[ORUTH] One month in
And so here we go again with a general report on Operation Running Up That Hill.
First, apropos of nothing, is the Kate Bush lyrics:
"You're like my yo-yo that glowed in the dark
What made it special made it dangerous
So I buried it and forget" --Kate Bush, "Cloudbusting"
Now, howamidoin?
Training absolutely could not be going better. I've got a great rhythm to getting 30 miles every day, even if I don't get it in one individual ride. Again, the point of this exercise is base building, adapting to progressive fatigue, and weight loss, so it's more about miles per day than miles per ride. I've learned how to get those miles even on rainy or busy days. I'm even learning to like going to the gym to use the stationary bike.
When I started ORUTH, I weighed 172 lbs, which is a deeply unacceptable weight for me. On Sunday, I weighed in at 157 lbs. I have lost a lot of weight very quickly, and it hasn't been muscle atrophy. The class of activity and the protein levels in my diet are keeping this all under control. In a couple more weeks, I'll have dropped enough weight to consider myself ready for hill climbing.
I've had two weeks of 6 days of activity. I could have easily made it a 7 day week last week. I'm winning the war against progressive fatigue, and I'm hardly even trying. Subjectively, every ride is getting easier as I lose weight and practice riding form more and more.
Psychologically, I'm finding a growing addiction to riding. I want to be on my bike. Curiously enough, I even want to be in the gym. I want to put more miles in my day. I want to work out more. Whatever I'm doing on a given day, I want more. I'm falling into a seam where I'm living for my training. This is a good thing. I have months of training ahead of me, so I need to be in this headspace. It's also giving me a cause, which is something I so often need. Because of this, I feel that I have focus, peace, and happiness in my life at unprecedented levels. I'm also finding with more riding is coming more opportunities for inner exploration. It makes sense. When I'm riding, it's a state of mind wholly unique from anything else in life. I guess it's a lot like what people say they get from yoga. More riding means more time to have this active meditation. It's good for me.
The diet is quite sustainable. I love it. I do have a couple of points in the day where I have a little hunger, but I also don't think a little hunger ever hurt anyone. I'm putting a few extra snacks at my desk to make sure I just don't have any problems riding home. The great thing is that my dinners are variable enough to not get boring but insanely easy to prepare. It's a win-win situation all around. If anyone asks, I'll post a sample menu.
I haven't missed alcohol in the least. This is really fascinating, because the last time I went sober, I still found myself wanting a beer from time to time. So far, however, the idea of having an alcohol buzz just seems like an awful burden to me, and as I watch the body fat melt off me, it becomes clear to me just how much alcohol has played a role in ruining my fitness levels. I won't make any grandiose proclamations, but I wouldn't be surprised if I don't go back to alcohol after the ride is over.
I'm currently at $770 and need to reach a minimum of $3,000. Fund raising hasn't been as active as it should be. This is largely my own fault. I'm re-posting on LJ and Facebook and I've got friends out there stumping for me, but I still haven't hung up my poster at work or talked to local businesses. Heck...I haven't even asked for money from my own family. This is mostly because, to be frank, I've told them I'm doing a ride for charity and nowhere in there did they ever ask about the charity or ask if they could help me. I'm not mad at them, and so I don't consider my position to be passive-aggressive, but I will say that it's exactly the complete lack of engagement or insight I've come to expect from my family.
I did get a donation from a total stranger in my guild. That was touching. The dude's unemployed and he still found something to send.
I believe the Silicon Valley Roller Girls president said that I could be the charity for one of their bouts, so I need to get to work on that. I also need to get it together with local businesses. I'm often not sure who to hit up, as there are relatively few places where I'm a "known local". I'm sure I'll get creative somehow.
Incidentally, if you would like to donate to the San Francisco AIDS Foundation on my behalf, you can do so by clicking this link.
First, apropos of nothing, is the Kate Bush lyrics:
"You're like my yo-yo that glowed in the dark
What made it special made it dangerous
So I buried it and forget" --Kate Bush, "Cloudbusting"
Now, howamidoin?
Training absolutely could not be going better. I've got a great rhythm to getting 30 miles every day, even if I don't get it in one individual ride. Again, the point of this exercise is base building, adapting to progressive fatigue, and weight loss, so it's more about miles per day than miles per ride. I've learned how to get those miles even on rainy or busy days. I'm even learning to like going to the gym to use the stationary bike.
When I started ORUTH, I weighed 172 lbs, which is a deeply unacceptable weight for me. On Sunday, I weighed in at 157 lbs. I have lost a lot of weight very quickly, and it hasn't been muscle atrophy. The class of activity and the protein levels in my diet are keeping this all under control. In a couple more weeks, I'll have dropped enough weight to consider myself ready for hill climbing.
I've had two weeks of 6 days of activity. I could have easily made it a 7 day week last week. I'm winning the war against progressive fatigue, and I'm hardly even trying. Subjectively, every ride is getting easier as I lose weight and practice riding form more and more.
Psychologically, I'm finding a growing addiction to riding. I want to be on my bike. Curiously enough, I even want to be in the gym. I want to put more miles in my day. I want to work out more. Whatever I'm doing on a given day, I want more. I'm falling into a seam where I'm living for my training. This is a good thing. I have months of training ahead of me, so I need to be in this headspace. It's also giving me a cause, which is something I so often need. Because of this, I feel that I have focus, peace, and happiness in my life at unprecedented levels. I'm also finding with more riding is coming more opportunities for inner exploration. It makes sense. When I'm riding, it's a state of mind wholly unique from anything else in life. I guess it's a lot like what people say they get from yoga. More riding means more time to have this active meditation. It's good for me.
The diet is quite sustainable. I love it. I do have a couple of points in the day where I have a little hunger, but I also don't think a little hunger ever hurt anyone. I'm putting a few extra snacks at my desk to make sure I just don't have any problems riding home. The great thing is that my dinners are variable enough to not get boring but insanely easy to prepare. It's a win-win situation all around. If anyone asks, I'll post a sample menu.
I haven't missed alcohol in the least. This is really fascinating, because the last time I went sober, I still found myself wanting a beer from time to time. So far, however, the idea of having an alcohol buzz just seems like an awful burden to me, and as I watch the body fat melt off me, it becomes clear to me just how much alcohol has played a role in ruining my fitness levels. I won't make any grandiose proclamations, but I wouldn't be surprised if I don't go back to alcohol after the ride is over.
I'm currently at $770 and need to reach a minimum of $3,000. Fund raising hasn't been as active as it should be. This is largely my own fault. I'm re-posting on LJ and Facebook and I've got friends out there stumping for me, but I still haven't hung up my poster at work or talked to local businesses. Heck...I haven't even asked for money from my own family. This is mostly because, to be frank, I've told them I'm doing a ride for charity and nowhere in there did they ever ask about the charity or ask if they could help me. I'm not mad at them, and so I don't consider my position to be passive-aggressive, but I will say that it's exactly the complete lack of engagement or insight I've come to expect from my family.
I did get a donation from a total stranger in my guild. That was touching. The dude's unemployed and he still found something to send.
I believe the Silicon Valley Roller Girls president said that I could be the charity for one of their bouts, so I need to get to work on that. I also need to get it together with local businesses. I'm often not sure who to hit up, as there are relatively few places where I'm a "known local". I'm sure I'll get creative somehow.
Incidentally, if you would like to donate to the San Francisco AIDS Foundation on my behalf, you can do so by clicking this link.