A stinky active weekend on the Mountain Bike

Here we are sitting at the beginning of another work week!  That means that I have passed another ‘official’ weigh in day.  So I certainly have that to report!   I also had another really active weekend...so I can share that exercise.  So here we go...let’s see what progress I have made in my weight loss journey!

I had my official weigh in on Friday...it shouldn’t have been shocking.   I weigh myself every day so I always have a good idea where I am.   But last Wednesday my weight popped up a pound or two. (I wasn’t too worried because I know this fluctuation occurs...and as long as I am within 3 pounds I’m ok).   By Thursday I was within a half pound of my low weight.   On Friday I followed my normal weigh in routine. I turned on the shower to allow the water to warm up, I took a deep breath and stepped on the scale. I laughed out loud when I saw the number.  242.4.  I stepped off the scale and moved toward the now warm shower.  I was calculating the loss in my head.  No, that couldn’t be right!   I went back and stepped on the scales again!  Yup....it was right.  3.6 pounds for the first half of the month!!!!   I am well on the way to my unofficial goal of 5 pounds for the month of July!!!! 

Saturday morning I was even lower on the scales.  241.8!   After the intense activity (more on that in a moment) my weight has popped back up! I’m sure the jump on the scales has something to do with the exercise...the activity level has been pretty intense!  The last two weekends the intensity and level of exercise just wasn’t there (due to injury, heat, accidents etc) and I didn’t have the rise on the scale!!!  So,  I’m sure it will go down again though!  This is the cycle that my body seems to follow after a weekend of intense exercise!  

We had a busy weekend.  We started the weekend out with our errands (it was grocery shopping weekend which meant a few different stops).   We were home from the errands by lunchtime.  A quick lunch and then we were off with the bikes.

 We went to my current favorite park and went for a ride.   It wasn't easy.  I could DEFINITELY tell that I haven't ridden as much the last few weeks.  (Last weekend was short a ride because  I had a foot issue that kept me at home on the couch and the week before I had a rough shortened ride when I took a tumble and then about 20 minutes later suffered from heat stroke followed by a horrible ride the next day where I gave up and turned around after only 3 miles.)    I was determined to hit our favorite trail which has some pretty steep uphill sections.  I was also determined to nail the trail without having to stop to walk anything!  I managed it!  I was sooo hot though when we reached the top of the trail.   We stopped to allow me to cool down a bit.    It was just so stinkin' hot!   Bring on fall.....but wait, winter follows.   YUCK!    All in all we rode about an hour on Saturday afternoon.

We finished off Saturday with a quick trip to Best Buy as I look for some accessories for my computer and camera gear and then it was just home time and grilling time! 

Sunday we headed out earlier to the "Trail of Tears".   (In case you don't know what the trail of tears is, you can read about some of my experiences here and here.)  We tried to beat the heat by going early.  (Failing miserably if truth be known.)   We parked and quickly headed out on the trail.  I was flying!  We made it two miles and when I looked at my watch I was SHOCKED to see my time....I was on track for a SUPER fast (for me) run at this trail.  I was stoked!   But I shouldn't have been excited so soon.  About a mile or two later I started to fade.  By the time I made it 5 miles in I was determined that I was going to make it to the end of that stupid trail.  That said, I had no clue how I was going to make it back to the car from the turn around point.  I was afraid that it was going to be a LONG WALK out of the woods!   Undaunted I pushed forward because I knew  that I HAD to conquer this trail on that ride so that it didn't loom as some huge demonic place in my mind.  (Ok, it's already some huge demonic  place in my mind....but by giving up AGAIN the second time in a row that I attempted the trail would only make it worse!  And I have completed it twice before so I KNOW I can do it)

I made it to the end of that trail.  Did you doubt that I would?   I also RODE out of the woods on that same trail.  I may have  cursed a few times outloud...or maybe that was just in my head.   And I am totally willing to admit that while I may absolutely abhor that trail that I know that the trail is making me a stronger rider and a stronger woman.  I'm not convinced though at Jason's declaration that someday soon I will learn to love that blasted trail!

Jason told me in the evening that he gets a chuckle out of my moans and groans and mutterings of hatred.  (They aren’t toward him they are toward the trail or the bike or the temperature!). I laughed and said ‘oh so you’ll miss them when I progress and stop muttering so much?’   He just laughed and said, ‘Nope, I’ll just find something more challenging and harder for you to do, which will start  the moaning and groaning again’.  Really?  I have created a monster!!!!   Hahahahaha. (Probably the best accountability partner in the world for this type of thing!!!)

