Fugeddabouditt!!!

I know you're not supposed to weigh yourself everyday for just this reason but hey, I'm a numbers guy. That's what I do.
So my weight has been inching up day by day from a low of 195 up to 202 today and I KNOW I'm doing everything right. Been eating good. Veggie and low carb fruit snacks. One serving of dinner with half the plate vegetables/salad. One reasonable dessert after dinner then early to bed with nothing else.
Working out everyday. Maybe one total rest day a week.
So I shouldn't worry about it but I do have a tendency to get upset.
In Mindless Eating by Brian Wansink, he suggests figuring out what it takes calorically to keep you at your current weight given current activity level and then eat 100 cals less than that each day. This way, you don't feel deprived and you lose weight v-v-e-e-r-r-y-y slowly, the best way.
Actually, I think I'm cutting back more than that although I haven't counted. I used to eat 300 cals of peanuts twice a day for a snack, maybe even a pastry and more than that if there was free food at work (free food is the hardest to avoid for me). Then later in the evening say, 9PM to 12 it was non-stop snacking like this: 4 saltines with butter and peanut butter, 4 saltines with melted cheese, a couple or 3 teaspoons of peanut butter, a bowl of cheese rice cakes. Not just any one of these but all of them. I don't do any of that now plus it's early to bed (10 or 10:30) which helps me to avoid that temptation. I don't watch TV but I love to read and I love to eat and read so that's what I would do until midnight. Don't do that anymore.
So I shouldn't worry about it, right? If I'm going to insist on weighing myself everyday .... fugeddabouditt!

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Psyched!!

I am totally psyched this week. Monday, skiing, I really think I made a breakthrough. Started skiing significantly faster down long runs without stopping with virtually no muscle burn. Tuesday, however, was a scheduled training day. I found it hard to meet my HR and cadence goals so I pulled back a bit. Wednesday was a rest day so I did nothing. Today was a great workout. Exceeded my HR and cadence goals that I did not meet on Tuesday and felt great throughout. I suppose because I skied hard on Monday my legs were a little tired out. If that's the case, the one rest day did wonders.

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Ski Monday! Bromley Mountain, Vermont

Monday is my training "rest" day.

It's also our skiing day!

We went skiing today at Bromley Mountain in Vermont, about 1-1/2 hours away.

What a perfect day. Best of the year so far.

Sunny, warm, about 35. Hardly any people there. Many quiet, solitary moments on the slopes.

The trail that we skied mostly was wide and well-groomed corduroy and amazingly, the grooming held up really well all day.


Even by 4PM surface conditions were still excellent.

I'm really getting more comfortable with higher speeds and feel pretty confident.

The problems I had last year with my right turns are a non-issue probably because of increased strength in both legs.

Also, last time out, my calves really got sore and were trying to cramp up for days afterwards but that doesn't seem to be happening this time.
Bromley was a lot of fun. I'm sure we'll be going back soon. Especially since they have $25 lift tickets mid-week! ;-)

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The "Un-diet"

