Merry Christmas

I didn't intend to take such a long break from here, but I'll try to get caught up. Feeling back to normal for a few weeks now, just a bit heavier. After finishing up month 4 at around 209 (avg), I gained steadily for the next 4 weeks. I thought I had stabilized around 215, but wait for an update in a week or so. I have gotten into the habit of reaching for the snacks after work, and eating a bit heavy at lunch. Couple that with less cardio volume and its no surprise the scale is starting to groan.

I need to get back on the bike, but haven't yet. What I am doing is running and lifting. So, looking for a weight training "plan", I bought the ebook, "5/3/1" from EliteFTS and am following that to the letter at least for now. Hoping to strengthen the core and legs, and deflab the chest between now and spring. I'm running (now) 4 days a week and boosting the mileage slowly and incorporating some "speed" work. Although I originally planned to do 2 to 3 days a week on the bike concurrently, that part hasn't come together yet.

I'd like to run a few 5k events next year, particularly some off road events and maybe a 15k. I may go as far as to plan for the Hudson River Half Marathon in October, although I'd have to feel really good about the distance and time to make that commitment.

I don't expect that the distance/speed measurement capabilities of the treadmills I've been using are terribly accurate, but going by them, I have a 5k time around 35 minutes at a pace of ~11:20. I'd like to finish a road race under 30 minutes. Longer term I'd like to get my 5k pace down around 9 min/mile. I guess what I'd like even more is to not have my feet and joints break down under the strain ; ).

Minor setback

Long story short, haven't felt really good in about 2 weeks. Took 10 days off the bike due to aches, pains and fatigue. (Probably had a kidney stone) I got on the trainer Saturday, and for taking all that time off I felt good about averaging 181 watts over 20 miles. I'm still not over it yet though and I keep feeling fatigued and spacey, almost dizzy. Talked to my GP about it and he was unconcerned, attributing it to "what is going around." Missed a couple of nice days too as it was sunny, warm and without strong breezes. Oh well.

Got 3 reps benching 205 last week off 3 boards. That felt pretty good.

Winter Training Time

I'm in week 16 with month 4 of this effort winding down and it will be time to reset goals and make some new ones. Although last week looked like my progress was stalled, it appears things may be looking up now. I just started keeping a log of everything I eat and I think by forcing myself to calculate calorie/carb/protein and fat consumption I may be able to improve my nutrition.

Saturday night's session on the trainer looked pretty decent. Not a record but good enough, 190 watts average for the entire ride. If I stay focused I may still be able to hit my goal of sub-200 lbs by my birthday.

Riding the KK has been going well enough that I should think about doing some structured workouts to improve power. Maybe 2 x 20s or PIs at least once or twice each week. I should also increase the ride volume a bit. 5 days may be stretching things so pushing the mileage out to 25 from 20.

More on that subject this Friday.

I guess I'm going to have to redraw my weight loss plan as the curve is flattening out. I suppose I could up my calorie burn or reduce my calorie intake, but it seems easier to keep things constant and observe the results.

Week 15 ended at 212, about 4 lbs over the plan, but the average weight was down a pound from the previous week. My current average is 211, but I'm not seeing a low-end number close to the stated weekly goal. To help matters, Sandy decided to bake some molasses cookies yesterday and they're really good.

Last night I got my planned ride in, but it was way late (10:45) and I screwed my sleep schedule again. My ass is dragging royally today and I'll need a nap before tackling today's ride. The ride was just over an hour and averaged 194 watts over the entire workout, 196 watts NP at 19.0 mph. 60 minute peak power was 196 watts average/197 watts NP at 19.2 mph. If I find the recent speed increase to due to a worn rear tire (reduced tire diameter) I'll be really disappointed.

Got in a few sets of wide grip bench presses afterward.

This week isn't exactly going according to plan. After riding Saturday I took Sunday off due to extreme fatigue and Monday was not much better. Last night I felt better, having gotten 8 hours of sleep but didn't ride until 10:30. That screwed my sleep schedule, but the ride was productive. 22+ miles, entire: 186w avg/188w NP, 60 min peak: 190w avg/192w NP @18.9 mph. That's pretty damn encouraging for me. Also got some lifting in at work and a few sets post-ride.

My weight is doing the mid week bloat thing which pisses me off. At this point its unlikely I'll see 208 this week (plan) and my weekly average is hovering around 212.

