Quick Update

Hi, all!  I won't have much time in the next couple of weeks to do any posting, or keeping up with anyone else's blogs out there in cyberspace.  So I apologize in advance for my silence.  Work will be very busy for the next couple (at least) of weeks, and I'll be spending a lot of time on my bike.  But I've been doing pretty well this week, and plan to keep on keepin' on.  :}

I REACHED 20 lbs TOTAL LOST ON FRIDAY!!!  Yay, me!   I'm planning on staying track, and we'll see what happens next Friday.  The biking is really helping, as long as I can keep the balance with my eating...

I've been doing really well on my bike riding - I did 32 miles on the trainer yesterday (ouch...) which brought it to a total of 92.2 miles for the week  Here's a picture of my bike set up on the trainer:

I printed up my a calendar of my upcoming events, as well as a schedule for training for 55, 80 AND 100 miles, and posted them by the calendar and the bike set-up:

The grid on the left is my schedule, as well as how I keep track of my mileage per day.

This is a grid of the mileage I'll need to ride to train for 55, 80 or 100 miles.

We'll see if I stick with riding 55 miles or 80 on May 21st.  (I definitely know I'm not up for 100 miles at this point...)  I'm aiming for the 80 miles, but we'll see if life limits me to 55.  Either way, it will be a big accomplishment for me!

So I apologize in advance for my forthcoming silence -- keep on keepin' on, everyone!  That's what I'll be trying to do!  I'll post when I can, but if you don't see anything until after May 21st, don't worry -- I'm just trying to stay on top of everything that's happening in the rest of my life.  *Sigh...*  Wish me luck!!!

Ouch...

Hi, all!  I've started training for my Big Ride on May 21st, and my butt still has to adjust to being on a bike for so long...  I've got a pair of biking shorts with padding, and they're helping, but still.  I've heard it will take about 2 weeks worth of riding to get to that point...  Yeah.  It's a good thing I've got a good chair at work...  :P

Last week I rode  28.5 miles in total - good place to START.  Then I worked out a training plan and realized I need to step it up...  Yesterday I rode 13.5 miles, and then today when I was only planning on riding for 15 miles, but I missed the turn I'd planned on, and wound up riding 18.8 miles.  Yeah, we'll see how I feel tomorrow...

It will be nice when we finally make the space to set the trainer up so I don't have to worry about riding in the dark...  I got home tonight after riding down a road that was further out in the country than I realized when I set out -- no street lights on a curvy road.  Yeah, not that smart.  I was wearing an orange coat and had my lights and my helmet on, and I got home just fine, but when I told the Hubster where I'd gone, he made me promise not to take that route again unless it's the middle of the day.  *sheepish grin...*

Needless to say, most of my free time will be taken up with training, so I don't know how often I'll be posting between now and The Ride - fair warning!

G'Night, all!

Friday Weigh-In!

Down by another half pound.  Hey, it's a loss - I'll take it!  It probably would've been more of a loss if I hadn't had such a bad few days (food-wise) last weekend, but it probably would've been less (or even a gain) if I hadn't seriously started riding my bike this past week...

The Hubster and I went out tonight after work and got a Trainer for our bikes - yay!  Once it's set up, I will take and post a picture.  I also got some cycling shorts (my crotch will thank me...) and while I'm glad I have them, it might be a while before I wear them outside...  Yeah, my vanity rears its head.  :P  I also got a cyclocomputer that will work on the trainer as well, so I get an accurate idea of how many miles I'm putting on the thing.

The Hubster also had a (great!) idea of where to set the trainer up -- we'll be shuffling things around in our main room so I can still interact with him and/or watch TV while I'm riding.  HIS idea - he understands that I'll be spending a lot of time on the thing, and that way neither of us will feel like I'm shutting him out of my life while I'm training.  He ALSO got a Book Caddy for me so I can even read while I'm riding!  Have I mentioned how supportive he's being?  ;)

We didn't get shoes or pedals - turns out we still have some research to do before we get shoes and pedals. Those are next on the list! (Thank goodness for sales and gift cards...)

On the Downward Slide!

I hope everyone had a good Hump Day - yay,  the momentum is picking up towards the weekend!!!
I had a good day today, but I'm surprised -- I wasn't as sore today as I expected to be after riding yesterday!  My glutes were a bit sore, and of course I have my bike-butt to deal with.  And despite that, I got back on the bike tonight!!  (Oh, I gotta get me some of those biking shorts/pants that have some cushioning in the crotch - ouch...)  But I did it anyway, and I rode for another 8.2 miles today.  Yay, me!

