Where's My Body?

Catching up ... again ...

2004-11-09T05:18:00.000-08:00

It's been a hectic couple of weeks around here, but that's really nothing unusual anymore. Got hit by a massive lazy-attack and haven't been doing a whole lot other than work, read trashy novels, play computer games, and ride the bike. The only really interesting thing that's happened is that I broke down and bought a heart rate monitor. Got a Polar S120 with the usual functions, including three 'training zones' with alarms. Riding with it is pretty entertaining: The alarm goes off if I go below or above a set heart rate range so it's kinda like a game keeping it within that range. The biggest change I've noticed in my riding is that it's made me a bit steadier: Instead of my usual habit of pushing really hard until I can't push anymore and then scaling wayyyy back while I recover I'm pedaling just a wee bit slower but steadily pedaling instead of the spin spin spin cooooaaast that I've gotten used to. And using more gears to keep spinning at the same rate instead of hammering.

More later ... gotta get to work ... have a wonderful day, y'all!

That was fun!

2004-10-26T06:14:00.000-07:00

I really wasn't sure about riding in the cold, but I have to admit I greatly enjoyed it! I was pretty dubious when I first started out, but by the time I'd gone half a mile I was warming up quite nicely and was pretty toasty warm all the way to work. In fact, the only parts of me that got chilly at all were the ends of my toes (gotta do something about that) and the top of my head when I was going down a long hill (need a head cover for under the helmet). I took the short route 'cause I've got just a wee bit of chafing going on and didn't want to make it worse, but I really, really enjoyed the looks from drivers: Look! It's a psychopath! It seemed like they were giving me much more room than usual. Heh!

And the comments when I got to work were great too: Did you RIDE this morning? Ohmigod but it's SO cold! Weren't you COLD?! Nope. Heh.

I've officially decided that riding with contact lenses is a Good Thing. As I was huffing and puffing up a hill and watching the steam coming out of my mouth I was really enjoying not having glasses to fog up 'cause they would have been so fogged I'd have had serious trouble seeing. And what I got to see was the sunrise over the river through a bit of fog, all oranges and pinks ... should'a stopped and taken a picture ... beautiful!

For vj, my wardrobe: Thermax undershirt from Cabellas, fleece jacket, Wind Jacket from J&G Cyclewear (layered in that order), thick wool socks, cycling shoes, Wool tights from Rivendell, lightweight thermal gloves from the local sports shop, and a helmet. I looked like a mushroom!

Brrrrr!

2004-10-25T06:24:00.000-07:00

Today's the day I find out if I can ride in the cold. Really cold. No, colder than that. 29F this morning with a breeze NNW. I'm shivering just sitting here thinking about it!

I'm gonna do it. The only question is, do I take the shorter route and go straight to work or do I go the long way and stop at Starbucks? *grin*

A slight change of tactics

2004-10-23T23:10:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I've been thinking over the last few months ... what's worked and what hasn't worked at all ... and come to a few conclusions. First of all, some things have worked very well: I've gained some muscle and confidence, done some things I wasn't sure I could do, and acquired more bikes than I know what to do with *grin*

On the other hand, there's one thing that hasn't worked well at all. In pushing myself, I think I've actually set myself up for failure in the weight loss department. Allow me to explain: All summer I've pushed the envelope as far as my body is concerned. That has resulted in a level of soreness that has kept me from riding more often than not. Only being able to ride two or three times a week is not gonna get the weight off, funnily enough. I was really proud of myself for having made 100 miles last week, but was so sore that I only rode once this week. The changes in my body over that 100-mile week were pretty impressive, though. So I'm thinkin' ... instead of pushing myself, what might happen if I try to just ride five or six days a week but shorter, easier rides and avoid the massive hills for a while? Just ride an hour or so a day? Might I build a stronger physical base and get the weight loss happening again without having to take extended breaks from the bike?

Hey, what the heck ... worth a try ... I'll let you know how it goes!

100 Miles

2004-10-19T05:09:00.000-07:00

I did it. Finally. 100 miles in one week. Whew!

The weather was too perfect last week: Cool, clear, no wind to speak of. I couldn't NOT ride! After having a few weeks of real laziness it was tough ... had to really push myself and I'm still really sore ... but I feel like I've really accomplished something. Rode to work and back five days taking the longer route (via Starbucks) each day, then finished up a with a 10-mile flat loop on Saturday ending at the Deli down the street for a mocha and a sandwich. Spent the rest of the weekend in a state of collapse, pretty much. ;-)

This week the weather's pretty icky, naturally, but it looks like I'll get to do some riding anyway. Maybe not 100 miles, but no reason I can't get 70 or 80. The one thing I know now is that it's gonna take a serious act of God to keep me off the bike for an extended period again ... unbelievable how much condition I lost so quickly!

Yes indeedy ...

2004-10-13T06:17:00.000-07:00

... a few weeks of not riding much at all is a bad idea. I've started commuting again ... started with Sunday because I needed to go in and do some work on the servers that I can't do during the week ... and man am I sore! Not so much that I can't ride, but when I got out of bed this morning I was walking all bent over like an old woman. Won't be taking that kind of break again any time soon! Funny thing is that it's not bothering me so much this time around. More like it's a familiar discomfort, I know the cause, and I know the cure ... if that makes any sense.

On the bright side, I found a new route Monday morning ... takes me right past Starbucks. *big naughty grin*

Vj, I wish I had a picture of that bull too ... still kicking myself for not taking my camera, but the one I have is pretty unwieldy. I've ordered a new one that should arrive around the end of this week ... it's a bit more portable and a bit less fussy, so some ride pics soon!

In other news, for the first time in my life I'm wearing contact lenses. Without glasses I'm legally blind (horridly near-sighted) and I was finding riding in glasses a bit challenging for a couple of reasons. The first was no peripheral vision at all. Makes it kinda hard to look back over my shoulder at traffic. I could get a mirror for that, and probably will at some point, but the contacts help a bit. The second, and more important to me, was that the mornings are getting downright chilly around here and my glasses were fogging up something awful. With the contacts I still have to wear eye protection, even if just sunglasses with clear lenses to help keep my eyes from drying out, but when they get fogged I can just look over the top of them and keep going. Nice!

Welp, better get packed up and on the bike. Off to another day of database wrangling. Via Starbucks, of course. ;-)

Saturday morning coffee and rambling

2004-10-09T07:12:00.000-07:00

Okay, I'm back. More or less. Probably less, if the last few weeks are anything to go by. ;-)

We did the Ellensburg-Manastash ride last Saturday. Too much fun! I only did the half route (35 miles) 'cause I was still trying to shake off that bug, while my husband did the full 62 miles. The short route was challenging enough -- lots of hills -- but I took my time and just pootled along enjoying the scenery. The weather was perfect: It started out chilly enough for a jacket and leggings but by the half-way point I was stripped down to shorts and a jersey. Blue skies, very light breeze. Gorgeous! The rest stops that the Ellensburg cycling club provided were pretty amazing too: Just about every kind of pastry and fruit imaginable, along with homemade choc-chip cookies, coffee from Starbucks, and all sorts of sports drinks and juices.

The high point of the ride? Coming 'round a bend on a long, twisty country road and finding a huge Black Angus bull standing on the center line. I decided that that was probably an excellent spot to stop and catch my breath while someone in a little gray Toyota herded Mister Bull back to his pasture. Very cool!

Oh, and as I was coming back through Ellensburg to the finish I came up to a short hill up to a stoplight and decided that I wasn't going to slow down for it because I was feeling strong and only had a mile or so to go so I stood on the pedals and hammered up it. When I got to the top and stopped for the light I heard a shout to my left, looked over and there was a truck full of college boys (E-burg is a college town). They were all grinning and one of them stuck his hand out the window and gave me a thumbs-up! I grinned back and took off as the light turned green. I wonder if they know what a lift they gave me?

We both had a wonderful time and agreed that we'll make this ride a yearly tradition.

Sunday morning musings

2004-09-26T06:45:00.000-07:00

That hill up to Benton City? The one that, the first time I tried it, I had to stop no less than six times to catch my breath? Made it up the other day with one gear left! I'm definitely getting stronger.

I've been sitting here this morning thinking back over the summer -- the changes and improvements, and the areas that haven't changed or improved as much as I'd like. When I'm honest with myself, the areas that haven't changed so much are attributable directly to my lack of activity in those areas. So, I wonder, what holds me back from that activity? Is it depression? Frustration? Just general laziness? (Yeah, probably.) I mean, I know that the more I ride the stronger and fitter I get, the more fat I burn, the more muscle I gain, the better I sleep, so. Knowing all of that, what keeps me from getting out there every day and riding my @ss off?

I know frustration is part of it -- not just the difficulty of riding, but things getting flats all the time (or at least it seems like it). Having to stop and patch the same tube twice in a single ride is not a lot of fun. So I've gotta go out and buy new tires and hope they cut down the number of flats. Why do I let stupid things like that get to me? Is it because it's an excuse to not ride? Yeah, I'm beginning to think so. What's that say about me, eh? *laugh*

This coming Saturday is the Ellensburg-Manastash ride. 62 miles. I'm nowhere near ready for it, of course, and this week I'm fighting a cold. Bleah! Oh well, I'm going anyway. I know I can do the half-ride (35 miles) so I'll at least do that. Wish me luck!

Ch-ch-ch-changes

2004-09-20T05:54:00.000-07:00

Nope, I have no idea where last week went. Seems like I turned around and it was gone. But hey, I can see my ankle-bones now!

Sometimes all this cycling feels like really hard work and I wonder if I'm getting anywhere. I mean, with all the riding I'm doing I should be ten sizes smaller by now, right? And able to do 100 miles without blinking, no? But no, I'm still struggling along, huffing and sweating and feeling like I'm going nowhere. But then, one day, I look down and see bones in my ankles. And I go for a ride and tackle a hill that a month ago defeated me and I make it to the top in one go. So no, I'm not skinny yet, but when I think back three months to where I started and look at the progress I've made I have to smile and give myself a wee pat on the back.

It's funny. Some days, some rides, I feel really good. Others, I still hurt. A lot. But I knew this was gonna hurt sometimes. I knew it would be hard work. And when I see those bones in my ankles I know it's paying off. All I have to do is keep swinging my leg over that saddle and sooner or later I'll reach my goals. It's gonna take time but hey, I've got that.

Woke up way too early today!

2004-09-08T04:43:00.000-07:00

Final score last week -- rode in: four times, rode home: three times, flats: four. My bike's now sporting shiny new Specialized Armadillo tires. All the roadies around here swear by them for goathead and glass protection, so hopefully I won't be spending all my time changing tubes this week!

Overall things are going well, although I'm not getting in as many miles as I'd like. The husband and I did a 35-mile loop on Sunday and I'm aiming to finally hit 100 this week ... nearly halfway there! I feel like my legs are finally starting to get the hang of this pedalling thing and riding is starting to feel less like work and more like fun!

Catching up ...

2004-09-02T05:48:00.000-07:00

Ack, sorry guys! Not sure where the time gets!

Not too much exciting happening here ... just lots of burbling about assorted bike stuff ...

Did the Benton City loop on Saturday and tackled yet another hill that has always intimidated me ...made it to the top! Whew! Unfortunately I still had the saddle a bit high on the Sequoia and hosed my back so no riding Sunday. Fussed a bit with the bike on Sunday and managed to strip the threads of the seatpost clamp, so back on the Trek for the week. S'okay ... went ahead and set up the Trek as my commuter.

Decided to try to commute to work and back every day this week. Monday I rode in but when it was time to go home found the rear wheel flatter than the proverbial pancake. Was tired, fed-up, just wanted to go home, so called the husband to come get me. Spent some time Monday evening fussing over the bikes, rode in Tuesday morning. Another flat! This time I changed the tube at work ... didn't leave work until after 6pm but had a great ride home. Rode in Wednesday morning. Wednesday afternoon got stubborn and rode home despite 20mph headwinds. The wind wasn't so bad but all the grit and dust flying into my eyes made the ride pretty miserable aaaand I wound up with a saddle sore. *grumble*

Today I'm taking it easy ... gonna just take the car and work a long day ... that way I can give the sore a chance to heal, ride to work tomorrow and then leave work right after lunch and go for a long ride. That's the current plan, anyway.