Diets don't work. Or so they say. At least they don't work forever. Define diet.
OK. A diet is a temporary eating program that changes what and how you eat, often drastically, with the intention of losing weight rapidly. You or the dictionary may disagree with my definition. I'm just stating what I'm using as a working definition for this post.
I guess I would have to further amend my opening statement. Diets may work but they usually have some intrinsic problem. For example, I was a vegetarian for about 2 years in my 20s. I had no problem whatsoever avoiding meats because I simply set a strict rule about it. There was no need for constant decision making - should I or shouldn't I - it was just off my radar screen. I didn't miss it and, in fact, the thought of eating meat grossed me out. The problem with it was that it limited my interaction with non-vegetarians. There was often some awkwardness when invited out to dinner or at someone's home to refuse offered foods with graciousness.
More recently, I did Atkins for about 2 years . Again, I enjoyed the diet for the most part and had no problem whatsoever avoiding carbs because I just put them off my radar but it turned out to be a burden on my wife. She did not subscribe to the diet herself and not only had to cook with my needs in mind but also she felt it separated us in a fundamental way.
Of course, most diets worth their salt (pun not intended), recognize that in order for a desired healthy weight to be permanently maintained, the diet must become a lifestyle.
Nowadays, my thoughts on this are, why not develop the lifestyle from the outset more as a way of viewing food and eating and forget about what you can and cannot eat.
Make small, gradual adjustments in what and how much you eat and settle for slow weight loss over an extended period of time. As with everything, this is a personal matter and the more extreme approach may in fact, work well for some people. In my case, what has worked is recognizing a few problem areas and coming up with ways to deal with that. One problem was snacking at work. There was always the vending machine with not very healthy choices and the problem of lots of free food from meetings and lunches. More often than not it was pizza and desserts. I have counteracted that by determining to eat raw fruits and vegetables for snacks that I bring from home. It doesn't really counteract hunger that well (eating a bag of baby carrots is like eating a bag of nothing) but it gives my mouth and hands something to do when I'm staring at the monitor. Occasionally, I will have a Snickers or something in the afternoon which is when I usually have a carb attack but I really am getting away from it and it is becoming increasingly rare. I am developing an aversion to it.
The other big problem is eating after supper up till bedtime. I am dealing with that by going to bed earlier which kills 2 birds with one stone. I needed to get more sleep. I find that the longer I stay up and the more tired I get, the harder it is to resist the temptation to eat or drink.
This approach has been working well so far. I am losing weight and I don't feel like I am dieting.

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Hazards of Weight Loss #2,942

I have no hips. When I started to gain excess weight in my late 30s (I'm now 60), it immediately went to my mid section (pot belly) almost exclusively and has stayed there. Even though I have lost over 20 pounds and achieved considerable fitness in the last couple of years, I'm still a 38 waist, although a slightly more comfortable 38.
But if it were possible, I have lost even more of my hips!!

Hello!!! .... body!!! ... my hips are fine. Leave them alone! I can't keep my pants up! I have to constantly hitch them over my tummy!!

How about a few inches off the midriff, thank you!

Sheesh!! Make it hard why doncha!

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It never rains in southern California redux

Well it did stop raining and it is a balmy 52 degrees. I worked until almost 5 so it was really too late to get a bus or taxi down to the beach, rent a bike and go for a ride before dark. I was really intending to go for a run but by the time I got back to the motel I was really beat. I had worked physically hard all day on my feet tearing an office down, hand trucking 90 and 100 lb loads down stairs and on the street. So I walked back to my room, changed and walked out to San Vicente (I'm in Brentwood) to get something to eat. Anyway, I walked about 3 miles all told. My legs and feet really felt it but it felt good. I was hurtin' when I got back but I did my stretches and I'm ok. Let's see how I feel tomorrow morning and on the 7 or 8 hours back to New York! :-)

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It never rains in southern California - oh yeah?

I'm on a business trip right now in LA for 3 days. I was little concerned about it interrupting my training as the hotel where I'm staying (actually more of a motel) does not have a fitness center.
However it is only a short drive to the Pacific - actually a straight shot to Santa Monica pier which does have a place that rents bikes and there is a paved bike path for many miles along the coast.
So I thought if I could get to the beach, I could do my training ride which at this point is just 40 minutes at 65-70%MHR.

Two problems:
1. In the past I've always had a rental car in LA but this time I'm here with other colleagues and they have the car not me and they don't want to rent another car. I toyed with the idea of renting another car on my own and paying for it myself rather than expensing it but I wound up not doing it which is a good thing because ...
2. IT'S POURING DOWN RAIN!

I know that mere rain is not a show stopper for the motivated cyclist but I didn't pack any rain gear and I'm not going to spend a couple hundred dollars on it while I'm here either (nor am I going to ride in a trash bag with a hole cut out for my head).

Fortunately, I did get a couple mile walk in last night before it started raining. Unfortunately, I can't walk that long or that hard because of my plantar fasciitis. I have one more night here. If it stops raining and I can get out of work early enough, and I can finagle the rental car or somehow get down to the beach (hmm, could take a bus or a taxi), I might revisit the rental bike idea.
I'll let you know how I make out.