We rode home from the trail of tears.  Both of us stinking to high heavens after 2.5 hours of intense exercise in the woods!   Uhhhhh I admit I smelled worse.......why?   I went out on that ride and I had somehow forgotten (aka failed) to put on deodorant!   Only me!   We spent the afternoon roaming through the mall and an antique store before heading home to relax.  I was totally wiped out! 

All in all it was a great weekend.   We managed to get in 3.5 hours of intense exercise.  We also added in a few hours or strolling/walking.  We also managed to get all of our errands and 'to do' items knocked off of our list! I call the weekend a complete win!   Ohhh,  We are both off of work on Friday so we head into this week with only 4 days of work ahead of us.  Another win!

Regrouping and the trail of death

Last week was a ROUGH week for me.  I didn't do good with exercise.  I didn't do good with eating.  I didn't do good with anything health related.  I tell you...it was a rough week   I faithfully wrote about it all...that's for sure.    I wrote about my meltdown on the mountain bike trail that occured on Sunday.   I also wrote about my serious contemplation in regards to why I'm even doing this.....and why I continue to write about it and thus sharing my shame.    It was a rough week in regards to my weight loss and healthy lifestyle.

By Friday I was feeling a bit more 'secure' in where I was and what I was doing.  Not quite back in the grove yet and not quite back to making plans and talking about it.  But at least a bit more in control of what I was doing.  Luckily, the weekend came and I had opportunities to think and situations that made me ponder in order to figure out something in terms of a plan. (A loose plan!)

On Friday evening as I was leaving work I received an email from a friend.  She knew about the aforementioned meltdown on the bike trail that occured last weekend.  Her parting words to me before we both logged off our computers was this.  "Get back out on that trail.  You can do it and this weekend you will conquer it.  I believe in you."   Well then......I couldn't back out of the ride now...Julie believed in me!   The rest of Friday was uneventful.  We enjoyed our normal low key evening of relaxation and pizza delivery as we recouped from our hectic work week.

On Saturday morning I hooked up with my friend Shantel for breakfast.  We had a great time talking, laughing, sharing and reminiscing.  I wasn't happy with the selfie that we took about halfway through our time together

My face looks SOOOO fat.  I mentioned it to Shantel and we got to talking about my weight woes.  She works out each morning AND she runs a few miles everyday on her lunch break.  She is a machine.  I lamented about my long 11 hour work days (adding in the commute) and how that doesn't leave much time for exercise.   She readily agreed.   But then I opened my big mouth and mentioned how I had previously contemplated and decided to sacrifice some sleep by waking up early so as to MAKE the time to workout before my normal daily activities began.   I also readily admitted that making a plan to do it and actually DOING it were two different things and I was struggling with the actual follow through of this sacrificial plan.   She looked at me and said "MaryFran, I wake up at 5AM every day and spend about 45 minutes to an hour working out with an exercise DVD".  Well then.....my plan was only 5:30 for a 20-30 minute workout.    I quickly volunteered her to be my accountability partner and to use tough love on me.  So, my plan was Monday morning.....5:30 AM...I'm up and at the very least riding the bike trainer.

On Saturday afternoon I decided to make a graph of my weight loss. I am an old fashioned girl and like things on paper so I can see.   I chose to only put in a monthly weight....and chose the weight closest to the beginning of the month and there are definitely some gaps where I wasn't weighing in (or I just don't have any weights recorded).   Each line represents 5 pounds...so it's not spot on...but it is a true representative of my overall weight loss journey.   It was sobering...but it was also very interesting.  I can identify a major life event with EACH of the big jumps upward in the graph.  I was losing weight...and doing nicely in 2013....and then found out my husband had cheated on me and boom my weight rose. I was losing again and then started the proceedings to the divorce and moved in with my parents...and my mother bakes all the time for some markets that she sells home cooked goods at so desserts readily available ALL.THE.TIME....boom another rise.   I was holding steady and maybe even dropping a bit and then Jason and I both switched jobs which eliminated a lot of our evening walks and we were so tired that the weekends were not as active.  Boom, my weight rose.   It was very interesting to see.

Ok, so what if I made this  graph while sitting on a stool in the kitchen while I watched the candy thermometer in the pan while I made a batch of fudge. (I will be freezing some of it for a quick little treat here and there.)  hey...no judgement on the fudge!  It is only right that I used/tested my new candy thermometer !!  (Amazon Affiliate link!) But regardless of the fudge...the graph really does show my journey and really makes me want to see that big downward curve to the bottom of the graph!!!!   Motivation for sure!!!!!