I keep thinking about a new bike, road: IF Ti Crown Jewel, mtn: hardtail 29er. It might be nice to have a mountain bike to do some off road stuff, maybe even some racing. Got a good look at Thaddeus' new bike lights. These things (DiNotte) are super high quality. The flashing red rear light nearly induced a seizure. When I hit the lottery I'll have to grab a set.

Made the mistake of reading a few posts in the cyclingnews forum. The LA haters are really obnoxious. I have to like Lance now for no other reason than there are so many douchebags that hate him for stated reasons that make no sense.

Quite a busy week. Finished week 13 at 210.5 (.5lbs > plan) which was a minor miracle given the mid week bloat ; ). Serves me right for eating out 3 days in a row. Monday night I had a pretty decent ride while Thaddeus hung out. Tuesday we headed up to the peaks (long route ; ) ). Wednesday we hiked from Adk Loj to Avalanche Pass via Marcy Dam and back. Felt really good on the hike and even the steep sections were no problem, of course my legs are still hurting. Thursday I was back at work but didn't ride after fencing and tonight I ate dinner late enough I didn't feel like it.

Tomorrow I need to hit it good! Weighed in this morning at 210, which gives me a net loss of 25 lbs. If I can stay on track I'll be under 200 lbs for my birthday.

I'll shoot for 80 miles next week.

Playing catch up tonight. Ended week 12 at my target of 212 lbs, but my average for the week was close to 213.4. Close enough to claim victory. Had the weekend off from running to XC meets but the siblings were all in town to put Dad's ashes to rest. Friday, Saturday and Sunday wound up as restaurant outings so I hope I haven't set myself back to badly. Yesterday's session on the KK was pretty damn good and I put up power numbers better than any previous ride on the trainer.

Entire workout (1:04+) was 192w avg/197w NP, 60m peak 195w avg/198w NP @18.3 mph. Finished just in time to get cleaned up and run out to Yip's. Had almost no time today to do anything for me, so here it is 11:30 and I don't feel like working out now.

Went out yesterday and bought some new shirts and a pair of pants. Slid into a 36 waist nice and easy. XL shirts are too baggy now.

New goals: Lose 8 lbs in 4 weeks, target weight 204.
Log > 80 miles/week.
I need to come up with a lift schedule that does 4 or 5 days/week.

I don't feel like I got much accomplished this week. Work really sucked and it kind of drained my energy. I only rode Monday night after fencing and I'll ride tonight but my heart isn't really in it. Didn't hit the gym this week at all either.

On a more positive note, I ended week 11 at 215.5 lbs, just a pound over the plan, but my average weekly weight was 215 even, so that's consolation. Weighed in this morning at 213.5. 212 will be my lowest weight since 1996. '96 was the second year I got back in to cycling although it was mostly mountain biking. Saw both the GP and Cardiologist this week with nothing but good news and congratulations.

I let myself get very short of sleep one night which effected me for a couple of days, so I need to pay attention to that given this time of year when I feel more like hibernation. I'm planning on doing some hiking this weekend regardless of weather to break the routine. I'm thinking about trying to do some XC skiing this winter if we get enough snow locally.

Not much outdoor riding this week. The weather was generally pretty good last Saturday and I should have gone out right away after getting home from the XC meet. Instead I pansied out because of the wind and rode indoors late. Sunday the weather was better and with strong incentive from a planned trip to the OG for the never-ending-pasta-bowl I went out at 2 and hammered right at my limit. The wind kicked my ass pretty soundly on the outbound part of the route so while I was marginally slower on that 25 miler, my power was pretty decent **. That morning before the ride I had egg whites and a 100 calorie english muffin. I expended 977kJ on the ride and spent 75% at >155bpm. Finished at 3:25 but didn't get food until maybe 5. Felt a little sick/tired at the table so maybe I should try refueling sooner.

The rest of the week I had to settle for indoor training. For the most part I just went for saddle time with energy expenditures from 600 - 700kJ with only short intervals to break the monotony. Tomorrow I'll be in Utica most of the day with Iain at another XC meet and don't expect do do more than a short KK session. Right now I'm just hoping that Sunday gives me good enough weather to hit the road for a bit.

Finished week 10 at 216 and an average weight for the week of 216 (new data). Food control was on par with last week with no late night snacking or bingeing.

