Day 93: A 20-mile day

I felt extra ambitious today and decided to log 20 miles. I got a little over 8 miles in on the way to work, and over 11 miles on the way home. It's interesting when you set your "finish line" out farther than usual...it's not as painful as you expect. The ride was pretty flat, so not a big deal to a regular biker, but a big achievement for me.

I usually bike from 8th South to 26th South on the way home. Today I biked from 8th South to 45th South, then turned around and came back to 26th South. When I arrived home my little girl and wife played a royal sounding trumpet fanfare on the iPhone and my little girl carried a homemade flag with "DAD" written on it to greet me. What a great cheerleader section!

After biking to work, I've noticed that I go into this tired mode. I've been reading a book called, "The Big Book on Bicycling" published by Bicycling Magazine. It has a few chapters on nutrition and what and when you should be eating after a good bike ride. I stopped by a Maverick on the way to work and bought a Clif bar and ate it. My tired mode today actually didn't hit me until I was about 3 hours past that Clif Bar. I think my body needs some nutrition immediately after the bike ride...lots of water too. And it looks like about 2.5 hours after that post-ride snack, it's time to have lunch. It is true...eating about every 2-3 hours helps feed the fire.

It's interesting that I'm even going through this thinking process. For the past MY ENTIRE LIFE, I've never even thought about how my body deals with food and exercise. Maybe at the age of 47, it's a good time to start.

As I write this, I can feel the little furnace inside me burning. I am hoping that I can get down past 334.2 this week because that is the lowest I've been in the past 2 weeks. I've got to break through the 30s and get into the darn 20s!

Guess what...

Tomorrow will begin the 1 year countdown to 210 lbs.!

These 3-months have gone quick! However the ride has just begun.

Distance

Monday-0
Tuesday-8.2
Wednesday-12.35
Thursday-20.31

Day 88-Weigh-in Day: 336.0lbs

WEEK 12

Start Weight: 365.4

Last Week's Weight: 334.2

Current Weight: 336.0

This Week’s Weight Loss: +1.8lbs

Total Weight Loss: 29.4lbs

Miles Biked this Week: 70.16

Total Miles Biked: 639.24

Miles to Go: 6860.76

GEOGRAPHY (Where I'd be on the map having started at my house in Salt Lake City, Utah, heading for Tokyo):

Just north of Upland, California on I-15 South (Hi Aunt Lilly!)

BTW: Happy Bike Month (http://www.bikeleague.org/programs/bikemonth/)

TODAY:

I hit my goal of biking 70 miles this week! It doesn’t sound like much to a regular biker, but for me it is quite an accomplishment. My ultimate goal is to put in 125 miles a week so that I can be hitting 500 miles a month. I have until next Summer to get those miles in. The last 100 miles or so will be in Japan itself.

A few days ago, I really pushed myself to do some hill climbing. It was difficult but gave me a taste of things to come. You can see my account of it here:

Day 86

I gained almost 2 pounds, but my "glutes" have been really sore after all the climbing and additional miles this week. I'm going to say I've gained some muscle...yeah, that works for me! ;)

Also, next week is a big week...it will be my official 1 year count down! June 1, 2013 is my 210 again weigh-in day!

LEARNED:

This past week I have noticed a “large” woman complete in biking attire, biking every morning down the street. It made me happy to see another large person out there not afraid to flaunt what's coming off. I initially noticed her size, but quickly noticed her spirit! The size of one’s spirit means more to me than their body size. Because a big spirit will eventually drive the body to thinner horizons. Anyone out there that is worried about what other people think, just let it concern you like water on a duck’s back.

I’ve also noticed that there are a lot of people out there biking. Not that a grand movement of biking has just started, but that I’ve become very aware of a world that I have started to focus on. Where has biking been my entire life? Or shall I say, where have I been?

There are tons of people down at Liberty Park walking, running, biking, skating, skateboarding, etc. It’s kind of fun to be one of the chubbier one’s among them.

Finally, I've noticed my bike tire seems to be a little low. It's like almost flat while I'm riding. It feels normal when I squeeze it. But, I'll bet that has been putting a drag on my workouts and a little more air will feel a little better. (Gee, what a boring side note.)

EATING:

I did pretty good eating this week, but our fridge is empty and we’ll be stalking it full of good food. When there’s no food, it doesn't take long to eat what’s in front of you. I’ve had a few too many bowls of cereal this week, but I will change those out for fruits and veggies this week.

