Have I lost my mind to consider a HIM? (Page 33)

Nutso December Challenge Starting Data: 

Kate:    (191.4)  Log my food for the whole challenge period and keep trying to hit my work out times
Kiri:      (219)  1 cookie for each day (10 total)  Must maintain normal caloric intake ~1775
Leah:   (137.6)  No more than two ounces of nuts per day
Debb:   (189)  Keep within 200 calories of target (1500)
Scott:   (230) Pack lunch on work days & 1 work out a day
Lisa:     (?)  8 glasses of water a day
Keely:   (?)  Post work outs?  1 work out a day?
Elke:     (?)  Post work outs?  1 work out a day?

Looks great Gang!  Let the healthy living begin!!  I still need info from Lisa, Keely and Elke if you want to play the weight loss portion.  Good luck!

Today - I lied.  I said I would never get back on the treadmill and I did.  I decided to make the most of it.  If kiri can stay on that thing forever, so can I!  I thought I would make it interesting and try to push my speed a bit since I can really measure it on the computer.  So I did a 3 miles in 30 minutes.  That is my fast run this season.  My heart rate was sky high but I I thought it would be good to push myself.  I walked another 30 minutes to get more time in. 

This weekend we have a 50 mile ride planned and I need to get in a 18 mile run.  I'm going to be TIRED!

Kiri - I am so proud of you!!!  You are a ROCK STAR!!  50 pounds!  That is a lot of weight.  You said you have 20 more to go.  I want to lose 20-25.  Let's do it.  Please read my comments in Debbs posting about calorie intake.  I'd like to know your thoughts. 

Leah - I looked at your cross fit website to try to guess what pictures were you.  I couldn't tell.  No one looked like a women in their 50s so you must be well perserved.  Maybe there is something to that crossfit thing!  I did get a new bike seat.  I have 90 days to decide.  Right now my longest ride has been 20 miles.  I usually don't get sore until after 40.  We'll see how it feels this weekend.  On the 20 mile ride last weekend it felt a little weird.  It was wider in the crotch area then my old seat but the cut out in the middle felt good.  The other piece of it was that I was wearing my new bike shorts.  Everything just felt weird.  I'm anxious to try them out this weekend.  When you have a chance will you lay out the races you hope to do before the HIM?  I'd like to compare notes. 

Debb - Congrats on getting back into the 180s!  I so want to be there.  Hopefully we will both be there at the end of this month.  This week has been better for me.  Also congrats on your run!  You are on fire!!  I've been logging my food on the daily plate.  They are giving me 2200 calories based on my height (5'11) weight, a "very active" activity level, and the desire to lose 2 pounds a week.  (There is one level higher but I think that is for competitive athletes.  I could take myself down to moderately active) Do you think my calories are too high?  I see that Kiri is allowing herself 1750 and she is taller than I am.  I do not have to log my exercise by using the "very active" option and I like that.   I've been coming in under my 2200 but I'm unsure.  Maybe do it for a week and see?   

Keely - Looking forward to seeing your side goals!  Build your base slow and steady.  I'm with your friend . . . you are coming off surgery.  Take it easy.  Hope you had fun at Happy Hour! 

Scott - I agree with Keely.  Your signature is hilarious!  I'm impressed you are plugging along even though you feel crappy.  Hang in there!  Remember, you are the lead cheerleader for the side goals!! 

Lisa - Great challenge idea.  My sister in law calls me the camel b/c she thinks I don't need water.  I told her coffee and wine are my water.   Hope you are having a nice visit in Vegas.  I bet you are getting some interesting runs in!  Plenty to see in Sin City! 

Elke - Great work outs.  I haven't put two work outs together yet.  That is coming soon I know.  Can you lay out your races before the HIM when you have a chance?  I want to see what you are doing too.  Big move to Washington!  Hope you are ok with that.  Going from the sunshine to the rain would be hard on me. 

I don't know how Debb calculates calorie level, but I do it based on my bmr/rmr + a little extra (50-100 cals). And that's because it's the only level that seems to work for me. I tried eating more based on activity levels but either lost very very slowly or gained. For the longest time I didn't think I was eating enough and that's why the weight wasn't moving, tried higher/tried lower - but only when I switched to no more than bmr the weight came off...