Didn't get as much weight training in this week as last. Have felt really good physically but still get the occasional twinge that freaks me out a little bit. At the XC meet I walked the course and measured it with the garmin (~2.8 miles). It took about 50 minutes to get around the course with the other guys. During the 4 races I walked/ran around to different spots to get good photos. I've really enjoyed being out on a couple of these courses and it makes me want to go do some hiking in the high peaks. I'm thinking once I start ruinning again I might look at trail running. With the Plotterkill and Thatcher so close it could be a good alternative to pavement pounding.

Shifting focus to indoor training.

Ok, summer isn't officially over until 9/21 but there is no denying that mornings are chilly, sundown is coming early and afternoons are rarely better than warm. I really love this time of year but it's only getting harder for me to get out on the road. Had a few days this week when I needed to cart Iain around to and from x-country practices so I had to settle for indoor riding. The upside is the transition has been more manageable for me. Rather than fight it I'm trying to embrace it. Since the space in the basement I've been using for the past 2 years doesn't get it done for me I decided to start reorganizing, which meant getting a new TV! Hah. Picked up a (sort of) cheap 26 inch LCD and a new DVD player and set them up alongside the power rack. After moving the KK and a fan I was right in business. I still need to clear out some clutter, hang the TV from the ceiling, run a 4 gang outlet, reroute the co-ax cable, put up a towel hook, hang an overhead bar and probably another couple of things to make things just right.

Having the space just a bit more comfy to watch a movie, have some better light and a bit more room has made things more bearable.

On the trainer I managed some solid interval work this week and I'm looking forward to getting out on some hills this weekend if the weather cooperates. I also got in some weight training at home after KK sessions and a bit at work in the afternoons.

Diet control was better this week than the week before and I ended the week (9) at 217. After resetting my goals at the end of week 8, I'm hoping to see a loss of 1.5 - 2 lbs per week although that may be too ambitious. If I can stay on track that would put me at 216 at the end of week 10. If I don't hit it that's ok too as long as the numbers trend down.

Month 2 done

This was one of those weeks when I hated stepping on the scale every morning. After hitting 216.5 last Friday, I bounced up to 220, down to 219 then back up to 222. Finished out this 4 week block at 220.5 which is a bit of a disappointment as it only gives me a net loss for the month of 6.5 lbs, total of 15 lbs this summer.

I ate pretty well all week except for a couple of bad desserts, but still have not done any late night snacking or binging. I have to remind myself not to obsess over minor ups and downs and stay focused on long-term goals.

On the bike, I put up a few encouraging rides including hitting a goal I set in my last entry. Saturday's 60 min peak power was 201w avg/212w NP. Cool that the entire ride was 25.3 miles at 18.6 (197w avg/211w NP). Followed that up on Sunday with 30.3 miles at 18.2 (191w avg/208w NP), 60 min peak power was 195w avg/212w NP. As far as ride performance is concerned, I can only be pleased with how I've felt and the results I've seen.

One minor bummer, pranged my front wheel so it needed to be trued and Dave P. found a crack in the rim propagating out from a spoke hole. The Bontrager 20 spoke rim is uniquely paired to that hub so it's not going to be a cost effective replacement. After this season is over its going to get retired.

I'll have to come up with some new power goals and recap my existing ones. I'm setting a 4 week weight loss goal at 8 lbs again and try to keep my ride volume over 7 hours.

Bring me the power.

Starting week 8 about 11 lbs lighter, I think. Went for a 90 minute ride yesterday afternoon and felt really good. The weather has been super all week, not too warm, not too cool, plenty of sunshine and breezes. Well, maybe stronger than a breeze at times. Just fantastic riding weather though. Had about two hours between the end of the ride before I had to open up the school. Fenced a lot last night and just got worn out so maybe this is all sweat loss this morning.

Power was pretty decent yesterday, 186w average for the entire ride. 20 minute peak and 60 minute peak were nice. Don't have WKO+ on this machine or I'd quote the numbers. Maybe I'll edit this post later and add the data. I'll add a quick word about the folks from Saris. I'm really happy with their customer service today. I bounced the PT CPU off the tile floor and fubar'd the 2 lower display lines. The regular cost of that unit is down to $99 from $350 and they'll give me $50 in trade on my original. If I had a wireless unit I'd upgrade to the new Joule 2.0, but I'm not interested in upgrading my PT yet. If I were, they will also give me a great trade in on my PT Pro. A new SL+ would only cost about $1,300.

