Fun with Der and Joops - Shoreline superloop

What a sweet weekend! Derek and Joops came through town Friday night. Josh made an awesome dinner and Maddie finally got to meet Rio. We introduced Derek to Bobsled on Saturday morning and he loved it! Always good to get some props for SLC mt biking.

After feeling kind of sluggish and slow on my bike for the last week or so, I wanted to time myself up Dry Creek again just to see where I was at. Josh has been pretty sick so he sat this one out. I decided to ride from the house to get an approximate round-trip time for future reference. I took 300E to E-street up to 11th ave and over to Popperton. I started the clock at the Dry Creek jump and here's how everything played out:

Home to bottom of Dry Creek = 42:00
Dry Creek to top of switchback climb = 17:05 (beat my last time by over 2 minutes!)
Top of climb to bottom of Bobsled = 26:17

At this point, I was feeling a little spicy so I headed up Terrace Hills to finish up in City Creek. That Terrace Hills climb is no joke, and the climb from the trailhead to City Creek trail is nasty.

Bottom of Bobsled to home ~45:00 (I forgot to stop my clock when I got home).

All-in-all, a good day. I finally cleaned the rocky section of Dry Creek, I cleaned the last switchback in City Creek, it was my longest local ride of the year (and the most climbing). I figure Josh and I could squeeze in rides from the house after work - round trip not including City Creek is about 1:30 to 1:45 - so there are no more excuses!

Changing the way I think about fitness...("Michael")

Before I get into my rant, here's the workout for the day:
"Michael"
3x:
500m run
50 back extensions
50 ball crunches

29:23

With everything I've been doing over the last month or so - counting calories, logging workouts, stressing about over-eating and drinking - I've been having a lot of inner dialogue about what it is that keeps my mind and body happy. Is it being as lean as possible? Possibly. Is it being a faster cyclist, stronger skier, better endurance althete? Sure. Is it being able to have fun with my friends, enjoy a good beer (or multiple good beers), and keep the stress level to a minimum? Ding, Ding, Ding! I'm not a professional athlete, I'm not a fitness model. I'm just a regular girl who wants to be able to keep up with my husband and enjoy being outside.

What is the main purpose of working out and eating well? Performance is #1, staying at a healthy weight is right up there at #2. With all the stressing about body fat %, weight loss, etc I think I started losing track of the big picture. I've been busting my ass and I've lost 1 lb. I kept beating myself up about it. Obviously it will take a serious life change to get back to 19%. However, I began asking myself a few questions last week:

Q: Am I fit?
A: Hell yeah! Faster and stronger than ever on my bike, killing it on the skis. Even with all the injuries, I've even kept up pretty strong with my functional fitness.

Q: Am I healthy?
A: Other than my shoulder, I am extremely healthy. My BF% is lower than average, my weight is very healthy.

Q: Why do I want to lose more weight/fat?
A: To look hot. Seriously, that's it. Plus, I'd like all my old clothes to fit. It would probably help my biking and climbing too, but who knows.

Q: What would it truly take to hit the 19% mark again?
A: Morning workouts, limiting calories even more, protein supplements, long weight sessions, no more beer, no more sugar. Being a social retard at all the summer BBQs. Beign pissed off every time I see Josh drinking a beer.

Q: What makes me happy in terms of fitness and body image?
A: Putting the smack down on a long climb, having the ability to hang in on a 8-hour day, having a whole box of matches to burn instead of just one, not being injured, being able to look at myself and think "wow, I look strong".

Q: Is it sustainable? Is it truly worth it?
A: No. That's what I've decided. If it's that hard for me to get super lean again, I won't be able to sustain that kind of lifestyle. I love beer. I love cookies. I love ice cream. Don't get me wrong - I'm not crashing off the wagon completely. I will continue tracking my eating and cutting down on weekday beer drinking. I will continue to work my ass off to get stronger and faster. I will stay sub-155#. I think I can make a few positive changes and keep my body at a very healthy place. A summer of bike riding and Crossfit will do wonders.

