Legs hate me...

 Short story...my legs hate me. 

Why? (you might ask)

Well....what happened was....

It was a fairly heavy training week for me. I actually recorded just under 97 miles for the week. Yeah, maybe not to impressive for some. But for me that is a pretty hefty week. My goal is 70 a week, so I put a dent in the back log.

To top things off, on my Saturday ride I tried to do a longer route and it had the Epic KOM from Zwift. Nasty climb....and lets put it this way....

I am not a climber. I am an out of shape heavy guy right now. A literal work in progress. So I attacked that climb with all I had and I failed. I tried until I mentally said "fuck this" and just turned around and rode a different route. And to turn around in Zwift you have to be moving a certain speed. Getting to that speed nearly killed me. But even as defeated as I felt about that route, I kept going. I rode a few other areas and got over 90 minutes in. Not great, but again....on a trainer....for an out of shape rider....I will take it. 

So I rode hard this week. Had my miles and had two back to back 90 minute rides on Saturday and Sunday. Legs felt good after a solid week of riding. Then....THEN....I went and hit the slops for some downhill snow skiing on Monday. All day. Put those stressed legs under more pressure. 

Today my legs are sore. But I am happy to say that I earned that soreness. Its not from being lethargic or just doing nothing. The soreness was earned, every bit of it. 

This week is a 'rest week' in my training. Today was technically supposed to be a training day, but I took it as a rest day. Need to let my legs recover before getting some active recovery in tomorrow. Had a decent week eating too, as I dropped 3 pounds. So all things are trending North at the moment. Lets keep it going!

Nutrition, a work in progress

First off, I love food. Italian, Mexican, Indian, Mediterranean, Asian, fried, healthy, terrible for you, food. Unfortunately  that means when its time for me to buckle down and lose weight that I have some initial struggles. But, that is why its a work in progress.

This week as an example. Monday I started off the day good. I had my coffee with sugar free creamer, and had 2 eggs with ham and mushrooms for breakfast. For lunch I had leftover chicken and some rice. Dinner was a delicious Taco soup. The only issue here was the volume of the taco soup I had. So the loss was the portion control. I was on the win side overall, but the volume kept it closer to a neutral day. 

Tuesday, I started with my coffee and a banana. Lunch was cottage cheese and a some toast. I just wasn't super hungry. Dinner came and I made spaghetti. Overall, not terrible....but I ate WAY too much. Again, portion control was the loss here.

Worst part of yesterday was that after I ate I went and got on the bike. Tempo when you have a fully belly can be difficult. I managed, but the ride just didn't feel the best. Direct consequence of my eating actions. 

So, its a work in progress for sure. With less than 21 weeks until LJ100, the time to make major progress is now. And by major progress I don't mean anything crazy and losing 15 pounds overnight. I know I need to lose 2-3 pounds a week to get where I need to be and keep myself healthy. Its about longevity, not a flash in the pan. I know that when I get my eating under control that I will see the results on the scale that I want to see. And yes I know...'its not about weight'....but I am for sure overweight and I know I have a lot of weight to lose. Overall, that weight loss and added fitness will make me a healthier happier person for my family. Ultimately....that is endgame. 

First Full week of training

 I finished my first full week of training for LJ100 with just over 70 miles. The plan that I am working on called for a few more days, but schedule didn't allow me to follow it completely. However, I was happy with the work I put in this week. Off to a good start.

Weight held steady. This is ok, because I had a bigger loss the week before. I know this will start to come off as I keep my eating under control and keep my mileage up.

I do have a goal for 2023 to reach 3650 miles. That comes down to 10 miles per day. So last week I was on track. The week before I had some miles, but not as many as I needed. This week I will ride 70 plus and gain some of those lost miles back. Stay tuned.

Overall, in a good place. Still want to do some downhill skiing this season. With this weather, I will probably get outside and do a longer ride or two this weekend. This is what my training plan requests. A 2 hour ride on Saturday and 90 minute ride on Sunday. Much easier to do this outdoors than to be stuck on the trainer for that long. 

I had two rides this weekend that were both 20 miles each. Might not seem too impressive, but I was struggling mentally to reach 10 miles just a few weeks ago. It is actually quite surprising how my mentality has changed in regards to riding. I went from dreading sitting there for an hour to doing training for the day, and a bit more. 

