Monday. Big weekend, but before I record the details of the weekend a little bookkeeping. The goal of my blog is to document my journey and I have to keep track of the good, bad and outrageously ugly.
Thursday I did get out and do 3 loops in the park before the deluge returned. It was painfully slow. Once again I felt like I was working sooo hard and going nowhere. And I was right, each loop was 24 minutes! Yikes, what was going on? I had even put on my good wheels. I swear that was as hard as I could pedal. I don’t think I have ever done 24 minutes even at leisurely pace.
Friday. Beck’s Day 29 was about resisting food pushers. Nothing too new there — I’m the only food pusher I know, lol. WW meeting, however, was a shocker. I was pretty sure I didn’t lose much weight. I was ready to hear my down .2 or something. I almost hit the floor when she told me up 3.6!! What!??! That’s crazy nuts. I didn’t feel any heavier. My clothes weren’t tighter. I had done the math I had no reason calorie-wise to be up. Only one possible explanation was I had our book club meeting at my apartment and I ate a late dinner and drank a fair amount of wine (for which I counted the points). I knew I was exactly 70 points over for the week is approximately 3,500 calories which if I hadn’t eaten I probably would have lost (since WW is based on losing 1-2 pounds a week). Since I ate those calories I was ready to accept my pennance of not showing a big loss, but a gain? A HUGE gain? What the heck was going on?
I knew the number wasn’t real so I didn’t get that bugged out about it. I knew it had to be a combination of retaining water/hormonal fluctuations/high tide/mercury rising/satellite signals crossing/alien abduction…. There were a multitude of reasons. All I knew is I had counted all of my calories and IT WASN’T MY FAULT!!! lol. I guess this is part of the process of learning to deal with the ups and downs of weight loss. I had to just focus on staying on track and big weekend coming up and I was going to be tested.
First Training Camp of the season went well. Probably the biggest difference for me is I didn’t go up there scared out of my mind. Last year I was so nervous I kept thinking “this will be the weekend they find out I’m a fraud, a poser, an interloper….” This year I was very calm and I was strangely looking forward to getting a good workout in. I just want to ride my bike for a couple of hours and feel good about it.
It was much easier for me to pack this year too. I knew what to bring. One little tip I did this year worked very well for me. I laid out all of my water bottles for each activity — long run, recovery, bike, second bike, run, recovery. I put the dry formula into each bottle and labeled them with a black magic marker. Then when I got to camp, I just filled the bottles with water as I needed them. It was so much easier than measuring out baggies and bringing baggies of stuff with me. Also it helped me plan out my calories for each leg of the weekend. (Granted this would only work if you have amassed the same huge number of water bottles that I have…)
The first day we started with a pilates class. (Trilates as they call it). It was hard and I could only do have of the exercises because of my shoulder. I definitely felt some pain when I tried to do some of them but it was a good class nonetheless. Then we headed out for our run. The run was up a mountain trail and back down. I wasn’t going very fast up at all but I did just keep on moving so that was good. Systemically I feel I have the energy. Muscularly I feel like I am always sore and tight. Then again I was running uphill so what could I expect? I’m not that comfortable running on trails — I just see hundreds of opportunities to trip and fall but I managed to remain upright.
It was also Day 30 for Beck’s plan which was stay in control when eating out. I thougth that wasn’t going to be too hard because I was at training camp and we had a group dinner. But in reflection I think I ate too many calories to support my workout on Saturday and I will think this through better next time. I don’t want to pooh-pooh the effort but really I did only 1 hour Pilates session (of which I could only do half) and and a 1:30 run (granted it was uphill but it was downhill too!). I drank 1/2 of a serving of Infinit during the run so I don’t think I could justify the humongous cookie I ate for dessert. (Plus I ate 3 enchiladas AND potato salad for dinner, I think that was too much…) Oy, live and learn. Big workouts do NOT mean big eating (necessarily). I have to count the calories and make sure that I am supporting my workouts but not overeating.
On the second day we had our big bike. We caravanned to a park and then we basically rode up a mountain, down the otherside, turned around and rode back up and over. On the way back up we did a little out and back on the infamous Clove Road. I say infamous because last year I remember (not so fondly) the short, short, steep, steep bump at the end of the return on Clove road. Last year, while trying to get over the evil bump my bike was shaking and I was about to fall off. I refused to give in and I nearly killed myself to make it up that stupid, stupid little bump. I was so mad that that little bump tried to take me down. Sure I can climb a mountain but the bump? Made me cry (figuratively speaking of course!).
This year I was determined to stand to get over that little bump. Let me tell you, it wasn’t any easier standing. I’m pretty sure I did it wrong. I don’t think I’m supposed to lean so far over my handlebars that I can touch my wheel, lol. It was hard! It’s only two freakin feet but it’s like climbing a set of stairs with your bike. Made it back to the main road and Bike Bully Charlee says “we’re done early, let’s go back and do it again.” I know this sounds sick but I wanted to see if I could do it any better so I agreed to go back down and try it again.
