decided that this time, that was gonna be my goal.
By the time I hit the flats my HR was pounding in the mid 160's and I had managed to keep my average wattage around 195. The rest of the course is either flat or slightly uphill and I figured now would be the time to try and bump the average wattage. The nice thing about riding a trainer for personal bests is that you can go all-out and if you crash and burn it's not like you have to find a way to get back home. The Kitty, I mean, computer generated rider, in front of me kept my pace high and hard. At one point I actually dropped back a loooooong ways (like 140 bike lengths).
With 1km to go my average wattage was at 207, and it's a slight down-hill run to the finish. I kept kicking the pace up, holding the wattage output in the mid 200's, and then with .2km left, I sprinted - HARD! I hit almost 700 watts and pushed my HR above 180. I wasn't completely exhausted, but I'd done a new PB both time-wise and average wattage-wise. I managed a 208 average. Now to extend that over a 40km ride.
I'd really like to break one hour for a 40km ITT this year. If I can manage that and get my weight down, look out Kitty!!
Friday, January 05, 2007
Music to suffer by
This morning I jumped on the computrainer and did one of the harder courses I've done so far - the Madeira World Championships course. It's tough. (three climbs that hit 15% - and they go on for awhile.) This morning I set a new personal best - 1:23:34 This is the music I was listening to:
8675309 Jenny
Addicted to Love
Another One Bites The Dust
Ballroom Blitz
Barracuda
Bat Out of Hell
Bicycle
Black Betty
Bohemian Rhapsody
Centerfold
Cover of The Rolling Stones
Crazy Little Thing Called Love
Crocodile Rock
Cum On Feel The Noise
Doin' It Right
Don't Bring Me Down
Don't Bring Me Down (yes, repeat - don't know how that happened.)
Dude Looks Like A Lady
Everybody Dance Now
Eye of the Tiger
Fat Bottomed Girls
Gimme All Your Lovin
Girl You Really Got Me Now
I made it a point of really accelerating over every climb - in fact, when the grade lessened to 10% I was able to force myself to spin back up to 70-80 (my low gear was a 39X23) and then start shifting up as the grade continued to lessen.
Best part - I felt as good as I've ever felt on a bike - and afterwards I didn't have the "wobblies" that I usually get after a really strenuous ride on the computrainer.
Bart told me today that he's actually starting to get a little afraid - I think he's a ways from having to afraid, but I'm hoping that I can continue to make the kind of progress I've made the last week, then Kitty will have to be VERY AFRAID!
8675309 Jenny
Addicted to Love
Another One Bites The Dust
Ballroom Blitz
Barracuda
Bat Out of Hell
Bicycle
Black Betty
Bohemian Rhapsody
Centerfold
Cover of The Rolling Stones
Crazy Little Thing Called Love
Crocodile Rock
Cum On Feel The Noise
Doin' It Right
Don't Bring Me Down
Don't Bring Me Down (yes, repeat - don't know how that happened.)
Dude Looks Like A Lady
Everybody Dance Now
Eye of the Tiger
Fat Bottomed Girls
Gimme All Your Lovin
Girl You Really Got Me Now
I made it a point of really accelerating over every climb - in fact, when the grade lessened to 10% I was able to force myself to spin back up to 70-80 (my low gear was a 39X23) and then start shifting up as the grade continued to lessen.
Best part - I felt as good as I've ever felt on a bike - and afterwards I didn't have the "wobblies" that I usually get after a really strenuous ride on the computrainer.
Bart told me today that he's actually starting to get a little afraid - I think he's a ways from having to afraid, but I'm hoping that I can continue to make the kind of progress I've made the last week, then Kitty will have to be VERY AFRAID!
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
DQ?
No, I wish it stood for disqualified. Last night our local church youth group had decided that a Father/Son night out to attend the Lethbridge Hurricanes hockey game was in order. I had forgotten about it, so hadn't actually gotten food for the kids yet. That meant that we had to eat at the hockey game. I guess I wouldn't have minded the calories so much if it would at least have tasted good. It didn't.
Afterwards the plan was to go to DQ - I didn't know that. So, off we went to Dairy Queen. By the time the night was over I was more than just a couple of calories over my allotment for the day. That means more pain this morning.
So, I hit the computrainer this morning - and for some reason my legs were really feeling dead. Half way through the work-out I was really thinking of just calling it a morning. Then the image of Kitty popped into my head. Suddenly the little silver guy in front of my was wearing a Club Hypoxia jersey and needed to be reeled in. Just like at Reunion, ol' Kitty/silver dude took off without warning first chance he got - then I had to chase him down. Unlike at Reunion, I have ol silver dude set so that it's impossible to drop him - so I blew by Kitty/Silver dude, and then watched him jam and catch up.