Was I moaning about the heat?

2004-08-25T04:45:00.000-07:00

Now I'm sitting here thinking the cooler weather is really nice and all, but it would be really nice if it would stop raining long enough to get a ride in! *laugh* Did 10 miles before work yesterday morning, got sprinkled on for the last couple of miles, had a 20mph tailwind most of the way ... that was fun! Had hoped to get in some more bike-time in the afternoon but it rained the rest of the day.

Today it's pouring out there. I'm gonna throw the bike and my gear in the back of the car and hope it clears at some point ... if it does I'm gonna say "forget work," get changed and go for a loooong ride.

Local Weather Report

2004-08-22T05:16:00.000-07:00

Breezy...cooler. Isolated thunderstorms. Numerous showers in the morning...becoming scattered showers in the afternoon. Highs 77 to 82. Southwest wind 5 to 15 mph early in the morning becoming west 15 to 25 mph in the late morning and afternoon. Gusts around 35 mph. Chance of precipitation 60 percent.

The winds are currently 16mph and it's pouring down rain. So much for a long ride this morning. *pout*

I was all excited to go for a ride, too. My husband has spent the last month putting together his dream bike, a fixed-gear built up out of a mid-80's Bianchi racing frame, and is so happy with it that he decided I should have his Specialized Sequoia. We spent yesterday afternoon setting it up for me, including a run to the local bike shop for a shorter stem, and it turns out that it fits me better than it fit him and much better than my Trek 520. The frame on the 520 is a wee bit too small for me and we've gone through all sorts of gyrations in the last year trying to make it fit properly. We thought the frame on the Sequoia might be a bit on the large side but it's perfect! We set up the gearing to match what I'm used to on the 520 (he talked me through changing and adjusting the cassette and rear derailleur -- fun!), and swapped over the pedals and saddle from the 520. Now I wanna get it out on the road and play!

TGISaturday!

2004-08-21T06:11:00.000-07:00

I have to apologize, folks. Not sure where the week went. I had good intentions for getting in here and posting at least every couple of days, but as it turned out I was coming home from work and pretty much falling into bed every night this week. Work's been absolutely freakin' insane the last couple of weeks! I've spent most of it hiding in my office refactoring C# and trying to document (translate?) someone else's gawdawful spaghetti-code that I swear is written in Sanskrit.

Nothing too exciting happened this week (other than work ... I suppose "exciting" is one word for that). It's been way too hot to ride much ... up in the 100's every day ... and I woke up yesterday with a sore lower back and couldn't ride, so only 56 miles for the week. The weather's supposed to start cooling today and be in the low to mid 80's all next week. Man, I hope so! I'm gettin' downright fed up with the heat!

On the more cheerful side, I've lost nearly another inch around my chest and about half an inch around my waist this week. That means I've lost everything around my waist that I gained when I first started pumping the miles. Hah, that means the fat's definitely going! Yayyy!

I promise I'll try to keep up here better this week. I also promise I'll try to cut back on my Starbucks visits this week. *grin*

Saturday morning coffee and rambling

2004-08-14T05:20:00.000-07:00

Made the mistake of getting on the scale the other day -- in nine weeks I've lost a whopping three pounds or thereabouts. I don't think I'm gonna try that again for at least another month. *laugh* I've definitely lost a few inches here and there and I can see and feel new muscle, so I'm consoling myself with the idea that muscle weighs a lot more than fat and so I've probably actually lost some fat. After the last couple of days though it's a good bet I put a bit back on!

Thursday was my birthday. 38 years old and goin' grey. My secretary hauled me out for lunch at the local Italian yummy-restaurant where I got free baclava with a candle in it ... hee! ... and then my husband took me out for Indian for supper ... and then someone else at work took me to lunch at the all-you-can-stuff-down Chinese yesterday ... wayyyyy too much food over those two days! Time to go do about twenty penance-miles, methinks.

The weather's been pretty miserable this week. Hot, hotter, hottest. It topped out at about 104F yesterday, supposed to be 101-106 today, blech! I didn't ride at all yesterday 'cause I still had too much food sitting in my gut when I got up in the morning. I'll go out this morning and at least hit 90 miles for the week. Had thought about pushing for 100 but it's already 70F out there at 5:30am. Sunday is gonna be hot and windy so we're just going to do a short-ish ride instead of trying Prosser again. I do wish the weather would cool down so's I could push a bit harder ... I really don't handle the heat well. Maybe when I'm a bit fitter I'll be able to ride in that kind of heat, but right now I sweat so much it's near impossible to stay hydrated enough.

Ride report

2004-08-09T05:28:00.000-07:00

I said I'd come back and tell y'all how yesterday went ...

We set out about 8am and headed up the hill to Benton City, stopped in Benton City for a drink and a smoke (that's the first time I've made it there without at least one stop, BTW), then pushed on for Prosser. Had lunch at the Blue Goose (and dayum but they make good burgers!) and started out for home. By the time we were halfway back to Benton City my body was starting to really hurt in spots ... primarily my hands, wrists, lower back, and a spot just below and to the outside of my right knee. Felt like something was pulling there, a tendon or something, and it kept getting worse and worse. I was one hurtin' puppy when we reached Benton City. My brain wanted to keep going and finish the ride but my body outvoted it so I stopped there and my husband went on home and got the car. Basically I just ran out of oomph to keep going up the hills. Got home, took a shower, and collapsed. Gawd but I hurt last night!

Overall it was a good ride, though. Made it up some hills that had really intimidated me before and did a total of 44 miles in five hours. Looking back I think I drank enough but probably didn't eat enough. I should have stopped and eaten something halfway back between Prosser and Benton City but thought that the burger and fries should have been enough to keep me going. Knowing when and what to eat is something that is gonna take experience, I suspect.

Today I'm sore and achey but not as bad as I thought I would be. I'll take it easy today, maybe take the bike for a short and slow spin this evening to flush the muscles out a bit, and see how I feel about riding tomorrow.

44 miles. Hot damn! *grin*

Results? Results!

2004-08-07T08:45:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I didn't ride anything like as many miles as I'd hoped this week ... the flu midweek (no, that wasn't a tension headache afterall) might've had something to do with that. *laugh*

Anyway, still not going near the scale but I did do a few measurements this morning ... half an inch down on the waist and nearly two inches in the chest! Yayyy! *really big cheezy grin* Something's definitely working here!

We're gonna try Prosser again tomorrow morning. Don't know if I'm ready for 50+ miles of hills yet, but I won't know 'til I try, eh? I do know I'm getting stronger and recovering faster, but am I strong enough yet for this? Dunno. I'll let y'all know how it goes.

Sorry I've been so quiet this week

2004-08-05T05:06:00.000-07:00

It's been a rough week at work ... lots of things going on (I HATE work politics) and I've been coming home every day with a screaming tension headache and just wanting to go to bed. Today I have to do a demo on CVS and then pick apart someone's proposed data model ... someone who doesn't take any kind of criticism well. Facing that is probably the biggest reason I've been so stressed up this week ... I don't enjoy confrontation at all!

Tuesday's ride was definitely not in my top 20 favorites of all time ... dropped my chain again (my own stupid fault -- should never have been in that gear in the first place) and landed square on the top tube. Yeeouch! My bits are still bruised from that and I wrenched my entire right side trying to stay upright. To add insult to injury I nearly got run over by a co-worker on the way back. Never trust a PhD with his hands on the steering wheel and his head in the next county!

Yesterday's ride was much better. Rode with another co-worker (and good friend) who's a bit stronger than I am so I really pushed myself. Okay, so I wasn't about to let him out-ride me, while he was determined not to be out-ridden by a fat chick! *grin* I'm learning that I'm just a wee bit competitive out there.

Ordered a pair of women's cycling road shoes from Specialized on Sunday ... they arrived yesterday and were too small! *pout* Gotta send them back today and haven't decided yet whether I'm gonna try another pair (that was the largest "women's" shoe in that model) or look elsewhere.

I've started watching the food intake a little bit this week ... not obsessing over it, but just trying to make some better decisions overall. I want to get faster on the bike, I want to get better at handling the hills, and I want to be able to get a lighter-weight road bike, all of which means I've gotta shed some of the fat and I figure if I can get the calorie intake back down I'll dump the fat faster than by riding alone. Still not getting on the scale ... but I'll probably start weighing in weekly pretty soon just to track what I'm doing.

Here's hoping the rest of the week improves ... and that y'all are having a wonderful week!

Cycling clothes for women

2004-08-05T04:59:00.000-07:00

Okay, somehow I just can't picture myself in any of these. Yet. *grin*

Musings

2004-07-31T06:56:00.000-07:00

I got out of bed this morning and didn't need to take anything for back pain. I was a bit stiff but could bend over and pick up the dog's water bowl without holding onto something for support. Not a bad return for 8 weeks' effort, eh?

This week's mileage breakdown...
Sunday: 18
Tuesday: 23
Wednesday: 14
Thursday: 15
Friday: 10

I'm still very slow, averaging 10 - 12 mph, but I reckon that'll change as I get stronger too. I'm starting to think about getting a bike computer with a cadence counter as well so I can work on cadence without guessing or staring at the time readout on my current computer. The one I have now only has avg. speed, time, and distance.

I have 8 weeks to train for the Ellensburg-Manastash ride. Frankly I'm a bit nervous about it, mostly because I don't know yet if I can go that distance in a day. The weekends here are currently too bloody hot (over 100F) to try to find out. Hopefully that'll change soon and I can at least try to do the Prosser trip, which is a bit more than 50 very hilly miles. I reckon if I can do that I can do 67. Besides (trying to reassure myself here) they have an alternate 33 mile route that I can always cop out on if I find that it's too much on the day.

In the last 7 weeks I've gone from 35 miles to 80 miles. The next 8 weeks should be fun. Over the next 3 weeks I want to hit a 100 mile week and then keep it at or above 100 per week through this winter. I also need to start paying more attention to calories ... a bit ... but in my mind it's becoming more about being able to go faster and handle hills better. The less weight I have to carry up those hills the easier it'll be to get up 'em.

I'm still not going near the scale. Maybe in a few weeks. I'm definitely gaining some serious muscle, especially in my legs, so I know the scale isn't going to tell me anything interesting right now.

Behinder and behinder

2004-07-30T04:04:00.000-07:00

I'm sooo glad it's Friday! It's been an insane week at work and all I want to do is curl up and sleep for about 24 hours.

Had my first fall on the bike yesterday. I was going up one of those short but really steep hills on the bike path, shifted down and managed somehow to drop my chain. Next thing I know I'm pedaling really fast and not moving, and instead of thinking I should probably put my foot down I was thinking what the hell??? Down I went. Whoops! I'm absolutely fine -- bit of road rash on my right knee and elbow is all and it was more funny than anything. Nothing hurt but my dignity and there's not much of that there to hurt after wrapping my ass in lycra and going out in public! *grin*

Looks like I'll hit somewhere around 85 miles this week. Very cool. I'm definitely getting a bit stronger. I just wish the weather would cool down a wee bit. Below 100F in the afternoons would be nice. As it is I've been leaving the bike at work this week and riding in the morning from the office out to Columbia Point and back, a round trip of ~15 miles. It's a pretty ride but it's all on bike path, which around here means bikes, roller bladers, joggers, women walking three abreast even though there's a pedestrian path that runs parallel 20 feet away, loose dogs by the dozens, and geese. All things being equal I'd rather be on the highway where I only have to dodge the occasional patch of glass or tire shreds.