Side note: Here is what I do on my zwift rides. I have a custom workout that I do that generally is lasting for an hour. At the end of that hour I look at my mileage and determine how much further I will go. If I am at say 15.7 miles I will ride to 17. if I am at 16.2 miles I will end with 17.5. Basically adding another mile into my ride just to show myself that I can push further.

Back, these rides haven't been terrible. I am looking forward to LJ100 and have to make the progress to be successful. 

Well, I got in....

 

This June will mark 8 years since I reached my greatest cycling achievement in my career. Today, I signed up for that same even, in the hopes that I can reach that achievement another time.

Yes! I was one of the lucky 450 people to register for the Lumberjack 100!

So that means I have target acquired. Well, that and the Coast to Coast gravel Century the following weekend, but....that is just more incentive to get my ass moving.

2015 was surely a different year. Mindset was right. I was riding more. I was lighter. I felt strong. Still not super fast or anything special. But for me I had the confidence to tackle a 100 mile mountain bike race with everything I had. Sure I got lapped at mile 47. Yes when I left the pits for my 3rd lap the people who already finished were giving me funny looks. So what.....I left the pits....and I finished a few couple long hours later. 

All I know is that I am ready to get my ass into shape. I have a nutrition plan. I have a cycling training plan. I am heading to a gym on Monday to check things out. I am ready.

I have a few milestones before this race. But this is my Elanor. (kudos if you know the reference)

I have the following on my schedule:

I have a spring break vacation planned at the end of March with my family. I wanna be lighter and sexier for that trip.

My race season really ramps up in April with a Barry Roubaix and Yankee TT. 

End of May, memorial day weekend, I believe I will attempt the Hanson 50 again. Big black eye from last time there as I missed the cutoff time and couldn't do the second lap. So, the plan will be to finish that. 

Then June.....

Lumberjack 100. 

I will be looking for another one of these patches below

Finishers patch from 2015

2023 is here

 I hope everyone fully enjoyed their Holiday season. I want to start off by wishing everyone a safe and productive 2023. 

My Holiday season was good. Lots of time with friends and family. New Years Eve was a good day too, other than my Wolverines losing to TCU. But then the Buckeyes lost, so that was good.

Balance.

Balance is something I didn't have in 2022. I had a pretty good year, but not a good year in sport. No races, low mileage. Added weight. yuk. As I stated before, the damage has been done. 

For 2023 things will be different. I have already signed up for one century and I will be signing up for another on Saturday (as long as I can sign up fast enough). I have a docket of races that I am already signed up for and more that I plan to. Lets say....its time to get my ass back into the saddle and back into shape. My girlfriend and I are planning on joining a fitness program. I have my cycling regimen planned for the next 15 weeks. That program finishes the week of Barry Roubaix. In 15 weeks I will be lighter, fitter, and healthier. Period. I don't have a choice.

I am tired of being a sack of dough. I know what I am capable of and I have just allowed myself to become stagnant and lazy. If I don't make a major improvement this year.....its literally time to start thinking about just finding a different sport. Something like competitive eating. At least then I could make some money for being a hefalump. ;)

I know I know. Its the beginning of the year and everyone is all hyped to get moving again and the resolutions are flying. My goals are goals, not resolutions. I have a goal to finish Lumberjack 100 again this year. And the following weekend will be The Coast to Coast (but only the century). Back to back 100 mile weekends. One mountain bike, one gravel, one Me. I am setting high goals and I have the support system in place to achieve these goals. Now its up to me to work towards them. 

Right now, I have a lot of work to do. But I want to get excited about fitness again. I keep talking about the Tae-bo days and remember listening to Billy Blanks on a daily basis. Some might think that the workouts were goofy, but I was literally in the best shape of my life. The biggest thing back then was that I was excited to exercise. I felt amazing. I had confidence. Then I lost it when I broke my foot. I realized that I wasn't mentally strong. I never got back to that type of shape again and just kept getting worse and worse until I finally maxed out at my heaviest ever....and that was recent. Not good.

It took me a long time to get where I am, and I know its a long haul to get back to where I want to be. Come along for the journey. It starts today....