Which reminds me, tonight Bartman came over to ride the computrainer for a bit - I set him up on the Madeira World Championships course - it's tough. At one point, on one climb, the silver dude had dropped way back and Bartman had a 47 bike length lead on him. Then ol' Silver Dude kicked it in, on a 10.5% grade he accelerated up to 30+km/hr and blew by Bartman. Was great to sit and watch Rocky II while Bartman suffered like that beside me... LOL! Afterwards he thanked me and I told him anytime he wanted to suffer a little, just let me know, I'd be happy to help him out! You know me, always happy to help someone else suffer a little!
Here that Kitty? I'm really VERY willing to help you suffer a little.
Afterwards the plan was to go to DQ - I didn't know that. So, off we went to Dairy Queen. By the time the night was over I was more than just a couple of calories over my allotment for the day. That means more pain this morning.
So, I hit the computrainer this morning - and for some reason my legs were really feeling dead. Half way through the work-out I was really thinking of just calling it a morning. Then the image of Kitty popped into my head. Suddenly the little silver guy in front of my was wearing a Club Hypoxia jersey and needed to be reeled in. Just like at Reunion, ol' Kitty/silver dude took off without warning first chance he got - then I had to chase him down. Unlike at Reunion, I have ol silver dude set so that it's impossible to drop him - so I blew by Kitty/Silver dude, and then watched him jam and catch up.
Which reminds me, tonight Bartman came over to ride the computrainer for a bit - I set him up on the Madeira World Championships course - it's tough. At one point, on one climb, the silver dude had dropped way back and Bartman had a 47 bike length lead on him. Then ol' Silver Dude kicked it in, on a 10.5% grade he accelerated up to 30+km/hr and blew by Bartman. Was great to sit and watch Rocky II while Bartman suffered like that beside me... LOL! Afterwards he thanked me and I told him anytime he wanted to suffer a little, just let me know, I'd be happy to help him out! You know me, always happy to help someone else suffer a little!
Here that Kitty? I'm really VERY willing to help you suffer a little.
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
Morning pain
Well, got up and decided to hit it a little harder than planned - did the 95WTT course - it's basically up hill for 43.77km. OUCH! I definitely am "feeling the weakness leaving my body". I found the last 10km to be a survival fest. A couple of times I wanted to quit, but no, images of Kitty's big butt riding away from me at TBP made me finish it off. It meant more than an hour on the bike, but I'm okay with that.
Weight this morning was down to 83.6kg. Yes, more water weight, I'm sure, but I know I'm burning over 1,000 calories /day and I'm really watching the food intake, so there's alot of fat disappearing, too. Two more kg by Saturday and I will have reached and surpassed my first intermediate goal.
Steve wants to go do an outdoor ride this afternoon, so hopefully I'll get 22km in outdoors (the wind is really howling around here right now, so it won't be an easy ride out to Leavitt, but the ride back will be FAST!)
We've both also talked about getting out and riding South Hill Repeats through the winter. If this chinook coming in can melt all the snow off of the hill, I'll do those for the next week instead of the computrainer.
And why do I suffer this pain? 'Cause I don't know what I'll do if Kitty drops me at TBP!!
Weight this morning was down to 83.6kg. Yes, more water weight, I'm sure, but I know I'm burning over 1,000 calories /day and I'm really watching the food intake, so there's alot of fat disappearing, too. Two more kg by Saturday and I will have reached and surpassed my first intermediate goal.
Steve wants to go do an outdoor ride this afternoon, so hopefully I'll get 22km in outdoors (the wind is really howling around here right now, so it won't be an easy ride out to Leavitt, but the ride back will be FAST!)
We've both also talked about getting out and riding South Hill Repeats through the winter. If this chinook coming in can melt all the snow off of the hill, I'll do those for the next week instead of the computrainer.
And why do I suffer this pain? 'Cause I don't know what I'll do if Kitty drops me at TBP!!
Monday, January 01, 2007
KItty Hunting
The gauntlet has been dropped. My good friend, Shadowcat (or, as he goes by now, Sombragato), has engaged me in a challenge of pain - who can make the other really suffer at Triple Bypass in July. He says he's starting the new year out 10lbs lighter than he has been at the beginning of any other year. Images of Jan Ullrich come to mind.