"What makes a great endurance athlete is the ability to absorb potenial embarrassment, and to suffer without complaint. I was discovering that if it was a matter of gritting my teeth, not caring how it looked, and outlasting everybody else, I won. It didn't seem to matter what sport it was--in a straight-ahead, long-distant race, I could beat anybody. If it was a suffer-fest, I was good at it." -- Lance Armstrong

Ohhhh, yeahhhh!

2004-07-25T15:43:00.000-07:00

Those were some changes that should have been made to my bike looooong ago. What a difference having just a couple smaller gears makes! We did the Benton City loop this morning ... ~18 miles ... and I only had to stop twice. Made it up the big hill to Benton City without stopping, too and the only reason I had to stop at the top was to adjust the Power Grips a bit 'cause I had them too tight. Between the smaller gears, the Power Grips, and the shorter cranks I just felt overall more efficient.

This bike-fitting thing is fiddly. Overall I felt really good throughout the ride and after ... felt like I was able to keep going and keep my heart rate and breathing manageable ... but now I have a really sore lower back. I'm suspecting that maybe I should have raised the saddle a wee bit to compensate for the shorter cranks. I'll try raising it tomorrow and see if that feels better.

Sunday morning musings

2004-07-25T04:59:00.000-07:00

The bike is now sporting lots of new bits that I can't wait to try out: New crankset with smaller gears for the front, along with a new bottom bracket 'cause the new crankset didn't fit the old bottom bracket; new pedals to hold the new Power Grips; and a shiny new rear tire. I've gotta go wake the husband in a few minutes to go for a morning ride -- we're gonna try to get out of the house really early this morning and only go for a couple of hours 'cause it's gonna be somewhere around 104F today. Yuck! Anyway, I'm looking forward to trying the new gears and Power Grips on a few hills to see if they help me any. They should.

I had a major disappointment yesterday: We stopped at the Red Robin over by the mall for lunch while we were running errands ... it's someplace we rarely go because 1) I always massively overeat, and 2) it's over by the mall and neither of us enjoy going over there and try to avoid it as much as possible. Anyway, I always have the steak fajitas. They're incredibly yummy and the main reason I like Red Robin. Imagine my dismay when I found that they're no longer on the menu! Sent the head office an email about it when we got home. Heh.

On the bright side -- we finally found a local bike shop staffed with people who know what the heck they're doing! The two we've been dealing with because they're the closest are full of people whose stock response to any question slightly out of the ordinary, like do you have this incredibly common part? is durrrrr, I dunno or *glazed look* I'm not exaggerating, sadly. The mechanic at this new place knew exactly what the husband was asking for when he went in yesterday looking for a slightly obscure part for my bottom bracket and those two had a great long conversation about bike part esoterica while I wandered around the store. While we were there the salesdude on the floor actually offered to order me in some shorts just to try on. Cool!

Hopefully the weather and the bike will cooperate a bit better this week and I can get some serious miles in. I've decided on the road bike I want when my body is small enough to justify it: the Rivendell Rambouillet. Is that sexy or what? I really need to get down to 200 though before I can seriously consider getting a lighter-weight bike. But what an incentive, eh? *grin*

TGIF and all that

2004-07-23T05:22:00.000-07:00

Well, I got over that bout of insomnia and slept like a baby the rest of the week ... fortunately, 'cause it's been absolutely mad at work! *laugh*

I'm not gonna make 80 miles this week, sadly. Rode to work and back Wednesday, taking the longish way around via the river path on the way in ... that adds about a mile and a half and it's a much prettier ride. Was paced by a great big white pelican for about a block on the way. Gorgeous! Drove the bike in yesterday and planned on doing ~20 on the river path before work 'cause it was gonna be wicked-hot and I didn't want to commit to riding home in the heat but the rear tire developed an odd wobble at about 9 miles. I stopped and looked it over and the sidewall was splitting (not uncommon, I'm told, for the conti top touring tires that bike came with) so I limped on back to work and tossed the bike back in the car. Brought it home last night, my husband looked at it and said yup, you need a new tire. We trotted off to the closest bike shop looking for a decent 700x28c tire but the closest they had was 700x25c. We bought that to try, figuring that if it didn't work the husband would use it on the new bike he's building up with the frame that arrived yesterday. It didn't work. The bike sits on the rack and he's gonna go to the bike shop across the river today where hopefully they'll have the right size tire.

Probably just as well 'cause I really pushed myself on Wednesday and I'm a bit stiff and sore yet. There's lots more little hills on the bike path route and they're all pretty short but steep and I really hammered on 'em trying to kick my muscles up a bit. I had to sit up and laugh at one point though: I'm grinding up this hill when I hear a cheery good morning! over my left shoulder and two members of the granola brigade -- a man and woman who had to be 70 -- went flying up the hill past me, both with fully-loaded double panniers hanging off their bikes. Dusted by em', I was! Wonderful! There's something to look forward to in my dotage, indeed. *grin* Oh, and every time I've ridden that path I've been left in the dust by some old fella on a rattling mountain bike who's wearing a ratty t-shirt and baggies and has a fantastic long white beard that flaps in the breeze. Someday I'll catch up with that guy!

Anyway, don't know how much riding I'll get in this weekend 'cause the temperature is gonna be up in the low hundreds (!) so I'll wait until Monday to set my goal for the rest of the week. Hopefully it'll cool off soon to more 'normal' temperatures for around here soon.

!@#%!!!

2004-07-20T05:16:00.000-07:00

Insomnia sucks -- and tends to hit at the most damned inconvenient times!

I've been an insomniac most of my life, ever since I was a little kid. I can go for months sleeping reasonably well but then I'll get an attack of it and have to live for days on minimal sleep. When it's really bad I'm not getting any sleep at all ... like last night. *grumble* I was all packed up last night and ready for ridin' the bike to work this morning but don't dare now. And the weather's finally cooled down a bit too! Damn! I was hoping to hit four days this week riding to work and back but it would be a really bad idea to try it on no sleep, I'm afraid. What I might do is take the bike in the truck again and do a few miles down the bike path so I can at least get a stretch today.

The good news is I'm not nearly as sore today as I have been on day two after every long weekend ride in the past. I've been doing lots of cycling-specific stretches before and after riding and randomly during the day when the muscles start feeling tight. I'm also taking calcium and potassium every morning to help prevent muscle cramps when I'm getting tired on the bike and didn't have any cramps at all on Sunday, which is a massive improvement. On top of that I did some research on Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS) which is the muscle pain that sets in 24-72 hours after a hard effort and several researchers recommended taking vitamin C to help with that so I'm taking 500mg twice a day (probably overkill but it's what I had in the cabinet) and all I can say is something has definitely made an improvement 'cause I'm hardly sore at all today for a nice change!

Hot and humid, that's my excuse

2004-07-19T04:56:00.000-07:00

We didn't make it to Prosser yesterday. It was hot and sticky and my body wasn't happy. We made it about 2/3 of the way, I was facing yet another hill (had no idea that route was soooo hilly), and I had to turn around. Almost didn't make it home -- the husband had to push me up the last couple of hills 'cause I overheated and started dehydrating. Made ~30 miles anyway so it's all good.

I don't feel too bad this morning -- a bit stiff and sore but fully functional. My recovery time is definitely improving. Hopefully I'll be able to ride again by tomorrow morning. I'd like to see 80 miles this week. The rest of the week's supposed to be cooler, anyway.

Sunday morning musings

2004-07-18T04:51:00.000-07:00

Okay, so for last week that was 70 miles and about 6,500 calories burned. Let's not talk about calories ingested, eh? My husband was laughing at me on Thursday when I rode home in the heat -- I staggered through the door and he said "Hi! How was the ride?" I said "Shower!" as I headed for the bathroom stripping off soaked clothes on my way. I got cooled down in the shower, put dry clothes on and came back out into the living room. He said, again, "Hi! How was the ride?" I looked at him and said "Food!" He laughed ... "Ahhh, you're turning into a REAL cyclist!"

We're planning to ride to Prosser this morning -- a round-trip of about fifty miles -- but it's gonna be much hotter than it was supposed to be today. We're looking at over 100F this afternoon. Not sure what to do -- might just suck it up and accept that I've gotta get used to riding in the heat. I'll see what the husband says when he crawls out of bed.

Yawn, stretch, smile 'cause it's Friday

2004-07-16T04:00:00.000-07:00

Sorry I've been so quiet this week. Not much to write about, really. Just been riding and working and sleeping, pretty much. Oh, and accessorizing *grin* Ordered a new crankset with lower gearing 'cause those hills are really kicking my butt, and picked up a couple pair of SmartWool socks at REI. The socks are gorgeous -- wick the sweat away from the feet (and god do my feet sweat!), soft and comfy.

Rode the bike to work and back Tuesday and yesterday. Yesterday riding home was just plain miserable -- 102F. Yuck! I was pouring sweat, had to stop three times in the shade to try to catch a breeze and cool off, dove headfirst into the shower when I got home. Today I'm gonna take the truck to work with the bike in the back and get in fifteen or so before work so's I don't have to ride home this afternoon. That way I'll hit seventy miles this week, be able to have a rest day tomorrow, and get home in good time this afternoon 'cause the tenant (bless 'er) is bringing her parents and their dog here for the night 'cause they couldn't get a motel room anywhere in town. Now this wouldn't be at all a big deal 'cept I have a fifteen year old dog myself who isn't the nicest fella with other dogs, and two slightly freaked out and guaranteed-to-be-unamused cats, and want to be here to referee just 'cause I'm a paranoid pet mommy. I'll probably drag all the animals and my laptop off to the bedroom and have an early early night just to avoid any potential problems, even though she promises that her parent's dog will be hustled off to her bedroom and stay there. Should be an entertaining night. Grrr.

And what the heck happened to the Blogger posting screen? Where's my 'preview' button gone?!

Anyway, this week I've burned ~5,400 calories so far ... just as well, 'cause my eating has pretty much sucked. I've also learned to do some cycling-specific stretching before and after riding to help prevent some of the soreness. More on that later.

Good news, bad news

2004-07-13T05:06:00.000-07:00

The good news: I'm already ready to ride again after that workout Sunday. That's really good news and a huge improvement!

The bad news: It's 70F at 5:00am already and gonna be over 100F this afternoon *groan* Oh well, load up on fluids and make sure I stay well hydrated today and I should be fine.

Here's a great site on bike commuting -- lots of stuff there I'd never thought of.

Oh, made the mistake of getting on the scale this morning. No, I'm not telling! *grin* Let's just say my personal mantra this week is "I've gained muscle. Muscle is heavier than fat. Muscle also retains lots of water after a workout. It's all muscle and water. Really." Maybe it's time to start watching the intake again a bit. It's funny, though ... I'm finding my attitude toward food and dieting changing a bit here. I'm starting to think of food in terms of what my body needs for fuel, and losing weight is becoming less about how the clothes fit and more about how much better I'll be at getting up hills. That's gotta be a healthy change.

Stiff and sore, as usual ;-)

2004-07-12T16:30:00.000-07:00

Did 25 very hilly miles on Sunday with the husband. Man I was tired when we were done. Ended up taking today off on account'a a sore neck and shoulders that kept me awake half the night -- having a bit of a fit problem there. Ordered a different handlebar stem last night that ought to help and tipped the saddle back up again. Time'll tell. My husband pointed out today that it seems to be a different body part that hurts every time, which might just be my body's way of adjusting to all this extra effort.

Guess what, though? I did a sit-up today! Now, that may not sound like much ... but it's been years since I've been able to do that! Woo-hoo! Things are definitely getting stronger!

Knobbly bits!

2004-07-10T18:16:00.000-07:00

Whew, stiff and sore is becoming kinda my default state. *laugh* Made 62.6 miles this week: 20 on Sunday, then to work and back Wednesday, to work Thursday, to work and back with a bit more thrown in Friday. Today's a rest day. Gotta take a break periodically to let the muscles catch up so I can go out and make 'em sore again. The good news is that they seem to be recovering a bit faster ... yesterday after eighteen miles, ten of that against the wind, I could hardly sit up straight. Today I feel pretty good all over. Tomorrow morning we're planning ~30 miles of hills. Hopefully I'll be able to ride again by Tuesday. We'll see.

