And here we go again...FINALLY!

OK, I have to come clean. I have been planning on riding my bike for many many weeks now.  My last ride was the 13th of March. I would make all these plans to get out and ride, but for some reason when it came right down to it, the motivation just wasn't there.

Today, it finally was and I got out for a ride. OK, it was a short one, under 3 miles, but this is a positive step. Part of my trepidation was reading about several people who have been hit by cars in the last few months.  I definitely didn't and don't, want to become someone's hood ornament.

Finally today I felt that I just had to go for it and I did and I enjoyed it.

I think it's time to start getting up at 4:00 am and riding while its cool and the traffic is light. Hopefully in the near future, after we move, I can find some decent bike paths that get me away from traffic where I will feel a whole lot safer.

In other news, today was also the weigh out for the Biggest Winner competition in the corporate challenge and I am proud to say that the scale showed a 28 lb. loss for me. I'll certainly take it and now its all about continuing the journey.

So, now that I did it, its your turn to...

GET ON YOUR BIKE AND RIDE!!!!!!

Week three is in the books

The good news is that as a team we have a net loss of 11 lbs. this week. The bad news is that a couple of our team members struggled and gained a pound each this week. As a team we have already surpassed our total team weight loss for the team in last year's competition.  Personally I lost 4 lbs. This week for a total of 15 lbs. so far. I am very happy with my loss and feel very positive that we will all continue to lose weight.

I heard the news this week that once again the Viva Bike Vegas event has been cancelled.  Apparently the negotiations between the organizer and the various municipalities and regional transportation commission stalled and there is no funding for the safety teams for the event.  That is a shame.  I thought that this was an awesome event.  I'm starting to feel like my participating in an event is a curse for the event.  3 major events I have participated in have all been cancelled:  Viva Bike Vegas, The Tour De Cure and Ride: MS. Its getting to the point where there are very few large, charity rides available in the area.

Another week gone already

I can't believe another week is already gone in the Biggest Winner challenge.  Our team results still remain positive and I couldn't be happier!  Personally, I am down another 5 lbs. this week to 437 which is awesome.  As a team we are down an additional 13 lbs. this week which brings our total to 36 lbs or 2.6%.  This is a great start and we have good momentum going for the challenge.

I am pleased with our results overall, but this is a long competition and there are 7 more weeks to stay focused and on track.  I know I can actually do better by increasing my activity and am planning on more bike riding as I get ready for the National Bike Challenge which will be running again this year from May through September.  I plan on surpassing last year's totals by riding every single day from May 1 through September 30.

What are you doing to get stay fit and healthy?

I have a suggestion:

Get on your bike and ride!

And the games begin - 2015 edition!

Once again this year I will be participating in the Corporate Challenge games through my place of employment.  I have previously written about participating in or even captaining teams in several of the events:  Biggest Winner (2013, 2014), Bike Race (2011 2012), Track and Field, Tug O War and Laser Tag.  This year will be slightly different.

I am captain of the team for the Biggest Winner competition again this year and I feel like i have a strong, motivated team. Yesterday was the initial weigh in and to prepare, I ate just about anything and everything to "bulk up" before hand.  It seemed to work in that my initial weight for the competition came in at 448 lbs.  Now its time to put in the work, watch what I'm eating and lose a significant amount of weight. the final weigh in for this event is on May 11.  Just over 9 weeks away.

I am also captain of the bowling team this year.  The gentleman who had been captain for several years retired, leaving an opening which I decided to see if I could fill.  It will be interesting to see how we do this year as there have been some strong teams in the past. I'll be posting more on this over the next few weeks as the competition isn't until May 3rd.

Track and field is on the agenda as well as I participate in both the softball throw and the shot put again this year. I really need to get out and get some practice time in as this event is coming in less than 3 weeks.  I hope to better my mark from last year so I need to get out there and throw the ball!

So, with these events I have to get active and get healthy.  My biggest secret will be to...

get on my bike and ride!

ADDENDUM

I just looked at my calendar and realized that the track and field event conflicts with a previous engagement so I won't be doing the shot put or the softball throw this year.

