Okay - as I get closer and closer to turning the big four-o, I figured I would make a list of preferred items I would like for my birthday gifts. In case you were not aware, forgot, or never really cared, the date is May 12. Any item below would be suitable and would guarantee a lifetime (or at least a few minutes) of gratitude:
1. Powertap wheels
2. Zipp 404s
3. Cervelo P5
4. Pimpin Road Bike
5. 12mo Membership to Craft Beer Club
6. Entry fee to the 2013 Ironman Louisville
That should be a good start for now. As you can see, I included a handy hyperlink for each item to help expedite your purchase. Aren't I so thoughtful!! :)
Many thanks in advance!
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Monday, April 23, 2012
Geeky Update
Very good stuff in the last couple of weeks since my last post. At that time, I had lost a total of 29 pounds. Since then, I have dropped another 14.6 pounds for a grand total of 43.6 pounds in 8 weeks putting me at 243.6 pounds this morning. Pretty darn pleased with that!
I have maintained my "eat healthy" lifestyle that, quite frankly, is quite liberating and is becoming easier to follow. The liberating part is that I am not on some funky diet where I have to mold my food choices to match - I can each (almost) anything I want while adhering to some basic guidelines. And if I have an indulgence - well - instead of eating a BOX of cookies, I can have 1. Anyway - I've beaten this to death in prior posts, so I'll move on.
I have also continued with the Fastcamp mentioned in prior posts from Endurance Nation. That has no doubt had a positive influence on my weight loss as well. Last week I actually set a new "high" for calories burned in a week at 11,202! That's a ton of calories to burn and I am feeling great about it.
Now - enough of the basic update. Now for the 'geeky' stuff. I did some calculations on weight and % body fat to try to figure out where my goal weight should be. Now keep in mind that our scale I use has those metal plates that runs a current through me to calculate the % body fat. This is no doubt not that accurate - but interesting to look at week to week nonetheless.
I have maintained my "eat healthy" lifestyle that, quite frankly, is quite liberating and is becoming easier to follow. The liberating part is that I am not on some funky diet where I have to mold my food choices to match - I can each (almost) anything I want while adhering to some basic guidelines. And if I have an indulgence - well - instead of eating a BOX of cookies, I can have 1. Anyway - I've beaten this to death in prior posts, so I'll move on.
I have also continued with the Fastcamp mentioned in prior posts from Endurance Nation. That has no doubt had a positive influence on my weight loss as well. Last week I actually set a new "high" for calories burned in a week at 11,202! That's a ton of calories to burn and I am feeling great about it.
Now - enough of the basic update. Now for the 'geeky' stuff. I did some calculations on weight and % body fat to try to figure out where my goal weight should be. Now keep in mind that our scale I use has those metal plates that runs a current through me to calculate the % body fat. This is no doubt not that accurate - but interesting to look at week to week nonetheless.
I
started at 287 lbs – today was 243.4 lbs = 43.6 lbs lost total so far
I tested % body fat at the beginning of week 2 when I weighed 276.2 lbs and it read
42.9%. That equates to 118.49 lbs of body fat.
Today
when weighing 243.4 lbs, I was at 33.1% body fat. That equates to 80.57
lbs of body fat.
Subtracting
276.2 lbs – 243.4 lbs = 32.8 lbs total lost since tracking % body fat.
Subtracting
118.49 lbs fat – 80.57 lbs fat = 37.92 lbs of fat lost.
So….
I have lost a TOTAL of 32.8 lbs since I started tracking % body fat. BUT
– I have lost 37.92 lbs of fat. And gained 5.12 lbs
of muscle (or something) during this time. I like the idea that it is muscle, so I'll stick with that.
Taking that a little further, let’s
say I get down to 11% body fat. Given that I have 80.57 lbs of fat now, if
I lost another 60 lbs of fat (leaving 20 lbs), that would put me at 183.4 lbs. So... that's what I am shooting for.
Anyway - again - pretty happy with what I am doing and feeling like I will definitely be ready for Augusta this September. I think Kansas this June won't be too bad either. But I have a lot more training to do for long rides and long runs. I did my 1st long ride of the season this past weekend (3 hrs/46 miles) and felt it the rest of the day. Definitely need to improve my endurance. And I have not done any run longer than 6 miles so far this season - that'll need to change as well. But... I still have time.
