Shout out to my brother
I noticed that I passed 1,100 miles cycling for the year. It reminded me that my brother Dave just passed 2,500 miles for the year cycling.
Dave is the good cyclist in the family (I don’t even get to play one on tv). When he is ultra fit, he weighs in the high 130’s to low 140’s. He also has been very dedicated to working out the past 10 years or so, often doing multiple workouts in a day.
The combination of being more fit, and weighing 75 to 100 pounds less than Mark and me, means that he torches us when we go out riding together. I secretly think he enjoys it 
Dave also did the Tour de Blast on Saturday. It is an out and back, and he was just finishing coming up the third and final major climb, while we were going down the same hill - only we still had two major climbs left to go. He met us at the finish line and he had been waiting some ridiculously long time for us to get there.
Dave also did the STP with Mark and me. He probably pulled about 90% of the 204 mile ride. I’m fairly certain he could average 20 mph or better in a one day STP if he rode with people at his level.
It was the three of us that rode from Canada to Mexico as well. Unfortunately, he wouldn’t carry extra gear to equal out the weight…
Filed under: Cycling, Uncategorized
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Spin Bike
Easy 45 minutes. I have a hard ride tomorrow, just wanted to get some time in today.
Workout:
- Type: Cycle
- Date: 06/29/2007
- Time: 17:00:00
- Total Time: 00:45:00.00
- Distance: 15 miles
- Average Speed: 20 mph
Filed under: 2007 Resolutions, Cycling, Goals, Spin Bike, Uncategorized, Workout, fitness, fitness over forty, male over forty, over forty
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The Way I See It #233
This is the quote from my Starbucks coffee cup this morning:
I used to think that going to the jungle made my life an adventure. However, after years of unusual work in exotic places, I realize that it is not how far off I go or how deep into the forest I walk that gives my life meaning. I see that living life fully is what makes life - anyone’s life, no matter where they do or do not go - an adventure.
Mark Fadiman, Geographer, ethnobotanist, and National Geographic Emerging Explorer
This saying very much resonates with me right now. I find myself ”waiting” until I finish these last couple of months in my ”old” job so that I can get on with life at Sweat365- never mind that the ride has already left the gate and I am in fact on it as we speak. I am also “waiting” until I get into “better” shape, or lose weight before I’ll feel good about myself as an athlete.
I keep falling into the trap of looking toward the future - when I’ll be where I want to be and who I want to be. But it’s all just an illusion. Life occurs in the moment. Things and circumstances simply are not what give life it’s quality. It’s living life fully - and actually being present to life - that gives life meaning and adventure.
It’s time to quit waiting for things and start living life fully now - with the circumstances I have today, and with who I am today. When you boil it all down - life is just a series of right nows. What am I waiting for?
Filed under: Inspiration, Uncategorized
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Spin Bike
Easy ride on spin bike.
Workout:
- Type: Cycle
- Date: 06/28/2007
- Time: 18:00:00
- Total Time: 1:00:00.00
- Distance: 20 miles
- Average Speed: 20 mph
Filed under: 2007 Resolutions, Cycling, Goals, Spin Bike, Uncategorized, Workout, fitness, fitness over forty, male over forty, over forty
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Ready to gnaw my leg off
Yesterday evening I had to run some paperwork over to Zappoman. Not a long drive, but last night there was a problem. See, not very far from Brad’s house, and directly in my path, is a little place called Dick’s Drive In. Great burgers, best greasy fries. It’s a hole in the wall, where you can get your burgers any way you want them - as long as it’s exactly how they make it. Dick’s is one of those places that is likely to be more busy at midnight than at any other time. It’s a huge favorite of college and high school kids.
Anyway, I soooooo wanted to eat a couple of their cheeseburgers last night. My mind was telling me, “no one will know”, “you can make it up tomorrow”, and a bunch of other helpful insights to derail my goals. The problem - tomorrow never comes. If you won’t keep your commitment today, what makes you think you’ll do it tomorrow, or the next day?
It’s not like I hadn’t eaten healthy that day. I started the day with a protein shake before riding to work. I ate oatmeal at work. At two different times I had an apple with almonds for a snack. For lunch I had a protein shake and a couple of slices of sprouted bread with olive oil. For dinner I had salmon and broccoli.