Got a few workouts in this week of mostly squats, db presses, curls and pullups. Diet control has been good, although I did eat dessert a couple of times this week.

One of the highlights this week was a PR on my short out and back loop, finally completed in under an hour, (59:46) avg speed of 18.9 mph. So two new goals:

[1] complete at least the out and back or better at >= 19.0.
[2] complete any route with 60 min peak average power >= 200 watts.

Summer fading.

The summer weather is definitely fading to fall. No sign of change in the leaves so far but the evening temperatures have been lower. The cooler temps make riding way more comfortable for me though. The first day of this "training week" my weight dropped to 221.5. I was up and down but finished this week, #6, at 221.5 this morning. This was also a good week for power with more routes finished at > 18mph, including Tuesday's 21.8 miler at 18.6. Monday's route included 2 nice climbs with average power for the entire ride of 192 watts/213w NP and 20 minute peak of 213w avg/238w NP. Last night I had a strong start but got hammered by wind which slowed me down but my average power was 186. All of my rides for the past week have showed IF values > 1.0, so I certainly need to re-estimate my FTP. I've been using an estimated value of 180 since June, but based on 7 day distribution charts its probably closer to 190. My 60 min peak NP has been consistently around 200 watts, so that's what I'm going with.

Food control still going well. Still not hitting the weights though.

My appointment with the cardiologist was rescheduled for 9/28 which gives me 4 full weeks to shed a few more pounds. I'd like to be 215 or less for that appointment. If I get sufficient warm weather into October or perhaps even November, I think I'll climb Thatcher to Wolf Hill and see how it goes. I'd like to try it as close to 200lbs as possible.

Vacation update

Pretty quiet around here this week as Iain is attending The Running School in the Catskills. I started and ended the week at 225, but had been as low as 223.5 mid-week probably from some consecutive dehydrating rides. We've eaten out quite a bit but only last night's dinner was really rich. We did stop into the spumoni shop for gelato, better not do that very often.

It was a very good week for power output. Today I rode my medium out and back route (25.5 miles) in 1:25:11 (18.2mph) at average power of 182 watts, 202 watts NP. Yesterday I finished a 23.7 mile route with a few climbs at 17.3, average power 169 watts, 208 watts NP.

Got home from fencing tonight and Sandy had brought home a vanilla/peanut butter/chocolate sundae. Almost went for it but I decided to leave it for breakfast ; ).

Week 4 wrap up.

Finished up the last 4 weeks with a weight of 227 giving me a net loss of 8.5lbs, 1.5lbs short of my goal. Not a problem for me though. I've avoided the late night snacking and binge eating demons and have been getting out to ride regularly and frequently. During week 1 I was putting out 160-170 watts avg for an hour. Tonight I averaged 173 watts over ~90minutes, 60 min peak was 178w/208w NP. Decent progress in a month.

So my new goal is another 8 lbs in 4 weeks. Day one I was down to 225 and this morning was down to 224.5. I'm going to try and keep my weekly mileage >120 and try to finish a short out and back with an average speed > 18.0. Best out and back time so far is 1:03:30.

Before the riding season ends I want to pick up one of these. I think it'd be cool to video some of my rides so I'll something interesting to watch when I'm on the trainer.

I've also been thinking about one of these. Don't really know why. Maybe it'd be fun to ride around the neighborhood during the off season.

Mirror vs Scale

I was talking to my buddy and coworker Chris about body weight today. I asked him if he weighs himself everyday and his answer was "I used to. Now I just look in the mirror." I laughed.

It's Wednesday and I'm one day from the end of a 4 week period for which I set myself a goal to lose 10 lbs. Sunday morning when I stepped up on the scale I was happy enough to see the number 225.0. The number I dreaded seeing a month earlier, 235.0 shocked me out of complacency and I've rededicated myself to living longer, if not lighter. Unfortunately my weight bounces up and down, I guess like everybody else' does so yesterday the number shot back up to 227 and this morning was 228. Looking in the mirror today I have to be happy with what I'm seeing, but I really want to be down to 220 when I see my cardiologist for my annual check up. Since I'm scheduled to see him on the 26th I doubt that's a reality.

