My path to en"light"enment

jklett

Well-Known Member
What's the latest and the greatest?
I lost some of the gains that I made between the broken toe and the f'd up shoulder on Thanksgiving but I'm back at it now. My shoulder still hurts but I have full motion and I can bear weight on it so it'll be fine.

I'm back at it. I've been doing some weight training and I set up that mag trainer that I got from Walter. I tried Zwift, didn't think it was worth $15 a month so I'm doing a beginner program 3x a week.

I gained back a couple of pounds while I was laid up but it's starting to come back off. I knew that I would have setbacks so it hasn't dissuaded me. Also, I finally got my wife on board so eating healthy isn't going to be as much of a chore since she does the grocery shopping.

If all goes as planned I should be able to enter a race in 2020 and finish better than DFL. I don't have a real desire to race but I think that's as close to a tangible goal I can come up with.
 

qclabrat

Well-Known Member
Keep at it, gains come with consistency and you seem to have a good focus on your goals. What is your program shaping to look like? Any strength and flexibility days
 

jklett

Well-Known Member
Keep at it, gains come with consistency and you seem to have a good focus on your goals. What is your program shaping to look like? Any strength and flexibility days
So far I've been doing the treadmill with wheels on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. I've been doing some strength training on the other days and stretching every day. Mondays are my nothing days(except for some stretching).
 

jklett

Well-Known Member
Just do a race in 2019. And don't worry about DFL. I'm DFL a lot and I still race. It's a good motivator.
I might have to try. Racing really isn't my thing but it's a definite marker of fitness. Right now I probably wouldn't even finish.
 

Patrick

Overthinking the draft from the basement already
Staff member
I might have to try. Racing really isn't my thing but it's a definite marker of fitness. Right now I probably wouldn't even finish.

you would do just fine now, and you can do better! put a race on your calendar to provide a target.
maybe the short track teaser will be posted? those are fun, and 45-60 minutes, good atmosphere.
 

Johnny Utah

Well-Known Member
I will go the opposite of a race. May I suggest the MS Coast the Coast ride? In one day you can cover up to 85 flat miles with a well marked out course and food/water stops every ten miles. Not to mention all while raising money for a great cause!

This occurs annually in May leaving from
Monmouth University.
 

jklett

Well-Known Member
I will go the opposite of a race. May I suggest the MS Coast the Coast ride? In one day you can cover up to 85 flat miles with a well marked out course and food/water stops every ten miles. Not to mention all while raising money for a great cause!

This occurs annually in May leaving from
Monmouth University.
That doesn't sound like a bad idea, I'm going to check into it more. Thanks!
 

jklett

Well-Known Member
Minor update. I have been trying to keep up with the riding (indoors and outside) and haven't been too inconsistent and I've been trying to eat healthier. The only real problem I've had was with the cutting calories. When I drop to where I start losing weight, I don't have any energy to do anything. I am starting to think that I should just focus on the exercise side of things and let the fat part do what it will.

I am still eating healthy food but I'm not going to count calories anymore and just eat until I'm not hungry and hope for the best.

I gave it a couple more rides on Zwift and it still doesn't do it for me but I figured out what I do like about it so I just joined trainer road. It's easier for me to just focus on the numbers instead of pretending to ride in London or wherever and I am really only interested in the training aspect of it anyways. Worst case I have 30 days to get my money back if it doesn't work out. If nothing else, I may still be a fat bastard but maybe I'll be a faster fat bastard.
 

Patrick

Overthinking the draft from the basement already
Staff member
Minor update. I have been trying to keep up with the riding (indoors and outside) and haven't been too inconsistent and I've been trying to eat healthier. The only real problem I've had was with the cutting calories. When I drop to where I start losing weight, I don't have any energy to do anything. I am starting to think that I should just focus on the exercise side of things and let the fat part do what it will.

I am still eating healthy food but I'm not going to count calories anymore and just eat until I'm not hungry and hope for the best.

I gave it a couple more rides on Zwift and it still doesn't do it for me but I figured out what I do like about it so I just joined trainer road. It's easier for me to just focus on the numbers instead of pretending to ride in London or wherever and I am really only interested in the training aspect of it anyways. Worst case I have 30 days to get my money back if it doesn't work out. If nothing else, I may still be a fat bastard but maybe I'll be a faster fat bastard.

Good job on the trial/assessment. agree that calorie limits don't work well when working out.
still need portion control - you'll be a little hungry, do drink water.

go to bed a little hungry, no hitting the fridge for one last snack.
I liked Ryan's idea of moving breakfast later, that seems to have worked for me.
i was eating out of habit when getting up - now it is a coffee, relax, breakfast shake about an hour later.

keep on it, no need to lose more than 0.5lbs/wk, cause it is a long term change.
although losing 10lbs in the first month is always nice!

"trust the process!"
 

jklett

Well-Known Member
Minor update: I'm a few sandwiches from getting below 200#(OK 2# but you get the idea) and I like trainer road so I'll be sticking with it. I did their FTP test on Monday and it said 171. Fair enough for me, it's a starting point.

My boss gave me Tuesday off since it was so nice outside and I did a road ride. It was interesting to find out that the only thing that kept me from going longer was the saddle(I really need to find one that fits me right). I did a few more trainer rides and blew up the tire(it was an old cruiser tire anyways). In hindsight I should have just used the road bike for training from the getgo since I had to redo the FTP test on it this morning. It's probably because of the lower rolling resistance but it said that I'm now at 177 so I'm not too upset about it.

I also entered the first short track race in the beginner class. This will be the very first time I've done a real race so I don't know what to expect from myself, I just hope that I finish and don't blow myself up in the first few minutes. It'll be interesting especially since I forgot about leading a 35 mile gravel ride the day before. Luckily I'm pretty sure everyone knows the path so it's not like I'm really leading the way(I'm sure someone will bust my chops about that though).

Anyhow, that's where things are. I'll keep updating this as things continue both good and bad so I'm accountable for my behavior. Thanks for reading.
 
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