Progress Day 35

I always hate when I hear people say they lost 3 pounds over and over while forgetting to mention the weeks in between where they gained it back. SO, I gained 1.6 pounds this week, up from 174.8 last Thursday. My food log doesn't agree with the change but I have have been feeling terrible this week and taking a host of feel good pills. I have not taken any today since this morning thinking it was my body holding onto fluid from the meds. So I'll do it again in the morning and if it's an improvement I'll go with that number!

On a side note, I am having my blood drawn in the morning and can't eat until 9:30 which will likely be the end of me since I get up so dang early.  Oh, and I am planning on putting my name at the top of the Aldape FKT board in the morning with Derek!

*Update.  I weighed exactly the same this morning.  Guess I just need to keep at it!  Derek and I found slush, ice, and snow up Rocky Canyon which wasn't much of a surprise.  BUT I am not in the mood to get hurt doing something I shouldn't be.  We decided to just run from 5 Mile Gulch up Rocky Canyon to Orchard and then back around 5 Mile on the trails.  It was nice to be off the ice but the deep slush and snow wasn't much better.  I also have a blood draw at work today that I am supposed to be fasting for.  Needless to say I should have stayed in bed this morning.

3 Cool Things Before 7am

The first cool thing was I tried some new endurance fuel from Tailwind Nutrition after reading a review by Cory Reese.  I don't normally have GI issues but I am always looking for something great.  I mentioned seeing his post to my friend Christine who finds it hard to get calories down during a race. She bought some and we split it.  Anyway, it went down easy, tasted good, and I felt good afterward.  It was a 12+ mile predawn run in cool temps so I would say it needs more field testing but I like it!

The second cool thing that happened was I bought a SMALL shirt for work and brought it to wear today.  I told Michelle I bought a shirt and she rolled her eyes as if to say YOU DO NOT NEED ANY MORE SHIRTS!   .....and she is right.  I bought it just because I could AND it fits.  (no sausage wrap here) The last time I bought a small anything I was probably 12 years old. It was a really good feeling after years of never being able to find anything on the rack because all the XXXL's were gone.

The other cool thing this morning was completing 2 laps at Polecat Trail with Christine.  We negative split the 2 loops by 2 minutes and spent a total of 50 seconds in the 'aid station' at my truck between laps. Good times!

Stimulus and Response

I have seen this before, maybe even posted it before...anyway I got to thinking about it today and thought I would add it to the blog.  Everything in life is a choice.

Progress Day 28

Today is day 28 and my 3rd anniversary of meeting my weight loss goal of 175 back in 2010. I have been working hard to get back under 175 these last few weeks and made my goal today.  I just barely squeaked by with a 174.8.  I'll take it, progress is progress. This is a total of 15.4 pounds in the last 4 weeks from my starting weight of 190.2. 

More importantly I have been able to string 4 good weeks back to back which has seemed to elude me for so long. Up, down, up, down never really getting anywhere.

I put in the work this week and put in the restraint at the table to get my goal so I was confident it was going to happen for me.  My prior success has given me a lot of confidence that I can do this as well as just about anything I set my mind to if I am willing to put in the work.  At races I am rarely surprised by my results because I know what work did or did not get done in training. 

The difficulty of getting back to this weight reminds me of something I learned along the way.  Losing weight is the easy part...keeping it off for the next 40 years is the more difficult of the two.  So, 3 down 37 to go. 

(Keeping the weight off article I found last year when preparing for the Boise Cascade health fair.)

A Constant Reminder

I wrote a post back in 2011 titled Use the Force Luke to express my amazement regarding how close I am to constant temptation EVERY SINGLE DAY all day at work.  I have been here nearly 5 years now and the chocolate bowls have not gone anywhere. 

Back in February 2010 when I met my weight loss goal, I took a Mr. Goodbar out of the bowl and put it under my monitor and wrote 169 on it.  It was a stretch goal and coincidentally the day I found out I am only 5'9" and not 5'10" like I had always thought.  Since my initial goal was simply to get into the healthy BMI category, that meant I needed to get to 175 if was 5'10" and 169 if I was (and am) 5'9".