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can I do 2 benefit rides in one month?

I am planning on riding a half-century for the benefit of diabetes research on June 8th.
On Saturday, however, I learned of another benefit ride, a 75 miler, (this one for Love146, an organization that seeks to end human trafficking and help the victims, particularly children) on June 28th that I would also like to ride. I would like to do both. The problem is not physical but financial. I am reluctant to hit up my friends and coworkers for donations (min ~$150 in both cases) twice in the same year let alone the same month. On the other hand, $150 is not a lot to raise. I wonder if I could hit up coworkers for one and friends and church members for the other.
What to do?

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Death Rides I have known - Episode 1 Part 2

So anyway, I sign up for this "easy" mountain bike ride and show up at 6PM at the designated meeting place. I'm immediately taken aback. All the riders are young, fit and riding high end bikes. Well there was one other old codger there besides me. I feel a little out of place but hey, I'm a big boy. I can handle it. Besides, it's going to be an "easy" ride.
Not one to hang back, I started right out with the leaders but after a few hundred yards we stopped to wait for the others and I thought better of it. I thought I'd better pace myself a little better and so I let a few more riders go by.
Not much further we stopped again. Word had it that the other old codger broke his chain already. Someone went back to help him fix it but he had turned back and gone home. I think he just bailed cause he realized he was in over his head. Like me, I think he was expecting to see a "healthy" mix of the unfit along with the fit.
There was one other gal there who didn't have much mtb technique but she was obviously young and fit and experienced at road riding. She also had a decent bike.
This was, I think late August or early September and it was hot. Upper 80s and humid.
Mostly I think I did OK. Some of the downhills were a little scary for me and while initially I didn't walk them I did stop at some of the sharper, steeper turns.
I don't know if they didn't say how long the ride was going to be or I just didn't consider it enough but I really didn't pace myself at all. I bit down hard and cleaned all the climbs in the beginning although I probably should have walked some of them. In the end, the ride was just too damn long for me. About 2-1/2 hours in that heat and humidity. I remember on one of the longer climbs midway, I finally lost my breath and my heart was pounding out of my chest and I had to stop before I just passed out. I wish I had my heart monitor then. I could have confirmed my MHR for sure. To their credit, the ride leaders were very responsible and when they saw I was having trouble, had someone behind me and stop with me when I had to recover. One guy was always signing to me to drink. I feel bad to think back on it. They must have thought me a grouch cause I didn't answer anyone most of the time when spoken to but I was just so utterly exhausted I literally couldn't speak. Also, it was getting late and i was concerned about getting out of the woods before dark. I got so tired at the end that I just couldn't handle even downhills that I could have handled in the beginning. I just walked down, straddling the bike. All attempts at saving face gone. I felt totally humiliated but too tired to care about anything but getting out of the woods. Finally we did. I made it.
I kind of joked in the last post about this being an "educational" ride and I call it a "death" ride but it really was a seminal experience for me. For one thing, I resolved to never ride a group ride like that again until I was physically ready and had a better bike. I also realized I could ride a lot harder than I had been training and not die. And I resolved that I would go back and train myself harder and more consistently and one day be able to finish that ride respectably. Actually I was proud that I finished the ride on my own power and didn't quit. (What was I going to do? Sit down and demand that they carry me out of the woods on a litter?)
I have been training harder and more consistently but I don't feel ready for another "easy" ride. I would like to do some true beginner rides and join some road rides at touring speed. This will happen this year.