I need to drink a lot more water too.

FILM:

I am going to sit down and plan my shoot list for the rest of the film. I just realized that one year from next week, I will weigh in at 210lbs! Wow, that is going to be here soon. I have a lot to film before then.

Day 87: I am tired

Well, I just got home and it's 9:25pm. In order to hit my goal of 70 miles this week, I needed to do one more ride this evening. It's a great feeling of satisfaction to hit that goal. I rode down t oLiberty Park, biked twice around the park, and then came back home.

So here's the total for the week:

Monday-9.4
Tuesday-18.8
Wednesday-11.00
Thursday-12.41
Friday-18.55

Total-70.16

My legs feel like rubber and my gluts are sore. I think my weigh-in tomorrow is going to show a gain. I wouldn't be surprised if I've got some muscle building. Who knows?

Anyway, I don't want to see a bike until next Monday.

See you at weigh-in tomorrow.

Day 86: I got my rear kicked today!

It's been an interesting couple of days. I've been all gung-ho about getting my miles in this week, but I've also wanted to try and expand my horizons a little so I decided to do a little hill climbing. Here in Salt Lake City, the east side of the valley is the foothills of the Wasatch mountains. There are a lot of great climbing hills and I decided to take on a steep one, though it's not very long.

Yesterday I rode up 8th South all the way up to 10th East. At about 8th East the grade of the hill begins an obvious change, by 9th East it's getting steep. When I hit 10th, my heart was pounding so hard that I had to turn off the road and head south to regain my composure. From there I just biked home.

Today, I thought, "Hey, I'm gonna surprise my wife and text her a picture of me up by Hogle Zoo," which is above 2300 East! Well, in my excitement I set off heading east again on 8th South. I started climbing up pretty well, but again, the heart is pumping! I eventually have to shift down to first gear as I ascend up the hill. I get to 8th East...9th East...I hit 10th East and I pull off on a side street again, but I don't get off my bike. The heart is pounding!

Looking down 8th South between 10th and 11th East

Once I catch my breath and let my heart calm down, I do a U-turn and get back on 8th South, turning back up the hill. I get about 15 seconds up the hill and just can not take it any more. I'm breathing so heavy, and my heart is pounding harder than I've felt in a long time.

From 10th to about half way up 11th, the hill's grade is about 9%! A few minutes earlier as I was a little lower, some skinny biker rode past me all decked out in his biking outfit. I wanted to catch up to him and say, "Hey, why don't you put a 150lbs weight on your back and we'll see how well you do!" Of course I didn't say anything out loud...but that is basically me, carrying all that weight.

After I regained my composure, I just walked the bike up the hill until I could ride again.

11th East. This was taken yesterday after I reached 10th East, and then went south a block which allows for an easier climb to 11th.

Once I got riding again, I was able to get to 1300 East. From that point, there's another hill that continues up. I made it another block to 14th but had to turn off to a side road. I was spent...and my rear end royally kicked! But, I did make some good progress. From that point, I glided most of the way home.

So to sum up...From my job 16 blocks away, to 14th East, it's an ascent of 300 feet, mostly the last 3 blocks!

Had to walk a block up the hill, but I made it to 14th East!

As you can imagine, during the ascent up the hill, I am wondering if it's even possible to climb through all the mountains during the 60-mile ride from Tokyo to the base of Mount Fuji. There are some spots, probably not more than a half a mile where the grade of the hill is 9%. People do it. So, I guess there's a chance that I can do it. I guess one day at a time, losing one pound at a time, will all play into the final result.

I started this entire journey with a quote from President Abraham Lincoln. I think it's appropriate today to quote it again as encouragement...

"The nice thing about the future is that it only comes one day at a time." Thank goodness for that!

Here are my numbers for yesterday and today:

Wednesday-11 miles
Thursday-12.41

So far this week, I've got 51.61 miles in. I need just over 18 more miles to get to my goal this week.

My legs are rubber, and I am very tired...so good night!

Day 85: Had a good day!

