Challenge Issued

In the past 2 days I've had a few challenges issued to me, not sure whether I'll be able to accept them or not.



The people who have issued the challenge haven't worded it as a challenge, but believe me, if I choose to accept this challenge, that's EXACTLY what it's going to be.

Challenge # 1: Don't keep track of my mileage when riding my bike or running this next year.

I have kept track of how many miles I've ran this year & how many miles I've biked this year. I have it on an Excel spreadsheet and everything. I even have weather I ran on a treadmill or if I biked outside or on a spinning bike, etc.

If you haven't guessed it yet, I have OCD! Now, I don't have OCD where you have to flip a light switch 7 times before leaving a room, but I do catch myself washing my hands alot, etc. But, we could go off on that on another post. Lol.

One of my friends on Twitter who has done many Ironman's says that you should really ride or run for your heart rate and intensity and not necessarily mileage. I mean, go ahead & keep track of your mileage for that particular ride or run, but don't add up your mileage. In the long run (no pun intended), do those miles really matter?

It honestly gives me a little bit of anxiety thinking about not keeping track of my mileage. I look at how many miles & calories I've burned this year and to me it's an achievement, you know?

I did ride my bike on the bike trainer last night for 1 hour without knowiing mileage. I didn't know the mileage because my bike computer wasn't working & I don't have a heart rate monitor right now. Yes, it does kind of bug me that I don't know how many miles I went or how many calories I burned.

Challenge # 2: Throw out my bathroom scale.

This week has been a VERY rough week. I started out the week being sick. I felt like I had a cold, so I took a couple of days off from working out & started with the cold meds. When I don't workout I seem to lose all sense of self control. Then take in to consideration, I've been having major anxiety with my job lately. When I have major anxiety, the one thing I want to do is eat. All I've done all week is eat, eat, eat!!! I've eaten everything in site!!! It hasn't been good.

I can tell I've gained weight. I usually step on the scale every Saturday morning after my workout & morning shower & weigh myself. I've been doing this for 3 years. After I weigh in, I put that number on an Excel spreadsheet & calculate how much weight I've lost to date, etc.

I posted on Twitter today something to the effect that I'd gained ALOT of weight this week from eating crap because of anxiety and other factors and I'm gonna have to work hard next week and jump back on the band wagon and get this weight off. BananaBuzzbomb replied saying "Don't let that crap get to you. You're better than that!" Then she told me to throw out my scale. I need to stop looking at myself as a number.

Now, here's the difficult part. When I first started my weight loss and triathlon journey, I set a goal weight of 150 lbs. As I continue to workout, I've learned that is not a realistic goal. Why? Because I'm gaining muscle. Muscle weighs more than fat. So, size wise, I could be the same size as someone else who weighs 150 lbs, but I don't think I'll EVER see that # on the scale. I'm ok with that. What I'm not ok with, is seeing the # in the 170's. To me, that is just not good enough.

I'm scared to death of being 280 lbs again. It scares the bejesus out of me. Even when I gain 2 or 3 lbs, I feel like I'm 280 lbs again. Another friend on Twitter joined the conversation and when I told them that I'm scared of being overweight again, they told me "You will never be that size again. Ever. Weight will fluctuate at time. Focus on training, performance, not a number." THAT is my goal.

Honestly though, it scares the shit outta me to throw out my scale. I honestly don't know if I can do it. I haven't decided if I will weigh myself tomorrow or not to see how much weight I've gained this week. If I do decide to weigh myself, I need to promise myself not to get upset about it. I know that on Monday I will jump back on the band wagon and I will be working out twice a day.

Do you wanna try & join me in these challenges?

Failure is NOT an option

It really hit me earlier this week that failure is just NOT an option in my book. It just isn't. Period.

About 3 - 4 weeks ago, my hip finally healed and I was able to start running again. Last week, I got done running 4 miles on the treadmill and as soon as I stepped off the treadmill I could feel shin splints coming on. I couldn't believe it! Seriously? That's the last thing I need right now.

It just seems like if it's not one thing, it's another. I record on Daily Mile all of my workouts & I've got friends on Daily Mile. I see people running at a pace of 8:30, 8:15, etc. Man am I jealous.

I found myself saying last week when I got my shin splints, if I didn't want to hear "Ara...YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!!!" SO bad, I would totally give up on this running, etc. It seems like if it's not one injury, it's another. But, you know what? You will NEVER see me give up. NEVER.

Busy as a Bee

Sorry I haven't blogged in a couple of weeks. I've been busy with work and the gym that by the time I get home, the last thing I want/need to do is blog. :( This weekend I'll try & get a few blogs posted for your reading pleasure. Happy reading! :)

As Luck Would Have It...

I was going to start running this week. As many might now from previous posts, or from my posts on Twitter, I've had a hip injury. I tore a muscle in my hip and I haven't been running in 4 weeks.

I was talking with my personal trainer on Saturday and he asked me how I was feeling. My hip has been feeling pretty good lately. I can go days without it hurting. So, B.J. and I decided that he would slowly start easing me in to running again. He would only put running on my workout schedule for like 1 to 2 miles at a time and it would be after a bike ride or something.

I was SO excited to start running again. But...as luck would have it...I came down with a cold yesterday. The picture below is EXACTLY how I feel. :(



I've started taking cold medicine and I'm taking it every 4 - 6 hours around the clock, so hopefully I'll be able to kick this cold as soon as possible.

I can't wait to get out & start running again. I want to start training for my full marathon in May!

Spinning Bike vs Stationary Bike

I mention alot on Twitter that I go to spinning classes and that my gym only has 2 spinning bikes and that I hate riding the stationary bikes. Someone on Twitter asked me the difference between a Spinning bike and a Stationary bike. I honestly couldn't answer the question. I had NO clue. So I went and researched it.

The best information I found was at: http://ask.metafilter.com/81620/What-is-the-practical-difference-between-a-spinning-and-regular-stationary-exercise-bike

A spinning bike:



Vs.

A stationary bike:



"Spin bikes have a heavy, weighted flywheel that is directly mechanically linked to the pedals. This makes them like fixed-gear bikes, in that if you stop pushing on the pedals, they will tend to keep spinning due to the inertia of the flywheel. This is as opposed to regular bikes or regular exercise bikes, which have some kind of freewheel system that allows the wheel to spin freely if you stop pedaling.

There's a good deal of debate out there on fixies vs. freewheels which would apply similarly to spin bikes vs. regular exercise bikes. The biomechanics is different, it's better exercise, it's worse exercise, it's hard on your knees, it's good for your form - it depends who you ask, and these things are subjective, really. Certainly the inertia will lead to a higher pedaling cadence, which is part of the spinning experience.

Also, the shape of the bike is different - a spin bike is generally designed much more like a real road bike, and your posture on the bike will reflect that. Most exercise bikes are more upright, have wider seats, and generally are more "comfortable", at least to people who aren't used to riding a road bike. To me, they are less comfortable. Again, subjective, but different posture will focus on different muscle groups."

Now that someone has spelled out what the difference is between the two bikes, it makes alot more sense to me.

Question of the Day:

Do you prefer riding a spinning bike or a stationary bike?

Do you have a bike trainer so that you can ride at home in the winter months?