Today is a "Rest Day" for me, and as it happens it's also my weigh in day. Since I started tracking my weight back in early January, I'm now down approximately 20lbs, to a hefty number of 235. I have a ways to go at this point, but it's nice that the numbers moved for me early, as it's given me some motivation to keep working hard. I need to adjust my schedule some, and be more regimented with "this is a swim day, don't go riding" for a bit to balance out my workouts, and time with the wife at the gym, some. At the end of the day I feel a lot better, have more energy, and I'm energized to battle the next 10 lbs, which I'm figuring will take a lot longer than the first 20. The last 10-20 I'm expecting to be the "long haul" of the journey, where I'm expecting that it'll be next cycling season before I'm even close to where I want to be. But the effort will pay off.
What I also realized while looking back at the last 20lbs is how blessed and fortunate I am. I've tried to make changes before, and they have gone okay, but I always end up slipping in the end. I have too many temptations, too many distractions, too much of my old life in the way. Even up until January this was an issue. I was working out, getting in 2-4 rides a week, working hard. The weight wasn't coming off and I wasn't really feeling all that much better. Since starting Rob's Big Losers though, things have been different. I've already blogged about how much I'm proud of how my family has taken to the challenge along side of me, and I think the prayers that I've had with my friends, my family, and my church has gone a long way to extend that. Temptations and cravings just don't seem to be there. I go to Wild Wing Cafe and broccoli is just a natural change for me from fries. I don't even want them (and I'm a salty carb fiend!). I find myself wanting to find more ways to add veggies and fruits to meals, not trying to dodge it or forcing myself to eat them. It's truly a blessing, and I cannot thank God enough for that gift during this journey. Even when my 12 week journey with Rob's Big Losers is done, I don't think I can return to having fried food 5+ times a week. I just don't crave it, and I the few times that I've had something heavier my body has rejected it pretty strongly.
I started this entry with a more general title, but I think this one fits. There will be a day this year when I'll have to post up "A Pirate looks at -40" for the parrot-head in me, and this is my reminder that I'll be down 40 soon enough. I'm not going to rush for it, but I'll be as excited to write that post as I was to write about the first time up Paris Mountain (as read in the entry "Over the Mountain")
Friday, February 24, 2012
Thursday, February 23, 2012
More Jelly Arms
After a week of pretty punishing cycling workouts, I really was ready to hit the pool. Well, kind of ready. The last few times I've been in I was disappointed because I bonked way too early, and only got in a few laps. To me, 3 laps just isn't enough to be happy with spending time in the pool. Tonight I had hoped to get in a few more laps, maybe even double my previous efforts. What I did this time was set a time limit, I was going to spend at least 30 minutes in the pool, and just do laps as I could.
With this in mind, I got to the pool. Tonight, for a change, it was a quiet time and the pool was pretty empty. Getting a lane wasn't an issue, and I hopped in and got adjusted to the water (I mean, there's really only one way to adjust to water temp, and that's feet first!). Once I got in, I did a little bit of warming up, and took a lap. What I noticed first is that my form is horrible (something I'm really going to have to work on) and that I was tired after 25m. After the first full lap I was pretty darned spent. I was determined to not bomb out after 3 laps this time, so I rested for a little bit, and went out for another lap. At the halfway point I stopped to catch my breath, and this time instead of just doing freestyle on the way back I did a backstroke. I was still pretty darned tired by the time I got back, but at least I wasn't doubled over and feeling my heart attempting to leave my chest. It took a little less time to recover, so I went out again.
I repeated this same cycle for several laps, and realized I had gotten to 8 laps and still had over 5 minutes left to go in my 30 minute time period. I went out for 2 more laps going freestyle out and backstroke back, and still had just enough time for a last lap. I decided I'd encap the set with freestyle both ways, since it seemed to be the more exhausting of the moves for me (probably because my form was so bad). The way back wasn't easy, but I managed to complete the 11th lap. At the end I was tired, but also I also felt very accomplished. 11 laps is a number that I can be happy with completing, and to me it's a real starting point. I wasn't quite to "jelly arms" this time, but I think that's because I was working on a recovery strategy the entire time so I could go longer.