Got a new seatpost for the bike finally -- it has a smooth tilt adjustment instead of the ratchet the old one has so more control over the degree of tilt 'cause I wanted it kinda halfway between where it was and level and the ratchet wouldn't let me.

I'm seeing lots of changes in my body -- the double-chin seems to be receding, a couple of people have commented this week that I've grown cheek bones, and I seem to be sprouting knobbly bits on my legs. I suspect that they're knees but not sure 'cause I haven't seen mine in so many years. I've definitely got more definition between ankle and calf, and I have a tan for the first time in probably 10 years. *grin* Oh, and I've lost about half an inch of the inch I mentioned the other day around my waist. Yayyy!

I ordered a bright orange jersey from Team Estrogen this morning, along with a new water bottle and some more Chamois Butt'r. TE is the only place I've found that carries a reasonable selection of plus sizes and I've been really happy with their customer service and fast shipping. Heh, between the husband and I it's been like Christmas around here lately ... packages arriving every other day with bike bits in 'em. Accessorizing is fun!

I am NOT aerodynamic!

2004-07-08T02:27:00.000-07:00

Did a bit of fussing and adjusting of the bike Tuesday night and rode to work and back yesterday. Moving the saddle back a bit seems to have helped rather a lot. Had a serious headwind coming home yesterday and it took me about an hour to get home but the temperature was only about 80F so it was a nice ride. I just took my time and enjoyed it. The husband took me out to dinner at the Chinese buffet last night and I ate wayyyy too much!

In the last month I've lost about an inch around my chest ... and gained it around my waist. What's up with that?! I'm really torn right now between thinking I should get the eating under control again and start watching calories or just keep on riding and ignore the food side of it for another few weeks. I know my body's changing in interesting ways and I'm getting some muscle at last, and the gain around the waist is probably because I'm getting muscle in that area somewhere but not shedding fat there yet, but part of me's thinking it would be nice to get rid of the fat a bit faster by cutting back the food too. But part of me's also thinking that pushing more miles will get me there as well and I should just relax about it. Schizophrenic much?

Still not going near the scale!

Sore, sweaty, satisfied

2004-07-05T07:28:00.000-07:00

We did the Benton City loop again yesterday. It's a great route to test myself against -- just a hair over twenty miles, about a third of it climbing, a deli/convenience store at the eight mile mark when most of the big climbing is out of the way, a gorgeous rest stop that overlooks the Yakima river at the twelve mile mark just before the last long climb, the final two miles a wheeeeee downhill to an espresso shop three blocks from home. That last downhill is good for 25-35mph depending on the strength of the tailwind, and there's always a tailwind through there. Great reward for that first long climb of about five miles into a headwind.

My lower back and leg muscles are sore today from all that climbing but what an improvement! We made MUCH better time and I only had to stop a few times other than the scheduled stops. I still need a lot of work on hills but that'll come with time and lots of riding.

I've gotta adjust the saddle a bit this morning, methinks. Was getting a sore right knee and left hip during the ride yesterday and that points to a fitting problem. I'm thinking moving the saddle up and back a wee bit might help.

Saturday morning coffee and rambling

2004-07-03T08:12:00.000-07:00

Good article by Grant Peterson: How to Ride a Bike Forever. Of course your bike can be a tremendous tool to built cardiovascular fitness, but why let that get in the way?

I knew there would be a price to pay when I went into this. A price my body would extract in response to being asked to work so hard, so often, so long. The day before I started this regime I sat my husband and tenant (we rent our spare room) down and told them "look, this is what I'm going to do. It's gonna hurt sometimes and I'll probably get cranky from hurt and frustration. Bear with me. I need to do this." They've both been wonderfully supportive with big hugs, sympathetic noises, encouraging words, and not saying anything when I stagger off to bed at 7pm, completely neglecting house-and-yardwork.

Is the price worth it? You betcha! The rewards are already tremendous. Three weeks into the program and I'm already feeling a difference in my body. I can go longer, harder, faster, and recover faster than ever before. I don't have to stop at the top of little hills to catch my breath but can keep moving while I recover. Several people at work this last week have commented that I look like I've lost weight, even though I know the scale would probably disagree. Someone at work yesterday told me that my entire posture has changed. I feel more confident in myself just generally. I'm doing things I seriously didn't think I could do. And it's my body doing them. That's cool!

There's the little rewards, like being able to really look at things on the way to work. The sounds and smells that we miss in our cars. The Blue Heron at the side of the road by the river the other morning watching me watch him. The air against my skin. The satisfaction of knowing that I've done what I set out to do. Learning to enjoy working up a good sweat instead of actively avoiding it. Feeling the muscles move in my legs for the first time. Spending time with my husband doing things that don't involve computers, televisions, or food (much). Lack of guilt over a good meal, knowing that I've earned it. Less stress because when I'm on the bike the last things I'm thinking about are work or other things I ought to be doing. Better sleep.

And at the end, there's the brass ring waiting for me. A body that I own instead of merely inhabit. One under my control that does my bidding instead of me asking it for permission to move. One that I can be proud of. That's worth just about any price.

This week's goal is 20% over last week's miles, so 67 miles.

Cycling Resources

2004-07-02T16:19:00.000-07:00

These are sites that I use for all sorts of stuff from basic cycling information to inspiration ... to shopping!

Team Estrogen: Wonderfully welcoming forums for cycling women, especially for us newbies who have lots of daft questions. Can also buy plus-sized cycling clothes here.

Ken Kifer's Bike Pages: Really good articles on basic skills like how to start and stop, use the gears, traffic safety and suchlike. Worth exploring.

BikeForums: When you're ready to get really geeky about it.

Nashbar: Accessorizing!

Wheeee!

2004-07-02T04:50:00.000-07:00

That's what my brain was doing yesterday morning on the way to work. I set out on the bike yesterday having decided that I'd just take it slow and gentle, pootle in nice and easy ... pootle, pootle, pootle ... next thing I know I'm bombing down the road with a big-ass grin on my face. Took three minutes off my best time even with the side-trip to the espresso stand and never dropped into the small ring once. Life is good! I guess stressing muscles a bit does make 'em stronger.

Riding home again yesterday wasn't as much fun -- 8mph headwind and 95 degrees. Blech. By the time I got home I was pouring sweat. Soaked. Exhausted. And damned proud of myself for making it! *grin*

The plan today is to ride in, then get off early (taking a couple hours vacation time so I can have a long weekend), call my husband to come get me and go get some lunch together. I'll probably do a short and easy ride tomorrow, then he and I are planning a longer ride Sunday (although probably not so long a ride as last Sunday). Maybe we'll do the Benton City loop again so I can try myself on that hill again. I'm gonna make it up there without stopping by the end of August, dammit! *laugh*

Grumble mutter snarl

2004-06-30T05:47:00.000-07:00

Woke up yesterday morning and my neck and shoulder felt much better but my back hurt so bad I could hardly walk. Needless to say I didn't ride yesterday ... or today either. *sigh* The back's better this morning but still pretty sore so I'm taking today off too.

I knew going into this that there would be a price to pay. That it would hurt like the devil sometimes. That doesn't mean I enjoy paying that price or that I'm gonna be patient about it!*laugh* I keep telling myself that pain is good, that pain means I've stressed the muscles and that they'll heal stronger as a result. I keep telling myself that, but right now I'm feeling a bit frustrated because I can't ride and a little sorry for myself because it hurts.

On the other hand, if I'd tried that a month ago it would have put me in bed for three days on heavy drugs so things have improved. A lot. It's all good, no?

Waaaaaah!

2004-06-29T05:33:00.000-07:00

I'm just a pathetic bundle of mixed emotions this morning! *laugh* Yesterday the side of my neck and my right shoulder down into the collarbone hurt like a mother, which I'm told is pretty normal for beginning long-distance riders, so I took the day off the bike even though the rest of me felt pretty good. A little stiff, but overall not bad at all. I got up this morning thinking I'd ride to work only to find that the muscles in my lower back are spasming so hard I'm having trouble walking. No riding today, obviously. This sucks!

I'm sitting here telling myself "yeah, but you rode 33 miles two days ago. You've got to expect a little discomfort after that."

"But ..."

"No, dude. Really. 33. Miles."

"Yeah, but ..."

"No. Shut up."

Yeah, okay. I knew it would hurt. I knew I'd be off the bike for a day or two. I also know that the pain means I stressed the muscles and that I have to stress the muscles to make them stronger, so the pain is a good pain, right? I'm supposed to welcome this pain, aren't I?

But damn. I want to ride. Sucks.

In shock

2004-06-27T17:14:00.000-07:00

Okay, well ... that takes care of most of this week's mileage goal! Left this morning with my husband for a "longish ride" and ended up in Pasco for lunch. 33.1 miles. That's the longest ride I've ever done ... new personal record! I'm a bit sore now in the lower back and legs but not too bad. I'll take tomorrow as a rest day and see how I feel on Tuesday but overall I feel like I'm in pretty good shape. We took our time and just pootled along so I didn't get too tired until about the last five miles. The worst part of the whole ride was the last couple of miles when my right foot started really cramping up with a vengeance. We stopped at the espresso deli for a well-earned treat about three blocks from home and when we got started again my foot and calf cramped so hard I almost went over. But ... BUT ... I made it!!!

Sunday morning musings

2004-06-27T06:29:00.000-07:00

Okay, so best laid plans and all that. In the end my bike ended up sitting on the stand while we went out and ran all of our errands because we couldn't find the spoke wrench and had to pick up a new one and we didn't get back until 8pm and still had to true the spokes aaaaaand needless to say we didn't go for a ride. Probably just as well -- I'm thinkin' the body probably wasn't hurt by a rest day after Friday's efforts anyway. I didn't quite make that 42-mile goal but was off by just over a mile and that's still ~6 more than I rode last week so that's progress anyway. I did ride my bike to work three times and rode it home again one of those days so that's a definite improvement. I'm hoping to be able to ride it both ways at least 4 days out of 5 in a few weeks.

I'm still not going near the scale. Maybe next weekend, depending on how I feel, but I'm enjoying watching the little changes in my bod without worrying about too many numbers and I'm still not worrying overly much about food intake amounts. I know I'll have to taper the food back eventually but right now I'm really throwing the ol' bod for a loop with the exercise. I've lost about half an inch in my waist, there's more room around the thighs in my jeans, and I'm getting a bit of calf definition. That tells me that there's some muscle building going on there somewhere and that's the important thing right now. The rest will follow.

Adding 20% to 40 gives me 48 miles for this week's goal. That's really only about one more ride one way to or from work so I should be able to pull that off, and the weather is looking promising this week.

"What makes a great endurance athlete is the ability to absorb potenial embarrassment, and to suffer without complaint. I was discovering that if it was a matter of gritting my teeth, not caring how it looked, and outlasting everybody else, I won. It didn't seem to matter what sport it was--in a straight-ahead, long-distant race, I could beat anybody. If it was a suffer-fest, I was good at it." -- Lance Armstrong

Nothing terribly exciting

2004-06-26T08:47:00.000-07:00

I'm a bit stiff today in my legs and lower back, but not too bad. The plan for today is to spend some time in the garage puttering around with the bikes this morning, then go get a haircut, pick up groceries, possibly swing by the bike shop if we discover we need any bits this morning, then come home and get some work done followed by a ride together this evening. Hopefully the weather will cooperate.

Good [insert deity of choice], I have calves!