But I also had burned 2,000 calories on the ride to and from work. I was still hungry. In fact, I was in one of those moods where I was ready to eat anything. So when I say I wanted to stop at Dick’s, I don’t mean for one burger. There was going to be multiples involved.
At the end, I didn’t do it. I told myself I could always eat one tomorrow if I still wanted it. When I got up in the morning, I was down a pound at 221.
Filed under: 2007 Resolutions, Uncategorized, Weight Loss, fitness, fitness over forty, health, male over forty, over forty
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Cycle to Work
I cycled to work today for the first time. It’s basically 17.5 miles and 3 hills each way. The total elevation gain is over 2,000 feet, which isn’t a bad workout.
I didn’t try to push it either way. I still feel some fatigue from Tour de Blast. On the other hand, the climbs didn’t feel that hard. Either I’m starting to get into shape, or losing some weight is making a big difference.
Workout:
- Type: Cycle
- Date: 06/27/2007
- Total Time: 2:46:00.00
- Average Heart rate: 139
- Max Heart rate: 167
- Calories: 2103
- Distance: 35.6 miles
- Average Speed: 12.87 mph
- Ascent: 2,120 ft
Filed under: 2007 Resolutions, Cycling, Goals, Uncategorized, Workout, fitness, fitness over forty, male over forty, over forty
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Restarting
It’s always hard for me to get moving again after a big event. I never know exactly how much time I should take off - but I know I need to physically and mentally recharge. The danger is that a couple of days off drifts into a couple of weeks off, and then I’m back on the continuous cycle of trying to recapture territory I’ve already won. I do this with both my weight and my fitness.
I rode the Tour de Blast on Saturday, and I’ve already had a few days off. On one hand I don’t feel myself yet (physically or mentally), but on the other hand you have to get back on the horse at some point (in my case an iron horse).
Yesterday was the day Mark and I get together to work out. We skipped lifting or riding and went on a walk. Today, I will ride my bike to work and back. It’s about 36 miles round trip, but there are six hills and about 2,000 ft of elevation for the ride. It’s not an easy ride, but I will definitely take it as easy as I can. Hopefully after Tour de Blast I can climb 400 to 600 foot hills without too much effort.
I guess it’s time to get back at it…
Filed under: 2007 Resolutions, Cycling, Goals, Uncategorized, fitness, fitness over forty, health, male over forty, over forty
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My next step - 215
I did a weigh in this morning. I was 221.9 - not bad, but not the lowest I have been this year (which was 219). Since I don’t have another big “organized” ride until the beginning of August (and yes, it involves mountains - actually three) - I am going to take some time and focus on continuing to get my weight down.
I would like to be under 215 by the end of July. That gives me roughly 5 weeks to lose 7 pounds. Not a slam dunk, but doable. This was the goal I set for myself when I was going to take on the Torture 10,000 (before it was cancelled).
So How am I going to do it? Same as always:
- Drink half my body weight in ounces of water per day
- No eating 2 hours before bedtime
- Avoid sugar and processed food
- Eat oatmeal (now without sugar)
- Use protein shakes (high quality - small amout of fat and sugar)
- Avoid red meat (lot’s of fish and chicken)
- Smaller meals, more often (shoot for eating 6 to 7 times per day by using quality snacks)
- Avoid restaurant food
- Get enough sleep
- Regular exercise
This strategy (with varying degrees of success) has helped me drop from 255 at my peak, and from 239.1 at the beginning of the year. Ultimately, I think I will get under 200 - but it will only come through healthy lifestyle changes, not fad diets.
Health:
- Date: 06/26/2007
- Weight: 221.9
- Mood: Normal
- Sleep Pattern: Normal
Filed under: 2007 Resolutions, Goals, Uncategorized, Weekly Weigh in, Weight Loss, fitness, fitness over forty, health, male over forty, over forty
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Walked Greenlake with Mark
Easy, fun walk. Solved some of life’s major issues on the way. If only one of us could get voted King for the day…
Workout:
- Type: Walk
- Date: 06/26/2007
- Total Time: 00:40:00.00
- Distance: 2.8 miles
- Average Pace: 14:17.14/mile
Filed under: 2007 Resolutions, Uncategorized, Walking, Workout, fitness, fitness over forty, male over forty, over forty
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Tour de Blast - Done!!!