DW

Biggest Winner Competition wraps up

You may remember that I wrote about the Biggest Winner Weight Loss competition which is part of the Las Vegas Corporate Challenge.  The initial weigh in was on March 4 and the weigh out was this past Monday, May 12.  I was the captain of our team and recruited 4 other individuals to participate. I had hoped to earn points and possibly a medal for our team.  Unfortunately that was not the case.

As with most weight loss competitions the team started out positive, strong and motivated.  I had the team check in each Monday with their current weight and the first 3 or 4 weeks were great.  Then we hit a couple of snags.  Team members suffered injuries and had to curtail some of their physical activities.  Easter came and went.  There was a reduction of staff at work. Mother's day was the weekend before the final weigh in.  It all added up to our placing 12th in the competition.

I know we all have struggles and challenges we face every day, but I had hoped to keep my team motivated and on track., I obviously did a poor job.  If each member of the team had simply stayed at their lowest reported weight, then we would have placed 4th overall.  That didn't happen.  Over the last 4 weeks, and particularly over the last week, several pounds, once lost, were gained back.

I lost the largest number of pounds on our team for the challenge at 23. I also had the largest percentage at 5.23%.  The total weight lost by the other 4 team members combined was only 18 lbs. which gave us a 41 lb. total loss representing 3.29%.  While I could try to blame my teammates, the failure is mine.  I failed to keep them motivated and on track for the challenge. I need to look at what I did and when, and decide what I could do differently to help them achieve better results.

The fact that we had gained back weight points to a failure on my part. I was supposed to keep them motivated and on point for the challenge and my weekly emails obviously missed the mark.  There has to be more that I could have done.  Right now I'm not sure what that was, but I have reached out to my team mates and asked that very question - what more could I have done to help with the challenge.  I hope to get some usable answers so that in the future I can be a better leader.

So, I am celebrating my 23 lb. loss, but the celebration is short lived as I need to keep myself motivated and moving forward towards a slimmer and healthier version of myself.  I indulged a bit the last couple of days in the food department, but its time to get back to eating better and moving more.

Get on your bikes and ride!

A good weekend of competition

This was a good weekend for 2 teams I am captain of in the Las Vegas Corporate Challenge.  Our Tug O War team took 3rd place, winning bronze medals and our Laser Tag team tied for 2nd which won us Silver.  I am so proud of my teammates and all the work they did to achieve these results!

I wish I was in a better position to pull for the tug o war but replacing myself as a puller with 2 strong people worked well.

It was a double elimination tournament.  We won our first pull, lost our second, won the third and fourth, but lost the 5th.  The only 2 teams to beat us were the 2 teams in the finals for the top 2 spots so it all worked out.

Sunday at Laser tag we were in the arena with 5 other teams for 2 games.  We dominated the 2 games to be among the top 6 teams overall who advanced into the finals.  The finals were a tough game against the other top teams.  we held our own and ended up tied with the another team, team NNSS for second place.  The winners were team Zappos.

Track And Field Competition

Saturday was the day.  It was the track and field competition for the Corporate Challenge her e in Las Vegas.  I was signed up for several events and was determined to earn some points for our team as we tried to win an overall medal. I did what I could but not as well as I had hoped.

To get ready I actually went out with my Grandson's on Friday evening to throw the softball around and try to work on my form.  I knew that if I could get the ball up more, I could greatly increase my distance.  We headed out to a local park and found an open ball field.  I started at the pitcher's mound, throwing at the backstop.  The first few throws were line drives that hit the plate then went crashing into the backstop.  They were great if I was throwing out a runner sliding into home, but horrible for distance throwing.

I took my time on the next throw, not throwing as hard, but concentrated on getting the ball up.  Marked improvement.  A few more throws and I was hitting the back stop about 4 or 5 feet in the air.  Now, I only had 4 balls to work with so after every 4 throws the grandsons were playing ball retrievers and then taking their turns to throw.  At 6 and 8 years old they were getting pretty good.

I then decided to move out to second base, again throwing towards the plate.  The first throw from here I was back to a line drive because I was throwing too hard.  It barely made the plate.  The next couple of throws I eased off and got good altitude on the throws and eventually hit the backstop about 3 feet up.  At this point my shoulder was getting sore so I knew better than to keep throwing with the competition the next day.  I felt I was ready.

