Riding Outside!!!

On Saturday I took the little girls down to Fort Custer for Snow Stock with the Bike Fort Custer clan. We did some sledding, snowboarding, and had some snacks. It was windy, but it was a fun day none the less. It was nice hanging out with people I haven't seen in months.

Sunday, the plan was to ride the Barry Roubaix course, but the roads are pure ice up there in Barry County. After talking on Saturday and getting a road report everyone decided it was better to skip the training ride. Instead, I stuck close to home and took the Defy out with the CX tires on it. I had to ride outside and I really wanted to put in a solid effort so I headed for the hills. This being the first ride outside this year the hills didn't feel good. But at the same time...they felt good. It was just nice to be riding outside. I headed out of town and around Lake Allegan. The Dam is on the Northern end of the lake. I stopped and snapped the pic below.

Lake Allegan, the road is Allegan Dam Road

The sun was shining and the wind was howling. Temps were in the twenties. At this point I was feeling comfortable so I pushed onward. I headed across M-40 and out to where I know a long climb is located. The segment is 1.6 miles. It is a grind of a climb with a bit of rest after and then another long climb. I kept chugging away. The roads were dry and it felt awesome to be out on the bike. Rode a solid 27 miles.

Weighed in a 246 this morning. Back to 21 pounds down for the year. Feeling pretty good, and with a race in less than a month would love to be under 240 by then. Gotta keep moving! Still on pace to be under 200 by the end of the year!!!

Ramping up

Tomorrow will be exactly 4 weeks until Barry Roubaix. 2 Weeks after that is The Lowell 50. And another 2 weeks after that my true season begins with the Yankee Springs Time Trial. So....I am going to work. Been on the trainer a few nights a week. Eating good again this week after a hiatus last week. Feeling pretty good.

So......4 weeks until the first race......6 to the second race.....and 8 until my first A race. I was 248.5 last Sunday. The following is my projected weights for each race.

Barry Roubaix     238.5

Lowell 50            234.5

Yankee Springs    230.5

I would love to be in the 220's by Yankee but I will settle for 2 pounds per week. I am still on track for my goal of sub 200 by the end of the year so as long as I stay on that track....I will take it.

Training has ramped up...more intervals.....more time....more distance. 4 weeks will fly by and I need to be as ready as I can. I still have a goal of 2.5 hours for Barry Roubaix....that is 14.4 mph for that race.....way faster than my fastest time ever. The difference this year......I am already 10 pounds lighter than two years ago.

Lets do it.

So far....

So far 2014 has been a pretty good year. I have found some determination and have stuck to my diet plan for the first time ever. I am down 21 pounds for the year. I have only ridden 150 miles this year, but my average speed is higher this year than it was at this point last year. Not by much, but I feel stronger. I actually churned out 90 minutes on the trainer last night. It has been a good year. The weight loss is mainly nutrition. My trainer sessions are ramping up now and I am feeling pretty good.


So...21 pounds down. Averaging 3.5 pounds down per week. I am a full 12 pounds lighter than I was at this point last year. My goal for Yankee Springs last year was to be at 240. I am 246 today...and Yankee is a long way away still. If I keep my current pace I will be in the 220's for Barry Roubaix and potentially in the 2 hundred teens for Yankee. My lightest ever. I can't even imagine how much better I will feel when I don't have to drag an extra 50 pounds up the hills of Barry county and Yankee Springs. It is amazing how much better the 21 pounds feel.

So....less than 6 weeks until Barry Roubaix. I really need this snow to start melting so I can get out and ride. Way too much ice on the roads still. I did set my goal pretty steep for BR. A goal of 2.5 hours. That is an average speed of 14.4 mph. Looking back at my training logs I see that my fastest avg speed is only 12.4......so I need to be a full 2 mph faster this year. Well....I am off to a good start....but I have yet to climb a hill on my bike in 2014. I know it will be harder....but I will also have recovery on the downhills....something the trainer does not have.