I keep track of calories in, calories burned doing exercise only, and cal in minus cal burned and try to keep that number right around bmr. If I let it go too low i.e. not eating enough after exercise to bring cals in-cal burned to bmr/rmr level I get sluggish. I don't know if this works for anyone else, but it works for me. Your bmr changes as you lose weight so I revise cal level every 5 pounds or so. For example: for one week per day I might avg. 2100-2300 cals in - 500 burned for total 1600-1800 cals.

It took a lot of experimentation with different calorie levels to find what works for me, you might have to try a few different levels to see which works for you.

Sounds like good goals everyone!
I just ordered this new book from Amazon:
Racing Weight: How to Get Lean for Peak Performance by Matt Fitzgerald
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1934030511/ref=oss_T15_product

It is waiting for me when I get home. I still haven't replaced my scale and am thinking of coasting into next year, then getting very serious. So I won't be playing the weight game this month. I have a new scale on my Santa List trying to choose between a fancy body fat monitoring one or a plain one. Any suggestions?

Yesterday I ran 10K, the longest I've run in over 20 years. It was on the road too. I felt good after, no bad knee pain. I'm doing almost all running this week. The gym here isn't too good, and they charge $25 a day, I paid it the first day since it was a rainy day but since then it has been sunny but cool in the mid to high 30's to low 40's in the AM when I'm running.

So if I can do 10K now I'm pretty certain I can do the 1/2 marathon part of the HIM next summer when I plan to be in even better shape. So I think I'll sign up for the Timberman when I get home.

If you go to the Crossfit Monrovia Facebook page and look at the Wall Photos, I am in pictures #81, 101, 140, 150, 153 and 154.  I am usually wearing either black or blue shorts and either with just a sports bra or a long-sleeved white shirt.  I wear glasses.  Some of the pictures are blurry, but I am recognizable, at least to myself.

I think three miles on the treadmill in thirty minutes is quite good.  And your heart rate probably should have been that high, but this means that you can do it.  I figure that anything I have done once, eventually I will be able to do again and faster and easier (assuming I keep working at it).  Swimming might be the exception to this rule, but I hope not. 

I am anxious to hear how your new bike seat worked for the long ride.

I am signed up for Surf City Half Marathon on February 7 and the Cali 70.3 on March 27.  Those are the only ones I have signed up for.  I am probably going to do the Desert International Triathlon on March 7.  Chuck is talking about going to Costa Rica in March and of the available dates, I told him that March 13 - 20 looked perfect.  That would allow me to do the oly on the 7th.  But I don't want to sign up for anything more in March until I hear whether or not we are really going to go.  But right now it looks like I can do the race on the 7th.  If I stumble across a 10-miler or something like that in January, I will probably do it, but I am not sure I see the point of a 10K or half marathon.  I really want to do well in Surf City.  (By "well" I mean beating your HM time, which is probably not realistic.)  So, that's it before the HIM.

 

Do let us know how you like this book and what pearls of wisdom you glean from it. 

And I would ask Santa for the fanciest scale.  The difference between the fanciest and one that also gives body fat percentage is miniscule.  I think the weight loss number is only one aspect of fitness and body fat/muscle mass  percentage is a big component.  The last time I lost weight I got down to 135.  I am 136-137 right now, but I can tell you I was a whole lot "thinner" at 135 than I am now at 136.  I don't know what my body fat percentage was or my muscle mass percentage or anything like that, but I know I am a lot more muscular now than I was then. 

And you ladies are tall, all of you, aren't you?  When we finally get together it will be easy to figure out which one is me - I'll be the short one (at 5'5"!). 

I'm another shortie here at almost 5'7"

I run mostly in Nikes I like the Nike Plus thing-a-ma-jig. But I just got a pair of Newtons last weekend but haven't tried them yet. There is a running store in Grand Central station, I had a few minutes to kill before my train last weekend and they had this years Newtons on sale so I bought a pair because I've heard good things about them...and I'm SO COOL!