Saturday morning we were up early and out for a decent breakfast before the event.  I had the ham bacon, sausage and cheddar omelet.  It was good and I was ready to go.  We had the 2 youngest Grandsons with us again and headed to Rancho High School, the site of the competition.  I was amazed at how many people were there.

Now, I was never an athlete in high school so I never went to any of our athletic competitions. I had no idea what to expect.  It was impressive to me how they were able to handle so many athletes in so many events and keep it all straight.  There was an army of volunteers doing everything from check in to measuring and officiating on the various events.

There were 3 divisions of companies competing in each of 7 events - 4 running, the softball throw, the shot put and the long jump.  Fortunately for me the Division A softball throw was one of the first events and the shot put one of the second..  After checking in at the registration table, I met up with several of my team mates and we started reviewing where we were at and organizing ourselves for the competition.  I found out that the Captains had actually signed me up for 4 events just in case I could compete.  Besides the Softball Throw and Shot put I was listed for the Long Jump and the 100 yard dash.

There was no way I was doing either of those events, but it was nice to have the option.  I had actually toyed with the idea of trying the long jump but thought better of it once I saw them competing.

I had brought the softballs and did a few warm up throws with the grandsons to keep them occupied and to loosen up a bit. We then headed up to the grandstands to wait.

At 8:00 they called the teams to line up for the first events.  I didn't realize how many people would be competing in the Division A softball throw.  Fortunately some teammates got in line not too far back and were holding our place.  I sat with my wife and the grandsons for a bit watching some of the competitors. There were a few who really launched the ball.  It was very impressive.

After the first few throwers I got in line with my teams and it was a bunch of standing and waiting.  The line was moving quite slowly.  I felt my calves and back tightening up and knew i should go sit down for a bit.  I can't stand just standing and waiting.  I headed back to the stands to watch some more just as they were calling the first of the running events - the women's 1600 meter.  I thought it was interesting that we were doing the softball throw in the center of the track while they were running races on the track.  It made getting to and from the events a bit tricky if you weren't watching what was going on on the track.

After about 10 minutes I headed back to the line with my team, bringing one of the softballs with me.  I figured a few throws to warm up while waiting would help to pass the time and keep my back from getting too tight.  We threw about 20 balls back and forth and I got back in line.  I was fairly loose and ready.  10 minutes later our team started their throws.  We were doing pretty good it seemed, but we really had no idea where we were in relation to other throwers in our age group.

It was finally my turn and I got to the table, showed my id and got ready to throw.  I hoped i could get a decent loft on the ball and not throw it in the dirt.  I should have been focusing on what I should do and not what I shouldn't as I threw pretty much a line drive for my first throw.  I was kicking myself as I knew it wasn't very long.  I tried to regroup for the second throw.  I did get a bit more loft but it was still fairly short.  My official distance was 74' 9".  I did what I could do for the day. I would have liked more distance, but it is what it is.

As I walked off the field Nick and Dillon said 'Good job grandpa.  You did your best."  I was feeling distinctly better having heard that.  We decided to head towards the shot put which was away from the track over by the soccer field.  As we headed that way it seemed like we were heading the wrong way so we headed back towards the stands and had a seat for a couple of minutes to rest my back.  As we were sitting we heard another competitor inquire how to get to the shot put and confirmed we had been heading in the right direction.

We headed toward the shot put about 9:15 and were waiting as the C division athletes were finishing their throws.  They were doing pretty well.  There had been a lady following us over towards the shot put and come to find out she was a C division competitor.  I overheard her checking in at the event and she is 70 years old.  I was impressed that she was even attempting the shot put.  She did her 3 attempts and ended up with a 13' 9" as her best.  I complimented her on how well she did and she commented that in college she had done 22'.  I was still impressed that she was able to do what she did at her age.

They finished up any C athletes that were around and closed the C competition at 9:30.  They took a couple of minutes to get organized and then started the A division 20 minutes early.  Fortunately I was second in line when they started.