My hope is that as I work in more swimming into my routine I can see gains similar to my success in biking in the pool.
With this in mind, I got to the pool. Tonight, for a change, it was a quiet time and the pool was pretty empty. Getting a lane wasn't an issue, and I hopped in and got adjusted to the water (I mean, there's really only one way to adjust to water temp, and that's feet first!). Once I got in, I did a little bit of warming up, and took a lap. What I noticed first is that my form is horrible (something I'm really going to have to work on) and that I was tired after 25m. After the first full lap I was pretty darned spent. I was determined to not bomb out after 3 laps this time, so I rested for a little bit, and went out for another lap. At the halfway point I stopped to catch my breath, and this time instead of just doing freestyle on the way back I did a backstroke. I was still pretty darned tired by the time I got back, but at least I wasn't doubled over and feeling my heart attempting to leave my chest. It took a little less time to recover, so I went out again.
I repeated this same cycle for several laps, and realized I had gotten to 8 laps and still had over 5 minutes left to go in my 30 minute time period. I went out for 2 more laps going freestyle out and backstroke back, and still had just enough time for a last lap. I decided I'd encap the set with freestyle both ways, since it seemed to be the more exhausting of the moves for me (probably because my form was so bad). The way back wasn't easy, but I managed to complete the 11th lap. At the end I was tired, but also I also felt very accomplished. 11 laps is a number that I can be happy with completing, and to me it's a real starting point. I wasn't quite to "jelly arms" this time, but I think that's because I was working on a recovery strategy the entire time so I could go longer.
My hope is that as I work in more swimming into my routine I can see gains similar to my success in biking in the pool.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Too Much of a Good Thing (sometimes it's still good!)
Today ended up being a "back to back" day for me with challenging climbs. And when I say "challenging climbs", I actually am refering to climbs that when you get about halfway through them you say "why in the world did I choose this route?!?". My buddy John couldn't make the trip up Paris Mountain yesterday, so I wanted to come up with a route where he could get some good attacks in and then we'd meet back up. Overall the plan went well, although my legs were still tired from the effort up PM yesterday. We did hit a hiccup when while not together the route I had put together called for a turn he wasn't sure on, so we ended up not following quite the same route for a bit. We also ran a little short on time before nightfall, so instead of taking the hills back to downtown we ended up traveling back on the Swamp Rabbit to downtown.
That said, it was a really good ride. My legs are definitely tired at this point, but because of schedule and weather I don't expect to be doing any hard rides between now and Sunday. The goal is to get to spin class in the morning for some more training, and then hopefully some time in the pool on Thursday. I *may* attempt to make a second "omg how early is it?" spin class on Friday morning, but it would be quite a stretch, and it puts a pretty big crimp on the morning routine.
That said, it was a really good ride. My legs are definitely tired at this point, but because of schedule and weather I don't expect to be doing any hard rides between now and Sunday. The goal is to get to spin class in the morning for some more training, and then hopefully some time in the pool on Thursday. I *may* attempt to make a second "omg how early is it?" spin class on Friday morning, but it would be quite a stretch, and it puts a pretty big crimp on the morning routine.
Moment of Praise, well overdue.
Sitting at my desk this morning, I got an occassion to think and reflect a bit. Since about mid-December I've been using SparkPeople.com to log my food on an on-again, off-again basis. I also take a moment when I can to read an article or two that they present me, to read and reflect. The one today was about consistency. There was a line in it about not wanting to cook dinner, because of the effort put into it. I know this feeling, it's a feeling that we've struggled with as a family for years. By years I mean over a decade. I get home from work, my wife is frustrated and dinner isn't started (let alone ready), and we're off to some place with a drive thru (they don't even take the time to spell "through" properly they are so fast!) where we can get a slab of grease on a bun slathered in butter and a bunch of starch sticks. We knew we needed to eat, and we wanted to provide a level of consistency for the kids with bedtime and structure, so we gave on nutrition.