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"Death" Rides I have known - Episode 1, Part 1

Actually I only have 2 rides in my history that I would classify as "death rides" and though they had value for me, I hope I never have any others. You know, one of those experiences where "I'm glad I went through it but I hope to never go through it again!"
Death ride is a little bit of hyperbole on my part. I certainly wasn't in danger of dying but it was a singularly unpleasant experience. When asked how the ride was I like to use the euphemism educational!
I had just started riding seriously last spring and was eager for some comraderie. Most of my friends were too busy with family concerns, household duties, kids and the like, to ride with me on any regular basis (honestly where are their priorities!?) I had done a beginners group ride at a mountain bike festival in August and that was ok. It was a bit of workout for me on the hills but manageable. Not a death ride by any means. I was riding my Ross, rigid, heavy steel "mountain" bike, pictured here:

The ride leaders wondered if I was going to be alright with the rigid suspension on some of the rough downhills but I was used to it. Just kept my arms and legs loose to absorb the shock and I did fine. Maybe couldn't go as fast as the others but I cleaned it. I did get my heart rate up there a bit on the climbs but I seemed to recover quickly so I wasn't too worried about it. One of the leaders complimented me on my climbing ability. I'm tenacious, if anything!
So a few weeks later I saw an "easy" ride advertised by the local MTB club and I jumped on the opportunity.
Among other things, I learned 2 facts from this:
1. When it says "easy" you must ask "easy for whom"

and
2. An "Easy" ride is not the same as a "Beginners" ride.

.......continued tomorrow

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I'm going to do a half-century!

I've decided to ride a half-century on June 8th. It's the Tour de Cure in Stillwater, NY (about half way between Albany and Saratoga Springs), a benefit ride for diabetes research. There are 10, 30, 50, 62.5 (metric century) and 100 mile rides. I already do 25 mile rides every week so 30 would be no challenge and I should probably do the 50 before I do a century don't you think?
The sign up is on Feb. 27th. I almost backed out of it. I'm a little intimidated because I don't have a real road bike. It's a "mountain styled bike" as Guitar Ted would say. Not even a real mountain bike. It's a Ross Mt. St. Helens, rigid frame. My LBS guy, Matt, thinks it's not a bad bike and says I could put skinny tires on it. That would make it better but I want to keep the fat tires cause my wife only rides off-road with me and I can't afford a spare set of wheels although maybe I could get some used ones.
The more I think about it, what the hell do I care what people think as long as I can finish the ride.
Maybe I'll even wear a funny helmet so I stand out even more! ;-)
Yeah, that's it. I'll be a character!

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Boomers will eat your lunch!

Sorry, I don't mean to sound arrogant or combative but I'm turning 60 tomorrow.
That's right, 60!
And sometimes I feel intimidated by all you 20 and 30 somethings, trim and fit with your Serottas and Cannondales and bright Gore-tex and Pearl Izumi gear who gather in the local park 'n' ride on Sunday afternoons.
I want to be a part of your rides but I know I'm not ready yet.
But I will be.
Maybe I will never beat you but I will hold my own and earn your respect.
I'll turn that intimidating feeling into a drive and a goal to be where you are ... at least as close as I can get.
So don't look with disdain at that gray-headed guy with the slight paunch and the department store bike.
You might be him someday.

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Angry? Wait for the endorphins to kick in!

I woke up this morning a little late, about 5:20.

And I could have slept a little longer too.
I got angry because of it. Here's why:
1. I went to bed early (10:30 instead of 11 or later) so that I would be more rested and able to get up earlier (not later). (That may be a sleep cycle thing. Because of the change in sleep pattern, getting up at 5 as usual would have been in the middle of a deep sleep phase.... perhaps.)
2. I had a training day. I was supposed to do a ride (hopefully 1 hour) but because of freezing rain outside I would need to do it in the gym in the AM. I couldn't do the ride on my lunch hour not only because of the ice outside but because I had an appointment which would take up my allotted lunch time.
3. so because i got up "late", I would not have time to have my usual 2 leisurely cups of coffee, go to the gym, get ready for work and get to work on time (8:30).

I had my one cuppa but then in my anger I said to myself "bag work". I'll do the full workout and get to work late and deal with it.

Then when I went out to the car to go to the gym, I had to scrape a 1/4" of ice off of all the windows in addition to kicking the door to get it to open.

Angry.

At the gym I started my workout on the upright stationary bike.

My right knee was still hurting ("tweaky") as it was yesterday and my left knee was stiff so I warmed up slowly.
According to the specs of the training ride, I was supposed to keep my HR under 75%MHR. No problem! However, I think that implies that I should try to stay as close to 75% as I can.