On Sunday we decided to head back to the trail where last week I had my meltdown   I was filled with lots of fear and trepidation!

  We grabbed the bikes and the first thing we noticed was that my tire was dead flat.   We pumped it up and headed out (the same thing happened last week and I was fine).  A half of an hour later we were at the trailhead and much to our chagrin the tire was partially flat. Again.   Grrr.   We pumped it up and did short forays from the car.  It was probably exactly what I needed....I was tired and my legs were aching....but by not pushing myself to the absolute limit, I was actually able to enjoy the ride!!!    The bike did bite me a bit!!!!  I was climbing a hill...out of the saddle and something happened and I flew off the bike.  Ok not really flew but I did leave the saddle and I did think I was going to go down.    The pedal bite into my leg and I have developed a bruise. 

So now it is 5:47 AM on Monday morning...and where am I might you ask??   I am sitting on my bike...on the bike trainer....spinning those wheels.  I will have 25 minutes on my legs today...before I even shower!    So I’m keeping my plan... you see...on the bike ride yesterday I kept vowing ‘I’m going to fix my issues and make every ride fun...even the long rides...even the hard technical rides.  But I can’t keep doing the same thing and expect different results.  The same thing..which was to be a dig through the week and a weekend warrior with exercise/activity, was NOT working...so to continue on that path was pure insanity.  So this week I’m trying something different! (If only it was light outside, I would run a bit too!)

Change...it’s hard but the efforts will pay off!

Mountain bike failure: cardio catastrophe

We had a nice weekend.  We managed to get some relaxation and some activity in.   The activity however...well...it went kind of  poorly!   Let’s start at the beginning.    It was rainy on Saturday so we ran our errands and hit up he movie theater (we saw “Halloween”...it was pretty good.). . It was a good day.   We relaxed and enjoyed each other’s company.  Sunday was clear...so we decided to go biking!

We headed out for the same place that we had hiked at last weekend    (That was the purpose of last Sunday’s hike...to reconnoiter.). It was even prettier this week...we explored further down the trail.  But alas I didn’t take pictures of the scenery this weekend!

It was (is) a great trail, very flowy.  And yes flowy is the proper mountain bike term!  A flowy or flow trail is one that....well...it flows.   It isn’t very rocky or full of exposed tree roots.  It isn’t very steep and instead more gently rolling hills.    As we rode along I actually talked to Jason and mentioned that this trail was perfect for me.  The hills were rolling which pushed me to the edge of my physical limitations and the trail had just enough rocks and tree roots to push me to the edge of my technical/skill limitations.   I was feeling GREAT!

We rode on!   We were about an hour into our ride when it happened.  It?   Did I wreck?   Nope!   I hit a wall in my limitations.  Oh boy did I hit a wall!   I found myself unable to breath.  I got off the bike and stood there...trying to catch my breath...but the dizziness was rolling over me.   I sat down beside the trail.  Wow!  It took me a while to recover!

I did recover....or so I thought.  We travelled on....assuming that the person that talked to us the previous week was correct and that this was a big loop!  But I had this gnawing fear that this was an out and back.

And then it hit me again!   I found myself once again sitting beside the trail trying to recover.  I was half crying and miserable!  

Yes I did have a helmet...it was just off my head while I rested.   I recovered and got back on that bike.  But that gnawing fear had grown....seriously if this was an out and back trail, I was in trouble because I was already well past shot!   We rode a big further and ended up seeing two other bikers.   We asked them about the trail....it was not really a loop. They showed us the map.   They advised that wecould make it a loop only if we rode on the road for about 3 miles...a busy, no shoulder, narrow road....about 3-4 miles further down the trail and navigated a very steep ascent to get to the road...a one mile side trail.  They advised that most bikers made it an out and back ride and that’s what we decided to do.  Yes, we actually continued on to complete the trail.

I made it to 2 miles from the end of the trail....and I knew there was NO way this was going to happen. I was already completely wiped out and I still had the complete return trip!   We turned around.   The return trip was brutal for me.  I ended up doing a combination bike/hike.  I would walk a whilethen hop onto my bike and ride a bit before I would end up getting back off and walking....repeated over and over.   Yes, I am ashamed to admit I walked a  part of that trail!!! (Ok I walked maybe 1/4 of it).  

We eventually made it back to the car...what a lovely sight!!!    I was in tears at the horrible ride that I had just had.

I was fine though and we headed to the car wash to give the girls a bath.

My legs were sore and tired.   But it wasn’t my legs that made the ride horrid. (Well they contributed.)   My cardio capabilities is where my problem was!   My meltdown was due to my lack of cardio conditioning.  This has GOT to change! I realized this during vacation while we hiked with bears.  But I didn’t realize how bad it really was, until today.

