08/23/11 YRP-HC bike ride

YRP to HC 08/23/11 Ride at Garmin Connect - Details

I did it! I worked out the timing just perfectly, even including the fact that it took me 40-45 minutes to get to my starting point. Darn 91W fwy and it's traffic! I was able to cover 19.13 miles in 1 hour 16 minutes, averaging a speed of 15.0 mph. I had some good speeds in there, but my legs are beat from the 3.44 mile jog that I ran last night. Right now, my legs are screaming profanity at me and they hurt, B A D!!!!

Enough with the complaining already. I did it! I am that much closer to getting back on track to being fit again! WooHoo!

Until next time. Stay healthy.

08/16/11 Bike ride YRP-HC

YRP to HC ride 08/16/11- Details

So today was the day I decided I HAD to get back on my bike. I'm glad I did! I was (just barely) able to cycle 16.75 miles in 1hour and 6 minutes. I ended up burning 502 calories, which is better than nothing at all.

Yesterday my (now) 5 yr old started Kindergarten and he only goes until 11:55am, not very late all and my 9 yr old started 4th grade. My daughter started 7th grade last week. My 3.5 yr old gets to attend a preschool/daycare when I need it. Needless to say, this school year will be busy. Oh, did I mention that the older 3 have Tae Kwon Do 3 days/week? So, with the tight schedule I thought I would give my cycling a go and see how far I could get in the limited time alotted. I did it! As I neared my turn around point though, I made a sharp turn and caught the dirt edge... Almost took myself "out" while still attached to the bike, no good. Luckily, I was able to recover without hitting the ground. Whew! Getting back to my car was harder than I thought it would be, I was just as exhausted as if I had cycled 46 miles (to and from the beach). I was so glad to make it back to my car, unscathed.

Needless to say, I am truly tired and am looking forward to bedtime tonight. I am exhausted, but in a good way.

Oh. I should add. Yesterday I tried out the "Gold's Gym Cardio Workout" for Wii. It's a boxing game. I thought it was a bit slow, but let me tell you, after all the different routines I ended up doing, I "threw" 1,030 punches and my upper body is HELLA sore. OUCH!!!!!!!! (Lifting my bike in & out of my car was torture.)

Until next time. Take care and be healthy.

06/04/11 Back Bay bike ride

Untitled by lisas.lil.lam at Garmin Connect - Details

So, today's ride was an incomplete bike ride to the beach.

I have a "Rule of 3's". 3 bad things happen in one event, I need to stop & pull out.
#1- While airing my tires, my bike fell and I got knocked in the head by my handlebars. Strike.
#2- I hit a detour along the SART that lead me through the "hood" of Santa Ana. Not good since I was dressed "lightly". Signs were a little misleading so I started to freak and almost got lost. Strike.
#3- While riding the streets, I had to manuver around debris in the gutter... In doing so, my tire got caught along part of the asphalt (raised) ridge and I started to lose control and my bike started leaning into the street. I almost didn't get my foot out of the clip in time, but I did just before it was too late. However, a car was coming from behind me, freaked and wailed on his horn.. Yah, that's helpful, thanks! Strike.

I tried riding on, but my front tire (the one that got caught in the street) started acting a bit wobbly, so I decided to throw the towel in and turn around.

I made it back to my car with no further incidences, but man oh man, I just don't like having those kind of things happen in the beginning of my ride. Bad luck.

Stats- 13.54 miles in less than an hour and burned 426 calories. At least I got out there and tried.

05/31/11- HC to Edinger & back

Untitled by lisas.lil.lam at Garmin Connect - Details

So, today's ride was an incomplete bike ride to the beach.

I have a "Rule of 3's". 3 bad things happen in one event, I need to stop & pull out.
#1- While airing my tires, my bike fell and I got knocked in the head by my handlebars. Strike.
#2- I hit a detour along the SART that lead me through the "hood" of Santa Ana. Not good since I was dressed "lightly". Signs were a little misleading so I started to freak and almost got lost. Strike.
#3- While riding the streets, I had to manuver around debris in the gutter... In doing so, my tire got caught along part of the asphalt (raised) ridge and I started to lose control and my bike started leaning into the street. I almost didn't get my foot out of the clip in time, but I did just before it was too late. However, a car was coming from behind me, freaked and wailed on his horn.. Yah, that's helpful, thanks! Strike.

I tried riding on, but my front tire (the one that got caught in the street) started acting a bit wobbly, so I decided to throw the towel in and turn around.

I made it back to my car with no further incidences, but man oh man, I just don't like having those kind of things happen in the beginning of my ride. Bad luck.

Stats- 13.54 miles in less than an hour and burned 426 calories. At least I got out there and tried.

Some things have changed

So, since the last time I posted on here, I've changed my daily activities a little bit. Instead of the usual sit around the house, cook and clean ONLY... I now take my younger 2 to a childcare facility 5 days/week and cycle while they are there. I have been cycling around 20-30 miles/day; sometimes more, sometimes less. I started actively trying to lose weight back in April of 2009, from December '09-August '10, I had hit a weight loss "brick wall"- I could not shed a pound. It was horrible, no matter what I did or how hard I tried, my weight just stayed on, it was so frustrating!! In August, I went back to the local weight loss clinic & started using their program again, guess what, it started working again. As of now, I've lost 55 pounds and have only 15 more to lose! WooHoo! I'm finally seeing the light at the end of the (battle of the bulge) tunnel.

Back in August, Les bought me a new bike to help me increase my speed & really get going. I didn't want to upgrade my bike until I knew that I was going to keep up on the cycling. I really enjoy getting outside, breathing the fresh SoCal air and losing myself for an hour or so. I even got a pair of cycling shoes (clip less) in September and they make a world of difference in the way I pedal!

In November, I decided that I needed to change things up again, so I took up jogging. First, I walked about 3.5 miles, but decided that was taking too long so I started jog-walking on the way back. Boy was that hard on my body! (I should mention, that I have NEVER wanted to jog before, I despised jogging/running.) But, I made it. I tried to do the "Turkey Trot" up by my mom's in Northern Nevada, but it was only 6 degrees when we were supposed to head out- nuh uh, no way, not going to happen, that's way too cold for me to go outside, willingly. In early December, my hubby treated us to a trip to Maui- it was gorgeous! I made sure to either jog on the public boardwalk or to use the gym's treadmill. I was really proud of myself. Unfortunately, for the past 2 weeks, the weather was pretty cruddy here in SoCal so I couldn't do anything outside, ugh!

Well, today, I bit the bullet. I decided that even though I'd only had 3.5 hours of sleep, that I was going to get off my rear and get on that bike and MOVE. I even got my hubby to step away from his work to join me. Amazing, I know. The weather was beautiful so the trail I like to use was a bit busy. But, that's okay, it was still usable. We rode for 19.35 miles today. We completed the ride in 1h12mins. Not bad for the first time back out in 2 weeks. My legs were sore before I could even get off my bike. Tomorrow, I plan on jogging.

So I just wanted to update this blog & say, I'm getting out there & exercising. I've got a goal and I can "almost taste it"! I have 15 more pounds to lose to reach that goal. For the most part, this blog will probably be more about my weight loss journey to lose the last few pounds. I'm really proud of my progress so far. I've lost 55 pounds, coming from 196 down to 141 so far, from a size 18/20XL- to a size 6/small. I can actually say that even some of the small clothes overwhelm my body.

That's all for now. I'll try to post more often and share what I have accomplished.