I also discovered a really cool site where I can figure out the mileage of the route I took, in the absence of a cycleocomputer (which will change this weekend):  GMap Pedometer.  It's pretty easy to use, too.  Zoom in to your local area and find your starting point, and click on Start Recording on the left.  Then just double-click along the route you took/are taking and it will calculate your mileage.  Pretty slick! 

I took in 1408 calories and 112 oz. water, in addition to my usual coffee, and rode for 40 minutes.  Pretty good day, but my butt will appreciate the break from riding tomorrow - I do have my dance classes to teach!  :D

G'night, all!

Building Up The Bike Butt...

I dusted the bike off and pumped the tires up and actually took it out for a spin tonight before I had the chance to piddle away the opportunity - Yay, me! 

I wound up going 8.9 miles (approximately - we'll be picking up an odometer this weekend, too...) before it got too dark for me.  I know I'll be feeling it tomorrow...  And that's a good thing!  I definitely need to get started on this training thing...!  I'm going to train as hard as I can, as if I was aiming to do the whole 100 miles, and then see how I feel when the day approaches.  Who knows - I might wind up starting at the 80-mile start instead of the 55 I'm signed up for now! 

And the Hubster is being very supportive.  He found an article in a Cycling magazine he's subscribed to that includes an 8-week plan to train for a 100-mile ride, and pointed it out to me.  Considering the ride is 7 and a half weeks away (EEK!!!) I've got some riding to do...!

I took in 1556 calories and 116 oz. water, including my usual coffee, and rode my bike for about 40 minutes.  And now I need to get some sleep!

G'Night, all!

Hey - Where'd My Weekend Go?!

I hope everyone had a good Weekend and a good Monday.  Mine was a lackluster weekend -- the joys of Being Female were in full force both Saturday and Sunday - Bleh.  I didn't make it out for any exercising, but I can say that I could've done a lot worse, food-wise, than I did.  Although I could've done a lot better, too...  :P

I walked to get my lunch again today, and filled in for another dance teacher who was out of town.  I took in 140 oz. fluids and 1820 calories.  Which, according to Livestrong, still put me under my calorie limit for the day when the exercise is taken in to account.  I'm going to focus on walking/wogging this week (and of course dancing in class on Thursday) and then after this weekend, I'll be getting on my bike!

There's a sale this weekend at the Bike Shop we go to, so the Hubster and I are going to go over and get me cycling shoes and pedals, and a Bike Trainer that we can both share (since we've got the same style of bike), which will let us in essence turn our bikes in to stationary bikes.  Pretty cool, and it will let me eliminate the weather as an excuse train whenever I can find the time! 

G'Night, all!

You Asked For It...!

A couple of years ago (I think it was in the Spring or Summer of '09, but I'm not really sure), some of the Dancers in our area recorded a show for Cable Access to illustrate some of the different styles of Danse du Ventre,  Or Oriental Dance, or Raqs Sharqi - most commonly known as Belly Dancing.  I found out a couple of days ago that someone had broken down the segments and posted each of them on YouTube.  So because you asked for it (and until I can find the recording I have of me soloing) here are a couple of videos in which I dance with my troupes.  I wasn't keeping track of my weight at the time, but it was more than I was comfortable with, even though it was less than I weigh today (although I'm not sure by how much...)    Enjoy!

This is an example of the American Tribal style -- or at least the first song is.  The second song is something fun we put together for our Teacher for her Birthday - there are a lot of "Don't Ever Do This While Dancing" moves we put in on purpose.  :D  I'm the one with the blue feather in my head dress.

And here is a performance of my other troupe, in a style that's called "folkloric."  Yes, there are swords, yes they are real, no they're not sharp, and yes we're dancing with them on our heads with no adhesives or fasteners.  Really.  :D  I'm the one in dark blue -- yes, the one in front. 

The Hubster hates the fact that we're not smiling in this performance, but that was an artistic choice of the director - we were told to have serious faces.  So we do, even if Hubs thinks it makes us look scared...

And yes, I will post video of my solo (to a live band) as soon as I find it.  :D

Friday Weigh-In!

I've lost another 1.5 pounds - Yay, me!  I finally am in to an area on the scale I haven't seen in a while.  I am down a total of 18 pounds* so far, and I finally feel like this isn't a false start, like all the other times I've tried.  (Since I regained it all, that is...)  Maybe I should take some progress pics and post them, once I hit 20 lbs gone.  That's only 2 pounds away, and at an average of almost a pound a week (since I started tracking on Nov. 12) I should be posting them in 2 weeks.  :)

*Officially, that is -- I think I'd already lost up to 5 pounds by the time I started officially tracking.  But I'll leave it at what's on the record, since I'm being official, and all! 

Have a good weekend, all - stay strong!