Fast forward to 2012. We're in a new home, in a new state, and building a new state of mind. I'm coming home later than I used to because of work as well as my new biking habit. Even through the first 3 weeks, I can remember a couple of times that we resulted in a quick trip to Belly King or something. Even the first week of Rob's Big Losers we ended up taking the kids to Chick-Fil-A because of time constraints. Now, what we did was not order off the "number plan" that all of these places have set up, but we created our own meals from their healthier options, and just had water to drink. It's been almost 5 weeks since that trip, and our time eating out has drastically changed. We go out to eat as a family about once a week, and what I find absolutely amazing is that we do not react to a bad situation with another bad situation. My wife has taken on the challenge of creating a new meal plan and cooking new recipes every night, and working out how to incorporate better decisions even in our breakfast choices each morning.
Last night is a perfect example of the changes that have happened for us. I went out riding last night, and it was a longish ride. I didn't get home until after 6:30pm. The plan was for us to make up a healthy meal using spaghetti squash with some sauce and some left over veggies from a meal over the weekend. When I got home instead of being in the old routine of her being exhausted and upset and trying wildly to figure out what to do, concerned with the clock, she told me that dinner wasn't ready yet because she couldn't get the squash opened up. I changed clothes (since cycling clothes really aren't comfortable to cook in), and went downstairs to help before I iced my knee. I got the squash cut and arranged on in the pan, and got it into microwave to help speed along the cooking. We worked out the final details of the meal, and kept moving towards getting dinner on the table. We ended up eating very late, which in turn really impacted the girl's ability to get to bed "on time", but everything worked out.
In reviewing the past 2 months, I'm so excited to see that we are seriously building a new normal around the house. Even when things aren't ideal we are able to keep with important details (like making sure everyone has a healthy meal) and we're slowly rebuilding how we do things. I'm so proud of my wife and how she manages to keep things together right now, and how she's really putting forth the effort on the home front to make things not be what they were before. When I think to what our life was like just 6 months ago versus what it is now I feel completely blessed, and I can see the changes that God has walked us through. My RBL journey may have started in January, but without the faithfulness and obidience that we had in August of last year, I do not believe any of this would be possible.
Fast forward to 2012. We're in a new home, in a new state, and building a new state of mind. I'm coming home later than I used to because of work as well as my new biking habit. Even through the first 3 weeks, I can remember a couple of times that we resulted in a quick trip to Belly King or something. Even the first week of Rob's Big Losers we ended up taking the kids to Chick-Fil-A because of time constraints. Now, what we did was not order off the "number plan" that all of these places have set up, but we created our own meals from their healthier options, and just had water to drink. It's been almost 5 weeks since that trip, and our time eating out has drastically changed. We go out to eat as a family about once a week, and what I find absolutely amazing is that we do not react to a bad situation with another bad situation. My wife has taken on the challenge of creating a new meal plan and cooking new recipes every night, and working out how to incorporate better decisions even in our breakfast choices each morning.
Last night is a perfect example of the changes that have happened for us. I went out riding last night, and it was a longish ride. I didn't get home until after 6:30pm. The plan was for us to make up a healthy meal using spaghetti squash with some sauce and some left over veggies from a meal over the weekend. When I got home instead of being in the old routine of her being exhausted and upset and trying wildly to figure out what to do, concerned with the clock, she told me that dinner wasn't ready yet because she couldn't get the squash opened up. I changed clothes (since cycling clothes really aren't comfortable to cook in), and went downstairs to help before I iced my knee. I got the squash cut and arranged on in the pan, and got it into microwave to help speed along the cooking. We worked out the final details of the meal, and kept moving towards getting dinner on the table. We ended up eating very late, which in turn really impacted the girl's ability to get to bed "on time", but everything worked out.
In reviewing the past 2 months, I'm so excited to see that we are seriously building a new normal around the house. Even when things aren't ideal we are able to keep with important details (like making sure everyone has a healthy meal) and we're slowly rebuilding how we do things. I'm so proud of my wife and how she manages to keep things together right now, and how she's really putting forth the effort on the home front to make things not be what they were before. When I think to what our life was like just 6 months ago versus what it is now I feel completely blessed, and I can see the changes that God has walked us through. My RBL journey may have started in January, but without the faithfulness and obidience that we had in August of last year, I do not believe any of this would be possible.