So for the summer, here are a few of my resolutions:
1. Don't drink beer Sunday - Wednesday. Not willing to give up my Thursday nights with the girls.
2. Ride my bike at least three times a week.
3. Do at least 3 Crossfit-type workouts a week.
4. Get out in the sun to play a lot. Take some days to just sit at the pool and read. Drink beer and BBQ with my friends after huge bike rides. Take the boat out with Maddie and Josh a few times. Lead some trad. Do some gardening.
5. Love myself the way I am. Increase the positive self-talk because I have nothing to be ashamed or disappointed about. I'm a strong, fit, happy person!

Here's to a GREAT summer.

White Rim - HP predictions

I'm a nerd. I'm participating in a Harry Potter quiz competition on Leaky based on predictions about book 7. Here's the link for reference.

White Rim was fantastic! The weather cooperated up to the very last second - it hailed on us going down Mineral Bottom Road. Perfect timing.

We had such a good group: James and Traci, Jamie and Kate, my parents. Drank loads of beer and ate good food. Total mileage for the trip is 105 miles over three days. Two trucks ran support - the Tacoma and the FJ Cruiser. Kick ass.

I'm kind of off the crazy losing weight bandwagon. I was working my tail off and didn't lose a pound in a month. So, I'm not giving up - I'm still tracking my eating on FitDay and still working out as hard as ever - I'm just not going to be a freak about it. It's got to be a lifestyle thing right? Sustainability is key.

Week 5 - Day 5

I'm really beginning to worry about our White Rim trip this weekend. The weather looks like it's going to turn to crap on us Sunday and I'm really bummed! We have an escape plan, but I'd like to spend the night at Candlestick. I guess we just play it by ear and hope to not get caught in the muck. I guess we can always ride one of the classics if WR doesn't work out.

Breakfast: Kashi, soy milk, eggs

Week 5 - Day 4

So I ran out of time yesterday afternoon and didn't get my BF% tested. Steph's only here on Wednesdays, so I guess I have to wait until next week. I need to calibrate the calipers to our home BF monitor so I can start using the one at home.

Breakfast: 1/2 cup oatmeal, 1/2 cup soy milk, 1 tsp brown sugar, raisins, egg beaters
Snack: yoplait, CC
Lunch: whole wheat tortilla, 1 slices Costco deli turkey
Snack: Zone bar
Dinner: 1 cup white rice, stirfry with teriyaki sauce, 3 glasses of wine

Lunch workout:
20 minutes on the rower
2000 meters (1000 warm-up at 2:30/500m, 1000 at 2:15ish/500m)
1000 meters (1:00 rest, 0:30 sub-2:10)
20 minutes on elliptical

Week 5 -Day 3 - Front squats, OH lunges

Yes, it's time to get tested again. I have a feeling that I've dropped slighty. Definitely not a full percentage or anything, but just a little. I'll report back around 4:00.

Breakfast: Kashi, soy milk, eggs
Snack: Yoplait, CC
Lunch: mixed greens with bean sprouts, snap peas, peanuts, cilantro, green onions, oriental dressing and a chicken breast; black bean and corn salad
Snack: Zone Bar
Dinner: 1/2 Boboli pizza (italian sausage, turkey pepperoni, cheese, mushrooms, green pepper)

Lunch workout:
Front squats 5x5:
45-65-75-75-80 (back felt good!)
OH lunges:
2 sets of 9 reps, 10lb DBs (shoulder felt shaky)
Lots of ball work, core strength stuff

After work:
Shoreline ride with Josh. Felt a little slow, but it was cold and my legs were worked from lunch. Otherwise, my shoulder felt great (although I CAN'T be falling for the next few months!)

Week 5 - Day 2 - Separated Shoulder Blues

Yet another huge lapse in my postings! But I had a good reason. I separated my shoulder on Friday at Snowbird. Doc told me in could be months until the pain goes completely away. I have a feeling I'll be back to "normal" within a month, but it still sucks. I won't be doing push-ups, pull-ups, or bench presses for a while. Oh, and I had a migraine yesterday. GREAT weekend.