That trail chewed me up and spit me out this past weekend.  But I WILL be back.   I will make it to where I turned around and I will do it without sitting on the edge of the trail multiple times before getting there .  I will also make it without tears!   I will make it back to the car with less walking too!!!  And eventually I will make it to the end of that trail!  I will also eventually be able to make a complete out and back ride without getting off my bike to sit on the side of the trail or even walk any portion!   Before this is over I will conquer that trail!!!!

All in all I rode about  a two and and a half hours. I walked probably a half hour. (Rough estimates because I wasn’t exactly watching the clock when I got off to walk segments...or when I got back on to ride.). We were out 2.5 to 3 hours.   And regardless of whether I was riding or biking....I was active...so while the ride was a colossal failure...it was an an exercise victory!

This and That

Why oh why do the weekends go so fast?????   Or maybe I should be saying, why can’t I be independently wealthy so that every day is like a weekend???   Another weekend is in the books and it’s back to work for me. So this post is a bit of this and a bit of that...riding, weigh in results, cleaning and organizing and whatever else comes to mind.

Bike Bedroom

We have designated the den/second bedroom as the bike bedroom.  It’s also kinda the junk room.   Don’t know where to put something?  Drop it into the den!  It gets junked up quickly!   The dining room is also a quick easy place to dump stuff (shoes, helmets and  whatever else!). This weekend I decided to organize and try to find a home for some of those items that end up just sitting around.  So I worked on the den.   Really I just rearranged one or two things and put some stuff away.  I also added a rack for hanging packs and a small shelf.

Behind the door on the right is two more bikes.  You can see the black shelf on the right by the bikes...that’s what I added.  The bike helmets sit on top of that shelf.   (They were in the car so they didn’t make the picture). The next shelf down holds my hiking boots, my road bike shoes and the chin guard attachment for Jason’s helmet. The middle shelf holds two bins...one holds knee pads and elbow pads and the other holds random bike parts that we use more frequently than the parts that are in the bin in our storage closet.  The bottom shelf holds  both pairs of Jason’s hiking boots.  It works perfectly and really adds a sense of organization and order to the room!!!  The other big change?  Was the rack for the bags.

We have a nice place to hang our hydration packs...and to let the bladders dry! (And a close up shot of the shelf!). I want to get a rack to stack our bikes.  My brother has a wooden one...it leans against the wall and  has space to two bikes .  (Not the wooden one...but the affiliate link gives the idea of what I’m looking at.)  The road bike would be hung high and out of the way. And in that way we would be able to eliminate some of the floor space that the bikes use.  (Although we will probably keep the old trek on the trainer!)

Riding

We did get out and ride.   We rode at Little Bennett Park again...but in a different trail.  LOTS of climbing.  Lots of tree roots.  Some rocks to navigate. A lot more technical than I am used to!  I did have to get off to walk around one or two things (mainly because I let my fear get to me) and I did have to walk up some inclines.   I was experiencing some weird cramping in my stomach throughout the afternoon (even before we started...so that made the ride a bit uncomfortable.)  But, I felt refreshed at the end...and sore!

Hydration packs

The  hydration packs worked wonderfully!!!!!  We definitely loaded them up and strapped them on!   They say nicely on our backs.  The water didn’t slosh around messing up our balance.  And it was SOOO nice to be out and know that I had 3 liters of water with me...it allowed me to drink when I wanted and not have to conserve!

Weight: did I break the pattern?

So, the pattern I wrote about the other day.  Where my weight is low on Saturday...and on Sunday pops up, and takes until about Thursday to start to drop again?  It was its lowest on Saturday. (By 2/10’s of a pound).  On Sunday it was still low.   I was cautiously optimistic!  And this morning?  I have popped up three pounds!   

In fairness, I did eat more yesterday.  I ate 1600 calories....which is NOT three pounds of overeating!!!  Oh and I also did mountain biking for 1.5-2 hours...which the apps (MapMyFitness And myfitnesspal) say earned me 2000 calories.   So the extra food should not be an issue!!!!!

I am so bummed!  Grrr!   But I’m still within that three pound ‘it’s ok fluctuation range’  so I’m ok...just confused as to why!!!  I’m thinking it has to do with the riding.   Because typically we ride on Saturday’s and my weight pops on Sunday.   This week we didnt ride on Saturday...and my weight didn’t pop on Sunday.   But when I rode on Sunday my weight popped on Monday.  So that’s my current theory!!!