Monday, February 20, 2012
A 5-month review point
On September 17, 2011 I purchased my first (and so far only) road bike. After making the purchase, John made a point to bring me over to the Swamp Rabbit Trail (SRT for short) and show me the path as a training ground. It's still an area I love, and I intend to bring the girls out there one of these weekends for a ride to get them riding somewhere new. It's mostly level, although it does get into a 3% incline over by Furman (about 7 miles up the trail). Where's it's more interesting from the vantage point of this post is to review my performance comparing a few specific rides. The first is my ride from 9/17:
Since this was my first ride on the new bike, and I didn't have a real bike computer yet (this data was taken from my phone), it's interesting from the time perspective. Only my memories really document how it felt to slog up SRT for the first time. When we got through Furman there is a sitting area, and for the first month or so it became my "turn around" point, and a place where I could take a break, sit down to rest and get a quick snack. Just getting this far on the bike was a real effort most of the time, although if you dig through my Strava report for September and October you can see where I often went further up the trail. I borrowed a HR monitor watch from John back then, and I remember having to make a conscious effort to make sure my heart didn't go over 160 while going ~12mph up the trail, and my cadence was sporadic at best, needing to often stretch out my legs.
The second of the rides would be the first SRT spin that I had the bike computer. This also happens to have been my first group ride with the Spinners up on their "Ice Cream rides" on Sundays.
This had a different start place, and went a little further, but you can see that I was able to ride further and harder than the first ride. This one is interesting because I have the cadence and heart rate data to compare to other rides. You can see that my heart rate is still going over 170 here, even in the more flat areas of the ride (and in some cases downhill). You can also see the first real data I have for cadence, and you can see even 3 weeks later I'm still not spinning for any serious length of time. Some of this is because of the nature of the trail, although you can see that I'm more than likely pushing a big gear to keep up more than really trying to keep a decent cadence.
Fast forward to today. Today was an easy spin up SRT, up and down Paris Mountain, an extended trip up SRT to Traveler's Rest, and then back to downtown.
What you will see here is that until we got to Furman my heart rate is sub-130, and recovered extremely quickly when we had rests. The trip up Paris Mountain was a challenge, but it was a manageable task and I didn't reach max heart rate until I was powering over the last grunt on the trek. You notice on the trip back down that my heart rate recovered very quickly. You'll also notice that the cadence stays strong throughout the ride, and you notice when the cadence stops is typically at a crossing point where we actually had to slow down and stop. The entire 25 minutes it took me to go up the mountain I was peddleing without any major break. The cadence was a little low (sub 60), but it's improving.
What it's showing me is more proof on how my cycling skills are improving. I spend a lot of time being upset that I cannot keep up with the Brookwood Rides or with some of the guys from work when we go out. I don't want them having to wait up for me all the time. The fact that I can see the gains that I'm making right now is encouraging, and knowing that the efforts I've been putting forward as a part of Rob's Big Losers is paying dividends is comforting. I now look at a ride up SRT as something to do for recreation instead of for fitness gains, and I need the challenge of extending the ride just to make it worth going out. I look forward to a time when I can say that about more rides.
Since this was my first ride on the new bike, and I didn't have a real bike computer yet (this data was taken from my phone), it's interesting from the time perspective. Only my memories really document how it felt to slog up SRT for the first time. When we got through Furman there is a sitting area, and for the first month or so it became my "turn around" point, and a place where I could take a break, sit down to rest and get a quick snack. Just getting this far on the bike was a real effort most of the time, although if you dig through my Strava report for September and October you can see where I often went further up the trail. I borrowed a HR monitor watch from John back then, and I remember having to make a conscious effort to make sure my heart didn't go over 160 while going ~12mph up the trail, and my cadence was sporadic at best, needing to often stretch out my legs.
The second of the rides would be the first SRT spin that I had the bike computer. This also happens to have been my first group ride with the Spinners up on their "Ice Cream rides" on Sundays.
