Mountain biking in Stanley Idaho Part 1

Allright, so I haven't been posting lately. At this point I,ve just got to admit that I am not going to post all that often. Last time I was here I was talking about my new mountain bike and how much fun it was. Well I still am having a blast and last week I was able to travel to Idaho and Mountain bike for a full week. I am not sure how to get all of the pictures loaded into the body of text so I just added a picasa album from the first ride that I took. I wish I knew how to present the pictures better but I am still computer illiterate. Enjoy the pictures!!!!!!!!!!

Once again, I have neglected to post here for awhile. I constantly read a lot of others blogs and I am still amazed by how well written they are and the consistency with which they are written. I can come up with a bunch of excuses for not writing more, but none of them are any good. I'm just lazy I think and that's the bottom line.

Moving on. I seem to have settled into a weight that my body just doesn't want to budge from. I have constantly been in the 168-169 lbs range for weeks now. I am not sure if I am just lacking the motivation to get down to my goal of 160 or if I'm happy with where I'm at. My scale indicates that I fluctuate between 17 and 19% body fat. This also is higher than I want it but apparently not higher than I am willing to live with since here I sit. I think I need to find a new motivating factor to push me to hit the goals I have set for myself. I've worked fairly hard to get to this point it seems like it should be easy to push on through but........

A buddy of mine is in week 8 of the couch to 5k training. This means that he is running for 28 minutes now. Since I have already completed c25k I thought it would help motivate him if I dropped down to the 28 minute mark again and than he and I could virtually race each other with the Nike+'s we have. Well long story short it's motivating one of us and I don't think it's him. HE SMOKED ME. That just sucks. He is running a good 15 seconds a mile faster than I am right now. At least I have a great motivator in the running department now. I turned in an 8:59 per mile average today. Since this is the fastest average for me since my 5k, I think chasing some one is great motivation.

I'm loving the mountain bike, I forgot just how much fun exercise can be. I'm lucky to live here in Colorado and have a lot of trails and beautiful scenery for my rides. I'll try to post some scenic pictures later.

I think that is enough for now. Keep digging everyone.

New Toy. Errrrrrrrr Um Aerobic facilitating device.

Somewhere along the line, I convinced my awesome wife that I needed a bike in order to continue the enlivening process of me getting back in shape. I'm proud to say that it only took a month of cajoling plus the President convincing us to stimulate the economy to convince my wife that I needed this mountain bike. So here she is. Meet Trek 6000. Is the bike perfect? By all means no. It's not top of the line of anything, its not the bike that everyone has to have. It was however the bike that I had to have. The first time that I sat on it a month ago I knew. This was the one. Now that I have taken her out a couple of times there are a couple of things that I need to have adjusted I think. The front rotor tends to rub on the brake at higher speeds, and the gears really clink and clank while shifting to higher or lower gears.(I'm not sure of the definitions yet so I am not sure if it is the higher or lower gears yet.) All I know is its the gears that make me pedal really really fast while pedalling up hill. My back tire seems to be a little low on air pressure and I plan on rectifying that by buying a tire gauge tomorrow and seeing if its low. It sure
does feel like it while I'm dragging up a hill.
One problem that does arise from including my new aerobic facilitating device into my current workout routine, is trying to figure out how to include running 3 days a week followed by riding three more times and lifting twice a week. If I'm adding right that's 8 workouts that I need to fit into an seven day schedule. HMMMMMM................Problems arise here. To add to the confusion, I always want to run the day before I ride. This is due to the fact that my legs are dead after a ride and thus not conducive to a successful run. Now I only plan on lifting twice a week which already disturbs me because I'd like to do more. However it's the most tedious of the three and something has to give. I AM NOT a morning person so running at 5 am it is essentially out of the question.
If anyone has a good idea about how to fit this all in I'm all ears. Just remember I don't want to bike and run on subsequent days. My legs are too weak for that and I hate failing at two things instead of one.
Well I guess that is enough for now. if anyone wants to tell me which bike I should have bought or has a great idea on how to get all of my different exercise routines in, feel free to let loose with the comments.
Goodness knows I could use the advice right now, cause I'm kinda stuck and don't like not having a plan.


PS. I really seemed to have hit a wall on the weight loss plateau. I know that a lot of this has to do with the fact I havent been hitting it as hard as I want to. However, there must be something else going on. Anyone have any ideas?

1st 5k!!!, and Free Shoes to Boot

If on January 21st you would have told me that on May 3rd I'd be running a 5k, I would have asked you to put the crack pipe down. Low and behold you weren't smoking crack, I just got up off my butt finally and started doing something productive. What are the odds. I would have given you great ones that it wasn't going to happen.