For the last 3 years I have had to stare at this daily reminder of my inability to buckle down and get serious for a last little push. I thought I would never get there and for so long it seemed like the possibility was slipping further away.  Now it feels like a manageable goal which is energizing and motivating. Glad I didn't just eat it way back when out of frustration. The bad part is it's 3 years old now!  Make it a great day.

Secret to Success

The most valuable secret of success is that there is no secret. Success comes not from seeking to uncover some exotic hidden formula, but rather through persistently following through on opportunities to create value. The best shortcut to achievement is to avoid looking for a shortcut. Simply get busy and do the work required, for that is the quickest way to reach the goal you've set. 

The most effective way to handle what must be done is to do it. Procrastinating, agonizing, complaining and avoiding will only prolong the task and add greater difficulty to it. 

Life is not always easy, and wishing for things to be easier will usually make them more difficult. The time-tested strategy for making life truly easier is to go ahead and work through each challenge as it comes along.  By so doing, you grow stronger, more capable, more effective and more experienced. You put yourself in a position to live life on your own terms.

The route to success is no secret, and is in fact hidden in plain view.  Use every opportunity to make a difference, and you'll go precisely where you choose to go.

~Ralph Marston~

Do that!

When people ask me about weight loss, getting in shape, and running.  It often times leads to the....but I hate to run conversation.

I HATED to run when I first started too but that's not the point.  The  point is, find something you love and do that!  Walking, swimming, biking, bowling, gardening, snow shoeing, skiing....whatever it is just keep moving!

When you love it, it becomes a habit that isn't work at all.  If you love it, you will continue even after you reach your initial goals.

Make it a great day~ Ryan

Measurements with the Trainer

Google stock photo

Michelle got me a 3 session personal training package for Christmas with Austin.  He was the same trainer I went to at A2O Fitness before Boston and then again for my first 100 at the Bear.  I asked him to take measurements back in December and again in February after I lost a few pounds.  These are the measurements from 2/6/13, 12/28/12, 7/20/12, and the very first one back on 1/28/11 (from left to right in the detail).  

Many of the measurements didn't change significantly but the pinch tests did.  I don't have the pinch results (and if I did they probably wouldn't make much sense anyway). But for example, a 34 inch waist with a pinch result of 5 versus a 34 and a pinch of 3 would be higher body fat, etc.  I was surprised to see with only a 2.2 pound weight change between the first and last readings that my body fat decreased 5.3%.  I thought I was in the best shape of my life back in the spring of 2011 too!

Anyway, it has been interesting to see the change over time and I really regret not having something like this done in the very beginning. I am a numbers nerd so this stuff fascinates me.  By contrast I have acquaintances at work who say, "when my pants don't fit the same I change up the diet and exercise a bit more, the END!"   

Weight:
181.2 / 190.2 / 182.5 / 183.4

Body Fat%                Lean Mass / Fat Mass (in lbs.)

2/6/13 – 9.1%              164.7 / 16.4 
12/28/12 – 10.3%        170.5 / 19.6

7/20/12 – 7.6%            168.5 / 13.9
1/28/11 – 14.4%          157.0 / 26.4

Measurements:
Neck: 15 / 15.25 / 15 / 15
Shoulder: 45.25 / 46.5 / 46 / 46.25

Chest: 41 / 42.25 / 41 / 42

Waist: 33.5 / 34 / 33.25 / 34.5

Hips: 38 / 39 / 38 / 38

Thigh: 22 / 22.5 / 22 / 22.5

Calf: 15.25 / 15.5 / 15 / 15.5

Bicep: 12.5 / 12.5 / 12.5 / 12.25

Forearm: 10.5 / 11 / 10.75 / 10.5

Progress Day 21

Day 21 has arrived and I can say that I stuck to my goal of eating right and tracking my calories. The only day that I fell off the wagon was Super Bowl Sunday but that is OK because I can't pretend like there will never be another get together or special occasion. I allowed myself to splurge that day.

