January's progress

So my annual goals, broken down by month, average out to:

1. Exercise at least 300 hours. That's 25 hours per month

(Goal 2 is long term. I will say that I lost about 2 lbs in January, or so it appears.)

3a. Run 800 miles in 2011. That's 66 miles a month.
3b. Bike 2500 miles. That's 208 miles a month.
3c. Get in the gym 100 times, or 2x / week avg. That's 8.3 (call it 9) times a month.
3d. Swim. At least some. Yeah.

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So how'd it go? Well...

1) 26 hours, 15 minutes, 52 seconds. Ahead of scheduled pace. A+

3a) ran 45.5 miles. This is going to be higher in the warmer months when I can get outside and make daily runs more like 6 miles on average than the 3-4 I manage on the treadmill most times. So whereas that's only 68% of the pro-rata goal, I'm giving it a solid B.

3b) biked 149.2 miles. That's again going to be lower in the winter months than the summer months anyway, so even though here it's only 71.7% of the average goal total, I'm going to give it a solid B+.

3c) Did weights 7 times. 7 of 8.3 per month is 84%, or a B. However, my employer has also started a "wellness program" that includes weekly group fitness classes. These generally aren't killer workouts and end up being more aerobic than strength, but I'm counting them towards this goal... and that means I'm going to have to modify this goal, since I get to go to 3-4 of these per week. So for now, I'm sticking with a B.

3d) Didn't swim at all. None. Fail.

So overall, I'm going to give the month a solid B to B+ average grade. On to February!

Who Am I?

I've come to the realization that I need to decide what my goals are, long term. I work with a guy who runs the Wasatch 100 every year. He's the ultimate endurance junkie in our office. He's not über fast or anything, but he can go all day, that's for sure. He and I often workout at lunch together. The other day I was doing a weights workout, and he, knowing that I like to run marathons and have been eying some cycling road races and even contemplating long course triathlon, said something that caught me a little by surprise. I don't remember it word for word, but it was something to the effect of "Be careful with all that weight lifting. You don't want to pack on a ton of muscle that you'll have to haul around during a marathon (or an ironman)."
Now the truth of the matter is I already have plenty of extra weight to haul around. I need to lose a good 20 lbs or more to be at a good "racing weight." But I need to think at what my long term end-all be-all goal is. Do I want to be an efficient marathoner and triathlete and cyclist? Is that my ultimate goal, to see how fast I can get, see if I can qualify for Boston or finish an Ironman standing up? Is my goal to become a Cat 3 or maybe even 2 cyclist, and win some races and compete in the Masters division(s)? Or is it something else?

I think I started running mainly to lose weight and get in shape. I was tired of being left behind on group hikes and mountain bike rides. I know I began mountain biking for the sheer fun of it, and its fitness benefits were just gravy. But running, and consequently distance running, and marathoning, and then triathloning and biking all evolved from the desire to not look like I was pregnant. Not too long ago the "When are you due?" jokes began at a family party, and they were directed at one of my wife's cousins. At that point, I realized that it's been a long time since someone's made that joke about me, and that made me happy. I want to look good with my shirt off at the swimming pool. So, do I worry about how packing on extra muscle is going to effect my endurance sport performance?

Like I said, at this point, I've got enough weight to lose that putting on muscle will only help in that effort, so for now, I'll keep exercising and building muscle and hopefully shedding fat. Yeah yeah, I know there's the whole diet/nutrition component. And I'm working on that, slowly. Baby steps.

I think my goals can be summed up, at least in part, by this quote from Teddy Roosevelt:


“The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotion, spends himself in a worthy cause; who at best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement; and who at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who have never tasted victory or defeat.”

2011 fitness goals

Okay, after much thought and deliberation, I give you my goals for 2011:

1. Exercise at least 300 hours. This would be 55h 54m 05s more than last year, and 31 h 11 s over my all time high in 2009. How to get there: 6 hours per week average, or 5 hrs / week in Jan - Mar and again Oct - Dec, and 7 hrs / wk in Apr - Sept. Or so. That will fluctuate, of course.