I drove to the start of the 5k with a lot of nervousness, and apprehension. I wasn't sure where to check in, where to stand in line, and how far back in the pack I was supposed position my self. When the kind gentleman gave me this orange disc thing, I had to ask him what it was and where to put it. Thankfully he was polite and simply told me to tie to my shoe laces. With that all figured out there was just enough time to wait. The P.A. guy would announce that there was five more minutes to go and we should get ready. My only problem was I didn't know how to get ready, so I calmly watched others fidget with their ipods or other mp3 devices. When the announcer stated that there was three minutes left, the nerves really set in and I was facing a serious flight or fight syndrome. I was close to the back of the bullpen and I thought I might make a triumphant exit out of the pen. Then I saw my wonderful wife watching me and I realized I was now committed. So I got my ipod ready with the appropriate music and made sure the nike + function was ready to rock. Now all I had to do was anxiously await the gun and all would be well.

At this point of the pre-race I was looking around trying to find a group that I might be able to follow through this race. None quite looked slow enough. I figured I was my own and I would probably be bringing up the rear. Some one has to finish last and it might as well be me I was thinking as the gun finally went off. After getting through the starting gate, everything seemed to loosen up abit. I moved as far the the right as I could so faster people behind me could come flying past me on the left. After a minute of this, I realized that no one was coming and that I really wanted to move. I wanted to move up in the group this thought amazes me still. I felt sneaky and a little dirty to move to the left and start passing people. I found what felt like a comfortable pace and stuck with it for quite a little while. We came to some hilly sections and I did break down and walk for a short little while. I was surprised to find that several others were walking as well and I was not alone while walking. (pre-race I was sure I'd be the only one needing to walk.) I had enough gas left to pick up the pace enough to finish the last mile fairly strongly. It was a blast running while watching the timer count. It seemed to make me run with a little more of a kick.

After crossing the line I turned my watch off at 28:22. Holy cow, 28:22 I was hoping to be close to breaking the 30 minute marks but I had my doubts about accomplishing even this goal. Needless to say I was ecstatic with that time and just as giddy as school boy about the whole thing.

I can't tell you how many times I thought about not going to the race and actually running it. My perceptions of everyone else's abilities were really blown out of proportion. Sure there were great runners there and they put up some unobtainable times, but there were also allot of people who were just beginner runners as well and were just there to have fun.

The post race activities were cool. It was fun to hear how fast the top three were in each bracket and see just how much I need to improve. The answer is a bunch. But that's ok, I'll just keep digging. Quite possibly the coolest thing about the whole post race was the stand that was giving out beer. Now I'm not a big beer drinker any longer but that may have been the best beer I've ever had in my life.

They gave us these really cool champion double dry shirts just for running. I love this shirt. I want to wear it everywhere. They also had a bunch of raffles post race. My bib number was 213 so imagine my surprise when they called 213 as a winner for a pair of new balance shoes from a local running shop. How sweet is that.
See, here is a picture of my really cool shirt, my awesome shoes and the reason why my wife likes to say hey 213 get your butt over here and take out the trash.

Finally if anyone out there is about to run their first 5k and is kinda nervous or hesitant about it, Relax. You are going to have a blast. You might not get the time you want but you might very well surprise yourself and smoke that goal you have set for yourself. My biggest advice for other people running their first would be enjoy it. Look around see what others are doing, I'll bet they don't look much different than you. Enjoy the day and than tell me about it so I can celebrate with you.

Anyone have a good idea for getting the Nike+ system work with my new FREE new balance shoes?

Good luck and keep digging

First Comment, New Program, and Hitting the Three Month Mark!!!

I would like to thank NB for being the first person to post on my blog. I felt a little sheepish when I linked over to their site marathonpreparation.blogspot.com and found out they were running a couch to 26.2 program. Hmmm makes me feel a little uninspired about my c25k program. Onward and upward I go anyways.

I convinced a buddy of mine to start running the c25k program as well and he currently is about four weeks behind me. The current plan is for me to keep running the 30 minutes a day until he finishes the program as well. After he is finished, we'll find a different running program that will last a little longer and hopefully add some mileage to our base. It will be nice to have someone I know working on the same program and week as I am. Competition tends to keep me motivated.

We talked about possibly running a half back in Boise in a year from now. The idea of running a half-marathon scares the crap out out of me, but I didn't think I'd be running a 5k any time soon either so what the hell, Ill give it a go. A goal that can't be completed til a year from now may be just what I need to keep motivated and stay on the fitness course. I'll update more on this as plans become finalized.

One final note. Yesterday, April 21st, marked the 3rd month of making up my mind to stop being fat and lazy. Here are some things I've learned along the way.

1. Weighing in daily works well for me. People say this is a bad habit and can be discouraging. I personally need the daily affirmation that I am on the right track or the instant negative feedback that I am doing something that is not good for my body.
2. Running outside beats working out inside any day of the week. I look forward to my running days a lot more than I do to the days I have to spend in the basement on the bow flex. I realize that lifting is important to help keep the weight off, but sitting in my basement pumping out sets is tedious.
3. Having someone go through the process with me has been invaluable. I'm not sure If I'd have stuck with this for three months if my cousin wasn't trying to lose weight at the same time I was. The competition to lose the most weight was and is still a definite success factor.
4. At the 3 month mark, I've lost roughly 23 pounds and 7% body fat. I'm not sure if these are good, average or below average numbers for three months time, but I'll happily take them.
5. My goal for the upcoming three months is to see the 160 lbs mark and see where I stand on the body fat percentages at that weight. I'd like to get to the 12-15% range. I'm not sure why I picked that number but I started at 26.5%, am currently at 19.5%, so 12-15% sounds like a good goal.

