Two Wheel Love

Wow...keeping up with blogging is harder than I thought!

It's been a couple weeks, but here is the latest update on my "diet": weighed myself at the gym today (before spin class) and was 136.5 with clothes on, so I'm going to call it at 136. I was 146 when we got back from Christmas vacation (aka Sloth-a-thon 2007). So far that's ~10 lbs in three weeks. Not too shabby!

Dan and I have been doing a lot of spin class, weights, cardio, and riding/racing on the weekends. We raced at Fontana two weekends ago (Winter Series #1) and I did XC and DH. First XC race in 3 years!! It hurt like hell and I got beat by 8 minutes, but oh well! My competitor and friend, Allison, has been training harder than me, for sure. I just want to use it as VQ training and try to better my lap time this coming weekend (goal = shave 2 minutes off each lap for a final time of ~1:42).

Me (in the middle) with my best riding buds, Allison (L) and Nancy (R)



The downhill was WINDY! Lots of folks got blown over and had strong headwinds. I got pretty lucky and managed to pull out a 4th place finish (out of 10...woo hoo!) Michelle beat me by 10 seconds though...gotta work on closing that gap, for sure!

I made Mountain Bike Action's on-line summary of the race...it's actually a pretty good picture (though I was really going off my line at that moment but hey, nobody can tell, right?!) Here is the link: MBAction.com


Photo from mbaction.com

Anyway, we did a sufferfest ride this past Saturday with Allison & Justin...42 miles and 9000 feet of climbing. The route was pretty crazy (including a one hour hike a bike up West Horsethief) but we made it with a little day light to spare. Here is a pretty typical (but very beautiful) picture:


That's Dan and me at the top of Upper Holy Jim Trail in the Santa Anas.

Well, off to bed, with another busy week ahead, more training, and more racing to look forward to!

We landed really late Friday night (11:45) and got to bed even later. Woke up fairly late and went to Henry's to pick up some groceries. Everything I bought was healthy. Went home, cooked breakfast (spinach & mushroom frittata) and then hung around the house for a bit. We ended up going to pick up a new pack and riser handlebars for the single speed (because I'm thinking of racing it at Fontana this weekend...XC!! I can't believe it!) Ate really healthy on Saturday and paid the price Sunday morning...ya know what I mean?? I think my body was like, "What the hell are you feeding me? Oh yeah, good food."

On Sunday, it seemed though we would get a break in the rain so we met up with Allison & Justin for a spin around the Fontana XC course. We got up there around 9 and quickly suited up. Wow! I felt like utter garbage! My stomach hurt, too. That's what two weeks of inactivity will do to ya! On the climbs I felt slow. On the downhill sections I felt awkward. On the other hand, it was good to get the first-ride-back-since-vacation-ride jitters out of the way. About 1 mile from the end, it started to sprinkle. Then it started to pour. We were zooming along and getting really wet. At one point dirt flicked up into my mouth. Yuck.

We got back to the truck and it was really pouring! Donny, Tom, and Brittany were out there with the intentions of working on the 4X course. They gave up after digging some channels for the water. We got soaked. Then, it got cold. We changed up and headed to lunch at BJ's (minnestrone soup, quarter of a chicken breast sammy--too salty, 4-5 small french fries, and a nutty irishman coffee). I didn't feel too great about it, but whatever...I did okay despite the menu.

We headed back to Jeff and Erin's to visit and see Zoe. She's getting SO big! Watched the game and had pizza. I ate one piece, very slowly, and then scrounged some crust. Not bad considering.

I went back to work today...vacation is O-V-E-R. In a way, I was glad to get back to my regular routine. I ate really well today (no junk):

Breakfast: 1 egg, 1 egg white, whole wheat english muffin with reduced fat cream cheese & 2 small pieces of avo, tea with hemp milk, apple

Snack: 10 almonds, 10 golden raisins, 1/2 cup yogurt with a spoonful of apple butter

Lunch: 3/4 cup tofu sloppy joe on a small piece of wheat, 4 roasted brussel sprouts

Snack: carrots & celery sticks, orange, 1/8 cup goji berries

Dinner: big salad with vinegar & a little oil, very small piece of tilapia, 1/4 cup brown rice, 1/4 cup yogurt

It's hard because I was feeling kind of hungry by mid-afternoon but drank a bunch of water in anticipation of spin class. I've been off extra sugar and was feeling plenty energetic, just kind of a gnawing sensation in my belly.

I went to spin class and pushed myself most of the time. Slacked off on the resistance once but seeing all the sweat, I knew my HR was pretty high. Before that, I did the quickie circuit and 5 min on the elliptical. Not bad for exercise but I still want to roll my legs and do some yoga before bed. I started doing the Rodney Yee yoga for atheletes and did the tape the last two days. I am feeling pretty good and like I'm getting back in the swing.

I'm not doing the whole "diet" thing. I don't really need to lose a significant amount of weight, just a few pounds. I'd be happy around 138 or so. Right now (well, before the Christmas season), I was sitting at about 142-143. Five pounds. I can do it.

For me, it's hard. I'm not making excuses. I have a mesomorphic body type. I am very muscular and build muscle quite easily. My problem area is between my hips and knees, the whole upper leg area. This is where I hold onto most of my "extra weight" (aka fat). I really struggle to keep it off and was doing well at the beginning of December. Then, the last couple weeks before we left for the east coast, I gained a few pounds back. My weight is like a constant yo-yo. I had been eating lean protein, lots of fruits and veggies, and had been limiting my sugar and refined carbs. Exercising a moderate amount, with lots of riding and some weights (my mt. bike workout that combines cardio with weights).

Then, I started to trail off on my night rides and the weight came back. Partly the lack of night riding was due to the rains...Penasquitos was closed (and will still be because we are getting lots of rain this weekend). This is the easiest, most convenient place to night ride). Then, Dan's 575 was unrideable because his shock, then fork were blown (we couldn't ride together and I wasn't about to do any solo night riding).

I want to ride at least twice on the weeknights but the group rides were killing me. I wasn't getting home until 10-10:30. That's too late for me since I wake up at 5:15-5:30.

So, I want to start recording what I eat and how much I exercise so that I have a log to look back at.

Here goes (so far) for today:

2 cups of tea (black tea with half n half...not so healthy)
half of a blond brownie...they were in my mom's kitchen (that's why I don't buy that $hit because I'll eat it)
3 pieces of whole grain cranberry bread (buttered...ate out for breakfast and didn't ask for it dry)
2 eggs with spinach and mushrooms and a little bit of cheese

I am not very happy about this. I have already eaten several things I wouldn't have had I been at home (half n half, butter, brownies??!!??)

Update to follow tonight or tomorrow morning. We are flying home today and luckily have a non-stop flight from Hartford to SoCal. Less chance to eat unhealthy airport food.