I'm not a morning person and I particularly don't like to run in the early morning (I never know what my stomach and below will feel like early) but I am enjoying my Las Vegas morning runs this week.

I'm also a shorty (5'5) which is one of the reasons my calories are lower then Kirs. My BMR is supposedly in the 1675 range right now according to my body bugg.

Which means since I work from home and tend to not move around that much in general nearly all my weight loss comes from exercise if I eat in my calorie range (1500-1700)

Kate those calories might be on the high side, but it's better to start out higher if your losing with that because then you have more room to move down in calories. If your not losing with that try cutting out an additional 200. What you lose is also going to be dependent on how active you were that particular week. I figure I burn 400-700 an hour depending on what I'm doing.

Lisa - That sounds like a good book let us know what you think.

My scale said 188 this morning. I'm not sure what's with this roller coaster, but as long as it's on the downswing... I'm happy.

Scott I'm so not a morning person. Nearly all my workouts except swim class are in the afternoon after 2pm or after dinner. I try and not work out too late otherwise I can't fall asleep that well.

Although today it's 4 degrees out today! I'm not going anywhere! Guess I'll make friends with the trainer and treadmill.


Edited by IdealMuse 2009-12-10 1:24 PM

I am a morning person and I do a workout almost every morning.  I also do one almost every evening.  Here's the kicker:  if I don't do a workout in the morning, I am very unlikely to do one in the evening.  I can't explain it, but it is true.  So, when I am all snuggly in my bed in the morning thinking, "I can skip this workout and just make it up tonight," I know that is just the bad angel talking. 

Does everyone have two angels, a good one on the right shoulder and a bad one on the left shoulder?  The good one says, "Get up and go do your workout.  Think how great and noble you will feel."  The bad one says, "But it's cold and you don't feel so good and aren't you coming down with something and you better take care of yourself and rest."  It is always a struggle between the two angels as to which one will win.   

Hello everyone!  Busy day for me.  My honey is out of town on a work trip.  I was in full mommy mode this morning.  I had nonstop work meetings then I had to rush home for my daughters 1st grade Holiday program.  (It was pretty cute.)  I didn't get a workout in today b/c of it.  I think I will be able to get my times in though b/c of my run and bike outings we have planned. 

I am usually a night time work out person but I wish I was a morning girl.  I stay up too darn late!  I feel the evenings are my only ME time b/c of the babies.   

Debb and Kiri - Thanks for the tips on calories!  I've been good about my logging so far.  We'll see how it goes.  The day after the Half mary I weight 196.  Today I weighed 190.  What a swing!  The calorie intake is a huge factor in my weight loss so I'm glad we are doing this challenge. 

Leah - I'm going onto facebook to check you out.  I have an image in my mind of what you look like.  It will be interesting to see how close i am.  Costa Rica sounds awesome!  Too bad you can't go the week after teh race!  That would be so relaxing! 

Lisa - I'm with the others.  Go fancy!!  You are a gadget girl!  You love data.  Congrats on the run!  A 10k is long way.  You are on your way! 

Scott - I was a volleyball player in High School.  I was ok.  I ended up playing college basketball so volleyball got put on the shelf.  Did any of those girls spike in your face? 

Leah!  I can't really see you in those shots.  I can tell you are little and fit though!  Look at you rockin' the sports bra!  Must be nice.  That might be me in another year!  I better start cross fit now.  In my mind you have a short sleek bob hair cut.  Short and sassy!  I want to see a smiling face shot!

There is only smiling AFTER the Crossfit workout.  During Crossfit, survival is first and foremost in my mind.  My hair isn't real long - long enough that I can put it in a pony tail for working out, but not long enough that I could wear a pony tail as a hair style.  Most of the time I have had no idea that they were taking pictures.  The last picture ws just taken on Monday, deadlift day.  The next time I see the camera come out, I will pose for it, lifting massive amounts of weight (yeah, right!). 

I have a Kurt Kinetic... so I'm biased about it. I picked it because they are known not to leak pretty much ever. I didn't pay $300 for mine though. I stalked ebay until I got one for about $190 (after some cashback discounts) I don't have anything to compare it to though, but it's definately a nice trainer.