When it was my turn I got to the circle and got ready to compete.  Not having measured our distances last week, I had no idea how far it was going to go.  I tried to concentrate on form for the first attempt and it seemed to go pretty well, but I knew I hadn't gotten the proper elevation.  On my second attempt I did manage to get it higher, but my follow through wasn't there.  It did go further than the first, though.  I decided to put everything I had into my third attempt and it was the farthest of the 3 but I knew it could have been better.  I ended up with a distance of 23' 9" which I thought was pretty good.

I had a good cheering section and Michele and the boys were cheering me on with each throw and the volunteers said I had the best cheering section for the day.  Thanks Michele Dillon and Nicholas!

Of course being second up for the entire division I had no idea how anyone else in my age group had done.  I was tired.  We were hot as it was a nice sunny day.  The boys were complaining they were hot, my back was getting very tight and I needed to sit down and enjoy some A/C so we headed on out not knowing how I had done in my events nor how we were doing as a company.

As of this morning they haven't posted the results online.  When they do, I will update this post.

UPDATE:  Results have been posted and I placed 5th of 5 in both events.  I'm happy with that.  I earned points for our team and helped us to take 3rd 2nd place overall! (There was a missing score on the worksheet)  Yay team!

Technique is important

On Saturday we had a practice session for the upcoming track and field event I signed up for as part of this year's Corporate Challenge.  We are lucky to have someone who has many years of shot put under his belt and is a patient teacher - Thanks Luke!.  4 of us met at a local park which actually had a ring and toe block so we could learn a little something about how to put the shot.

In my mind I figured - "no problem!"  I'm a big guy so I should be able to do this.  No big deal.  Well, this is where the mind outstrips the body's abilities.  Luke showed up proper form and in my mind I was doing it exactly as he was, but obviously that wasn't the case.  My throws were much shorter and I just couldn't get any rotation to go with the throw.  After about 30 throws I realized that with all of the time it was taking I wasn't improving much, if any plus my shoulder was starting to feel it.

At that point I stopped practicing as I realized the amount of time available between now and Saturday was insufficient for any real improvement.  How far did I throw?  I don't know as we didn't have a tape measure there.  If I had to guess I would say in the 20 to 24 ft range.  I hope to do better on Saturday, but not holding my breath.

What was really bad was attempting to throw the softball after the shot put.  I was terribly uncoordinated.  I was throwing line drives and sinkers like I was throwing out a runner sliding in to home plate as opposed to getting loft on the ball for distance.  The softball was too light after the shot put.  I was expecting more resistance and just couldn't get it right.  Add to that my back was tightening up and after 10 throws I was done.

The good news is that the softball throw is first on Saturday so I am going lighter to heavier and I hope that will improve the situation. I have to focus on form and technique and worry a bit less about power.

So I am practicing the motions without the shot - Elbow up, thumb down.  Shot tight to the face.  Use the opposite arm to pull your through to open up and then push the shot up and out with a finish flick of the fingers. Reset. Repeat.  I have no idea if this will help but figure it can't hurt.

My 200th Post

I realized this morning as I was looking at the blog that I had written 199 posts since I started the blog almost 4 years ago.  For some 200 posts is no big deal, but I actually find it a bit amazing that I've found enough things to write about that I've written that many posts.  I like to try and keep things interesting here by not posting the same things over and over again.  Sure I could post daily about what I ate, how many steps I've taken, how far I've ridden and daily weigh ins, but I want this blog to be more than that.

I want to highlight the more human side of what I'm doing and since I have a relatively quiet life and have periods where very little exciting is happening, I tend to not write for a while.  Today, though I'd like to reflect on what I've done and been through over the last 199 posts.

I've ridden in various bicycle related events from the Viva Bike Vegas to the Tour De Cure to the Bike:MS Vegas Challenge and even a Corporate Challenge race.  Heck, I've even completed the Pumpkinman Sprint Triathlon.  Beyond that I've eaten right and lost weight only to fall off the wagon and gain it all back several times.  I've explored various tools for watching and tracking both my weight and calories, I have a Strava account as well as post all my rides to Daily Mile.

I have found friends through this medium of the Weblog and I appreciate all of you.  Thank all of you for reading, it does mean a lot to me to know you are out there even if you aren't commenting!