Back on the wagon:
Breakfast: 1/2 cup Kashi, 1/2 cup soy milk, 1/2 cup egg beaters
Snack: 1/2 cup CC, yoplait
Lunch: 2 slices turkey on whole wheat tortilla
Snack: Zone Bar
Snack: handful of mixed nuts
Dinner: two mahi mahi fish tacos and black bean/corn salad

Lunch workout: 30 minutes spinning intervals, stretching, core exercises

Shoreline "time trial"

So I decided to do a Shoreline "time trial". I figured it would be cool to see how much I improve over the season. I timed myself from the kicker at the bottom of Dry Creek to the top of the lookout above the switchbacks. I finished the loop at normal speed and recorded the total time for reference. Here are my results:

Kicker to switchbacks: 19:26
Total loop (Bobsled): 48:04

Week 4 - Day 3

Last night was really fun. My legs were brutalized from the burpee workout, but I still felt pretty good on the Shoreline. I think if I would have been timing it, that was my fastest time of the season so far. Boys are so fast! Someday I'm going to be able to keep up with those maniacs.
Breakfast: Kashi, soy milk, egg beaters
Snack: yoplait, 1/2 cup CC
Lunch: black bean and chicken burrito
Snack: Zone bar
Dinner: Teriyaki Stir fry with ~3/4 cup white rice
Other "snacks": handful of cashews, 5-6 tortilla chips and salsa

Calories felt a little high today - I went to bed full, which I really don't like. My appetite has been increasing since I've started ramping the bike rides. It feels good to be riding again!

Lunch workout:
"JT"
21-15-9
HSPU
Dips
Pushups
10:40

A good minute slower than the last time I did it, but that was almost 8 months ago. I need to start hitting the upper body harder to get back to where I was.

Week 4 - Day 2 (and the weekend!) - Row intervals and OHS

Wow, I'm really far behind! Let's catch up, shall we?

Saturday - My first real super-tour of the season! Headed up Red Pine at 7:00 with the goal of skiing White Baldy. I was drinking Gatorade instead of water and I knew pretty quickly that it was a bad idea. My stomach was cramping all the way to the lake and by the time we got there, I was feeling pretty shitty. I'm guessing the combo of 1/2 bottle of red wine, 32oz gatorade, and a black bean burrito was not working out to my advantage. My hands were freezing and my body was falling apart. I told the guys to head up White Baldy while I dug a little lounge chair in the sun and relaxed. It was exactly what I needed and by the time they got back down, I was feeling better. Next item of business was heading over the ridge to Lake Peak.

We skiied the East coulier, which was AWESOME. Testosterone mixed with a beautiful day resulted in a third peak - Red Baldy. We slogged up the east-facing bowl for the best run of the day, hands down. 8 hours total, about 7K vertical. Pretty impressive.

Sunday - off. Not much more to say. Yard work and lounging.

Monday - back to the grind

Breakfast: 1/2 cup Kashi, 1/2 cup soy milk, 1/2 cup egg beaters
Snack: Yoplait, string cheese
Lunch: turkey sandwich
Snack: Zone bar
Dinner: handful of nuts, 0.75 cup rice, basil thai chicken

Lunch workout: Rowing intervals. Each interval needs to be longer distance than the last. 30 seconds on, 1:00 rest
(meters) 100, 107, 109 109, 112, 115, 119, 120, 124, 126, 128, 130, 131, 133
14 rounds total

After work workout:
OHS: 8x45#, 8x45#, 8x45#, 8x45#, 12x45#
Bench: 12x45#, 12x55#, 16x65# (max reps), 15x65# (max reps)

Tuesday

Breakfast: 1/2 cup Kashi, 1/2 cup soy milk, 1/2 cup egg beaters
Snack: yoplait, 1/2 cup CC
Lunch: Pita, 1 can tuna, 1/4 green pepper, 1 tbsp miracle whip light, mustard, 1/2 tomato
Snack: Zone bar
Dinner: handful cashews, 1 fajita with chicken, fudgesicle, 1 spoonfull CC

Lunch workout:
50-40-30-20-10 Back ext/ball crunches
14:05

3x:
20 Burpees
10 HSPU
8:50

After work:
Shoreline ride Dry Creek to City Creek with Jamie, Sam (beatered), Pete (maniloff) - pushed pretty hard. Probably best time of the year if I acutally timed myself.