In case you don't watch the news or live in Portland, we are in the throes of what we call in the utility industry "an anomalous weather event. " Today was Day Seven. Right now there is a ten inch layer of snow on my deck, covered with 1/2 of ice and another inch of snow. Here is what the street in front of my condo at 6:45 this morning:
Which really begs the question, what the hell was I doing up at 6:45am on a Sunday morning? Answer: Waiting for my ride. So I could go log another 1.5 hours on an indoor trainer, but do so with a dozen other crazy people willing to drive 30 minutes in ice and snow to sit inside and pedal to nowhere for 90 minutes.I figured out this morning that I have logged nine hours this week either on my trainer or a spin bike. (And an equal number of hours waiting for a bus.) And done 300 push-ups, 60 minutes of core work and plyometric-ed the perimeter of my parking garage, four times. All in the name not succumbing to cabin fever.
Part of this is my own drunk fault. I slept through the organized outdoor ride yesterday morning due to the consumption of two bottles of red wine on Friday night. But the hangover was totally worth it. I spent six hours with some amazing women, women I feel so blessed to have in my life. Drank some amazing wine, heard some great stories, shed a few tears and learned that there are a lot of ladies out there that would get down with the President-Elect in a Chevron bathroom.
I woke up yesterday morning with a huge headache, but with a distinct feeling like I had hit a turning point in my grieving process. That feeling has played out in reality. There has been a much welcome relief from crying this weekend. Have welled up a few times here and there, but I have spent the majority of my time alone this weekend feeling content and motivated.
I took my skis out on the road for about 20 minutes yesterday afternoon with the intention of seeing if I could get down to the YMCA to play in the park. I gave up quickly when I realized that there were tons of people (either in SUVs or Kias...nothing in between) out there that thought that driving on Corbett was still a good idea. And my ability to stop or turn quickly on those things is still at a pre-kindergarten level.
So I went back indoors to the trainer and yoga mat and Season 2 of Arrested Development on a continuous loop...20 minutes at tempo, 10 minutes of core or strength work, repeat 5 times. I'm either going to have abs of steel when the roads thaw.....or I'm going to go apeshit nuts.
So back to goals for 2009, The Nutrition and Weight Installment.
I have weighed 155 pounds, give or take 5, for the last ten years (except for the brief period of time while I was getting divorced when I got down to 135 and looked like a zombie). I hit 160ish in late September, likely due to the fact that my beer consumption was easily outpacing my training (and I was training a lot). After Interbike, I cut out drinking on weeknights, eliminated 1/2 and 1/2 in my coffee and started eating lighter and healthier fare at meals. My ultimate goal was to hit 150 by the end of NEXT summer.
The morning of the break-up, I weighed 156 pounds. I got as low as 146 and am now back to around 150. So I'm at my original goal, but ten months early. And all of that the weight is not going to stay off once everything gets back to normal, so I need to come up with a strategy to stay on track. At this point, weight loss is secondary to getting what I need to train and race.
I'm not a huge fan of two things that are typically critical to losing weight in a healthy manner. I don't "diet" and, since I've spent 95% of my adult life living alone, I have never really gotten into cooking. I don't eat fast food, but I also really don't get enough fruit and vegetable matter either. I can survive for days on beer, gummi bears and cheese n' crackers. This does not a bike racer make.
My plan is to spend some time re-reading Monique Ryan's "Nutrition for Endurance Athletes" and asking around for some advice on doing a better job with what I'm putting into my body. Its got to be simple and involve the minimum about of time and effort shopping...
Thoughts?
2 comments:
its all about planning out your week in advance, and stir fry! just stick a bunch of veggies and tofu (or whatever) in a pan with some veg stock, rice vinegar, tamari, is awesome, easy and cheap.
I usually eat salad for lunch, and bring it all to work to cut up in the kitchen. Trader Joe's sells a lot of veggies pre-cut up which makes it even easier.
Large, high-protein breakfast. Even for me, someone with pretty low protein consumption, that's probably the #1 thing that keeps me balanced.
For me that's a hemp protein shake, some plain yogurt, plain soymilk, almonds, etc.
TJ's pre-cut veges are huge for me, as for Kristin.
While you are at TJ, their almond butter is cheap and tastes better with apple slices than any cheese/cracker combo. And their heat-it-up Indian food is quite good with a little fresh rice.
A key reason vegetables and fruits make everything feel good is (in addition to freshness and vitamins, etc etc) their high fiber content. If you started drinking a big old glass of psyllium husk powder in water every day (it's like grainy, tasteless jello... I've come to love it), you'd do something nice for your long-term organ health, blood chemistry, and digestion. Psyllium husk can be purchased in bulk at a health food store for cheap.
The snowpocalypse is crazy.
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