This time I said to myself “stand up straight and climb.” I stood up and tried to suck in my stomach really hard and felt something go POP! Arggghhhh, that little bump was sooo hard!!! “I sprained my stomach!” I yelled to Charlee — she didn’t care, she was in Bike Bully mode. Now a few more people had joined us at the meeting spot. I was bragging all over the place that I had done the hill twice. “C’mon” Charlee goads everyone, “let’s do it a third time!” So now that I’ve bragged that I did it twice, the others have to go do it twice. I don’t want to do it a third time, I’ve sprained my stomach, afterall and that could be serious!!! Nobody cared. One of my new teammates says “c’mon, just half way down the hill.” Well halfway is the hard part, I’m no dummy!!
I start to follow them back down and then I turned around. I was not going back to do it a third time. This is just stupid!! I say outloud, ooph, I can’t do that bump again. Screech. Bike comes to a halt. Oh NO!!!!!! Why did I say that?!?!?!?! Not the cursed “I can’t.” I hear the mountains chuckle “oh we heard you alright, you said you can’t do it, we’re calling Eleanor Roosevelt, we won — we beat you.” I rolled my eyes let out a little frustrated whimper. I take it back, I didn’t mean to say I can’t. I meant, I meant….. Forget it, it doesn’t matter, I said it and it is out there — there is no recourse. I groaned as I turned the bike around and went down that stupid little freakin’ evil bump for a third time.
Not only did I not do the bump any better the third time, but all three times I stood out of my saddle and leaned so far over my handlebars that my nose almost touched my wheel. (I’m pretty sure that is really wrong, I think I’m supposed to stand up straight and climb.) But as ugly as it was, I did it. Then I made Charlee go around and tell everyone that I did the hill 3 times (it’s not polite to brag about yourself but you can enlist your Bike Bully to do it for you!). ROFL!!! (Later, that night I told Charlee my stomach still hurt from when I sprained it, she said I probably sprained it laughing at my own jokes!!) Bully!
I think my only negative on the bike ride is I definitely froze up on several of the same downhills I bombed down last year. I didn’t like having to ride to the right of the white line — all the little crags in the road seemed to get bigger and bigger the more I looked at them. For some reason I was really freaked about riding on the white line so I didn’t want to that either (where that new fear has come from I have no idea). I wanted to ride in the road to the left of the white line but I was afraid of the cars. So I just kind of chickened out and actually braked a lot going down some of the bigger hills. A couple of times I found a straight away going downhill and no cars coming to I took it. But even then the max speed I hit was only 38.6. Nothing over 40. (Though to be fair, not sure if I ever got over 40 on Sylvia — that just might be a Tina thing).
Opening up my brake lever before I started helped tremendously. I had been suspicious that my tire was rubbing a little too close to the brake pad. When I spun it seemed okay but when I rode it I felt a little friction. I think I need to have that adjusted. I’m pretty sure it had been rubbing which is why I had those strangely slow loops in the park on Thursday.
After the 3 hour bike we did a 40 minute flat trail run. Oy, that hurt. My quads were starting to cry a little but I was still surprised when I hit the 20 minute mark that I was moving. I got a chance to talk to the coach who gave me a few things that I have to work on. Basically I have to start drilling my feet to lift up instead of shuffling. I have to do isolated foot work (like in Chi running the lift the foot over the imaginery rod in my ankle). First one foot, then the other, then both.
On the bike I’m to start practicing standing on my bike on the flats for 1 minute at a time. That will work on building my quads (which will help in my running.) I’m also to do more isolated foot work on the bike so I start to work on my kick up for my hamstring and I’ll get more of an even rotation on my bike and better kick on my run.
In the pool I’m to work more on kicking and start incorporating the choke stroke into my repertoire. I was actually kind of mad at myself for not thinking of that. The coach pointed out that since I breath to my left, doing the choke stroke (holding my bad, right arm at my side) will actually start to train me to breath to my right so when I can really swim I will be a more even swimmer and breath to both sides. Duhh, why didn’t I think of that? Otherwise he was happy with the routine I made up (once I add in more kicking).
Sunday was Day 31 of Becks. I had to “Decide about Drinking.” That was eay, I decided I wanted a HUGE glass of Cabernet when I got home. LOL I was wiped out and all I really wanted was to put my feet up with a couple of glasses of red wine. So that’s what I did. (That’s not exactly what Beck’s meant…) I fully intend to do my month of January (at least) no drinking again (this will be year 3). Right now I’m pretty happy limiting it to a couple of glasses of wine on Sunday night (no workouts on Monday). Besides the added calories, it’s just really hard for me to workout the next day with any alcohol. Of course I will make exceptions as the occasion merits (holidays, book club meetings, lol) but I think my general rule of thumb is to limit myself to two glasses of red wine on Sunday evening (with friends). That way I won’t feel deprived and I won’t abuse my points or liver either.
Day 32 (today) is about preparing for travel. I wish I had read that on Friday. But it is still okay. I pretty much made a plan for the weekend and followed it. The only part I didn’t think through was the Sunday afternoon…. Next time I will think that through a little better (and get some vegetables in there!!!)
Today I have a much needed massage. I’m pretty sore but I feel good, ready to rumble another day.
Namaste