Anyhow there was no way I was getting up to 75%MHR (132bpm) with my tweaky knee. It wasn't letting me get up to 70%. After warming up for awhile, I was able to work at about 65%MHR.
I also did 3 sets of spin ups, starting at a cadence of 60 increasing by 10 every 10 secs for a minute.
You know, after about 20 minutes I settled into a groove and I was really feeling pretty good. Knee didn't hurt at all. In fact, I was in a pretty good mood the rest of the day. Gotta be endorphins. Love those endorphins!

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Mrs. MTBMan1 and I went skiing...

Mrs. MTBMan1 and I went skiing at Ascutney in Vt yesterday. We used our Warren Miller free lift ticket voucher.
Our daughter, Steph, met us there (she works about 1/2 hour away in White River Junction).
We also skied with my wife's sister and 3 of her kids. She lives 5 min away from the resort.
It was a great day. Kind of crowded probably cause they were holding races, it was Sunday, they'd just had a pretty good snowfall, and it was one of the 4 or 5 days this season that they accepted the Warren Miller vouchers.
We went up to near the top of the mountain one time in the morning but the trail was pretty choppy with some moderately wet pow and was pretty crowded with some fast skiers and boarders. The wind and snow were blowing pretty hard too up there. Not a lot of fun for us beginners.
So we stuck to a lower mountain trail and really had a ton of fun. I like to work on my technique anyhow at this point in my skiing rather than death defying thrills! ;-)
Quads didn't bother me at all unlike last year which I attribute to my off-season biking but my calves really feel it now. Both gastroc and soleus (back and front).

Here's the front view of the slope


White-out time at the top!


View from Easy Rider trail


'Nother view from Easy Rider

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My Fitness Level

According the chart in Heart Zones Cycling by Edwards and Reed, I am a level 1 bike rider.
Here are the criteria for level 1:
* Distance: Can ride 5-20 miles at moderate intensity ( i can do more than that)
* Time: Can ride 20-60 minutes w/o stopping (i can do better than that)
* Speed: Comfortable speed is under 14mph (uh-oh, that's me. try 11)
* Experience: Rode less than 3 hours per week in the past year (I haven't been biking a full year yet but since I started, I have been doing more than 3 hours most weeks)

Here is Level 2:
* Distance: Can ride 20-50 miles at moderate intensity ( i routinely do 24mi once a week)
* Time: Can ride more than 60 minutes w/o stopping (i can do that)
* Speed: Comfortable speed is about 14-16 mph (nope can't sustain that for an hour!)
* Experience: has ridden for more than one year (nope) and rides more than 3 hours/week (yup)

So the only thing keeping me from Level 2 is speed and experience.
Experience will just require time to elapse and I am working on the speed.
I'm ok with that. Just so long as I see some improvement over time.

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Not sore! Time to change routine?

Today (Wed.) I am still not sore from doing an upper body workout on Monday (my "rest" day) in spite of having worked out just as hard or harder than usual. I guess that means it's time to change my routine!
Not sure what I will do yet. I could hire the trainer at the gym to come up with a new routine or I could just "browse" the machines and select ones I haven't been using. This would require me to figure out how to do the exercise from the instructions on the machine.
I would like to find a trainer that is also a biker or has experience working with bikers but just a good one will do, I suppose.
Also, I would like to have a male trainer. The only one available through my local Planet Fitness is female. Maybe I could check some of the other locations. All I need is one training session once in awhile.
That brings up another thing. It would be nice to have a physician that is either a sports medicine specialist or bikes himself.
Perhaps you can see I'm thinking out loud here. But it has helped. I think the idea about checking with the other PF locations is doable.

