I am coming to get you.....

Two Hundred Ten and half Pounds = 210.5 lbs. !!!!!!

This is week 12 of my 2006 cleansing life changing get healthy now or die soon diet plan AND I FEEL GREAT. The math don't lie, I have lost 25.5 lbs. to date, can run a mile in 8 minutes, and can ride my road bike 30 miles with minimal difficulties. If you put in the hard work, stay focused, rebound from your failures, you can change you life.

It doesn't hurt that I am entered in a Biggest Loser Style contest at work either. It gave me the initial motivation I needed to change tracks and get healthy. I am winning that contest with co-workers by miles. It ends next Tuesday. I will collect $200 bucks from them for my hard work, but this is just the beginning.

I can see you 200 lbs and I am coming to get you. Later.

100 miles and counting......

todays ride was sweet. it was chilly, but the wind was minor at 5 mph NE, so the 40 degrees was doable. my goal was 30, but i had to cut it just short of that due to a pee issue. the issue was i had to go pee really bad. that ment turning off the main route and heading back until i could find some tree cover. hey, i had to go.

anyway, it was my longest ride at 27.5 miles. the stats please; 27.5 miles, 1 hr 39 mins, 16.6 mph avg, 25.9 mph max, 88 avg cadence with 110 max, 145 avg heart rate with 166 max, and the best number of all, 1463 calories sent packing. you gotta love that. i felt really good after the ride. i think i could have managed 10 to 15 more miles. stupid bladder!

some may ask, or none may ask by the looks of my traffic, but some may ask what the hell am i doing. the obvious is living a better and HEALTHIER life. i do have some other goals though.

first, is the weight loss. 205 is no longer the goal. its officially 200 lbs. second, i plan on riding a century may 7th. a century is an organized ride put on by a local cycle club. the have mapped out routes with on course SAG and stops with food and what not. it is 100 miles. uh, yeah 100 miles in one day. i have 101 days to prepare for the 100 miles. third, i plan to ride a metric century july 4th, same deal as a century, but its 62 miles. get it, metric system? finally i am seriously considering participating in a Sprint Triathalon. its a mini tri consisting of a 500 meter swim, 12 mile bike ride, and 5 k run. holy crap, a guy drops a few pounds and suddenly i am lance freakin armstrong. hey, we gotta have goals???

last but not least. todays ride put me over 100 miles for the month of march. not too shabby considering not one ride saw temps over 50 degrees.

later.

Who Knew........

that i could be so pumped for 40 degree temp at 10am on sunday morning. winds are projected at only 4 mph which means 40 should feel like 40. i hope cause i gots to get my ride on. later.

It Feels So Good.......

hit the good old YMCA today for my workout. it was 32 minutes on the elliptical burning up 530 calories. yes he said, "530 calories!" that felt so good i hit the treadmill for a nice 16 minutes of running. all told i covered 4.7 miles and toasted over 700 calories in that 48 minutes between 9am and 10am. what did you do this morning?

running is amazing, or i mean it is amazing i can run. at close to 240 lbs running was never an option. it was just too much trauma on the knees. but i aint near 240 lbs any more and running is the bomb. it is still hard, but sooo rewarding both physically and mentally.

the diet has been solid this week. i have been intaking more calories the last two weeks as i feel my body needs them. with that being said i have averaged 2200 cals per day the last month. by my estimation this is 600 below my BMR number which provides me a nice calorie deficiency needed for losing weight. what? well, it all means i feel good about putting up a low number at my next weigh in.

plan for tomorrow is RIDE TIME. i hope it warms up to 40 degrees with slight on no winds by 9am so i can hit the road. i need a minimum of 20 miles to reach 100 miles ridden for the month of march. not bad being i live in the Midwest!!

you all can do it. stay positive. later.

Another One Bites The Dust.......

213..............213............213........213..........213

213 lbs is what the magic scale has me at today. 23 lbs lost. i can see you 205 lbs. you cant hide anymore. later.