I am planning on continuing to share my adventures and I may give a bit more of the mundane details as I successfully conquer my weight and make a permanent lifestyle change.

Get on you bikes and RIDE!!!!!

Putting a shot, throwing a softball, a walk race and a weight loss competition

What do all of these have in common?  They are all events I have signed up for in the 2014 Las Vegas Corporate Challenge.  I am actually team captain of our weight loss team competing in what is called the Biggest Winner event.  This is going to be an interesting 10 weeks.

The overall competition runs from March 4th through May 17th.  the biggest Winner starts with a weigh in on March 4th and a weigh out on May 12.  The teams are then ranked by percentages of weight lost, with Gold, Silver and Bronze medals awarded for the top 3 teams.  I was team captain last year but we only came in 6th place.  The top team had a weight loss percentage of 8.96%. Our goal for this year is 10% weight loss over 10 weeks of the competition.

The other events should be interesting as I have not competed in them before.  Sure I've thrown a softball and I can walk, but haven't done either in a competitive environment.  The shot put will be totally new to me.  Anyone have any tips on how best to put the shot?

Update:  I have just volunteered to be the team captain for the Tug of War team as well.  Not sure if this gives us an advantage as the weight limit for the team is 2000 lbs.  I am taking the spot of what could be 2 people, but we'll see!

Update #2:  I have also volunteered to captain the new Laser Tag team.  I really want us to win the Corporate challenge this year!

May rides #7 & #8 and Weigh in

May ride #7 was a nice little 6 mile ride yesterday after the sun was up.  I started a bit after 8:00 am and it was already in the 80's. In fact our overnight low was only 80.  My objective was to get in a nice little work out and sweat out a bit more weight before my weigh in.  Mission accomplished.  I would have ridden a bit longer, but all of the parents were coming out to get their kids to school and the bus and frankly it didn't feel safe!  It really is a winder there aren't a lot more accidents at that time of the morning.

More on the weigh in in a moment.

May ride #8 was this morning and it felt really good!  I felt strong, the weather was perfect and there was little wind.  The bike performed flawlessly and I was getting back some of the confidence on the cornering.  It was a good morning to be on the bike.  I did the 22 laps I had planned on Monday and netted 10.47 miles.  My average speed was a good 14.6 mph and that was with actually taking a couple of cool down laps.  I didn't push all out, but I did push and it felt awesome.  I actually did most of rht laps staying in my highest gear.  That means I'm getting stronger and I am getting more confident in m ability to accomplish the 100 Miles of Nowhere in 2 1/2 weeks.

Now for the weigh in.  The good news is I lost an average of 1.8 lbs. per week for the last 10 weeks which makes a total of 18 lbs. for the Biggest Winner contest.  The bad news is I think my off the rails eating over the last week probably cost me 4 or 5 lbs. on the contest.  I feel bad because it feels like I let my teammates down.  But it is what it is and its time to move forward.  Now I want to concentrate on eating healthy and riding my bike and let the weight fall where it will.  I'm not under the pressure of a contest, I know what I need to do and I'm just going to do it.

Weight Loss challenges

OK.  Let's take a moment and talk about the strategy and philosophy of weight loss challenges.  Most challenges are structured to reward those who lose the highest percentage of their body weight over a fixed period of time.  Fairly simple.  To calculate the percentage of weight lost you divide the total pounds lost by the participant by their starting weight.  The idea of using the percentage of weight lost is it tends to be easier for larger individuals to lose more pounds.

So with this in mind, I have a weigh in today for a 10 week weight loss challenge - The Biggest Winner, which is part of the Las Vegas Corporate Challenge.  I am actually the captain of a 5 person team representing my company.  It is our combined percentage of weight loss, when measured against the other teams, that will determine or placement at the conclusion of the challenge.  To prepare for this weigh in, I have been eating lots and today am adding in salty foods and drinking lots as well.  By my estimation I will have added about 10 lbs. over where I was last week.  Is it wrong to "stack" the deck like this for a challenge?  Personally I think it falls into the realm of game play and have no doubt that other teams are doing exactly the same thing.