This had a different start place, and went a little further, but you can see that I was able to ride further and harder than the first ride. This one is interesting because I have the cadence and heart rate data to compare to other rides. You can see that my heart rate is still going over 170 here, even in the more flat areas of the ride (and in some cases downhill). You can also see the first real data I have for cadence, and you can see even 3 weeks later I'm still not spinning for any serious length of time. Some of this is because of the nature of the trail, although you can see that I'm more than likely pushing a big gear to keep up more than really trying to keep a decent cadence.
Fast forward to today. Today was an easy spin up SRT, up and down Paris Mountain, an extended trip up SRT to Traveler's Rest, and then back to downtown.
What you will see here is that until we got to Furman my heart rate is sub-130, and recovered extremely quickly when we had rests. The trip up Paris Mountain was a challenge, but it was a manageable task and I didn't reach max heart rate until I was powering over the last grunt on the trek. You notice on the trip back down that my heart rate recovered very quickly. You'll also notice that the cadence stays strong throughout the ride, and you notice when the cadence stops is typically at a crossing point where we actually had to slow down and stop. The entire 25 minutes it took me to go up the mountain I was peddleing without any major break. The cadence was a little low (sub 60), but it's improving.
What it's showing me is more proof on how my cycling skills are improving. I spend a lot of time being upset that I cannot keep up with the Brookwood Rides or with some of the guys from work when we go out. I don't want them having to wait up for me all the time. The fact that I can see the gains that I'm making right now is encouraging, and knowing that the efforts I've been putting forward as a part of Rob's Big Losers is paying dividends is comforting. I now look at a ride up SRT as something to do for recreation instead of for fitness gains, and I need the challenge of extending the ride just to make it worth going out. I look forward to a time when I can say that about more rides.
Body Fat % check-up
So this weekend was rather droll. I rested on Friday, icing my knee to make sure it didn't have issues. It felt good Saturday, so I took my oldest with me to spin class. It was a really aggressive class, and my legs were tired afterwards but felt good. Iced my knee to make sure it didn't hurt later, and then rested the remainder of Saturday. Sunday it rained all day long, so I ended up running a bunch of much needed errands instead of working out. I had hoped to get to the pool Sunday afternoon, but the errands ended up taking longer than I expected, and we literally ran out of time.
That said, I had more time to look at my progress this year, and take down some real numbers. I'm a numbers kind of guy (if you haven't noticed from my Strava usage), so I like to keep track of where I am and what's happening a lot. I had noticed that my body fat % on my scale had changed from around 38% in early January down to around 32% last week. A 6% change seems massive but what does it really mean. From my reading up online, the math for making this into real numbers is pretty simple, and since I weigh myself at approximately the same time every week (first thing in the morning, typically on Friday), the water % issue is less of a worry as far as the "relative change" perspective. Is my scale 100% accurate? I doubt it, but since I'm using the same scale for all of these reports, I feel I've been consistent on what I've experienced.
In early January I weighed in at a heft 257 lbs and 38% body fat. The simple math shows that I had around 98 lbs of fat lying around under my skin at the time! Using the math in this regard really grosses me out. It also tells me that as of mid January my lean body mass was around 159lbs and my "ideal goal weight" should be around 205lbs (a weight with my lean body + approximately 18% body fat). Last week when I weighed in I was at a trimmer 238 lbs and 32% body fat. That means in about a month and a half I dropped down to 76 lbs of fat and a lean body mass of 162. So I gained 5 lbs of muscle while dropping 22 lbs of fat. Also calculating the "goal weight" at this point still shows me looking at 205 lbs as my goal if I get to 18% bodyfat (210 if I go up to 20% bodyfat which is the top end of the "normal" range).
What does this mean? Actually it speaks volumes for me. First it's a great way to show what the efforts that I'm putting in mean without just looking at a scale. Second it gives me a "Real" goal weight, instead of just some number pulled out of dark and stinky places to put onto a "Goal" line in my head. Having a realistic number to look at means I know what my body is actually capable of, and gives me something to look forward to. The last time I was sub-220lbs was in 1993, and I wasn't all that healthy at the time. 19 years later I can say with strength that a goal weight of 210 is reasonable for 2012, and something I can aspire to.