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Sleeping and Eating

Didn't sleep that great last night. I have been working on getting more sleep. I'm shooting for 7 hours but I have only been getting 4 or 5 a night. But I haven't really been tired during the day. I attribute that to my consistent exercise. Still, I know I need more. 7 is ideal for me as more than than my back hurts and I get weird dreams. Anyhoo, I stayed up until about 12:15 helping my daughter refresh her notebook computer cause it was so clogged up with malware. I didn't mind staying up cause I knew this was a rest day and I could sleep later. But I didn't sleep well! Kept waking up.
Couple of factors:
1. I wore my heart monitor to bed so I could check my resting rate in the AM before getting out of bed. I'm thinking that, subconsciously, I'm aware of it and keep waking up to check it although I don't. BTW, my resting rate was 67bpm.
2. Also, Tuesday night I have a regular committment outside of the house and my usual deal is to stop at the local Hess, gas up the car and have a coffee and a 500 cal danish! Well, I didn't do that this time but I bought a Nature Valley peanut butter bar for later cause I thought I would be ravenous after the meeting at 9PM. I wasn't particularly hungry but I did eat the bar! Also had a few other items after I got home: a few cheddar cheese rice cakes, a bowl of fresh pineapple chunks, a diet vanilla pepsi and a teaspoon of peanut butter. BTW, this is all less than usual.

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I guess you can still get killed skiing!

A good reminder to not get carried away and ski beyond your being in control. This guy was 61. I'm going to be 60 next week.


I'm going to get a helmet.
Of course, that wouldn't have helped this guy. Bummer!

Former ABC News Reporter John McWethy Dies in Ski Accident

Wednesday, February 06, 2008

KEYSTONE, Colo. — Retired ABC News correspondent John McWethy died Wednesday after crashing into a tree while skiing at the Keystone resort, the Summit County coroner said.

Witnesses said McWethy, 61, was skiing fast on an intermediate trail when he missed a turn and slid chest-first into the tree shortly after 10 a.m., Coroner Joanne L. Richardson said.

She said he died of blunt force chest injuries.

He was pronounced dead at Summit Medical Center at about 2 p.m.

McWethy had moved to Boulder after he retired.

He was a 1969 graduate of DePauw University, which awarded him an honorary doctorate in 2002. He also held a master's degree from Columbia University's journalism school.

The longtime ABC correspondent was at the Pentagon when an American Airlines plane hijacked by terrorists crashed into the building Sept. 11, 2001.

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Rest day and "tweaky" knees

Well today is a scheduled rest day for me (groan). I so look forward to my workouts that this is kind of agonizing for me. Probably good though as I tend to get obsessed over my latest interests to the exclusion of the rest of life.
My right knee was a little "tweaky" yesterday. I did my cardio on the recumbent stat bike at the gym anyway but it didn't go away. I often have what I call tweaky knees and usually, if I warm up easy the first 10 or 15 minutes on the bike, it goes away. This time it didn't and both knees are bothering me today.
Let me define "tweaky": I suppose it is "pain" but I hestitate to describe it as such cause it is a small pain; usually on either side of the knee and hurts when it bears weight. Doesn't seem to have much rhyme or reason to it. I usually have it when I get up from bed in the AM. Usually goes away after I get moving but sometimes not. May occur in either or both knees. I suppose my consistent 40 or 50lbs overweight over the last 10 to 20 years hasn't helped it! ;-)
I'm going to wear my knee band today.

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cardio "bike ride" at the gym

I had a bike ride scheduled for my training today but it was raining pretty hard so I went to the gym and used the stationary recumbent bike instead. That worked out well anyhow cause I was supposed to ride a flat course keeping my HR at or under 65%MHR. That’s a lot easier to do on a stationary.