2. Get BMI down below 25. Currently at 27. This one should come easily-ish. How to do it: Eat better. Less snacks. More good stuff. Smoothies instead of shakes. Method: food journal 80% of the time.

2a. Get body fat below 16%. Currently 19%. This and BMI will happen simultaneously, since I'm not getting any shorter.

3a. Run 800 miles in 2011. 2010: 359 miles. 2009: 1000+ miles
3b. Bike 2500 miles. 2010: 2408 miles. 2009: 1000 miles.
3c. Get in the gym 100 times, or 2x / week avg. 2009: 46 times.
3d. Swim. At least some.

4. Do some races and feel good about it, but more on that later.

End of an era... or just 2010.

So now that 2010 is drawing to a close and we prepare to ring in the two-zero-double-matchsticks, I figure it's time to reflect on the year gone by and set a goal or two for the 365 to come. I didn't set too many goals in 2010, other than to eat better and get more sleep. I think I did alright on the eating better. I've all but eliminated red meat and white grains from my diet, except for tortillas and occasionally white rice. So that's a step in the right direction. There's still major room for improvement, however. As for more sleep... meh, don't even mention it. Didn't happen.

Here's a summary of fitness activity for 2010, to this point (still got a couple days to go!)

Running

• 359.4 miles
  
• 61 hours, 43 minutes, zero seconds
  
• 81 runs
  
• avg 4.44 miles per run
  
• avg 45 minutes, 42 seconds per run
  
• avg pace for the year: 10:18 per mile
  
  Cycling
  
• 2384.3 miles
  
• 145 hours, 2 minutes, 33 seconds
  
• 121 bike rides
  
• avg 19.7 miles per ride
  
• avg 1 hour 20 minutes per ride
  
• avg speed for the year: 16.44 miles per hour
  
  Weights
  
• 45 occurrences
  
• 27 hours, 8 minutes total
  
• avg 36 minutes per occurrence
  

I also played a little basketball and swam a little, but not enough to really be of note.

Not a bad year! Total logged healthy activity/exercise time is 241 hours, 50 minutes, 55 seconds. And like I said before, I'm not done yet. I'll add 2 or so hours to that over the next 2-3 days. That's 10 days and change of working out/exercising 24/7, or just over 6 forty-hour work weeks. Sounds like a lot. But it could be more. I didn't train for or run any marathons this year. In fact, I only got in one double-digit run the whole year, and that was New Years Day, 2010. I did, however, do one triple-digit bike ride (the Ghost Town Century in May), and 5 other rides over 50 miles in length. And I did 2 short but fast criterium races.

For 2011, I haven't set any fitness goals yet. I'd like to run at least a half marathon with my wife, and I like to run at least one full marathon as well. Also, I want to keep up with the cycling and do several RMR criteriums and a couple of road races -- specifically the Bear Lake Classic in May and the Sanpete Classic Road Race in August. And of course, the 4th of July triathlon... maybe. Those should help me get close to 1000 miles of running, maybe, and perhaps get close 2500 miles of cycling again. Time, indeed, will tell.

A non-fitness related goal I have for 2011 is to log every book I read. I read a ton of books in 2010, but I don't know how many or which ones. I plan on continuing to make frequent use of the local library, and to continue to sacrifice sleep to read. Ya just gotta, ya know?

What are your goals for 2011?

All natural, raw, vegan yumminess!

Okay, so not too long ago I tried a Låra Bar... basically it's an all natural, raw, vegan energy bar. Now I'm not a raw foodist by any means, or even vegan, or even vegetarian for that matter. But I have discovered that eating healthy is good for me, and that involves a few things. For instance, I almost never eat red meat. Ground turkey is our thing now for tacos, enchiladas, even Italian pasta bakes. Turkey burgers are WONDERFUL -- in fact, I just had one for dinner last night. SPeaking of burgers and pasta, the carbs are whole-wheat. Whole wheat pasta, whole wheat buns (the thin bun variety. So good and so much better for you!). Now I don't very often use whole wheat tortillas in our Mexican cooking, but I'm trying to do better with that. We do use more corn tortillas than flour in most things these days.