Right now I'm predicting my weigh in weight to be about 440 435 lbs.  I will consider my competition to be a success if I can get below 400 over the next 10 weeks.  Towards this end I will be tacking my progress here.  Every Tuesday morning, I will weigh in and track how much weight I have lost both in lbs. and percentage of initial.  My secret weapon will be that I am going to start walking and riding like a mad man.  I have the Tour De Cure coming up next month and the 5k in May.  All that training and exercise, along with maintain a strict accounting and adherence to a total calorie intake of 2000 per day will get me where I want to go.

By the Way, If you haven't done so, could you please support my effort to stop diabetes by donating to my Tour De Cure ride? Every little bit helps!

Thank you.

Bicycle Race - what to do????

I've been looking at the calendar and just realized the upcoming Corporate Challenge Bike Race is in just over 2 weeks.  We've gotten confirmation that the course will be between 12 to 14 miles long at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.  Now, I've ridden at least this far on many occasions but the only time I ever "raced" was during Pumpkinman last October and I have to say I was pretty much on my own there except for those from the longer distances going by me climbing up from boulder beach to boulder City.

I did watch the Coprorate Challenge race last year and know that there will be a mass start and everyone will have to sort themselves out according to their abilities as the race progresses.  What I'm not sure about is how should I attack this race and what strategy should I use over the next couple of weeks to prepare.

My morning training loop is a good one mile loop but it does have a bit of elevation change with about half of it uphill and half down with almost no level ground.  Is this good to practice on since the course at the speedway will be basically flat with the exception of the tunnel and entrance/exit into the speedway itself?

As for the distance I am stepping up my morning routine to 12 miles per day this week and 14 per day next week in preparation for the event.  I also plan on at least one longer ride both this weekend and next in the 16 to 20 mile range.

Does anyone think this is enough or should I do more?  I should put here the disclaimer that by no means do I see myself winning my age group.  I just want to finish and hopefully not be last!

Losing Weight

From the title of my blog, as well as just by looking at me, you would assume that this is something I’m doing. I joined Weight Watchers. I’m riding my bike and walking. You’d think I was, in fact losing weight right now. Well, to be quite brutally honest I'm not. In fact I’m betting I’ve gained 5 or 10 pounds in the last month or so.

I could come up with several excuses. I could try to lay the blame elsewhere, but it really does sit squarely upon my shoulders. I have made the choices in terms of what and how much I’ve been eating. I’m the one who hasn’t been doing all of the exercising I should be doing. I’m the one who gets home from work and sits on the couch like a lump and doesn’t get up and do anything.

Sure, I could blame it on the heat. I could say that I didn’t mean to overeat. I could blame it on the stress at home and my automatic response to the stress (which is to eat). Of course going to the various buffets in town 3 or 4 times a week doesn’t help. Neither does the fact that I have no idea how to control my portion size. Beyond all that, though the fact remains that I haven’t been doing what I need to do to continue the journey to a new, smaller and healthier me.

I have not gotten on a scale in 3 weeks now because I know what it will show. I’ve even stopped tracking things on the weight watchers website. I stopped when I started realizing I was going over my very generous points allowance on a daily basis. I started using up the weekly points and the activity points. I don’t think I ever totally blew my points, but I didn’t want to see that after having been so good about staying within my points, I wasn’t doing so good. I started thinking about “cheating” by not listing everything or as smaller portions. Then I realized that this wouldn’t be of any benefit. Sure the numbers on the site would look good, but I would be only cheating myself and that was pointless.

Part of my loss of focus is the fact the 2 weight loss competitions that I was competing in ended. The company’s Lose to Win and the corporate challenge Biggest Winner competitions did help to motivate me because it gave me that added accountability an dangled a “carrot” in front of me. Since they have ended I have lost some of my focus in that I have been looking more at the triathlon and not at weight loss. Of course if I were working harder at my triathlon training, the weight loss would probably follow.

There again is part of the issue – “probably follow.” I know if I am very conscious of what I eat, limit myself to what I know I should have on a daily basis, the weight loss will happen. All it takes it work and accounting for everything!

So I am here to let the world know that I am going to restart the weight loss and start to really focus on my eating as well as my activity so that I can shed more of the excess baggage I’ve been carrying around for a very long time.