Started training and dieting in earnest Yesterday with my wife. I am training for health this year, will probably do a few bike races and a few challenging rides.
Including my 40th Birthday Gran Fondo, on or about August 21, 2010. Get ready guys, this will be epic in length, will include some stupid sections and will be challenging for the fittest rider. Details will be leaked in early summer.
You can not procrastinate when you are trying to get in shape, lose weight, grow something………..
I made a committment to lose a few pounds a few days ago, 64 to be exact, well it’s not going to happen, I know, what a loser…get the pun, I digress….
Truth is, I enjoy cookies almost as much as Nate-dog, I will drink a beer when I feel like it, I have earned that right in the 39+ years I’ve been alive and warm fattening food tastes good when it’s cold outside.
So, with that said I will not post a new fat picture to update the old fat picture I posted 64 days ago, things(me) look about the same. I think I may make a comeback in the clydesdale division this year, watch out Chacho.
“It’s not about the six minutes, it”s about what you do in those six minutes”
Winter begins today, as does my attempt to get in shape. I sit here pondering what am I getting in shape for? Not to sure this year, in the past I have had cycling goals for the next season, not so much this year.
Instead of race goals this year I think I need heath goals, so here is my first attempt:
1.) Get my back healthy, all through this year I have been waging war with my lower back. I’ve been told it has to do with my tight hamstrings/it bands/scoliosis/weak abdominal muscles, funny thing is I used to teach the Health Back program for the YMCA and once did 1,000 crunches in a row as a challenge in college.
2.) Ride when it feels like fun, not because I think I have to.
3.) Eliminate refined sugar and grains from my diet.
4.) Take time to really listen to others.
5.) Enjoy the ride that life is.
Thanks for reading you two, maybe three.
Seems like a good time of the year to look to the future, and reflect on the past. My future looks increasingly good, my family is healthy, my children are everything a father could ask for, and my health is improving. I work with a good group of people and I know that we are making positive changes in the lives of many in our community. So here are some reflections of 09 and goals for 2010.
OUCH
Health: 2009 – my first (2) broken bones of my life (finger, collarbone). A private battle with depression(now public) lowlighted the last 5 months of the year. 2010 – I will recapture my fighting weight 162lbs and will avoid any unnecessary broken bones.
Bicycling: 2009 – Made a maiden voyage to Moab, rode STP, High Cascades 100, Raced on the GT Dirt Coalition Team, rode over 5,000 miles for the first time, hired a coach, fired a coach, did not finish near the podium in any races. 2010 – have fun with racing, ride the Death Ride, RAMROD, and back to the team 24 hour, make at least 1 big mtb trip with the boys.
The Future
Family: 2009 – watched in amazement the maturing of my girls(time truly flies), watched Madison swim better than I ever could, watched Caitlin pump out push-ups because she thinks it’s fun, listened to my wife’s advise(thank you), adopted a male stray just to have another man in the house and subsequently had him fixed (sorry Runo). 2010 – spend more time in the outdoors with my children, spend more quite time with my wife, get Caitlin to pedal a bicycle, continue to encourage Madison to ride with me(on trails), stay in better contact with my brother/parents.
Great Times
This afternoon on the windiest day of the year I loaded up the whole family to head to Horn Rapids in Richland, WA for what is my last race of the season. When I say windy I mean volcano blast zone, sustained winds of 30 – 35mph, gusts to 65mph. On the way we hear a strange sound from the roof, I diagnose it quickly as a piece of molding that’s been loose for about a year and continue at 75 with the aforementioned crosswind. I was wrong as I usually am when it comes to diagnosing anything, it was the Thule cargo box about to fly off the top and land in Walla Walla. After reaffixing the box we continue on our way only to have the molding strip come loose and thrash around for the last 20 miles of our trip.
The race itself was straightforward; twisty, sandy, flat singletrack, open 10 laps, expert 8 laps, sport 6 laps, beginner 4 laps. I chose to ride the GT Peace 29er multi, because the course was flat and smooth and the fact that with my training hours in the past 3 months I couldn’t justify riding the Marathon, it would be an insult to the bike.
Long Season
I finished in the back quarter of the expert field, Big Larry won the Sport with Chacho in 5th in the Sport. During the post race raffle BL won a saddle bag/trouser strap/first aid kit, Chacho won nothing and I won a $40.00 gift card from REI, the race sponsor. Following the raffle we finished off a great day with a 10 course meal at PF Changs.
Thanks to GT for a great year of racing and riding, the support was outstanding and I’m looking forward to avoiding the mishaps and improve on my so so performances this year.