On January 25th starting weight was 190.2 so this 176.8 makes 13.4 pound total.  I was down 3.6 from last Thursday when I was 180.4.  In the last 7 days I have run more than any other week outside of a race week with about 80 miles.  On Saturday I ran my first 10K in just over 43 minutes and came in 6th place.  On Sunday I ran 26 miles in the foothills with some greenbelt to connect the smaller loops.  I am feeling stronger every day and can feel the benefits of not pushing around the extra weight.

Now I just have to lose 1.8 before next Thursday to meet my stretch goal!

Craig Alexander

I found this article today. Good stuff. Craig Alexander is the 2008, 2009 & 2011 Ironman Triathlon World Champion. 

Craig Alexander: Winning The Mind Game 
http://triathlete-europe.competitor.com/2011/02/09/craig-alexander-winning-mind-game

When it comes to mental toughness, few can compete with Craig Alexander. ‘Crowie’ as he is known in the triathlon world is one of the strongest – physically and mentally – out there, and like most champions he rarely contemplates defeat. Which is why this extract from a larger article in this month’s Triathlete Europe magazine gives an interesting insight into the two-time Ironman World Champion. In it, Crowie talks about how he gets through the tougher races, and what he thinks about while pounding out the miles.

What was your hardest race?

I think mentally the toughest races are also the toughest physical races. It is no coincidence. When thing are going well physically, you have a lot of confidence, and those days probably don’t require the same amount of mental strength. One that comes to mind was the ITU Long Course World Champs in Canberra in 2006. I had never raced longer than a half-Ironman distance race at the time, and I had just won the Ironman 70.3 World Championships in Clearwater the weekend before and then travelled home to Australia. I’d say physically I was in some of the best shape of my career, but I wasn’t really up to speed with nutrition for long-course racing. It was a very hot day and a fairly tough course, and I cramped a lot and ran out of fuel. The final 10 kilometres of that race was more mentally challenging than any other race of my career. I learned a lot that day.

Describe the thoughts and emotions that go through your head in that situation, being at the absolute limit of what you can handle.

 I think about the commitment I made to myself to be the best athlete I could, and all the time and energy that has been invested in my career by myself and others. I also think often of my family and draw inspiration from them. I try to stay positive and block out the negative thoughts. I concentrate on the things that are going to positively affect my mood and performance, rather than the thoughts and feelings that are going to undermine me.

How do you feel about the competitive aspect of another person trying to run you down in that situation? Does it cause doubt and negative thoughts at times, or are there times when you feed from it?

The thought of someone trying to run me down doesn’t intimidate me. I love the competitive nature of that situation. I am a competitive person, and I certainly feed off the competition. In the longer races I certainly spend more time concentrating on my own situation than thinking about anybody else. There are a lot of things in a race and in the lead-up to a race that can cause doubt. I really try to use these things as motivation to prepare well, and focus on the things that I can control. I think it is human nature to feel doubt at different times, but it is how you use those feelings, or learn from them, that’s important.

Progress Day 14

From my Progress Day 7 post last week...."My trick is to duplicate it next week."

Well it's next week now and I went from 183.6 to 180.4 this week for a total loss of 9.8.  I have still been running about the same but watching what I have been eating.  To be honest, I feel like I am eating more during the day.  The main difference is less at night.  That was (and will continue) to be my biggest hurdle.  

Michelle has done a wonderful job of meal planning for dinner which makes it a lot easier on me.  In addition to watching calories I have been trying to follow my own advice I have given to people when I say follow a plan strictly for 21 days and re-evaluate.  I haven't been able to stick to a food plan for 7 straight days since I met my goal. This has been bad for me obviously but it also makes it much harder for Michelle to reach her goal.  