What is a Bradley Brave??

and why are they in the sweet sixteen. and WTF happend to my Fighting Illini. and why couldn't Dee Brown get his game on? and why must i have so many freakin questions???

so check it out. yesterday it was cold, well 45 degrees cold, so i loaded up the mountain bike for some WaterFall Glen raging. i hit it for 20 miles in 1 hr 45 mins, 12.7 mph avg, and 29.7 mph max. i estimate if burnt up around 1000 calories. oh yeah i was hammering down them hills. speaking of hills i dont see too many on my road bike, but WaterFall Glen is a nice double wide limestone path 10 mile loop with rolling terrian and my legs feel it today.

however, i jumped on the treadmil this afternoon for a nice recovery walk of 38 minutes for 2.7 miles. tuesday weigh-in is just around the corner!! later.

The Madness.....

i love March Madness, but it can be a devil in disguise if not controlled. like last night, i head over to a buddy's house to view the Fighting Illini on his new 50'' plasma boob tube in his newly finished Irish Pub Themed basement. what is the harm? well, 8 miller lite beers is 900 calories and i feel guilty. i feel like the next time i step on the scale i will be back up to 236 lbs. it 's weird and crazy, but i got the cheaters guilt.

AND it is good old St Pattys Day. it would be nice to go out and get a bite to eat. no skinless boneless chicken tonight, but what can a calorie counting guilt feeling middle aged man eat out and about? i use to hit Chilis once a week and i love their burgers. so i did some searching and holy crap balls batman it is straight madness how bad this food is for people. check it out;

Bottomless Tostada Chips w/Hot Sauce [1 Basket]
= (480 cal/36 g fat/4 g fiber/26 g carbs)

Chipotle Bleu Cheese Bacon Burger
= (1090 cal/71 g fat/3 g fiber/57 g carbs)

Homestyle Fries w/entree
= (430 cal/26 g fat/4 g fiber/43 g carbs)

you can do the math and it is amazing. prior to my cleansing of 2006 i really had no idea that in most meals i was eating the RDA = Recommended Daily Allowance in one freaking sitting. think about it. think about all the people who have no idea that they are consuming 2000+ calorie dinners.

now, if i could just find the damn number for Chilis call ahead seating. i kid, maybe. later.

tickerfactory.com

That Wall Aint Got Nothing On Me....

twenty-two pounds and counting. you got it, i am at 214 lbs as of this morning. i wasn't a real fatty prior to jan 06, but at 236 lbs (6'3'') i was headed in the wrong direction. i was the tall guy with the beer belly and a love of hot wings and pizza. still got the love, but the belly is going bye bye. i plan to post some before and after Biggest Loser Style pictures in about three weeks. my goal was 215 by April, but as i previously blogged it demanded to be readjusted, so i got crazy and made it 205. we shall see.

only had time for 30 minutes of cardio today as i was on after work baby duty. managed 1.5 miles running and 1 mile fast pace walking in that time. my diet is still in check which you can see by clicking on my fitday link to the right.

later.

We Have Sun!

AND WIND, but i will get to that later. yesterday it was in the 60s, but clouds and a freakin vicious wind made me not ride. i know, what a sissy. we had rain too. this morning was a different story. the sun made an appearance and temps were slated to be near 50 degrees. i did the baby thing until mommy woke up around 9am (she had a run in with a bottle of wine last night!) (oh wait so did i!!) and then prepared to hit the road.

it looked awesome out and i geared up and headed out. immediately i knew the ride back in would be a bitch. WIND, cold steady wind of about 15 mph was pushing me west at an average of 23 mph,which is super fast for this beginner. i mean i was barely working it and still maintaining that pace.

ten miles out i made the turn to head back east and bam, how you doing, the wind smacked me in the face. i was just spinning like crazy with my head down and it took all i had to maintain 10 mph. it was pain and perhaps the best workout i have had in years. i think i loved it? plus i spotted 5 other roadies challenging the wind too!!

the stats please; well get over to bikejournal.com (link to your right) and check them out. ok, no need for profanity, here you go;

1 hr 26 mins, 21.6 miles, 14.9 mph avg & 27.9 max, 84 avg cadence & 103 max, 145 HR avg & 164 max, 1338 cals toasted.

that makes over 40 miles this weekend, a record for me. warmer weather will only bring more miles! later.