Pain is temporary. Quitting lasts forever.
-Lance Armstrong

My goal this week is to get to 70 miles. As of yesterday I'm at 28.2!
Tuesday-18.8
Monday-9.4

Day 81-Weigh-in Day: 334.2lbs

WEEK 11

Start Weight: 365.4

Last Week's Weight: 340.2

Current Weight: 334.2

This Week’s Weight Loss: 6lbs

Total Weight Loss: 31.2lbs

Miles Biked this Week: 32.86

Total Miles Biked: 569.08

Miles to Go: 6930.92

GEOGRAPHY (Where I'd be on the map having started at my house in Salt Lake City, Utah, heading for Tokyo):

Barstow, California on I-15 South

BTW: Happy Bike Month (http://www.bikeleague.org/programs/bikemonth/)

TODAY:

Well, I have good news and not so good news. The good news is I achieved my goal this week of getting to 337.2lbs…in fact I exceeded it by 3 pounds!! The not so good news is I had set a goal to do 70 miles this week. I did less than half of that. After writing in my blog yesterday all excited to go out and ride my bike to work…it was storming outside. But fortunately I did get 11 miles in before work, and a total of 32 miles for the week. So, may I have the opportunity to re-set my goal for 70 miles this week? Please?

Okay, now for some more good news…The belt that I am currently wearing has 5 belt buckle holes in it. It wasn’t too long ago that I had to buy this belt because I had finally graduated to something smaller. Now I am using hole #4, meaning, I am one hole away from the last one before I need a new belt!

I have realized that I am doing well with my weight loss, but the other part of this challenge is to be able to bike 60 miles in one trip. I’ve got to build my stamina and endurance, and that will only come by longer rides. I also, need to go a little crazy and start putting more miles in on the stationary bike. That will help pick up the slack.

I’ve recently subscribed to Bicycling magazine and have gotten pretty excited about all the articles that I’ve seen on nutrition and weight loss from bike riding. I am glad that biking has become a new passion for me.

LEARNED:

This week/month is usually a very stressful time of year for me. There is a lot of pressure on me at work, church, and with our kitchen/bedroom remodel, it has made it even more exciting. BUT, I have to say that I am feeling less stress this year than I have for many years. I don’t know if it’s because of biking, weight loss, eating, attitude, age, or all of the above. All I can say is that I think I am enjoying life just a little more. And getting closer each day to the weight I want to be gets me excited for today, and tomorrow!

EATING:

This week, again, no kitchen officially working until today! So we really haven’t had a normal eating schedule. When we were at Costco the other day, I grabbed one of their Chicken Caesar Salads just to have something I could take to work for lunch the next day. I haven’t had my usual steel cut oats every morning, but we’ve been buying the McDonald’s Oatmeal. May not be the best quality oatmeal, especially with the sugar they put in it, but at least it’s better than nothing. I’ve noticed that despite not having a regular eating regimen over the past 2-3 weeks, that even eating less than perfect has not necessarily knocked me down. I still have been conscious about not overeating, and making good choices given the options. So with a good exercise schedule and effort, eating may not need to be as perfect as you would think it should be.

I am still drinking soy milk, avoiding eggs, and most cheese, and trying to avoid a lot of bread. And keeping any breads that I do eat to multi or whole grain breads. If I have a sandwich, I try and eat an open face sandwich and cut my bread intake in half.

FILM:

This morning we videotaped my weigh-in of me exceeding my 30lbs mark.

One of the things that I am going to do in training to bike from Tokyo to Fuji is to be able to ride up Emigration Canyon, and then take the big steep hills that go up to the summit over-looking Little Dell Reservoir, and then down to the reservoir. It’s about 16 miles one way from my house. I am going to film me early in this challenge trying to ride that route and see how far I get before I die. Then, we’ll see how I do this Fall when I am 280lbs. We’ll see my progress. Anyway, it’s just a fun challenge to catch on tape.

Kitchen is coming along. I wish that geek would get out of the way.

Belt hole #4!

Day 80: pushing to hit my goal for this week

Last Saturday I set a goal to go 70 miles on my bike and get down to 337.2. Am I going to make it? Tomorrow's weigh-in day.

I put in 11 miles this morning, and am still going to bike to work today! Today is going to be a 20 mile day.

I still have another 25 miles to go to hit my goal. Yikes. What's going to happen?


11.53-Tuesday Stationary Bike
9.4-Wednesday bike to work
.5-Thursday bike with daughter
11.43-Friday

Day 77: My 'ole buddy

It's been a long time since I've been on my stationary bike. All my time has been on my mountain bike. So this evening I put in 13.58 miles in an hour. I wanted to go 20 miles but my butt hurt and my toes were going numb. The seat on this thing is haaaaaard!