I continue to experience the odd twinge in the same place, which tends to get a bit distracting. If these sensations were absent I would reschedule for a month or so down the road but I guess that would be pretty silly given my history.

So, after feeling pretty elated this past Sunday morning I felt really motivated for the day. We had just decided to hit OG for lunch and it was clear I wouldn't have time for a pre-lunch ride. I figured I'd go in the afternoon but decided to work up a bit of an appetite by pushing some iron and maybe get a short run in. I jumped into a circuit of dumbbell presses, squats, blast-strap pull ups and leg lifts in the ab straps. After 15 minutes I stepped onto the treadmill and ran for ~15 then finished with another set of squats. In all I must've done 4 or 5 sets of 10 squats light and fast. Lunch was good, but the lactic acid dessert in the quads was not and the ride never materialized. Monday morning I was nicely crippled.

It took some stretching over the course of the day but I was able to fence then hit the KK for an hour, finishing at midnight. Last night Iain and I hit the MHBW so he could run and I figured I'd spin and give the legs a gentle workout. Rode easy to the RR tracks then turned around and hammered back to the parking lot. Averaged 18.4 inbound, then tooled around for another 10 minutes spinning out the slag. Legs feel good today so far. Hopefully Iain will feel like going out tonight, in which case we'll go to the campus. If not I'll head out over Tawasentha.

Still no snacking or binging. Improvement needed on getting enough sleep.

Had a pretty good week. Iain has wanted to do some riding on days he's not running cross-country so we've been out a few times. First two times we hit the MHBW west of SCCC. Last night we rode laps at the campus. This morning we rode the MHBW east of downtown Sch'tdy past Blatnick Park. After our ride I went out on my short out and back loop and put out better numbers than I have all season. Avg power/NP was 175/191.

This is early in week 4 of my summer 2009 weight reduction effort. Down to 227 this morning after a late dinner last night, 2 lbs to go. Still no late night snacking or binge eating. Have been getting out on the bike on a regular basis, but haven't been very good about doing any lifting.

Found this blog during the TdF in one of LA's tweets. Felt moved after reading much of Fatty's story about himself and Susan. Had to make another donation to the LAF in honor.

I keep thinking about getting a new bike, but I want my next one to be a gem. See the link to my dream bike. So if I can't afford a titanium IF, maybe I'll pick up something for tooling around the neighborhood at night or during the winter. Performance had a couple of simple single speeds that look interesting, and a track bike with a reversible free hub/fixie. Fit that out with cross tires, hmmm.

Wow, feeling pretty damn tired now ; )

Monsoon season

Had a good ride yesterday in the late afternoon. Went out Old State to Fuller, then down Carman to 20/146 and up Tawasentha. No speed record yet up the hill, but was comfortable out of the saddle up the middle third. It was pretty damn windy and I wound up with an avg speed aroud 16.7. Another ride at 159w/182 NP. Peak20/NP was 178/211.

Tonight I spent an hour+ on the KK, didn't feel too bad. Set the rollers up in the garage but they're still too awkward. Maybe after a ton of practice and some mods, like a flywheel and bumpers.

Still no snacking ; )

Late-ish dinner last night as a treat. Sandy and I went to the R. Villa. Nice.

2 weeks elapsed...

Two weeks since I realized (again) that I've been growing sloppy about my eating and exercise habits. I guess snacking for me is like smoking. I could never stop at one so the only way to control it is to avoid it.

My goal was to lose 10lbs in 30 days. I lost ~ 5lbs in the 1st week so I thought this was going to be a snap, but I've been wrong before and it looks like it will be the case again. My weight hovered up and down a bit and I end week two exactly where I was a week ago, at 229.5. This isn't a horrible thing, as I have stayed on a generally reduced calorie "diet" and I haven't snacked or binged at all. My weekly mileage on the bike is up around a hundred and I saw some encouraging power numbers last night, 173 watts avg, 192watts NP and I didn't feel ragged when I got finished. Heavy rain and a late start had me quit a lap early and the PT malfunctioned due to wet contacts.

I didn't hit the weights as planned, so that is an area for improvement, nor did I do any running. I still want to set the 2nd rack up in the garage and keep the rollers there for more experimentation. Maybe I'll try and fit a set of roller bumpers to the frame a la the e-motion rig.

