Last night, we went to dinner at the new vegetarian restaurant in our neighborhood for a special Valentine's Day tasting menu. Mid-meal, I realized that all of the best meals out we've had have involved one thing - variety. When we go to a restaurant with a prix fixe menu and 3 or 5 courses, we go home raving (or at least discussing as was the case with one South End restaurant with a penchant for mediocre desserts), but when we go out and get an appetizer, soup, entree a la carte, we rarely go home with that same feeling, not to mention that we go home overfilled.
In the past six months, money has gotten extremely tight around our house and we've cut way back on meals we eat out. For me, that was a reaction (money tight, cooking takes less money, cook). As a means of empowering ourselves through that reaction, we decided that if it's just the two of us and we want to dine out, we'll split our normal consumption in half, sharing apps and entrees. When we want to go out as a destination, we'll go to one of our standby restaurants where either we know the chef or can get a chef's or tasting menu without much fuss. The goal is to bring us the most joy in all of our activities.
Rode to work today.
2h
Food
1/2c cereal w/raisins
meatballs w/peas, broccoli, potato
apple
chocolate covered oreo (because one of my coworkers has the best fiance ever and made vegan oreos so I wouldn't feel left out)
dried papaya, pineapple
1/4c raw almond
pb&j
Monday, February 15, 2010
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Revival!
Last year, this blog was a huge part of my offseason training. It gave me a forum to reflect on my food intake, my exercise and my state of mind. This offseason, I have had very little energy and a really hard time motivating myself. I've complained to most of my good friends about this, but have had little progress.
Last year ended with an extremely successful cross season, thanks to the assistance of a coach, a new training device and some real results right off the bat. As the season wore on, I wore out, eventually succumbing to sickness just before an A race and a miserable failure to close the season out.
I took almost six weeks off the bike at the end and after the season. Still, I didn't feel like I was anywhere near mentally able to take on the stress of training. So I didn't, I stayed at home, sat in front of the tv and ate while feeling bad for myself.
Over the past month, I've started riding my bike again, almost exclusively on weekends. These weekend rides have been great for me, helping me remember that despite not feeling fit, my body knows how to turn over the pedals. I still haven't gotten myself together to ride on weekdays, but I'm started. As a friend put it, it's like my base miles are cramming for an exam.
This past week, I got on the scale after two days of bad eating and general laziness and saw my weight at 192#. Last year, I dropped my weight from over 210# to a racing weight of 182#. And I realize that ten pounds of weight gain in an offseason isn't the end of the world - it's pretty normal - I can't deal with seeing a number over 190. I see it, and think of how close 200 is, and how close 220 is, and 250. All the way up to 315, where I was 12 years ago, when my doctor told me I was on track for a heart attack by age 25. That was when reviving this blog came to my mind. I need that accountability and structure that come with writing down what I eat, what exercise I do, how I feel.
So here it is.
Today is the first day for me.
Food
1/2c shredded wheat w/raisins
1/2c steel oats w/raisins
apple
1/4c Raw Walnuts
Totally awesome 5 course VDay dinner @The Red Lentil
Workout
30m z3; 3x10m(1/2 rest) z4 on trainer; 10m z2
Last year ended with an extremely successful cross season, thanks to the assistance of a coach, a new training device and some real results right off the bat. As the season wore on, I wore out, eventually succumbing to sickness just before an A race and a miserable failure to close the season out.
I took almost six weeks off the bike at the end and after the season. Still, I didn't feel like I was anywhere near mentally able to take on the stress of training. So I didn't, I stayed at home, sat in front of the tv and ate while feeling bad for myself.
Over the past month, I've started riding my bike again, almost exclusively on weekends. These weekend rides have been great for me, helping me remember that despite not feeling fit, my body knows how to turn over the pedals. I still haven't gotten myself together to ride on weekdays, but I'm started. As a friend put it, it's like my base miles are cramming for an exam.
This past week, I got on the scale after two days of bad eating and general laziness and saw my weight at 192#. Last year, I dropped my weight from over 210# to a racing weight of 182#. And I realize that ten pounds of weight gain in an offseason isn't the end of the world - it's pretty normal - I can't deal with seeing a number over 190. I see it, and think of how close 200 is, and how close 220 is, and 250. All the way up to 315, where I was 12 years ago, when my doctor told me I was on track for a heart attack by age 25. That was when reviving this blog came to my mind. I need that accountability and structure that come with writing down what I eat, what exercise I do, how I feel.
So here it is.
Today is the first day for me.
Food
1/2c shredded wheat w/raisins
1/2c steel oats w/raisins
apple
1/4c Raw Walnuts
Totally awesome 5 course VDay dinner @The Red Lentil
Workout
30m z3; 3x10m(1/2 rest) z4 on trainer; 10m z2
Thursday, March 12, 2009
70, 71/365
Wednesday - Felt shitty and just couldn't get myself right, slept for 3 hours after work. Still trying to feel better.
Thursday:
Squat 215
Press 80
Deadlift 220
Pullup 4,4,5
2x Side plank, 1xFront
3 hours riding, easy
cereal, cranberries, banana
bagel+pb
spinach+bean salad
chocolate raisins, coconut dates + soy jerky
Really good lifting, ride in was with a headwind but I felt great for having done it.
Thursday:
Squat 215
Press 80
Deadlift 220
Pullup 4,4,5
2x Side plank, 1xFront
3 hours riding, easy
cereal, cranberries, banana
bagel+pb
spinach+bean salad
chocolate raisins, coconut dates + soy jerky
Really good lifting, ride in was with a headwind but I felt great for having done it.
69/365
Off day.
Still being nagged by the sickness that's been around and I feel like a combination of worthless and weak for it.
Still being nagged by the sickness that's been around and I feel like a combination of worthless and weak for it.
Monday, March 9, 2009
68/365
Workout
squat 210
bench 130
row 12,12,12
pushup 10,10,16 with a medicine ball passed between my hands alternating each rep.
rev crunch 3x12
squat 210
bench 130
row 12,12,12
pushup 10,10,16 with a medicine ball passed between my hands alternating each rep.
rev crunch 3x12
66-67/365
Rode for about 6 hours on Saturday on a fancy new Felt AR2 with DuraAce7900. The bike felt great and so did my legs for the first 4 hours. The last couple hours were a struggle for me, with a lot of coughing and such. We had the hammer down for a lot of the time. A great ride.
Sunday, rather than riding, I decided to take it easy on my legs and just go out for a leisurely stroll for a couple hours. It felt like I really would have done myself harm by riding. It was a hard decision to make but in retrospect, it was the right idea.
Sunday, rather than riding, I decided to take it easy on my legs and just go out for a leisurely stroll for a couple hours. It felt like I really would have done myself harm by riding. It was a hard decision to make but in retrospect, it was the right idea.
65/365
Workout
Squat 200
Press 2@90, 3@75
Deadlift 210
Pullup 4,4,3 unassisted
Plank one arm, leg
Felt a lot better than I did on Thursday. Being sick for a couple days really took a lot out of me.
Squat 200
Press 2@90, 3@75
Deadlift 210
Pullup 4,4,3 unassisted
Plank one arm, leg
Felt a lot better than I did on Thursday. Being sick for a couple days really took a lot out of me.
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