Well that's all for now, thanks again nb for the first post on my blog, you have no idea how exciting that was for me, kind of childish isn't it?

I'm running week 8 this week in the c25k program. This entails running for 28 minutes straight 3 days a week. I'm skipping week 7 which was 25 minutes at a time but I don't think the extra 3 minutes will break me. I'm doing this because I think this will better prepare me for the 5k coming up May 3rd.

Whatever you're working at, keep grinding.

6 a.m. wake up

Well let's see, exactly one week ago I was dreading a 20 minute run that was looming very large on my horizon. The morning of the run, I was so excited or wound up about the whole thing that I jumped out of bed at 6:00 am. I'm sure that a lot of people enjoy getting up on a Saturday morning and starting their weekend off right with a nice run. I AM NOT ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE. If I'm watching the sun come up, it's not because I enjoy a cup of coffee while I watch the sunrise, it's because I have had way too much to drink and I can't find my house. Now that I have told you exactly how I feel about early mornings let me tell you about my 6 am twenty minute run.

IT WAS AWESOME!!!!!!!!!

Have you ever seen a sunrise? Have you ever seen one sober, while your running? It's incredible. For the first time in I don't know how long, I started a weekend doing something positive and non-destructive. I hope its not the last.

The run went fairly easy considering I haven't run for that long since high school. At one point my heart monitor hit 209 and this really freaked me out but my doctor said that I probably wouldn't die when this happened and sure enough I didn't. After I slowed my pace down enough to keep my heart in my rib cage I settled back and enjoyed the run.

The first time I looked at my watch it said I had been running for fourteen minutes. I was expecting it to say five or maybe even six minutes if I was lucky, so I was quite shocked to see that I had already completed well over half of my twenty minute run. I did look at my watch a lot during the last two minutes of my run, but it wasn't out of desperation to be finished, it was because I couldn't wait to celebrate the fact that I had run for a full 20 minutes.

I have another run slated for Saturday and I can't wait to see if I wake up at six am again. I'm not going to set my alarm or anything crazy like that but part of me hopes that I wake up early again.

On a side note, I signed up for my first 5k. It happens at the end of week 8 of my couch to 5k program which means that I'll be running my first 5k before I finish the 9 week program but what the heck, right now I'm feeling pretty good about it.

Couch to five K

I can't believe it has been over a month since I posted my first and only post. I've found myself reading a few other blogs and I just don't know how these people find time to write and write and write. One of the reasons I wanted to start this blog was to work on my writing, communication, and computer skills. With that thought in mind I am going to commit myself to more frequent posts. Enough about that and on to the fitness stuff.

While searching for articles on fitness and health I came across a website called coolrunning.com. On this website I found a running program for beginners called couch to 5k (c25k). Essentially this program is designed to take a person from a couch to running a 5k in 9 weeks. I currently am in the middle of the fifth week and I love this program. I recommend it for anyone who is considering running but isn't sure how to go about doing it. It makes you progress slowly enough so that you should be able to avoid injuries. It is also challenging enough to hold a persons interest over the 9 week program.

There are two resources that I have found invaluable to progressing through the c25k program. First is a free podcast on itunes called "podcasts for running" by Robert Ullrey. These podcasts allow you to turn on your ipod and just go. Mr. Ullrey tells you when to run and when to walk so you don't have to constantly look at your watch. He also has set the podcasts to music selections that seem to have a decent beat to match your running tempo. The music may not be my cup of tea but these podcasts are so perfect for the c25k program that I cannot prop Mr. Ullrey enough for putting them out there.

The second resource is the message board on coolrunning. I found a few other people who started the c25k program the same week I did and it's nice to have other people to talk to about the successes and failures of going through the program. It seems like there are new groups starting every week so finding someone starting the same week you are should not be a problem.

I stated earlier that I was in week 5 of the program. There are three running days to each week. Today's run which was day two, consisted of a five minute warm-up walk and two intervals of eight minutes running and five minutes walking. I really didn't think I was going to get through the first 8 minute segment but five minutes in I guess I found my stride and finished the first interval strong. The second eight minutes was harder and there were moments that I thought my heart was going to explode. My Nike heart monitor watch assured me that my heart beat was under my max heart rate so I was able to just gut it out.

Day three's run is scheduled for Saturday. This is supposed to be a five minute warm-up walk followed by a solid 20 minute run. I'm looking at this day with a lot of nervousness but then I didn't think I would be able to finish day one or two this week either. I guess I'll just have to wait and see what happens.