2004-06-25T21:24:00.000-07:00

Rode to work this morning. It was a good ride -- shaved a minute off of my total time and my average speed has gone up half a mile per hour in the last two weeks. Got there feeling really good. Took a shower, sat down on the bench in the shower room to pull my jeans on, looked down at my legs and had to just sit there staring at them for a minute wondering who they belonged to. Suddenly there's a bit of definition between the lower leg and calf. Cool!

Rode home today sweating like a pig in 95F with a ~8mph headwind. Made it with only one stop, the closed grocery store two miles from the house with the nice shady sidewalk in front. I stopped there for about five minutes so I could take my helmet off and drink about half a bottle of Gatorade mix. Arrived home in MUCH better shape than when I tried that two weeks ago.

I've been eating like a pig since I got home ... just absolutely don't- get- between- me- and- my- food ravenous! Well hell, I burned ~1300 calories today so I'm not gonna worry too much about it. *laugh*

"Ride lots." Eddy_Merckx

Now if I could just get the food ...

2004-06-23T15:20:00.000-07:00

Rode to work yesterday and today but had my husband come and pick me up in the afternoon 'cause it's been over 100F here and no way am I ready to ride in that kind of heat. The way I sweat even when it's cool out at 5am I'm pretty sure I couldn't rehydrate fast enough to keep from collapsing! This morning was fun: My legs didn't want to get started so I promised myself "look, just get me there and we'll detour by the espresso stand." Hah, those water bottle cages hold a tall latte perfectly! *grin*

I went ahead and ordered a pair of shorts a size smaller on Monday ... they arrived today and fit perfectly! Methinks I'll have to get another pair this size pretty soon ... would be nice to not have to do laundry every night the moment I get home.

My plan for the rest of the week is to take it easy tomorrow, take the car and let the muscles have a rest day, then ride in and, weather permitting, home again on Friday. If I can do that I'll make goal this week easily. We'll see. Frankly I'm very surprised at how well my body seems to be taking this. The biggest change I've seen is that my recovery time has really dropped. I can get over the hills around here and not have to stop to recover ... just pedal slowly for a minute while my heart rate comes back down. That's a huge change from last year when I'd have to actually get off the bike and sit down while my heart and lungs caught up.

The biggest drawback to all of this exercise is that I'm ravenous all day! I'm assured by others that that will settle down soon. I do hope so ... otherwise I might actually start putting weight on! *laugh* Still not worrying about it a whole lot though 'cause I reckon I've thrown my body into shock at the moment.

Nostalgia

2004-06-21T15:17:00.000-07:00

D'you remember when we were kids and how much fun we had on our bikes? We didn't need special gear or expensive clothing -- we just got on our bikes and went, wearing whatever we happened to have on. Remember that? Seems to me that we were much more interested in the destination than the ride then, weren't we?

And remember that feeling of lightness and freedom when we got on the bike and went scooting down the road? Especially the first ride of Spring when all the snow had melted and it had warmed up enough that we could take our gloves and boots off?

What happened to that feeling? How do we get it back?

Sometimes now I think I catch just a glimpse of a memory of that feeling. Just a moment when suddenly this is fun and I'm grinning from ear to ear and feel like shouting just like we did when we were kids.

I want more of that.

"It never gets easier, you just go faster." --Greg LeMond

Oh my dear lord ...

2004-06-20T07:33:00.000-07:00

...apparently the Agriculture Department thinks that french fries are a fresh vegetable.

Sunday morning musings

2004-06-20T06:03:00.000-07:00

I've made a couple of changes over on the sidebar: Cleared out the weight history on account'a I'm not looking at the scale right now, and added a mileage counter. Over the next six weeks my focus is going to be on pushing those miles higher by about 20% each week. That counter on the sidebar is my personal challenge. I want to reach the point where I'm able to ride to work and back (fifteen miles round trip) at least three days a week with longer rides on weekends and wind up averaging about a hundred miles a week. I'm told by lots of people who should know what they're talking about that this is something within the realm of physical possibility for me so, while just a wee bit sceptical, I'm gonna give it an honest go.

Did I mention that I'm not looking at the scale right now? Probably best for my own sanity at the moment if I forget that it exists. Maybe I'll have a peek next weekend out of curiosity, but I'm thinkin' that's not something I want to worry about at the moment. I know my eating has been horrendous the last couple of weeks. I also know that I burned about 3,500 calories last week (that should take care of one day's food, eh?) and while I don't think I'm losing any weight I'm definitely seeing changes in my body. Things are a bit firmer in spots, my clothes are fitting differently -- not necessarily better, just different -- and overall I'm feeling stronger. Especially my legs.

I ordered those new shorts based on what I thought my size would be after measuring my waist (nope, not telling ;-)), but they fit "funny." Just fine around the lower thighs, but a bit loose around the waist and downright baggy around the upper thigh and butt. Now, baggy in a cycling short is a bad idea. There's a reason they're so tight: Less material means less chance for chafing. Damn. Anyway, I think they'll do for now and in a couple of weeks I'll order a smaller pair. In the meantime I'm trying Bag Balm and Chamois Butt'r to help prevent the chafing and that seems to work. Can't wait 'til the day comes that I can order normal-sized shorts and have a choice of brands!

Had a good ride yesterday -- tipping the nose of the saddle up a hair seemed to help a lot and for the first time in a long time it was almost comfortable down there! That gives me hope for this week that I might have a chance of meeting my miles goal. Last week I made 35 (+/-.05) so 20% more will be 42. If I can manage to stay in the saddle this week I should be able to do that pretty easily. Let's find out, eh?

Miles

2004-06-19T09:21:00.000-07:00

Today: 7 Week 1 Total: 34.95

On a brighter note ...

2004-06-19T06:48:00.000-07:00

... according to my calculations I've burned ~3,000 calories so far this week. This cycling gig is a good thing!

Random thoughts with morning coffee

2004-06-19T06:24:00.000-07:00

There may be a better land where bicycle saddles are made of rainbow, stuffed with cloud; in this world the simplest thing is to get used to something hard. Jerome K. Jerome (1900)

The new shorts arrived on Thursday and I'm pretty happy with them. Can't wait 'til the day arrives that I can buy normal-sized shorts, though. This being stuck with only one brand 'cause they're the only ones that come in 3X sucks! Not to mention the sheer joy of having that huge ass draped over a bicycle seat in public. Feh!

Spent about an hour Thursday evening out in the garage tweaking the bike fit -- dropping the saddle height, moving it forward, moving it back, tipping it a bit up or down, test-riding, adjusting some more -- until it felt pretty close to good. Rode the bike to work Friday morning. It was a nice, easy ride with very little traffic early in the morning and I've gotta say I think I've finally found my saddle. Whew! It took half a dozen saddles to find one that makes all of my bits happy! The only problem I had with it yesterday was that I kept sliding down onto the nose while pedaling, so I'll try tipping it up just a wee bit this morning and see how that feels. Overall it was really comfortable.

I'm having a bit of a fear problem with this cycling thing right now that I need to find a way to deal with. One contributing factor is that I was unable to ride all this week, which led to frustration and the feeling that I'm never going to get any better at this rate. Another is that my husband is starting to plan longer and longer rides and I'm not sure my body is ready to cope with the kind of distance he's talking about yet. For instance, last night he was going on about a 30-mile ride this Sunday and riding to Prosser and back next weekend, which is about 50 miles round-trip. My fear is that the distance will push my body too hard and I'll have to spend the entire week recovering again instead of continuing to ride through the week. He's also talking about incorporating the big hill up to the newer part of town into our weekend rides -- that's a 15% grade! I can see myself having to get off and walk every time. I just don't think I'm strong enough yet. Part of me says "get out and push, see if you can do it." The rest of me says "aaaaarghnonoit'sgonnahurt!"

I'm obviously not gonna hit this week's miles goal, but I'll come close. I'd go out and push it a bit this morning and try to hit goal (I'm fifteen miles away) but the thought of the longer ride the husband wants to do tomorrow is holding me back a bit 'cause if I do fifteen today my body will be tired before we start tomorrow. Damn, this is frustrating. What I really want is to be able to do fifteen or twenty a day without having to have so much recovery time in between. He's already capable of doing that and more. Part of me wants to keep up with him and not disappoint him, part of me wants to protect myself, part of me wonders if I'm being overprotective of myself and if I should just take some more aspirin and suck it up ... I'm starting to feel a bit schizophrenic here!

Anyway, this is starting to sound like one great long complaint so I'll stop it here. *laugh* Time to get out and do a few miles!

Miles

2004-06-18T15:54:00.000-07:00

Today: 10.15 Week 1 Total: 27.95

Bored, bored, bored ...

2004-06-16T16:16:00.000-07:00

The new saddle arrived today. The shorts ought'a be here tomorrow or Friday. I wish I could try the saddle out, but no joy until at least Friday. Oh well ... off to the garage to put the saddle on, make some minor adjustments, and fantasize about being able to ride a Century someday.

Pouting

2004-06-15T19:05:00.000-07:00

Overall I felt pretty good physically this morning, which is real progress. A year ago, or even a month ago, a ride like we did Sunday would have put me into bed for a couple of days on narcotics but my body has bounced right back. I even felt good enough to ride to work this morning. My girly bits vetoed that thought right away though and I had to turn back after half a mile and get the car. Looks like I'm off the bike for a few days while things heal. Frustrating as all hell 'cause I want to get out there and ride!

Yesterday's ride

2004-06-14T05:57:00.000-07:00

Okay, maybe I pushed it a bit too hard yesterday, but it feels so good having done it! I almost didn't go out 'cause it was really windy (20-25mph with 35mph gusts, according to the weather report) but decided that I spent too much time last year worrying about the weather and too little time riding on account'a the weather so the heck with it!

We did the Benton City loop yesterday. Wasn't sure I was gonna make it. The road out is almost entirely uphill for 7 miles and we had the wind in our faces. I struggled along in my granny gears at about 4 mph, stopping several times to catch my breath. My feet were cramping, stomach queazy, stitch in my side. When we were almost to the top my husband asked if I wanted to turn back. I seriously thought about it for a minute and then decided that no, actually, I wanted to finish this ride no matter how long it took. Dammit. We made it to the top, cruised on down into Benton City, stopped at the corner store for a rest and drink, then took the long way home along the river with the wind at our backs. Beautiful!

Today I feel really pretty good. My back's a bit sore and there's some chafing in the pink bits (new shorts will be ordered today!) but overall I don't feel too bad. Mostly I feel damned smug for having done it! *silly grin*

Sunday update

2004-06-13T18:47:00.000-07:00

Miles: 17.8 (!) Week 1 Total: 17.8

Sunday morning musings

2004-06-13T06:55:00.000-07:00

I'm gonna try an experiment this summer: Instead of setting calories burned and calories eaten goals I'm just going to set miles ridden goals. Let's see if I can't push my body a bit and build some cycling stamina, eh? I'm gonna try for 42 miles this week ... an average of six miles a day, which I should be able to do. My goal over the next four weeks is to reach 70 miles a week (ten a day) and by this fall be comfortable doing 100 miles a week. If I keep the eating habits more or less under control, 70 miles a week is ~5000 calories burned and the weight should start coming off pretty easily. I'll stay off the scale for at least another week, probably two, and not worry about anything else in the meantime.

Let's find out if it works, shall we? What the heck, I'm in this body for the rest of my life so there's no hurry. I'm curious to see what happens. I'll track the miles ridden each week here just for laughs.

Fair warning: I'll probably be talking about nothing but cycling for a while. ;-)

A few thoughts, more or less random

2004-06-12T06:06:00.000-07:00

I know I haven't updated my weight history for about a month now. That's because I've stayed off the scale for about a month now. *grin* I'm focussing on getting a few other things sorted out without worrying right now about what the scale says. I'll get back to the scale in the next week or so, probably, but right now I need to not care about actual weight. A few people have mentioned in the last week that I look like I've lost weight (including my husband last night who hugged me and then exclaimed that I had hips!) and I feel like I've at least redistributed some of the weight in the last month, but I don't really know. I do know that my clothes are fitting a bit differently now.