A quick note about the pic. Wednesday night Iain wanted to run on the MHBW, so we did the usual thing from SCCC. He did 5k out at race pace, then an easy run back. I went easy/moderate out to the 6m turn around then came back hard. Outbound leg in 22:30, back in 20:00 (17.3). Had to slow down a lot for pedestrians, so I'm still pretty happy with the return leg. Once I finished the inbound hard effort I did some easy spinning back and forth until Iain got back to the car. The max effort pictured was a middle ring spring up the hill from the 890 Jct.

229.5 this am. Tonight I had a lesson but no fencing as it was just coach and I and we were both beat. Had plans to come home and do a recovery spin on the KK, but dinner and lounging won out. Still no snacking so I should feel good about that.

Rode Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Went ok. Power was uninspiring but I can't really complain. No repeat of the bad twinges.

Had a good, if not short ride last night after work. Was a bit pressed for time so I had to cut it to 9 laps at the campus in order to pick Iain up at 8. Eastbound leg felt really hard (slow). Felt like a nasty crosswind. Power was not exciting (159w entire/199w 20NP), averaged 17.2.

Felt a little off later with some cramp/twinge sensations in that spot by the left nipple. Had a nasty repeat of the same today at work that shook me up and got me thinking I might want to go get an EKG run. Trying to tell myself its dehydration/fatigue/meds/etc.

No time to test tonight on the bike, Iain's birthday and had to bring him to x-country practice.

Have remained quite disciplined about not snacking at night and keeping dinner on the frugal side. Weighed 229.5 this am. Hoping to be down around 220 before my (planned) visit to the cardiologist next month.

When I hit my 10 lb goal I'll reset that.

Great comeback ride from Lance today. After letting a gap open up within 5k of the summit of the Col du Petit-Saint-Bernard he put the hammer down and bridged up tp Alberto, Andreas and Andy Schleck. Unfortunately Jens Voight augered in on the descent and was taken to a hospital. Pray he has a speedy recovery.

Rainy day here so I logged a few miles on the KK. Ass hurt a bit but was manageable. Rode for 45 minutes @ 17.5 mph avg.

No snacking last night or tonight.

Nice ride

I was a little bummed when I headed out tonight as I had watched the end of stage 15 of the TdF. LA rode pretty well but lost 1:35 to AC and sits in 2nd only 11 seconds ahead of Brad Wiggins. Was hoping for some magic.

I had a decent ride though. Well off from where I was but decent still. Avg 17.3 over 18.9 miles, 170 watts/187 NP. Post ride I had a protein shake and some fruit, nothing else tonight so that's a win.

Great night out tonight, no wind and not hot.

Moving day

Helped Gary and Allison move into their new house in North Schodack. Well organized effort with plenty of help and I was home by 3:30.

Started the day off with a 10 minute walk/run and a few squats and dumbbell presses. Iain decided at the last minute to go for a run and have Emily come along so we hit the MHBP around 7:50. Beautiful evening to do a quick (short) ride. Went 11.75 miles in around 43 minutes. Went at an easy pace out to the turn around (23:00) then hammered home in 20:00. (NP ~190 watts/VI 1.13)

Weigh in this morning was 234, no snacking last night or tonight. 3 in a row. Up too late tonight though.

New goals

So I stepped on the scales this morning at got slapped in the face. I've let my weight creep back up to 235. I can point to several areas where I've gotten lazy that have contributed this, so I'll start my goals there.

Diet: I've gotten bad about late night snacking and binge snacking. This must end. The first thing I did after I had the stent put in was to stop eating anything after 9 pm. I lost weight while I obeyed this rule, so I need to develop some self-control and abide by this.

Diet goals:
[1] No snacking after 9.
[2] No binge snacking ever.
[3] Lose 10 lbs in 30 days.
[4] Reduce caffeine intake.

Workouts:
I've gotten lazy about doing planned cardio and weight training. A good deal of this comes from putting things in my schedule that don't allow training as easily. Because I'm fencing 2x weekly and am often too tired and hungry to workout after class I need to watch my schedule more carefully. A convenient fix is to train in the morning before work but to do it I need to be able to get up earlier and well-rested.

Training:
[4] Get to bed no later than 12
[5] Get at least 30 minutes in before work.

Accountability:
I stopped weighing myself and logging it because I'd get depressed about lack of progress. Going backward is worse.
[6] Resume daily or weekly weigh ins, log results.
[7] Don't get too hung up on numbers.

