Feb 19 -- Quick Update

This has been a week of rest. With snow/ice, bike-unfriendly roads (and my fear of same), a pesky cold (fortunately over now) and lack of access to indoor exercise equipment, I didn't get much aerobic exercise this week. I cycled a total of 3.44 miles. I walked about 1.2 miles. So, in short, not a great week for aerobic exercise.

However -- I did do some good things:

• I stretched 6 times.
  
• I meditated 5 times.
  
• I did a strength training session with pushups and situps.
  
• I used the car only once.
  
• I didn't overeat at all (!).

The not overeating is particularly important and has resulted in some significant weight loss. I hope the stretching and strength training have helped me to preserve muscle, so that the loss is primarily from fat. The meditating has improved my focus.

I will be here for at least the next couple of days. I will try to get some aerobic exercise, along with meditation, strength training, and stretching. I will try to maintain the good eating habits I've been following. We shall see.

Feb 14 -- Quick Update (Hiatus)

I'm out of town and not exercising as much as I'd like. I've also got a cold. But things are pretty good. I've stretched and meditated almost every day since my last entry. I managed 27.04 miles on the bike this past week, 23.02 of them in a ride on a canal towpath last Thursday.

About 18" of snow fell here this weekend and cycling in traffic is difficult here to begin with -- but I did manage 1.63 miles for transportation yesterday. I'll probably do about the same today. I also did pushups and situps Friday.

I don't have access to an accurate scale here, so I don't know my weight, but I feel I've lost a little bit. Thanks largely to the cold, I have less appetite; also, I'm receiving some good nutritional advice here. In short: exercise down, calories down. Weight down? I expect to be home in about a week, at which time I'll know something about that.

Feb 05 -- A fairly good day....

I took it pretty easy today.

I cycled 2.73 miles for transportation.

I stretched.

I meditated.

I walked the dogs 0.8 miles...

Do you want the whole truth?

I felt like a big, fat, old slob.

Yeah. :-(

Weekly Numbers -- February 05, 2006

Weight: 57.50 lbs above target weight
This week: up 1.50 lbs
This year: up 2.00 lbs

Current bike odometer: 2203.5 miles

This past week:

• I worked out 5 times, meeting my goal.
  
• I cycled on 6 days, exceeding my goal, for a total of 46.01 miles.
  
• I didn't drive the MTB at all, failing to meet my goal of using it twice (at least once off-road).
  
• I walked the dogs 6 days, exceeding my goal, for a total of about 5 miles.
  
• I skied 4.89 miles in 1 NordicTrack session.
  
• I stretched once, failing to meet my goal of twice.
  
• I meditated 5 times, exceeding my goal.
  
• I drove the car about 75 miles, never for my own use (I took my visiting elderly relative to the train station in Salisbury and I took my mother to two medical appointments).

Other than not riding the MTB, and not stretching as much as I'd wanted, it was a good week. With bad results. That's two in a row, and it's hard to take. Probably my diet is to blame. I haven't done any deliberate modification, and maybe it's time to start.

This week's goals:

• Workout at least 5 times, burning at least 500 calories each time.
  
• Cycle at least 2 miles on at least 5 days.
  
• Cycle at least 50 miles total.
  
• Do at least one session of strength training.
  
• Stretch at least 3 times.
  
• Meditate at least 3 times.
  
• Drive the car only when truly necessary and track mileage.
  
• Refrain from overeating.

I've added another 5 miles to the cycling goal, added one strength training session, and increased the stretching and meditation goals to 3 days each. I removed the MTB and dog-walking goals, since I'm going out of town (without dogs or MTB; yeah -- sadness). "Only when truly necessary" with car driving is unfortunately going to include a 500+ mile (one-way) trip. I've kept the diet goal deliberately vague, but I hope awareness of the general principle will help me to Put The Cookie Down (PTCD) when I'm tempted to overeat.

Feb 04 -- Rounding out a good week

So, today I finally got my front derailleur adjusted by a professional. No charge. If ever you're in Statesville, NC, check out Riddle's Schwinn Cyclery on West Front St. It's a classic old bike shop, run by a very cool guy.
/plug

I did the rear derailleur myself. It's almost perfect now....

Today I cycled 7.53 miles, entirely for transportation. I even rode in the rain without rain gear -- and I didn't melt.

I meditated.

I walked the dogs 0.8 miles.

A good time was had by all.

Feb 03 -- bunches of good stuff

Yesterday, I listened to my body. It said, "Give me a day off, or I'm going on strike!" So, I chilled out. I didn't cycle at all. I didn't walk the dogs. I did meditate.

Today didn't go as planned.

I'd planned to finish screwing around with the Trek's derailleurs by early afternoon, taking it to the local bike shop(s) as needed. Then I was going to do my old ride up Chipley Ford Road, a 20 miler I did 3-4 times a week back in the day.

Back then, that was my basic route; I'd often tack on a few more miles to round out a 2-3 hour ride. That was a daily thing. But I haven't done that ride in over 10 years, mainly because: (1) the increased traffic bugs/scares me; and (2) I'm slow, which makes (1) worse. When I was all sinewy, slender muscle, I averaged 15+ mph on that route on a Schwinn Varsity. These days, I average about 12 mph around town on my Trek ATB commuter rig. And I weigh, uh, a lot more than I did in 1991. :-(.

I finally feel strong enough to give Chipley Ford Rd. another go. But not today. I still haven't finished with those ****ing derailleurs yet....

What I did manage today was to ski 4.89 miles on the NordicTrack in an hour, burning almost 1100 calories at an average heartrate of 140 beats per minute. Kick ass!

I cycled 4.20 miles for transportation. Despite balky derailleurs. (I've almost got them fixed now. I think.)

I stretched (about time, huh?).

I meditated.

I walked the dogs 0.8 miles.

So... while it wasn't the day I had planned, it was a pretty good day.

Feb 01 -- Drop and give me... twelve?!?

Yeah, well, twelve pushups was my limit. I did another set of 10, then did 100 situps and called it a good day of strength training.

I meditated.

I cycled 10.33 miles in 50+ minutes (12.3 mph).

I walked the dogs 0.7 miles.

And yes, I'm sore.