All I know is this.....I am thankful for my family....my friends...and my support group. You guys know who you are and I can't wait to thank each of you in person!  Keep moving forward!!!!

Stress eating--containment

Over the years I have realized that I am an emotional eater....

Happy...eat

sad....eat

pissed....eat

angry...eat

excited...eat

ect.....eat

You see, it doesn't really matter. Any emotion, food is the savior. Or should I say WAS the savior. I have learned a lot since starting South Beach. I also have a different determination this year. I am more aware of myself...more aware of what I do...and why I do it. I was able to make it through a stressful day without eating any junk. Even being home with junk in the house I was able to avoid the junk for the weekend. This week has been no different. I gave my 2 week notice on Monday. This created some stress over the weekend and more stress on Monday and into Tuesday. It was rough....for sure. I did have some food that I shouldn't have...but it was very limited.

The point is...I knew I was just wanting candy and ice cream and whatever else I could find because I was stressed....and I recognized it. So instead of eating 2 donuts....I cut one in half and that was it. Done. I could have very easily have let myself eat a full donut....and a bowl of ice cream....and a bag of doritos...but I didn't. I knew...so I stopped. 

I am on track. Even did 75 minutes on the trainer last night. Down 16 pounds for the year. Making better choices. Staying focused. Just keep moving forward.

And...with the new job...might be able to get a new bike and maybe a new car!

Goodbye 260

I have to admit something.....something terrible. I have liked my time in the 260's. I have spent a lot time with these numbers over the years....off an on and off again. 260 is easy to hang out with. We can eat what we want, when we want, how we want it. I am talking Pizza, Ice Cream, chips....anything. But the problem I have with you 260 is that you make it hard for me to breathe....you actually try to suffocate me. And because I can't breathe it makes is more difficult to sleep, or to even get comfortable. You do keep me warmer, I give you that....but I just can't hang around with you any more.

The main problem is that You are a poison. You tell me everything is okay but then you make my knees hurt when I run. You say it will be fine and my legs get sore when I stop riding. You tell me that the chips and cookies are not going to hurt and then a few of your friends come to hang out. I don't care for your friends either...they drag me down to their level and make me feel worse about myself.

So.....for the last time...I am saying goodbye. Not a goodbye as in "I will see you later", but a goodbye as in "I never want to see you again". I have already started seeing numbers in the 250's and I did see the 240's check me out as I was walking by the other day. See....you need me way more than I need you. I am a better person without you. I am happier. I am healthier now that your toxins are wearing off. I know I have told you goodbye before and eventually I have always come back...but this time is different. There is nothing you can do to convince me to see you again...ever.

This new set of numbers I am hanging out with are better numbers than you. They just are. But don't get me wrong, I don't really want to hang out with them either....just car pool with them for a few weeks until I can catch a ride with the 230's. Those are some numbers I haven't hung around with in forever...and I think it is time. Time for me to hang out with numbers that are on the same path as me. Numbers that encourage me to keep going. Numbers that care and want me to succeed. Numbers that know you are the poison that has had your grip on me for too long.

I hear the 230's are pretty amazing numbers. They love to run and ride and exercise. They eat healthy. They hang around with the 220's too on occasion, so that means I can start building my relationship with them while leaving you further behind. I can't wait.....it will be so amazing!  Wait....are you....crying?

Don't be sad 260's. Please don't cry. You are only toxic to me, not to everyone. There are people that hang out with the 300's that I am sure would love to hang out with you...and I wish them the best of luck with that. But sadly, they too might turn on you and leave you with only 250's and 270's around you. You can sadly find yourself alone yet again. I won't forget you though, I promise. We did have some good times...even as rough as they could be. But please, if you see me out and about...just duck into the ice cream section or the candy bar isle because you won't find me there anymore. Remember what we had....and don't make it awkward.

I will never forget you...................................