I’m trying to use a training plan I developed for myself based on Heart Zones Cycling by Sally Edwards and Sally Reed. I’m finding the trouble with that is that my HRM, a Sports Instruments Fit3, has only 3 preset zones that I can’t modify. The “health zone” is 50% to 70%MHR. That’s quite a range and 70%MHR is a lot more perceived exertion that 50%! Anyhow, it makes it hard for me to monitor how much time I spend in each of the 5 zones layed out by Edwards and Reed. I’m not going to scrap the monitor as I just got it but maybe I will modify the plan a bit to accomodate just 3 zones. I guess it’s a beginners HRM and I suppose I am a beginner so maybe I can live with it. I’m kind of a perfectionist and a guy who likes to follow the cookbook to the last jot and tittle at least the first time I make the recipe. Maybe I should chill on this one! ;-)

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Yesterday I took a ride with my friend Charles. I was supposed to start my training program with a flat, easy ride, keeping my HR under 65% MHR but I really couldn't pass up this offer since I so rarely get a chance to ride with somebody. This was a fairly flat country ride with a few easy rollers. Some peaceful moments with beautiful scenery. As usual, my camera skills just don't do it justice! So it was a pretty decent work out with a few seconds over 90% but not bad at all in terms of overall exertion.
Here's the route:

Here we are just starting out from the town of Feura Bush, NY.


Here is a shot of Copeland Hill on our first stop about 40 minutes in.
Charles on the road!


Charles on a break


Some falls off Onesquetha Creek Rd.


Here's me!


The Helderbergs in the distance



Another view of the Helderbergs

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Daily Weight Fluctations - What's Up with That?!

I'm trying not to get too excited about these daily weight fluctations (wild swings, really)but I find it's getting annoying. If you've noticed, I track my daily weight measurement in a chart on this blog here:
Mostly, my weight fluctates from day to day between 200 and 210 pounds. This is some improvement as the range used to be 210 to 215 but it still seems weird to vary 10 lbs. in a day! Someone suggested that it may be the quality of the scale that is at issue and it is a cheap scale but it does seem to be consistent. I can get on and off it several times and it still says the same thing.
I can't seem to correlate it to how hard I exercised or what I ate for a couple of days previously either.
I always weigh myself at exactly the same time each day in exactly the same way after doing the same things and wearing the same clothes.
Usually, if I weigh myself later in the day, I will have dropped a couple of pounds. Maybe it has to do with water retention. Sometimes I do drink a lot of fluids in the evening right up until bedtime.
Well, like I said, I try not to obsess about it. I know I am getting fitter. I feel great. And I know I'll eventually get to a healthy weight.
Definitely need patience.
I guess that's why they (the mythical authorities) always say don't weigh yourself everday, you'll drive yourself nuts.
But I'll probably keep doing it. I like graphs.

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My goals

As part of my training I'm supposed to set short and long term goals so here they are:

* short term (30 to 90 days) - in 30 days, increase av. speed to 12mph from 10 (because in a century and half-century event last year the lowest speed group was 12mph and up)

* longer short term (90 to 180 days) - in 90 days increase speed to 15mph (because a lot of group rides are touring speed 14-16mph)

* shorter long term (180 to 360 days) - in 6mos ride a group ride and not be humiliated

* long term (1 yr and beyond) - in 1 yr ride a century and not come in dead last

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Overtraining ... Still Pushing it?

I mentioned a couple of posts ago that maybe I was pushing it too much with my workouts. Well, maybe I still am. At this stage of my training today was supposed to be a rest day but I did an lower body workout at the gym. I mostly felt un-sore but when I started the adductor machine I still felt it quite a bit in those muscles and also when I tried the sloped ab bench my abs were still tender. So I didn't do either of those but I worked everything else pretty hard. Anyhow I felt pretty lousy most of today, like I'm coming down with a chest cold. It was too nasty out during lunch hour to ride bike or walk but I think I would have just passed on it anyway. It was sleet and freezing rain and then just rain. I drove down to the Corning Preserve parking lot and "napped".
Also I don't think I'm getting enough sleep, 5 to 5-1/2 hours a night although I don't actually feel very tired. I've been intending to get more sleep for a long time now but it hasn't really happened. Probably should cut back on the caffeine too. Getting to bed early would also address my problem with snacking in the evening.
I'm feeling better now (10:30PM) but will go to bed at 11 and get up at 5. That's 6 hours. Not exactly sleeping in but they say you shouldn't try to increase your amount of sleep too much at a time. So I'll try working up to it. I've found in the past that 7 hours is optimal for me. Longer than that and I get a sore back and really weird dreams! ;-)

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