Distance: 13.58

Day 74-Weigh-in Day: 340.2lbs

WEEK 10

Start Weight: 365.4

Last Week's Weight: 339.8

Current Weight: 340.2

This Week’s Weight Loss: +.4lbs

Total Weight Loss: 25.2

Miles Biked this Week: 19.5

Total Miles Biked: 536.22

Miles to Go: 6963.78

GEOGRAPHY (Where I'd be on the map having started at my house in Salt Lake City, Utah, heading for Tokyo):

Mojave Desert, California on I-15 South

TODAY:

The craziness continues as we still don’t have a kitchen, and we’re literally eating out every night. Our kitchen should be functional this coming Wednesday so we can get back to normal eating again. Not much biking this week as I’ve not had much time. I did go on a bike ride with my daughter today and it was quite pleasant! Biked to work a few times.

I’d like to set a goal to hit 70 miles this coming week. Can I do it? It’s another busy week with a lot going on…but I need to get back on track, focus on my health, and stretch! I gained almost a half pound this week, and one pound last week. It's not bad, but it’s evidence that things will creep up if one doesn’t stay focused. I've got to get that 1.5 pounds off, and if I can get down another 1.5 pounds that will get me going.

So, here's the goal:

Bike 70 miles

Weigh in at 337.2

LEARNED:

It’s been easy with limited time for exercise and eating out a lot to just completely let it go. But I’ve tried to stay focused as much as I can. In the past about this time when my eating hasn’t been as strict, I fall off the wagon. This will not happen, but I do need to jump right back in the saddle this week and ensure that the momentum keeps going.

EATING:

I’ve eaten at Crown Burger, and L&L Barbeque this week. These are two places that should not be on my eating list right now.

FILM:

Nothing to report here this week.

Electrical in, drywall up, mud on, sanding done, ready to paint!
New cupboards come on Monday!

Day 67-Weigh-in Day: 339.8lbs

WEEK 9

Start Weight: 365.4

Last Week's Weight: 338.8

Current Weight: 339.8

This Week’s Weight Loss: +1lbs

Total Weight Loss: 25.6

Miles Biked this Week: 69.04

Total Miles Biked: 516.72

Miles to Go: 6983.28

GEOGRAPHY (Where I'd be on the map having started at my house in Salt Lake City, Utah, heading for Tokyo):

Baker, California on I-15 South

TODAY:

As you can see I haven’t written in a week. Sorry, this is what happens when you decide to remodel your kitchen. I will admit that I have not been focused on bike riding for the past 3-4 days. Instead I’ve been sheet-rocking like crazy, one night even staying up until 4am. So, this week I give myself a “reality card” and am perfectly fine with this. BTW, of all the months of the year that are crazy, even more than December, it is May…so I’m in the middle of it right now.

I did ride my bike for a full week getting in almost 70 miles! As you know, my goal is to be getting in 100 miles a week. I’m close.

LEARNED:

I have amazed myself by how much stamina I have. On Friday, I rode my bike almost 10 miles, then came home and demo’ed my kitchen, ripping out all the kitchen cupboards and sheetrock. A few months ago I would have never been able to do this. My body is definitely changing. Not that my body doesn’t get tired, but I don’t feel like I need to go take a nap after every activity. Exercise everyday builds your stamina.

EATING:

This weekend has been the worst 4 days of eating yet. Not that I’m blatantly scarfing stuff down, I’ve just been unable to cook without a kitchen. In fact, we can’t cook anything until next Monday or so, so many of our meals have been eating out. But, I have been careful as to what goes in my mouth. I will admit though (are you ready for this), I ate a Big Mac combo meal last night. Again, not a good week for eating, but hey, it will get better.

FILM:

Nothing to report here this week.

No kitchen = no food. No food = unhappy tummy.

Day 64: Look both way before biking across an intersection!

Even after telling my little girl, even as recent as last week, to stop, look and listen before crossing an intersection, I need to heed my own advice.

I thought I looked but as I was biking across, a car appeared suddenly out of nowhere!

Well, I made my fat little legs pedal as fast as I could and I bowed my head in embarrassment. Then I looked up and smashed into the back...

Just kidding. But the car did appear out of nowhere!

Distance: 9.4

Day 63: Salt Lake is a biking haven

I noticed today as I was biking this morning that Salt Lake has a lot of great pro-biking lanes through the city.

Distance: 11.8 miles