What am I working on? Changing some habits, mostly. Getting back into the habit of drinking mostly water and lots of it. Getting used to drinking coffee without any milk or sugar (the milk was one of my biggest sources of extra calories, day to day). Not night-snacking as much. Choosing healthier foods and stopping when I get full. Getting on the bike and pushing my body's limits out there. Most importantly, accepting for the first time in my life that the level of exercise that I really need means putting up with some discomfort and that discomfort isn't gonna kill me. I figure that right now that's enough to be working on.

This morning I'll go for a slow-and-easy ten mile ride. Tomorrow my husband wants to really stretch me with a ride around Benton City, which is about twenty-two miles and one mother of a hill. I'm nervous about that but no pain, no gain, right? Monday I'll take a break from the bike ... maybe a short cool-down ride but no more than that. Tuesday I'll ride to work. The brass ring that I have my eyes on is that if I keep pushing myself I can't help but build muscle and it must get easier. The ultimate goal is to be able to average, over a week, fifteen to twenty miles a day. That's eating-just-about-anything-I-want territory, other cyclists tell me. *big cheezy grin* I don't think eating low-cal works for me in the long term -- it's too easy to fall into bad eating habits and put the weight back on. My suspicion is that if I want to get the weight off and keep it off serious calorie-burning exercise has got to be the key.

Looks like my husband has decided I'm serious about cycling: He's ordered me one of these! One of the biggest challenges I've had with riding, besides my general lack of condition, has been getting a saddle that I can ride long distances comfortably on. I've been through half a dozen, each one progressively harder (less padding) and still having problems. After the commute last week I was pretty seriously chafed in a pretty important place. Thursday night I was in the garage fussing over the adjustment of the saddle when he came out, took the Brooks saddle off of his bike, put it on mine and said "give that a try." I swear to you my butt was smiling! These saddles are far from cheap (the one he just ordered me cost about $65.00) but I'm figuring it's an investment in my future. Can't wait 'til it gets here ... and he can't have his back until it does!

Anyhoo, that's all for this morning. I'm off for a ride.

No. Just, no.

2004-06-11T18:28:00.000-07:00

Some things are just wrong. Especially these things. (Neither link is safe for work. Or eyeballs.)

I think I'll go for a ride now. Non-naked.

Wheeeee!

2004-06-10T05:06:00.000-07:00

I finally did it. Got on that damned bike and rode it to work. Whew! The ride went really well -- I pretty much just took my time and pootled along so I got to work in good shape, had a shower there (I do love working in a building with shower facilities!) and was ready to work. My legs and lower back were a bit achey yesterday but it was a good kind of just-had-some-exercise achey.

Had I left it at that and called my husband for a ride home yesterday afternoon all would have been well but ... heh ... I decided to ride the bike home instead. That might have been just a bit of a mistake. I looked out the door about 2:30 and thought "well, it's overcast but not raining and there's just a bit of a breeze. What the heck, I can do this." Got on the highway and the breeze turned into a steady headwind, my legs started protesting, my toes going numb (an ongoing cycling problem for me that I'm trying to sort out) ... made it to the halfway point and almost called my husband. "Nope, I CAN do this." Damned if I didn't, although I had to stop half a dozen times to catch my breath and drink water.

Finally staggered into the back yard, contemplating a slow collapse. My husband was looking out the kitchen window and saw me pull in, met me by the garage and I could see the surprise on his face. He took my bike and put it away, went inside with me and started a pot of coffee, then told me he thought he should take me to dinner to celebrate my first day as a cycle-commuter. Like I'm gonna argue! *grin*

We went to the new Chinese buffet for supper and I felt like that was food well earned. According to the calorie calculator I burned about 1100 (!) calories between the two rides. Today I hurt in a lot of places ... my back, shoulders and neck mostly (curiously my legs don't hurt at all) but oddly enough I feel like I earned the hurt too. Mostly what I feel is damned proud of myself for finally getting up and doing it! Today it's pissing down rain out there and my body is getting a rest but I'm already thinking about doing it again tomorrow. Now I know I can!

Finally!

2004-06-09T04:59:00.000-07:00

I'm getting ready to get out the door for my first ride to work on the bike. I'm a bit nervous about it, but there shouldn't be any traffic to speak of this early in the morning and I know I can do the distance. Wish me luck!

Oh, and the husband told me last night that he ordered me one of these. I'm feeling so spoiled!

Bleah. Just ... bleah.

2004-06-08T05:11:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I finally got the man to help me out with the panniers for my bike so's I can carry all my bumpf on it (change of clothes, my lunch, that sort) and was all prepared to ride in for the first time this morning. The alarm goes off at 4:45am, I stagger out of bed, get to the back door to let the dog out, take a peek at the weather ... it's pouring down rain. Of course.

In somewhat brighter news I put on the cycling shorts that I last tried on about six weeks ago and they were almost too big! These are the shorts that I bought last fall, put them on this spring after gaining back so much weight and found that they were practically cutting off the circulation above my knees. Now they're hitting below my knees and not tight at all. Yayyy!

Sunday morning update

2004-06-06T09:11:00.000-07:00

Vacation photos are up at last.

Sunday morning musings

2004-06-06T08:25:00.000-07:00

Okay, deep breath and suck it up. It's so easy to slip off track like I have this last week. Too much food, too little exercise and water. Basically, I had no goals this last week and met every one of them. Now I'm feeling like a bloated toad, frankly. Last night I found myself in the kitchen grazing. Bleah!

I'm also feeling really guilty about not having the vacation pics up yet either, although they're nearly ready to go (I promise). It was a madhouse at work (that'll teach me to turn my back on that place) and by the time I got home every evening I was too wrecked to think!

I had high hopes for the weekend: We'd planned to ride to Benton City, about a fifteen mile round trip that's uphill most of the way back and would be an excellent workout. That's one I've never dared before and was looking forward to it (nervously) this weekend, but of course the weather went completely to shit yesterday morning. Sorry but I'm really not aerodynamic enough to ride in 30mph winds and it looks like more of the same today.

I've been thinking a lot about what I'm doing to get the weight off, as mentioned before, and come to the conclusion that the only way it's going to really happen is to get into a habit of some serious calorie burning exercise. That way maybe I have a chance of keeping it off when the eating slips like it does so easily. By serious calorie burning I mean that I should be planning on eventually burning 1000 or more calores, on average, a day. That sounds like a big number but it's really very doable on a bike. At my current weight riding to work and back, a round trip of 15 miles, is over a thousand calories. There's no reason aside from my own laziness that I can't do that. Seriously. Then if I get out the door for longer rides on weekends with my husband there's really no reason I can't get this butt into shape in short order.

The current plan is to start riding in to work every morning, weather permitting, starting tomorrow. If my body can face it I'll ride home in the afternoon, otherwise call my husband for a lift. Hopefully within a few weeks not be dependent on him for rides home any more. Longer rides on the weekend, building distance every time. I want to be ready for the Ellensburg Manastash Metric this fall. The EMM is what's known as a metric century ride (104 kilometers, or about 66 miles) with full support including rest and food stations along with a wagon to come along and scoop riders off the road when they can't go any further. My husband has promised to join me on the ride. There's no reason I can't do this and every reason to do it.

Okay, goals for the week:

(a) Five "really good" food days (1200 - 1400 cals)
(b) Three liters of water every day
(c) 2000 calories burned via any sort of exercise (an average of 286 cals/day)

She's baaaack!

2004-06-01T05:26:00.000-07:00

I'm pretty sure that this was the first vacation I've ever taken that I've returned in better shape than I left! I didn't eat particularly well but not toooo badly ('cept for lots of naughty coffees at naughty coffee shops), and we went for long walks every day. Hikes in the woods, treks along the beach, 2+ hours two days in a row ambling around downtown Portland. Man was I sore by the time we got home, but I don't think I put on any weight ... really unusual for a vacation for me! Having said that, I'm not getting anywhere near the scale for a couple of weeks. *laugh* Back to work today and time to get the food back to normal, get some water down and the exercise ramped up again.

While on vacation I spent a lot of time thinking about my relationship with food and exercise and why I have the thoughts and fears that I have. I'll be blathering on about that a lot this week ... you've been warned. *grin* Vacation pics will be up tonight or tomorrow.

Out to lunch

2004-05-23T10:52:00.000-07:00

I'm on vacation ... will be back next weekend. Have a great week, y'all!

Yeah, okay ...

2004-05-22T06:56:00.000-07:00

... so we'll just declare this week (and probably next) a wash. I stopped tracking the cals in for the week 'round about Wednesday night. *laugh* Last night we were taken out for supper by a friend to celebrate my graduation. We ate pizza and I had a couple'a pints of really good beer (haven't done that for over a year but dammit I deserved it), then came home and watched a really bad movie.

The only goals I'm setting for next week are to try to get a bit of exercise and not get too out of control with the food. We're leaving tomorrow for my graduation vacation so it'll be a week of eating out for every meal. I'll worry about the weight when we get back. In the meantime I'm just gonna relax and have a good time.

Little o' this, little o' that

2004-05-20T06:01:00.000-07:00

This has been a bit of a tough week. Looks like I'll make my exercise goal, but the food goal's kinda gone out the window. It's been hectic between work, class, and getting ready to leave town. Finally finished my last class last night (yayyy!), today I'm off to a seminar in Spokane, tomorrow I lounge around doing nothing, Saturday I pack, Sunday we head out of town. I think maybe I'd better stay away from the scale for now. *laugh*

This last week the scale has stayed stubbornly in one spot but I can see some minor changes in my body so I don't think there's anything to worry about ... or so I keep trying to tell myself. The clothes fit just a little better, I can feel some muscle forming in my legs, I'm definitely not getting out of breath as fast ... it's all good whether the scale says so or not at this point. I'm not gonna worry too much about it while we're on vacation, but the moment we get back I'm gonna start building up to riding my bike to work and back every day. That'll get me about fifteen miles a day, over 1200 calories a day at this weight. The scale won't have any choice but to show a loss pretty quickly then as long as I keep the food more or less under control.

Whine, complain, grumble, etc.

2004-05-17T05:35:00.000-07:00

Owww! I rode a total of seventeen miles this weekend and my muscles feel like they're retaining about five pounds of water. My back is not happy this morning! I really feel, though, like I made some serious progress and I don't want to stop. Unfortunately I only have five more days before I go on vacation for ten -- and one of those days I have to be in Spokane at a conference. My fear is that I'll get a wee bit of muscle started and then be taking a ten day break and lose it all.

Okay, time to stop whining and get ready for work.

Pfftthppptht-hack-spit-spit-spit!!!

2004-05-16T16:26:00.000-07:00

Nine mile ride this evening (the weather cleared nicely). So how many calories you reckon are in those little flying protein-packets aka gnats, eh?

Sunday morning musings

2004-05-16T06:32:00.000-07:00

Not a terrible week, not a great week, just a so-so week. Only two really good food days (that sucks), two not-too-bad food days, three really pretty horrible food days for an average calorie intake over seven days of 1556. Bleah. It should be under 1400 at this stage. I really need to do better on that this coming week ... no reason I can't 'cept laziness.

Drank all my water every day except Tuesday.

On the bright side, riding the bike home yesterday burned more cals than I'd anticipated and I ended up the day right at goal for the week. I'd hoped to ride it back in this morning for a jump-start to the week but the weather's looking pretty horrible out there -- very windy, probably rain soon.

Goals for this week:
(a) Five "really good" food days (1200 - 1400 cals)
(b) Three liters of water every day
(c) 2000 calories burned via any sort of exercise (an average of 286 cals/day)
(d) Upper-body weights four times during the week

Good news, bad news

2004-05-14T18:48:00.000-07:00

It's been a bleah kind of week, I have to admit. The food's been a bit over the top -- a couple of pretty-good-but-not-great days and a couple of really bad days -- while the exercise has been pretty minimal, I'm afraid. Here it is Friday night and I've burned a whopping 1,126 cals. A bit short of goal, to say the least. I'm planning to ride the bike home from work tomorrow morning weather permitting, then mow the lawn tomorrow evening, so that'll be about 500 cals altogether for tomorrow but that's still a couple hundred short of goal for the week.