This afternoon Steve came over and we did the "Biggest Loser 2" workout. It's a great work-out that seems to really help my flexibility, core strength, and upper body strength. I've decided to do it at least 3 times / week. I'm HOPING to do it 6 days/week in the mornings before my computrainer work-out.
As part of the work-out there's about 15 minutes of "kickboxing" - Kim, the trainer, keeps yelling to imagine hitting someone. So... well, let's just say that I don't have to actually put a picture up of the Kitty up on the wall. I know you're reading this kitty, can ya hear me coming for ya?? Be AFRAID! If I can't beat you on the bike, I'll just kick ya!!
On tonight's computrainer work-out I hammered pretty hard. Wasn't a long work-out, only about 44 minutes, but I think I'm going to focus on keeping most of my computrainer stuff around an hour for awhile. I don't want to worry too much about endurance miles right now, more interested in getting all this weight off of me.
All kidding aside, this friendly challenge that we have going and the goal of doing Triple Bypass in July, I think will be the real kicker to get this 30-40lbs off of me. Weight tonight after work-out was 85.6kg. Yes, a good part of that was water, but I'm making progress.
So, each day as begin my work-out, each day as I sit down to eat, I will picture lining up Kitty with "the look" before I drop him. Don't worry Kitty, I'm short, so the drop shouldn't hurt too much! *grin*
This afternoon Steve came over and we did the "Biggest Loser 2" workout. It's a great work-out that seems to really help my flexibility, core strength, and upper body strength. I've decided to do it at least 3 times / week. I'm HOPING to do it 6 days/week in the mornings before my computrainer work-out.
As part of the work-out there's about 15 minutes of "kickboxing" - Kim, the trainer, keeps yelling to imagine hitting someone. So... well, let's just say that I don't have to actually put a picture up of the Kitty up on the wall. I know you're reading this kitty, can ya hear me coming for ya?? Be AFRAID! If I can't beat you on the bike, I'll just kick ya!!
On tonight's computrainer work-out I hammered pretty hard. Wasn't a long work-out, only about 44 minutes, but I think I'm going to focus on keeping most of my computrainer stuff around an hour for awhile. I don't want to worry too much about endurance miles right now, more interested in getting all this weight off of me.
All kidding aside, this friendly challenge that we have going and the goal of doing Triple Bypass in July, I think will be the real kicker to get this 30-40lbs off of me. Weight tonight after work-out was 85.6kg. Yes, a good part of that was water, but I'm making progress.
So, each day as begin my work-out, each day as I sit down to eat, I will picture lining up Kitty with "the look" before I drop him. Don't worry Kitty, I'm short, so the drop shouldn't hurt too much! *grin*
Happy New Year!
Well, New Year's didn't exactly unfold as I'd planned - my wife decided to head down south, so she left at around 6pm. She took our youngest daughter with her, but I've got the three boys for the next week. Hopefully I'll be able to keep them busy enough to stay out of too much trouble.
Steve came over and we watched Predator on the big screen in the basement. Not a traditional New Year's, but it was fun. We've got some planning and work to do - we both signed up for Triple Bypass in July, so that ride's a definite. We're also considering doing a Mtb 100 mile race like Durango or Leadville. Steve will have a tough time making Leadville because of work schedule, so we're thinking of Durango.
I start today at 87.6kg. My goal is 72kg by the end of February. That's 32lbs in 2 months. Time to get busy! I know it's going to be more about managing my diet than anything else.
So, it's a new year. A new beginning. Starting today I get a chance to change everything I want - and the one thing I want to change more than anything else is my weight and fitness. I"m sure my blogs will get a little more light-hearted again over the next year.
Happy New Year to you - and may your new beginning's be successful and fun!
Steve came over and we watched Predator on the big screen in the basement. Not a traditional New Year's, but it was fun. We've got some planning and work to do - we both signed up for Triple Bypass in July, so that ride's a definite. We're also considering doing a Mtb 100 mile race like Durango or Leadville. Steve will have a tough time making Leadville because of work schedule, so we're thinking of Durango.
I start today at 87.6kg. My goal is 72kg by the end of February. That's 32lbs in 2 months. Time to get busy! I know it's going to be more about managing my diet than anything else.
So, it's a new year. A new beginning. Starting today I get a chance to change everything I want - and the one thing I want to change more than anything else is my weight and fitness. I"m sure my blogs will get a little more light-hearted again over the next year.
Happy New Year to you - and may your new beginning's be successful and fun!
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