Guess that is all for now. Here's hoping you have a great week!
Sunday, April 8, 2012
Fitter and Faster
Earlier in the week (yesterday, I think), I had tweeted that getting fitter and faster was frickin' awesome! For those of you who are already 'fit' and 'fast', my statement may not make much sense if you were run come up behind me and notice that I am still fairly slow compared to other athletes. BUT - when compared to ME in the past, I am making good, and fulfilling progress.
My overall weight loss was at 29 pounds as of last Monday - I'll weigh again in the morning and am hopeful for another 3-4 pounds based on my nutrition and workouts this week. Heck, just dropping weight alone is adding to my speed, even if I didn't do anything else.
My nutrition this entire time I have been on this "healthy eating" kick has been spot on. I still have not had french fries, ice cream, gravy, anything fried, or mostly anything else 'not' healthy. I have had the occasional indulgences such as a beer or two (will never plan to give that up) or some nachos (that was actually an interesting lesson learned after calculating the calories), but those were fairly minor, one time events that I consciously chose to do. I think the improved nutrition has not only helped me in my weight loss, but also has fueled my body with the proper nutrients and fuel to deliver optimal results. I can really notice this when doing longer rides and runs as I am able to maintain pace and form much better than in the past.
As for the workouts - I am still doing Fastcamp from endurancenation.us and I feel this is really getting me in better form that I have ever been in. It is quite interesting training with specific instructions regarding HR and pace for a given workout. Often this will feel 'hard', other times it will feel 'easy'. But keeping the correct HR or pace keeps me grounded and is teaching me to learn what my body is telling me as I ride or run down the road. This all might not make any sense to you all out there, but that's okay - just know that it is helping me get faster which is really what this is all about. And not only that, but by burning 10,000+ calories per week, these workouts are definitely helping me shed those unwanted pounds.
Side note - I replaced my aero bars this week with normal, S-shaped bars. Replacing a set of funky shaped "stryke" style bars from Profile Designs. I have hated those bars since I got the bike, but have never replaced them until now. I did my first ride with them yesterday and wow! What a difference they made in hand/arm comfort! I look forward to riding more with them this week.
And that my friends is all for now. Enjoy your week! And as the guys at endurance nation will say: Work is Speed Entering the Body! I can attest to that!!
My overall weight loss was at 29 pounds as of last Monday - I'll weigh again in the morning and am hopeful for another 3-4 pounds based on my nutrition and workouts this week. Heck, just dropping weight alone is adding to my speed, even if I didn't do anything else.
My nutrition this entire time I have been on this "healthy eating" kick has been spot on. I still have not had french fries, ice cream, gravy, anything fried, or mostly anything else 'not' healthy. I have had the occasional indulgences such as a beer or two (will never plan to give that up) or some nachos (that was actually an interesting lesson learned after calculating the calories), but those were fairly minor, one time events that I consciously chose to do. I think the improved nutrition has not only helped me in my weight loss, but also has fueled my body with the proper nutrients and fuel to deliver optimal results. I can really notice this when doing longer rides and runs as I am able to maintain pace and form much better than in the past.
As for the workouts - I am still doing Fastcamp from endurancenation.us and I feel this is really getting me in better form that I have ever been in. It is quite interesting training with specific instructions regarding HR and pace for a given workout. Often this will feel 'hard', other times it will feel 'easy'. But keeping the correct HR or pace keeps me grounded and is teaching me to learn what my body is telling me as I ride or run down the road. This all might not make any sense to you all out there, but that's okay - just know that it is helping me get faster which is really what this is all about. And not only that, but by burning 10,000+ calories per week, these workouts are definitely helping me shed those unwanted pounds.
Side note - I replaced my aero bars this week with normal, S-shaped bars. Replacing a set of funky shaped "stryke" style bars from Profile Designs. I have hated those bars since I got the bike, but have never replaced them until now. I did my first ride with them yesterday and wow! What a difference they made in hand/arm comfort! I look forward to riding more with them this week.
And that my friends is all for now. Enjoy your week! And as the guys at endurance nation will say: Work is Speed Entering the Body! I can attest to that!!
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