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!!