Detailed planning:
Develop a set of cycling goals (power, time, distance)
Develop a set of lifting goals (prs, aggregates)
Develop a set of running goals(distance, time, speed)
Develop some body mod goals (weight, waist size, BMI)

This is day 2 of yet another new beginning. No snacking last night.

Don't waste time.

I hate starting over from scratch. Looking at my powerfiles I was forced to reconcile the fact that I rode only sporadically last year and finished up the season doing that ride with Thaddeus and Gabe at the battlefield. So now, I'm fat(ter), slow and have no power compared to where I was. Really disappointing after viewing the data from my last good indoor session before that string of bad ones. After going from 20-minute 200 watt intervals to having my leg burn from a 140 watt effort really destroyed my desire to get on the bike.

So I have to learn to keep things in perspective, because there's more at stake here than just wattage.

At least last night I was able to average 16.7 mph over a short haul at the campus and that is at least better than where I used to be and it doesn't feel like too far from 17.5 which would make me feel good.

I guess I should set a couple of goals but I'm going to think about them and start easier. I can break them down into physical and performance-related goals like:

Weight:
20 MIN NP
Time for 20 mile campus ride
Time for out and back loop.

I should also make some behavioral changes like:
Get control of the diet thing again as I've been slack about the late-night snacking.
Get out of the habit of staying up past midnight for no reason, or for relentless gaming.
Get into the habit of getting up before work and doing some kind of workout; treadmill, trainer, weights, heavy bag; bladework.
Get on the scale at least weekly and write down the weight.
Log all workouts but not get too worked up about performance hiccups.

So next time I post here I'll put up some goals and some data.

It's taken me a long time to get motivated to ride this year. Went out with Iain to the bike path so he could get his training miles in (4+) and found that the sections west of SCCC are pretty nice. Power numbers are low but not abysmal. NP for today was 180, 1:02/16.4 mph. Felt pretty good, last 20 minutes were challenging. Needed better fueling, but more important is miles, lots more miles.

Catch up

Last week I was stll a bit unsettled but shot a 352. Tonight was bust-city again, 329.

Equipment issues:

The entire sight assembly fell out of the dovetail after a shot! Guess that might account for some of the up/down crap in the 4 ends or so before the thing dropped. The set screw in the lower elevation adjustment knob backed out and let the detent ball escape, so that sucks. Release was marginally better tonight, maybe. I should try to get a lesson in with the guys at Flying Arrow.Two weeks ago I was down in the lower 330's.

Half to try and remember to keep my right hand "level", metacarpals parallel to the floor, not angled up or down. Hold steady, good sight picture. My current aperture sucks, must replace.
Follow through. Relax the release hand at release.

Worst night so far.

Wow I sucked. Shot a 297. I really struggled with technique tonight. Am now shooting the 40# limbs. George thinks my arrow flight looks really good though.

So, I can't afford to dick around holding the shot after the clicker goes off. Like the book says, 7 or 8 seconds is it then I need to let down if its not coming together. Also, in order to comfortably increase back tension and have the clicker release with the correct draw, I need to place the draw hand more precisely. I found I need to pull from the first joint, not the pads. Pulling from the pads feels weaker and results in my having to contort in order to pull enough shaft to release the clicker arm. This makes getting a good release a little more difficult. I found I was plucking the string a bit, sometimes down and sometimes out. I need to practice the former bits, then keep good form while increasing back tension keeping the elbow up and relaxing the fingers.

Equipment issues.

Locknut on plunger keeps coming loose.
Tip weights coming loose.
Stabilizer coming loose at riser.
Left side rod too close, need an extension.

Training notes.
Still haven't gotten on the bike this winter. I'm running more often but not quite regular enough. Saturday I ran for an hour straight (4.2 miles). Tonight was a bust at fencing so I did 2.75 miles when we got home (~35 minutes)

New Year Results

The other guy that shoots at 5 took two weeks off, so tonight was my first night back since before Christmas. I'm using a clicker now as well as a jbar and side rods. I had the clicker set up too long for my draw length so I had to dick around quite a bit to get it in a more comfortable spot. I also had a miserable time settling my sight picture and I blew many releases. I had one really crazy flier high on center in the 2 ring. Shot 345.