Mark and I completed the Tour de Blast on Saturday. This was one tough ride. Basically it’s 84 miles, climbing one 4,300 foot ridge, and a 3,800 foot ridge - and oh yeah, you do the 3,800 foot ridge TWICE. All told, it was over 7,000 feet of climbing for the day.
The day started for us at 4 am. We got up, threw our things in the car, and had to drive 140 miles to the starting line. Yes, it would have been easier to stay at a motel somewhere close the night before, but I decided it would be a good idea to save some money before I leave my paying job. Probably would rethink that next time.
We got to the starting line at around 8am. Another interesting bit of news was that Mark didn’t really feel that well (Mark is my uncle who is going to be 58 in a couple of months - he also happens to be my best friend). His stomach had been bothering him all night, and he was afraid to eat very much. Not what you want before a long, hard, ride.
The weather cooperated a little bit better than last time. It averaged 61 degrees over the course of the day, and although it looked like it might rain a lot, it never actually did. That was good, because it was already cold in spots without the rain. We ended up switching our gear out multiple times as we climbed and descended over long stretches.
Once under way, it was apparent that Mark wasn’t going to have a good day. It created a dilemma. Should we bale, knowing that he was not feeling great - or continue, knowing that he would have to suffer for a long time. Also in our minds was another dilemma. See - if we baled, then we would HAVE to do this ride again. But if we somehow struggled through, then we could do it again if we wanted, but it would be our choice. This ride has already been tormenting us the last 3 years. Ultimately, I left it up to Mark.
Mark is either one of the toughest men I know, or he’s really stubborn. I suspect it’s both. Either way, he wouldn’t even think about being sensible, so we forged on. I ended up leading for the entire 83.5 miles. Didn’t suck another wheel once during the entire ride. I pulled Mark for the entire distance, except for the last couple of climbs - when we separated on the climbs but got back together at the top. But his hanging on my wheel the entire day was way more heroic than anything I did. Did I mention he’s stubborn.
The ride basically has three equal sections among the 83.5 miles. The first section starts at 500 feet of elevation, and ends at the top of Elk Rock Ridge at 3.800 feet. It’s mostly rolling hills for the first 20 miles or so, then a steady, constant climb up the ridge.
The middle section is from Elk rock to Johnston ridge and back. You start at 3,800 feet, drop to 2,500 feet, then climb back up to 4,300 feet. At this point you are at the half way point. Then you get to drop back to 2,500 feet, and climb back up to 3,800 feet.
The last third is a race back to the starting line. Starting at the top of Elk Rock, it is mostly a downhill ride back into town. I suspect we averaged around 20 miles per hour on this part (almost fast enough to keep up with zappoman on a recovery ride).
For the ride, I did a great job managing my heart rate. I averaged under 140 for the ride, and only had a max of 161 (I purposely didn’t push my max). I kept to a faster cadence/less resistence to keep my legs from burning out, and I hydrated and fueled frequently. I probably could have gone a bit faster if Mark was feeling better, but I think worked out well to stay within myself for the ride. I was really tired when we got back to the top of Elk rock, but I was able to actually recover somewhat during the last third home.
All told, it took us over 7 hours, with over 7,000 feet of elevation gain. I burned over 5,400 calories during the ride. We got back to the finish line, pounded down the free spaghetti dinner they offered, then got back in the car and drove 140 miles home. The journey that started at 4am was officially over at 8:30 pm.
We did it!!!!
Workout:
- Type: Cycle
- Date: 06/23/2007
- Total Time: 7:22:00.00
- Average Heart rate: 137
- Max Heart rate: 163
- Calories: 5418
- Distance: 83.5 miles
- Average Speed: 11.33 mph
- Ascent: 7,040 ft
Filed under: 2007 Resolutions, Cycling, Goals, Uncategorized, Workout, fitness, fitness over forty, male over forty, over forty
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