Solid week....for nutrition

I started my new diet two Sunday's ago and I gotta say....it works. I posted that my goal was to be sub 200 on January 1st 2015. I got some tips from racer from the other side of the state. He told me what he did and I couldn't hardly believe it. I bought a book....and started reading. Now to start....I am not here to tell you jump on this diet or that diet or to argue which diet is better. Everyone is different and I have tried a handful of different diets. This one has been main stream for a long time and I always figured it was just a fad so I never even picked up the book. This year my focus has been much different than in the years past...and I took a tip from a fast guy...and gave it a try. I jumped on amazon and order this book.....

I know....nobody was more surprised than me when J. told me that he uses this diet. It is fairly simple, read the book....follow the plan....only eat the foods you can in each phase. Well, it resulted in a 5.5 loss in the first week. And that was with 3 beers at Founders on Saturday (which are a no-no in the first two weeks). So I started.....and I am never hungry. I actually feel like I don't want to eat. I eat breakfast, a snack, lunch, another snack, and then dinner....and perhaps a dessert. Simple....the hard part is cutting the carbs. We eat a lot of pasta, a lot of bread, and a lot of potatoes....along with a lot of pizza. Can't have any of them. In fact, I have a free lunch at work tomorrow that I won't go to because they are bringing pizza and I am really focused on losing this weight. If I eat pizza I could spiral out of control. As an emotional eater I tend to say "screw it" once I get off track and then I gain back everything that I worked so hard to take off. So until I get control....I just can't take the risk. That is my willpower....avoid it! That being said, the second day I was on the diet the rest of my family had homemade wet burritos...that I put together. They are delicious....but I didn't take a single bite. A few nights later they had Pizza. And a few nights after that they had Teriyaki chicken stir fry with noodles. I made my own version and it was delicious. So...I dropped 5.5 the first week and it is looking like that much again this week. That will not continue...I know that...it can be unhealthy to lose more than 3 pounds a week because you are losing muscle instead of fat.

So, that was my week in a nutshell. I am down 13 pounds since the first of the year. I am on target and plan to continue. I have been doing my Focus T25  off and on but I am still looking for consistency. I have ridden a few miles in the past weeks and my legs are feeling pretty good. I am seeing a slight increase in my average speed on the trainer which means I am focusing more and able to hold my intervals longer. So...I am on track....feeling good....good mood....focused. 

Beer? You know I don't drink beer....

That sentiment changed a little last night. I was invited to go see Nuclear Cowboyz with Dan S. at Van Andel arena. We left plenty early so we could head to Founders to grab some food before the show. The weather here has sucked, but we didn't have any problems making the trek to Grand Rapids. The rest of the night went as follows....

We finally find a table. Founders was packed. We traded our 5 person table for a 2 person table and figured out what we wanted to eat. Dan ordered a Sweet Repute and I ordered an Ice water. Yeah, how out of place do you think I felt with a glass of water at a brewing company? Well, they delivered this to Dan...and he suggested I try it even though I am not a fan of beer. I took a sip......and ordered one.

Click here to go to Founders Brewing Site

This beer is probably the first one I have ever liked. It was delicious...without the normal beer aftertaste. It was so good in fact...that I had 2. Now, I am on a low carb diet right now and should not have been drinking the beer but I did have an amazing salad for dinner....which didn't help the situation. A high alcohol percentage and no bread or heavy meat to soak up the beer left me very relaxed and laughing at everything.

We got there a bit early so we had a few hours to kill. We were people watching and watching some people play pool. Fairly uneventful. I went to get rid of some fluids and when I got back there was a glass of Backwoods there for each of us. I do believe that Dan is a bad influence. HA!

Click here to go to Founders Brewing site

I didn't care for this beer as much...but again...I am far from a beer drinker. This one was still better than any of the other beers I have tried in the past. So....three beers down on a salad and it was time to go to Van Andel.

Seats were awesome. Three rows back and right in the middle. These Nuclear Cowboyz are nuts. back flips, double back flips and all other kinds of crazy shit. It was a cool show. It finished up and we headed home. Looking back I guess I should have bought a bottle of the Sweet Repute.....but maybe next time. I just might be a beer drinker now.