I have a Cycleops Fluid2 I did alot of research and it was between the Kurt Kinetic and the Cycleops Fluid 2 which I chose because I got a better deal and it's not green.

I'm on my third winter season with Performance Bikes Travel Trac Fluid + trainer. I waited for one of PB's every other day sales and got it for about 150 w/ free shipping. So far no problems whatsoever with it. Hopefully it'll hold up another season or two.

Oh and btw, if you flat on your trainer - could be because you had something embedded in the tire that wore it's way through to the tube finally with pressure - OR if you don't pump up your tires often you might have a pinch flat - OR you could have a spoke punching through the rim tape... lots of reasons to get flats on trainer.

I have a Blackburn Trakstand, which is magnetic, not fluid, and I don't have anything to compare it to.  I got it because that is what my bike guy had and I almost always buy everything from him.  It seems a little noisy, but if you crank up the volume on the TV or computer or whatever, it isn't a problem.  I paid (with exorbitant California sales tax) about $250, it seems to me.   I am pretty sure I saw this model for less on Amazon, but having the personal support about this and everything bicycle is worth the little bit extra. 

Hello triathletes!  I swam today.  I'm going to go to bed early today so I can get my 18 mile run in tomorrow.  My little guy has a t-ball game at 9:00 followed by his end of the season party.  I am going to try to wake up at 5:00 and start run.  UGH!  It has been cold too so I am going to have to layer myself up.  I have a 6 mile loop that i am going to run 3 times.  I am going to stash water and snacks at my start point so I have a break point.

Wish me luck.  I will need it.  

PS - I don't have a trainer yet.   

Yeow - Good luck with the run Kate! Stashing snacks sounds like a great idea. Sounds like you've been busy with the kids too lately, but great that you're finding the time for training as well.

Tomorrow is my last swim class. I'm going to sign up for the next session since they are so good and affordable (only 120 for 8 classes) but it doesn't start until mid-Jan. Luckily it doesn't conflict with the IM-program, but I'm going to be spending a lot of time downtown in the coming months.

My pool closes on the 17th and doesn't re-open for 3 weeks not sure what to do about that. I guess I'll have to pick up a strength program/DVD so I don't lose my swim muscles... I have such bad upper body strength it takes me awhile to gain it back so I don't want to lose any.

Trying to decide right now if I should run some like I planned or just rest up for tomorrow. On one hand I'd like to be fresh since we're re-testing the time trial, but on the other hand it's important to get my workouts and calorie burns done and not worry about how I did on one swim-time-trial because in the end that number doesn't really matter as much.

Hope everyone has a good weekend. Anything good planned besides Kate's epic run?

Debb - 120 for 8 coached worked outs is awesome.  I pay 99 for four 1 hour classes.  Sounds like you really enjoy it.  If it were me, I'd want to rest up for the time trial.  You are obviously smarter about the whole thing.  Seeing the big picture is awesome.  I'm so proud of how good you are doing!  When is the "official" start date of your IM training group?  It will be interesting to see the program they put you on.  When you have a minute can put post your coaches blog again?  I'd like to follow you guys.  

I'm getting ready to turn in.  Wish me luck!! 5:00 a.m. is VERY early for me. 

 

I'm lying in bed listening to the rain.  I should be out on my own epic run (not - 6-8 miles was what I had planned) but it is coming down too hard for that long of a run.  I will do a short run in light rain, but that's about it. 

Today is my Nutcracker day.  I have been taking my nieces to the Nutcracker every year since the oldest was 2.  She is now 18.  This is the first year my granddaughter is going, bit I am short one niece.  So it will be me and four girls ranging from 2-1/2 to 18.   They're mostly older now and it isn't quite as arduous, but in earlier days I think this would have counted as a workout.

I think there are specific land-based exercises that are supposed to help develop (and maintain?) swim muscles.  I bet you can find something, maybe even here on BT, that says what to do. 

It has got to stop raining by tonight so I can get in my run then.  I missed my run to Crossfit yesterday because of the rain and so I don't think I've gotten in any running this week, just biking.  Not good.

So far I have stayed within my limit on nuts and have otherwise eaten healthfully.  How is everyone else doing with the challenge?