I'm interested in doing the math on fat lost over time.
That said, I had more time to look at my progress this year, and take down some real numbers. I'm a numbers kind of guy (if you haven't noticed from my Strava usage), so I like to keep track of where I am and what's happening a lot. I had noticed that my body fat % on my scale had changed from around 38% in early January down to around 32% last week. A 6% change seems massive but what does it really mean. From my reading up online, the math for making this into real numbers is pretty simple, and since I weigh myself at approximately the same time every week (first thing in the morning, typically on Friday), the water % issue is less of a worry as far as the "relative change" perspective. Is my scale 100% accurate? I doubt it, but since I'm using the same scale for all of these reports, I feel I've been consistent on what I've experienced.
In early January I weighed in at a heft 257 lbs and 38% body fat. The simple math shows that I had around 98 lbs of fat lying around under my skin at the time! Using the math in this regard really grosses me out. It also tells me that as of mid January my lean body mass was around 159lbs and my "ideal goal weight" should be around 205lbs (a weight with my lean body + approximately 18% body fat). Last week when I weighed in I was at a trimmer 238 lbs and 32% body fat. That means in about a month and a half I dropped down to 76 lbs of fat and a lean body mass of 162. So I gained 5 lbs of muscle while dropping 22 lbs of fat. Also calculating the "goal weight" at this point still shows me looking at 205 lbs as my goal if I get to 18% bodyfat (210 if I go up to 20% bodyfat which is the top end of the "normal" range).
What does this mean? Actually it speaks volumes for me. First it's a great way to show what the efforts that I'm putting in mean without just looking at a scale. Second it gives me a "Real" goal weight, instead of just some number pulled out of dark and stinky places to put onto a "Goal" line in my head. Having a realistic number to look at means I know what my body is actually capable of, and gives me something to look forward to. The last time I was sub-220lbs was in 1993, and I wasn't all that healthy at the time. 19 years later I can say with strength that a goal weight of 210 is reasonable for 2012, and something I can aspire to.
I'm interested in doing the math on fat lost over time.
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Thursday 2/16 - Swamp Rabbit with some Elevation
Today started out as a kinda dreary day. After spin class AND swimming yesterday and the nice weather we had, it was wet and a bit chilly to start the day off. I brought my bike stuff with the hopes of a ride this afternoon.
By about 3pm the rain had subsided, so we got a chance to head out on the Swamp Rabbit trail. We got up near Paris Mountain, and instead of taking a left and climbing the mountain, we went right to go around the base. The end result is about as much elevation (if not a little bit more) even though we didn't climb the mountain. Instead of having a 6% climb for 2.2 miles, you get rolling hills with up to a 12% incline. It's a good training ground, as I can do near intervals on some of the roads, but it definitely takes a bit out of me.
About halfway through dreamland my knee started to bug me some. With my history of knee issues, I know to listen to what my knee is telling me. Even though the weather is supposed to really good tomorrow (and a crummy weekend) I'm thinking I need to cool it and let my knee rest some and just do a spin class on Saturday. My knee isn't bugging me unless I put out a lot of effort, so as long as I'm careful I should be okay. I just know better than to exhaust and overwork knees.
By about 3pm the rain had subsided, so we got a chance to head out on the Swamp Rabbit trail. We got up near Paris Mountain, and instead of taking a left and climbing the mountain, we went right to go around the base. The end result is about as much elevation (if not a little bit more) even though we didn't climb the mountain. Instead of having a 6% climb for 2.2 miles, you get rolling hills with up to a 12% incline. It's a good training ground, as I can do near intervals on some of the roads, but it definitely takes a bit out of me.
About halfway through dreamland my knee started to bug me some. With my history of knee issues, I know to listen to what my knee is telling me. Even though the weather is supposed to really good tomorrow (and a crummy weekend) I'm thinking I need to cool it and let my knee rest some and just do a spin class on Saturday. My knee isn't bugging me unless I put out a lot of effort, so as long as I'm careful I should be okay. I just know better than to exhaust and overwork knees.
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