All 3 off you have spoken, so I must warn you to leave this blog immediately if the site of shirtless overweight men make you sick.
You’ve been warned…….
Current weight: 188.9lbs – 11/16/09
11/16/09 before slim down
Madison and Grace on singletrack
My wife had wanted me to go to Costco with her but I made up the excuse that I was taking Madison and Grace for a mountain bike ride. I say excuse because, though, Madison has been going on rides with me for 3 years now, they have all been on the road, her off-road experience has been limited to a block of gravel on the way to school and the “kid’s race” during the 24 hours around the clock in Spokane. I was a bit shocked and honestly a bit nervous when Madison agreed to go with me to ride a real trail. I loaded the truck with bikes and dog and let Madison borrow a pair of my arm warmers for her legs and a long sleeve compression shirt to keep warm out on the trail. We made it to the trail head and decided to take it easy and cruise down the jeep road, no problems, Madison was having a blast. When we hit A trail just after the creek section Madison was off her bike and started to walk it, I was sure we were near the end, expecting a melt down or long walk back to the truck we pressed forward to the bow tie where A, B, and C trails come together. To my utter delight Madison wanted to continue on B trail in the opposite direction of the parking lot, riding I might add. So we continued, I took the above picture and a few more and finally made it back to the trail head about an hour and 20 minutes after we started. Madison is excited and wants to go again, I’m on cloud nine. It’s nearly indescribable the joy and pride I felt when I watched Madison riding singletrack with a smile on her face. What a beautiful day!
Madison and Grace on the over/under
Weight this morning: 187.8
Not quite where I need to be, but in the right direction.
The Chinook Fall Series race on Sunday was a blast, I love when I can set-up a course that makes total strangers swear at me. I will be hitting the indoor training hard in the next 5 weeks to hit my goal of 162.3lbs.
Lat chance to keep from seeing my bloated self on this site, 1 vote for photos, so the other 2 of you have to cast your vote before Thursday at 5:00pm PST or you’ll see more than you ever wanted.
As Fall turns to Winter I begin my familiar journey of becoming re-acquainted with my bicycle and indoor trainer. Unlike most cyclist I know, I love the pain and suffering an indoor trainer session can inflict, the kind that cannot be replicated outside. 20 degrees in the garage, space heater blowing on the front of your legs, the sweat on your back and back of your head freezing, 5 – 10 – 15 – 20 sets of max intervals, almost falling of the bike and stumbling into a quite house where your family has been asleep for an hour, it gives me shivers just thinking about it. Unfamiliar for me this winter at least for the last few since the transformation (Clydesdale to Whippet) is paying attention to my diet and becoming strict with my consumption of everything good. I do have a goal of shedding 27 pounds by January 14th, and I won’t really start trying until November 1st, that’s right 75 days to lose 27 pounds, .36 of a pound a day, crazy? maybe, but you can watch me succeed or fail right here.
So my question to anyone, well the 3 of you that read this, should I or shouldn’t I post a pre-photo? It is pretty ugly and I have to look at every morning after I shower.
Weight this morning: 190.6lbs
So I haven’t been here in a while,,,so what? What have I been up to in the last month and a half? and what will I be up to in the next month and a half? who knows? and isn’t that the wonderful thing about life?
In early October I rode with big Larry for his 50th birthday, he ran up the score on me, my 11 year age advantage was a dis-advantage. For the ride, Revolution Cycles in Yakima set me up on a GT Marathon 29er, the bike was as efficient as my 26er climbing, pleasant surprise, but was unbelievable on the descent, I actually gapped Chacho a couple times, thanks guys. So, that, a 3 hour tour of Surveyor’s Ridge and 2 1/2 hours on Shoreline in SLC wraps up my September and October riding. What the??????
I have successfully put on my winter coat, weighing in at 190.8 lbs on 10/19, What the??? and yes that’s 25.8 lbs over my fighting weight. I will be trying to guilt myself into weight control ala Fatty by posting my weight every week for the forseeable future. Give he all the crap you want guys, I need the motivation.
I will race my final race this season at Echo on November 8 as part of our Chinook Fall Mountain Bike Series. I will have the Youth Mountain Bike Program Trailer, GT Dirt Coalition Tent and all the GT bikes I own at the race for people to check out. On that topic, I have really enjoyed the opportunity to race for and talk to people about GT this year, though the engine has had issues. My GT Marathon Pro has operated flawlessly, my GTR Team is a rocket and the folks at GT and dealers have been outstanding.