On the plus side I tried on a pair of size 20 jeans that I bought last fall and was able to wear for all of about two weeks ... and they almost fit! Well, I was able to zip them up without cutting off my circulation, anyway. I reckon I'm about five pounds from being able to wear them again. Yayyy!

Oh, and finish my B.S. in five days. Again, yayyy!

Oookayyy ...

2004-05-13T12:55:00.000-07:00

Now my blogroll has disappeared. Cool. Guess I'll wait a bit and see if it comes back.

Edit: Looks like blogrolling.com is having some server amusements going on over there. Hopefully it'll all be back up soon. I have no problem understanding server hiccups.

Mid-week, slightly discouraging

2004-05-13T05:30:00.000-07:00

Phew, lost control of the food yesterday fer sure. Had the programmers-lunch that we do every other Wednesday at the Thai buffet and I always eat way too much there but I figger hey, once every two weeks isn't gonna hurt that much. I go in with the best of intentions to fill up on salads and greenery but always end up pigging on the spicy pork-pineapple stuff over rice and chicken wings. Yum! Then I had a meeting scheduled for the afternoon with my manager so I HAD to get my weekly Starbucks (with cream, of course) instead of putting that off 'til today. Then I came home, did homework, and was thinking about bed when my roommate came home and decided to cook supper. I could have said no to that gorgeous porkchop, eh? Buuuuut I ate it anyway. Altogether I had about two days worth of calories yesterday.

On the other hand, trying not to kick myself too hard here, I did drink all of my water and burn over 400 of those cals in exercise ... 434 according to the calculator. So not a total loss. I'm trying to convince myself that the exercise and the water are the two most important parts anyway and not obsess quite so much about the food. Trying. I'm finding that part of it really challenging.

Oh well, today's a new day, no?

Grrr ... wha?

2004-05-11T05:43:00.000-07:00

Lost control of the food last night -- was doing reasonably well until my husband brought home supper from Carls Jr. He brought me a Santa Fe Chicken sandwich and fries ... the sandwich isn't too bad calorie-wise but I'd already reached my cals limit for the day. Yes, I could have stuck it in the fridge, but I didn't. My fault. At least I passed up the fries and coke that went with it. Altogether I had about 2000 calories yesterday and I'm behind on my cals-out goal for the week. Didn't drink enough water yesterday either. Blergh!

On the other hand the scale showed I'm down another pound this morning. That's fifteen!

I'd planned a longer bike ride for this morning but the wind's currently sitting at 13mph and it's pissin' down rain. Oh, goody. I'll just have to keep an eye on the weather and hope it clears -- otherwise I'll be seeing how many stairs I can climb today.

Nine more days 'til graduation. Whew!

More housekeeping to come ...

2004-05-10T20:19:00.000-07:00

Okay, the Blogger commenting system deeply sucks. We'll have to live with it 'til the weekend when I have a bit of time on my hands but rest assured it'll go away. I'll probably bring the old one back with a twist -- means a bit of coding but I really wanted the comment count function. This "have to have a Blogger account or post as anonymous" just won't do. *sigh*

Disturbing

2004-05-10T17:51:00.000-07:00

Okay, here's one more reason to avoid Curves (besides their stupid open hours, I mean). I didn't know this ... and glad I do now.

There's one just down the street from my house and I've toyed with the idea of joining but their hours have always put me off: 7am - 10:30am and 2PM to 6PM. What's up with that? Sorry, but I'm at work by 6:30am, live too far away to just "pop out" for half an hour, and then spend the after work hours doing homework.

On a more positive note, a 24-hour "fitness center" just opened up not two blocks from my house. It has all the machines for circuit training plus free weights and costs only $22.00 a month. Now I have no excuses ... I'll be joining the first week of June, just as soon as I'm back from vacation.

Lookin' better

2004-05-10T13:58:00.000-07:00

Okay ... new template, new commenting system (sorry 'bout the lost comments, guys) ... what do y'all think?

Don't mind the dust ...

2004-05-10T12:54:00.000-07:00

Just doing a bit of housekeeping here.

Long, drawn-out sigh

2004-05-09T07:58:00.000-07:00

Someone commented on Yvonne's blog the other day that it's not the carbs! for the love of god! its too much food overall and not enough exercise that makes people fat. plenty of people do south beach or atkins and are STILL FAT.

There's someone who really doesn't get it.

My two shekels, for what it's worth: Serious weight loss is a very personal matter and everyone's body is different. Now there's a notion. What works well for me may not work at all for someone else. For me it's doing a lot of math. For my neighbor maybe WW's point counting makes more sense. For someone I work with following the South Beach diet has taken off the pounds. A friend of mine is allergic to all wheat and follows the Atkins diet with wonderful success. Another friend of mine took up bicycling a few years ago, started riding to work and back every day, didn't change a thing about the way he eats but lost over a hundred pounds and regularly rides 100+ miles on the weekend. The bottom line is that it doesn't matter how the weight loss is accomplished. What truly matters is that it is accomplished.

Now personally I'm deeply suspicious of low-carb diets for a few reasons. First, my generation was raised with the food pyramid and indoctrinated in the belief that carbs are, just like anything else, fine in moderation. Second, we're all human and I've seen a few friends leave the low-carb diet after a good amount of success but continue to eat the fatty stuff that they've grown accustomed to on the diet and put the weight right back on. Third, last year when I mentioned it to my doctor he told me "great but I'll want to monitor your blood sugar regularly." Needles. No.

Now, does that mean the low-carb thing is bad? Nope, it just means that I don't believe that it's right for me. Others have had great success with it and I think that it's a perfectly reasonable option. People like that commentor (commentator?) need to expand their world-view a bit, methinks, and realize that we're not all built exactly alike.

Okay, I'm done ranting now.

Sunday morning musings

2004-05-09T06:17:00.000-07:00

Ten days to graduation!

I've gotta admit it's not been entirely a bad week. There were things I could'a done better, but overall it went well. Met all my goals at least. Four really good eating days, drank my minimum water every day, and burned 1972 calories. Last night I went to a barbeque/potluck supper and, while I didn't stick strictly to the diet, managed to fill up mostly on green salad-type things that others had brought. There were four to choose from so I just started by piling my plate high from all four. I did have a hamburger and a handfull of tortilla chips but by the time I was done with that plate I was so stuffed there wasn't room for dessert. Heh.

The biggest mistake I made last week was to mow the lawn all in one go on Friday evening. Left my muscles so sore from the base of my spine all the way up through my neck and shoulders that I didn't get any exercise at all yesterday 'cause I could hardly move. I'm still pretty stiff this morning but will at least get in a walk and some upper-body weights. I announced to the household yesterday that the lawnmowing is mine until further notice because maaaan is it a workout! 263 calories for half an hour is nothin' to sneeze at!

Goals for the week:
(a) Five "really good" eating days (1200 - 1400 cals)
(b) Three liters of water every day
(c) 1800 calories burned via any sort of exercise (an average of 257 cals/day)

Dazed and confused

2004-05-07T05:54:00.000-07:00

The scale said 255 this morning. Now either I need a new scale (and it's been pretty reliable up 'til now) or there's something strange going on with my bod. I know I've been retaining water like mad with all this exercising stuff and I've been pushing water down my throat like crazy trying to get the retained water to go away but that much that fast? I'm suspicious. Think I'll wait a couple of days before I count it as an 'official' weight.

Know what I really hate about counting calories? Trying to work out how many calories are in an X without being able to weigh and measure the ingredients. Like, if I go to a potluck like I'm supposed to tomorrow night and I have, say, a burger and some macaroni salad -- there's no measuring cups in sight so all I can do is guestimate -- and I'm too much of a geek to be comfortable with so little precision. What do you guys do in that sort of situation?

Edit: The doctor's scale confirmed that weight drop. How very odd. Not that I'm complaining, mind you! ;-)

Whew!

2004-05-06T16:31:00.000-07:00

Okay, gonna have to set the cals-out goal higher for next week, no doubt. I've blown past this week's, currently sitting at 1709 and it's only Thursday. I've also lost 11 pounds since the fifth of April (go me!). I pushed myself on the bike this morning and managed to actually get up the bike-path hill without stopping ... and then continued on for another two miles. *pant pant huff*

I'm a bit stiff and sore this afternoon but not too bad. Gonna take a break from the bike tomorrow ... I'll go for a walk in the morning, lift weights in the afternoon, take it pretty easy 'cause weather permitting I'm gonna try to ride my bike home from work on Saturday. 8 miles. Wish me luck!

Hmmm

2004-05-06T05:37:00.000-07:00

Looks like commenting is dead this morning. I'll have to sort that out after work tonight. Need to do something about the (lack of) comment count anyway.

Followed by early evening mumbling

2004-05-04T18:50:00.000-07:00

Much better food day today. I tried this recipe for supper and it was pretty darned good. Doubled the recipe so lunches the next couple of days are taken care of too.

Didn't do too badly in the exercise department either. Had a bike ride this morning followed by a short walk and another walk this afternoon. I'm gonna go lift weights when I'm done here (had to have a cig-and-coffee break). The saddle change on the bike definitely made a difference for the better.

Fifteen days of school left and then I'm done!

Early morning mumbling

2004-05-04T05:27:00.000-07:00

Cleaning the cat litter tray must be worth fifteen calories, I've decided.

Yesterday was busy -- worked from 6:30am until 2pm, picked up lunch on the way home (mistake, but you know), did homework until 6:30pm, then spent the rest of the evening working on the bikes in the garage with my husband. I brought the Trek 520 home from work (it lives in my office so I can go for a ride during the day) for a tune-up and ended up learning how to true the wheels and suchlike. Needless to say the only exercise I got last night was cleaning the cat tray. I did put the other saddle back on the 520 so hopefully today's ride will be a bit more comfy.

The last couple of days have been pretty bad eating days. Got thrown off yesterday by forgetting to grab something for lunch on my way out the door and then (bad decision) deciding to wait until I got off work instead of popping out to Subway for a wrap. By the time I left work I was hungry enough I didn't much care what I ate. I know better. Oh well, time to get the food back under control.

Know what really sucks?

2004-05-03T15:17:00.000-07:00

Seeing my resting metabolism rate (RMR) dropping already. That means I have to exercise more and/or eat less to make the same progress. Already. Grrrr.

Oh well ... guess I'd better get used to it. Meanwhile I'm already 703 cals-out toward this week's goal. Nearly half-way and it's only Monday afternoon. Cool! Had a short (15 minutes and gentle) bike ride this morning 'cause I'm pretty sore from yesterday, followed by a ten minute walk. Figure I'll get outside and do something active when it cools off this evening.

Note to self

2004-05-02T19:45:00.000-07:00

Safeway deli is a bad idea. Safeway deli is a really bad idea when I'm as hungry as I was earlier after that ride. I feel like bloat-woman still.

Sunday morning update

2004-05-02T12:13:00.000-07:00

Whew! Almost nine miles on the bike in 45 minutes for a total of 527 calories burned according to these guys. That's a good jumpstart to this week's goal!

*pant pant puff huff groan*

Sunday morning musings

2004-05-02T06:49:00.000-07:00

Whew, disaster pretty much averted yesterday. I ended up in the garage for about two hours with my husband sorting out the bikes ... turns out that the old yellow Trek 1200 fits me pretty well with a couple of minor adjustments. He'd originally bought that one for himself on the cheap shortly after we got married but the frame was a bit too small for him. Soooo, now I have a bike for home and one for work ... no more excuses, eh? I also have a bike for learning repair and maintenance on because now it doesn't matter if I put one out of commission for a few days.