SO, I will stick to it for another 7 days and re-evaluate.  My stretch goals would be to just make it a habit again so I don't have to 'stick' to anything and get down to 175.  In two weeks I will hit the 3rd anniversary of reaching my goal weight so it would be really nice to get down to that same weight of 175 on February 21st.  This would actually be quite a significant improvement from when I reached it in 2010.  Since I was more focused on fat loss initially I had very little muscle and lots of flab making up that 175.  Since then I have changed my muscle to fat combination for the better.

I am feeling better everyday. Make it a great day everyone!

When Belief Becomes Conviction

“It's the repetition of affirmations that leads to belief. And once that belief becomes a deep conviction, things begin to happen.”  ~Muhammad Ali

Running Goals 2012

These were my goals I posted on Dailymile last year.

Salt Flats 100M (23:43), Silver City 100k (16:48), Speedgoat 50k (8:06), WIFMER 50M (14:21), Wasatch 100 (33:20). Do something I never thought possible, and have it rank a perfect 2.0 on the AMY KING scale........

I must have ran out of room because I did several others too.  Wilson Creek Frozen 50k (7:48), Pickled Feet 12 Hour (45 miles), Pocatello 20M with Michelle, and the Foothills Frenzy 50k (5:44).

Races and times were the easy part.  The hard part of the goal was doing something I never thought possible and have it rank a perfect 2.0 on the Amy King scale.  A little back story on the AK scale. One day on Dailymile they had a question where they asked people to come up with a word starting with your initials from your first and last name to describe yourself.  Amy wrote ASS KICKER, which I loved, so that is why I named it the AK scale.  So here are my top 4 AK moments from the past year that all scored a perfect 2.0.

1) I had the opportunity to run the Hornet Run 5k with my daughter Kaylee and her friends from Girls on the Run.  It is a program that teaches girls in 3rd-5th grade about self esteem, body image, working as a team, supporting others, and the running actually seemed to be a small part of the program.  Kaylee was super excited and had a wonderful time.  It was a really fun day.  Zach ran and Michelle walked.  Sometimes I feel like I missed out on the joy and excitement of finishing an organized race of this distance when I was getting in shape so it was fun to live it through the eyes of my kids.

2) In May I ran the Pocatello 20 mile trail run with Michelle.  Michelle has done many races but this was my first real opportunity for me to join her from start to finish.  I tried my best to be supportive and not too annoying along the way.  It was fun for me see first hand how she pushed herself and had fun doing it.  She reminded me that no matter how hard it is there is never an excuse to not have fun.  It was also a great feeling to have many of our friends there to share her moment as she crossed the finish line.

3) At the Salt Flats 100M race in April last year my goal was to finish in under 24 hours which I was able to do.  But the true highlight of the day for me, as well as many others, was to see Davina Jackson cross the finish line at her first 100 mile race.  There were many firsts that day but this was a special moment for everyone there.  The excitement at the finish line was awesome and everyone felt lucky to be fortunate enough to share that feeling with her!

4) Joining Amy King at the IMTUF 100 as her pacer was my final AK2.0 moment.  I have told Amy that I really enjoyed being there with her although I think she felt like I was just AK'ing.  It was a good learning experience for me to be a pacer and see how she handled those tough middle miles.  When I joined her at Lick Creek summit she had already done 44 miles and we did 30+ miles together before missing the cutoff at Crestline Trailhead.  The conditions that day were TUF for sure with a starting temperature in the single digits combined with smoke from nearby forest fires and dusty trails followed by all night temperatures in the teens.  We were standing on the ridge above Box Lake just as the sun was coming up and were treated to one of the most amazing sunrises I have ever seen.  She told me Box Lake and the surrounding mountains hold a lot of special memories for her and her family growing up and I was glad I was there to be a small part of this memory with her.

After the race someone asked me if I have ever DNF'd and I said no.  They said, you will someday and then you'll know how she is feeling.  I agreed and added that when my day comes I hope I can say I tried as hard as Amy and gave it everything I had.

Time to come up with new goals.