Spring Time ?

it hit 55 degrees today and it is suppose to top 60 degrees tomorrow. is this spring, summer, fall or winter. the world really is messed up weather wise.

i bolted out of work early with enough time for a ride. how about some stats? well i have a second favorite website, behind fitday.com, and it's bikejournal.com. a great place to track you rides and progress and what not. check it out, my bike journal.

for those who prefer to stay it broke down like this; 21.9 miles in 1 hr 24 mins, for over 1100 calories burnt. i hope to hit it, the road, again tomorrow. later.

PEARL JAM !!!!!!!

the greatest band in the world has a new album coming out May 2nd and their new single is available for FREE (with no digital rights act crap, cause that's how they roll) over at PearlJam.com. plus, as a member of the 10c (ten club) i was just able to pick up four tickets to their May show at the United Center in Chicago. Can I get a Hell Yeah!

not to mention, i have been kicking the workout to a new level. yeah, i am still pissed about not losing any weight last week, so! today it was running for 30 freaking minutes. did some intervals, average 5.1 mph, 2.6 miles, 413 calories burnt, 141 avg heart rate. i feel those pounds melting right now.

i am out to watch American Idol. later.

The Wall?

is this the wall? have i hit the wall head on or just fallen off the top? man i hate this freakin evil doer, the wall.

yes, i weighed in for the weekly number and i feel the wall is holding me down. 216.5 is the number for week 9 of my weight loss adventure. since dropping 5 lbs three weeks ago to hit 218 i have stumbled to a mere 1.5 lb loss for the past three weeks.

the last two weeks i feel like i have picked up my cardio big time. read below, i kicked some cardio arse this weekend. so WTF? i know, this is real life and not NBC's fabulous reality show, The Biggest Loser, but why cant it be? don't get me wrong i am sticking with this program as i have dumped almost 20 lbs in two months.

i was bummed today, but when i got the gym i was pissed. so i hit the elliptical up for 2.94 miles, 30 minutes, 513 calories toasted AND then, oh yeah i said it, i hit the treadmill and ran for 15 minutes, 5 mph avg, 1.37 miles, with 238 calories sent packing. come one wall, you want some!

i am out. later.

Weekend Complete.....

well this weekend was a success on the diet front when compared to last. i did partake in some Chicago style pizza Saturday, but a man needs his pizza. i ended this week with some solid cardio.

Friday it was the elliptical machine and 500 calories toasted, Saturday it was the treadmill where i ran a mile in 9 mins 30 seconds and walked another 1.6 miles, and today it was the treadmill again with an 8 minute 45 second mile and 1.5 walked. at the start of this year i couldn't run for 3 minutes let alone spend 35 total minutes on a treadmill.

i got in 5 days of cardio and kept my calories low all week so i hope to drop a nice number with my Tuesday weigh in. temps may hit 50 near weeks end but right now its freakin snowing out. hopefully i will be riding by Friday though. later.

Ride Time

Temps were projected to hit 50 degrees today so I managed to make some time for a road ride. This would be my first significant ride with all the new upgrades. Hey, including my upgrade, er downgrade maybe, to 217 pounds.

I got this kick ass new Polar CS200cad cyclocomputer that tracks everything but the stock market. First though, it was more like 45 degrees at ride time with a nice chilly 15 mph wind out of the North East. It felt like 40 and the 8 miles into the wind were a killer.

The stats please: 17.8 miles, 1 hr 8 mins ride time, 15.8 avg speed, 26.7 max speed, 151 avg heart rate with a 191 max, 79 avg cadence with 100 max, and 1130 calories burnt. Holy crap that's a lot of numbers from such a tiny wireless device. Now I just need someone to tell me what they mean for a 32 yr old 217 lb male????

The bike road sweet. The 105 components shifted like butter. It was kick arse going 25 mph on average with the wind!

I didn't run into any pig heads, insert one of my favorite daily reads Jeff Kerkove , but did see one other roadie out. He was flying with the wind as I was chuggintg into it. Seriously, that is a picture of a pigs head. Later.