Anyway, back to the Låra Bar. It's made of dates and nuts and spices, and that's about it. Some flavors have chocolate chips, but I used them sparingly when I tried making these. I googled the recipes, but ended up just winging it on my own. I dumped a bunch of raw chopped dates bought in bulk into my food processor with a handful of peanuts, and a teaspoon of vanilla extract. Then I blended/chopped/processed. I added dates and nuts and a little water until I got the right consistency. My recipe could have used a pinch or two of salt. Unfortunately I didn't really measure, so I can't share an exact recipe. When it was there, I added in a handful of mini chocolate semi-sweet chips, and I have a yummy chocolate-peanut butter flavored energy bar. They're calorically dense because of the dates, but they're very yummy and a great alternative to a power bar or even a clif bar. Also, they're super high in fiber, so keep that in mind if you're heading out on a run, etc.

But man, they're GOOOOOD.

Indoor riding

Because our weather outside is indeed frightful, I have been relegated to getting miles in indoors. This picture is pretty accurate, and although I've heard that some people will ride in this, I'm not one of 'em.

Until recently, my indoor miles have all taken place at work, riding a Cycleops 300PT indoor cycle. It's a pretty nifty machine, but I can't take it home with me, and if something comes up at work where a lunch break becomes infeasible, I'm out of luck.

Recently, however, a friend has loaned me his Cycleops Fluid 2 trainer, which I have dutifully set up in the basement and recently loaded my beloved road bike. The pain cave is set up nicely in the downstairs family room with the TV and a fan in front of the bike. I've now spent an hour plus on the trainer on my bike twice, and I must say, it's not as bad as I thought it would be. Maybe it's because I've long been used to countless hours on the treadmill this time of year. Maybe it's because I'm not pushing it as hard as I probably oughta. I don't know. All I know is I'm going to survive the winter and emerge hopefully stronger in the Spring!

End of season Century Ride report

The fellas over at Infinite Cycles thought it would be a great idea to end the year with a big old group ride for 100 miles, or a century. I jumped in and helped plan the route, and decided it'd be fun to attempt. I also invited a friend to come along, whose longest ride to that point had been 60 miles, mostly flat.

So at 7:30 on October 30th, a group of about 16 cyclists set out on a gray morning just as the sun was rising. The group steadily declined until there were only 5 of us continuing on for the whole century route. Everyone else had decided to make it a 20 or 30 or 40 mile day. Going up Wasatch Blvd near the Sandy/Draper line caused quite the separation, as three of the stronger riders took off, leaving me and my buddy behind. They did wait at the Big Cottonwood Canyon park and ride lot, as we had determined, and we stuck mostly together up the east bench on Wasatch. My friend, however, was really struggling. Every time we encountered the slightest incline, he'd pop off the back of our little paceline. Eventually, about mile 70, among the buildings of the University of Utah campus, we told them to continue on and not wait up for us. We're big boys and we have phones and spare tubes and all that, so don't worry about slowing down for us.

Once we got out of downtown we enjoyed the very flat section of the ride through Rose Park and around the bike path that goes around the airport. At the gas station in the international center, we noticed how slow our average pace had dropped to and how frequent the rest stops were becoming, and we decided to call my wife and have her meet us at the WalMart another 5 miles up the road. The timing turned out to be just right, because the long-anticipated storms began arriving during that last 5 miles. All in all, we made it 84 miles in 5 hours, 20 minutes of riding time (and almost 7 hours of actual time).

I was feeling alright and I'm sure I could have finished the route, but with the frequent stops we were making for my friend's sake and how long those stops were becoming, we would have been gone all day. The route was brilliant, if I do say so myself, and I really want to give it a go again, perhaps solo. Sadly, it looks like the weather has become mostly un-ride-able for the foreseeable future, so it may have to wait until Spring.... depending on what kind of winter riding digs I may get for Christmas....?