In other bike news he and I are planning an 8-mile ride this morning. That'll be the longest I've ridden this year, although last year I was up to 10 miles on weekday morning rides and as much as 25 on weekends. It's taking a while to get the strength back that I had last fall. My only goal for this coming winter (hey, gotta think ahead, yes?) is to not lose all that strength again!

Oh, and I currently look like a complete dork in my cycling shorts and tights. *laugh*

Time to look over the last week and set goals for this one. Last week I had five really good eating days (goal was four), drank all of my water six days out of seven, and didn't quite make 1600 calories burned (massive lazy-attack midweek). I'm gonna leave my goals for this week the same as last:

(a) Four "really good" eating days ("really good" to me means 1200 - 1400 cals)
(b) Three liters of water every day
(c) 1600 calories burned via any sort of exercise (an average of 229 cals/day)

Yeesh

2004-05-01T16:56:00.000-07:00

Do you ever feel the motivation just suddenly leave you? Like, on one level I know exactly what I'm doing and why I'm doing it, but on another level, why bother? Why bother bypassing the Fritos? What difference would it make, really, if I skipped exercising? It's a weird feeling and I don't quite know what to do about it when it hits so I thought I'd try journaling ... thinking out loud, as it were ... when I'm in the middle of one of those moments just to see what pops out.

What triggers it? I think it's boredom. That sort of all-encompassing can't be bothered to do anything sort of ennui that drags the whole body down and makes me start thinking a nap might be good because I don't have the energy to do anything else. I find myself wandering around the kitchen looking at snacks my husband brings in ... cookies, chips, cheeses, naughty things ... and thinking "oh, just one isn't going to hurt and it sure would taste good." Problem is it never stops at one, does it? Problem is, when I'm in one of those moments I really don't care whether it stops at one.

So what to do about it? Yes, I know all the obvious answers ... go for a walk, do a chore, find something to occupy myself with until it passes. Easier said than done, though, as you well know. At the end of the day, I don't have any answers for this one. I think I'll go pour a cup of coffee and ... I know! ... go pull some weeds in the garden. Catch ya later.

Morning, with cigarette, coffee, and cat

2004-05-01T07:36:00.000-07:00

That's two pounds down this week for a total of ten. I just picked up a ten-pound sack of cat food and thought "hey, I've lost this!" What a good feeling! Helps make up for the cat waking me up at 6am by climbing up onto my hip and shouting "are you awake yet?!"

I'd say that overall it was a pretty good week. I've had lots of exercise even though making that 1600 goal isn't quite happening, and five really good eating days in a row. Okay, so I went to Rattlesnake for supper with my husband last night and had some naughty things (artichoke/cheese dip appetizer and an open-face philly with fries) but I did skip the beer. I'll also bypass the wine and ice cream this weekend to help offset some of those calories.

My chore for the day (besides piles of homework) is to clean up the spare bike in the garage. I need to pop down to the bike shop and pick up a set of pedals for it, pump up the tires, lower the seat, take off the aero bars, and take it for a test ride to see if I can make it fit so I can have a bike at home for the weekends. I've been keeping my bike in my office at work so I can ride during the week but it's a right pain to have to drive to work on the weekend to go for a ride.

Whew!

2004-04-29T15:55:00.000-07:00

Almost 500 cals burned today: Rode the bike first thing this morning and really pushed my limit a bit, went for a walk with a co-worker, mowed the lawn (not a small lawn, either). All in all I'm feeling much better ... definitely not as much pain in the back when I get up in the morning.

Nothing earth-shattering

2004-04-28T18:59:00.000-07:00

Okay, that's nine pounds down. Plenty to go, but one pound at a time.

I'm a programmer so have an extremely analytical mind ... comes with the job, so to speak. What that means to me is that the only diet that really makes sense is the one that says if (calories in < calories out) then weight goes down. That means the only numbers I'm really engaged with are the in-and-outs. How many calories did I eat today? This week? How does that compare to the combination of my RMR and calories burned over RMR? If subtracting the calories expended from the calories ingested gives me a negative number I'm on the right track. When that negative number reaches the 3,000 range, well, I know that's another pound down.

It's a bit of a bore tracking those numbers every day but at least it feels proactive. Besides, looking at the sum prompts me to get up and get some exercise: "Just 200 more cals out will equal another half a pound off!"

Little o' this, little o' that

2004-04-27T18:23:00.000-07:00

Feels like it's been a very long day. Maybe the change in weather or something but I've been just dopey and blah all day. Stared at code until my eyeballs were spinning in circles, then came home and did homework. No exercise for the first time in three weeks and that feels weird, but maybe my bod just needs a day off. I did keep the eating under control though and even a little bit under because tomorrow's the programmer's lunch buffet and Wednesday is I've- been- a- good- girl- and- can- have- Starbucks day. Hopefully the weather will clear and I can get out on the bike in the morning, at least. Boring day, no deep thoughts.

That's all tonight. More homework, then bed.

Reading

2004-04-27T06:11:00.000-07:00

Here's an article that I find myself revisting periodically to remind myself of the relative unimportance of the scale when pushing up the intensity of my exercise: Exercise program can result in quick weight gain. Especially useful for those days when I overdo it, wake up sore the next morning, and hop on the scale to see two or three new pounds that weren't there yesterday.

What a girl wants

2004-04-26T19:11:00.000-07:00

There are many reasons I'm determined to get this weight off and get on with my life. These are a few ... more as I think of them ...

To go skydiving. Just once in my life.

To be able to scratch my own back. All of it. With my hands.

To sit in my chair for an hour, then get up and walk across the room without feeling like my muscles want to die.

To be able to buy normal-sized bras, instead of being stuck with the choice of the last three 46-DDs that are sitting on the back shelf because no one wears that size.

To shop in the women's department instead of the men's or the fat-chick store.

To wear jeans that don't have sizes qualified with a W to make them sound smaller.

To live past 40 without worrying about a heart attack.

To be able to sit comfortably in an airplane seat.

To walk up the stairs without wheezing.

To not wonder if I'm going to break someone's wicker chair.

To get out of the car gracefully, and into the car without killing myself.

Speaking of cars, to get into someone else's car and not have to pray that the seatbelt is long enough.

Or the airline seatbelt.

To be able to wear baggy flannel shirts

To steal my husband's clothes

Levis and Wranglers boot-cut jeans!

Being fat is, let's face it, boring.

Sunday

2004-04-25T07:35:00.000-07:00

Sunday is the day I sit down in the morning ... quiet in the house because everyone else is still asleep and I seem to have turned into a morning person over the last couple of years ... and evaluate the week past, look over the numbers, and set goals for the week.

Over the last twenty days I've lost eight pounds. Not brilliant, but not too shabby either. It works out to an average of 0.4 pounds per day. I can certainly live with that. More importantly I feel stronger overall. Not a lot, but enough to feel the difference. My back hurts less. I can walk further. I can climb the stairs without gasping for air. Not bad for twenty days, no?

This last week I didn't do so well at the calories eaten part. Lost track of the numbers entirely, to be honest. I did do pretty well on the water intake part, getting down ~3 liters every day. Still retaining water like mad, but I'll cheerfully blame that on the Chinese food this weekend. Where I did do well was on my calories out goal: 1400 calories burned by exercise this week. It might not sound like much but that's up from 0 the first of this month.

Okay, goals for this week:
(a) Four "really good" eating days ("really good" to me means 1200 - 1400 cals)
(b) Three liters of water every day
(c) 1600 calories burned via any sort of exercise (an average of 229 cals/day)

Onward and downward!

Reading

2004-04-24T14:53:00.000-07:00

An interesting article covering some statistics and myths about obesity and weight loss.

More back story, pardon the pun

2004-04-24T09:44:00.000-07:00

The big thing that has held me back from exercising for years is my back. When I was in my late twenties I collapsed at work one day - felt like someone had hit my lower back with a sledgehammer and it just took my feet right out from under me. X-rays showed that I had a deteriorating disc right down at the base of my spine. Months of drugs and physical therapy later I was back on my feet, more or less, but became very protective of anything that might make it sore. When it gets inflamed the pain is excruciating, the outside of my right leg and foot go numb, and the muscles down the back of the leg start doing the calypso. Not fun. That means that exercise was right out, right? So I've been waiting, and putting on weight, for disc replacement surgery to be approved here in the US so that I can exercise again. Still got a couple of years to wait.

Interesting thing that I learned last year: Low-impact strengthening exercises (walking, cycling, weight training) actually made my back stronger over time and practically eliminated the day-to-day constant pain. Hmmm ... so maybe I was wrong about being so protective of it?

The other thing that I learned this winter is that when I stopped exercising and started putting weight back on the pain came back. I see a corollary there, don't you?

Early this spring I was listening to a talk show on NPR on my way home from work. The gentleman being interviewed (and oh, how I wish I could remember his name) had written a book about pain and exercise, having suffered from low back pain for years, much like me, and protected it by not exercising, much like me. The point that he made that resonated with me is that he has learned to welcome a bit of pain as a message that he's made the muscles take notice; made them that little bit stronger; and that with strength comes a lessening of the pain. I do believe he is right.

Today I'm a bit sore from yesterday's long walk. That's okay. It's a good pain. It means that I worked the muscles down there and they will be stronger for it. I'm also feeling just a wee bit smug because I can still walk today: It wouldn't have been that long ago that a walk like that would have sent me to bed with drugs the next day. This is better.

Exercise? Me? Surely you jest!

2004-04-23T20:02:00.000-07:00

One of the decisions I made this time around is that if I'm going to lose the weight and, more importantly, keep it off this time, I'd better get used to getting some regular exercise. Last year I did exercise - mostly bicycling - but didn't really make a habit of it, if you know what I mean. Besides, only one kind of exercise is ... well ... boring. And I'd get set goals like ride x miles this week and then get frustrated when I couldn't make the goal. Then winter rolled around and okay, I'm a wimp, but I'm not going cycling in sub-zero weather thankyouverymuch. Thus I lost all the fitness ground I gained last summer.

This year I'm trying something different - setting a weekly calories burned goal. For example, this week my goal was to burn 1400 extra calories somehow. Doesn't matter how. I can walk, climb stairs, ride the bike, mow the lawn, lift weights, whatever. I've done this for three weeks now, adding 200 to the goal each week, and so far I'm surprising myself by a) making the goal, and b) almost enjoying it in a perverse sort of way. Yesterday I went for two ~ten minute walks with a co-worker and had a five-minute stair-climbing session, plus another two five-minute walks to another building and back for a lunch meeting. Today I worked out with the dumbells this morning for about ten minutes, then went for a forty-five minute (!!!) walk with my husband this afternoon. Tomorrow I'll go for a half-hour bike ride.

I'm starting to feel some changes in my body: I'm not gasping for air when I climb a flight of stairs, my heart isn't trying to come through my chest when I walk around the block, I actually managed to walk for forty-five minutes for the first time in years today. Fascinating how quickly the body can adapt and grow stronger.

Back story

2004-04-23T17:54:00.000-07:00

Last April I decided I didn't want to be fat anymore, for many reasons. The most important of those, in my mind, is that I didn't feel good, I didn't feel healthy, I was hitting my mid-late thirties and my heart was sending off "you're fat and I don't like it" signals. Soooo, last summer I lost fifty pounds. Felt great, was getting in shape, lost several jeans sizes, was very proud, then life attacked. Bought a house last fall along with all the work and paperwork and crap that goes with it, was going to school full time, working 32 hours a week, lost all interest in dieting and exercise. Gained almost forty of it back over the winter.

Here we are in April again: Feel like crap, back in the fat jeans (but not the fattest, thank *deity-of-choice*), back hurts, legs hurt, enough! Since April 5 of this year I've lost seven pounds and am slowly starting to figure out what might have gone wrong last year. I'm finding that it helps to journal about the whole thing, so this blog is just a place to burble about the journey and whatever else comes to mind where this whole weight loss thang is concerned.