TR Training: Week #2 Numbers

Total Saddle Time: 12 hrs, 25 minutes
Total Mileage: 145.5 miles
Total Elevation Gain: 5,190 feet
Weight Loss: +1.4 pounds

This past week was a good week in some ways and a bad one in others. It was good in that I can see a noticeable increase in speed and strength on the mountain bike as a result of all of the training and, more specifically, from the two-hour stationary trainer rides. I fared much better at Thursday night's "Thrilla" ride than last week and I was feeling great all the way through Saturday's 36-miler, even with the 3600 feet of climbing.

However, where this week went awry was in the area of sleeping and eating. This was a crunch week for me with work and, on average, I got less than 6hrs sleep a night all week long. Also, my weekly totals were down because I scheduled a day off for Monday, but then also had to miss Friday's workout because of work. That's why the total saddle time and mileage numbers are down from last week.

But that's going to happen from time to time. I have been doing really well with cutting back on junk food and beer. Our Thursday night group rides end at one of my favorite breweries and I not only have been ordering hummus or edamame as an appetizer instead of buffalo wings, but I've also been having a generally healthy turkey club sandwich instead of burgers and fries. Most importantly, I've just been allowing myself one beer. Instead of two or three.

Lastly, I finally did start adding some weight lifting to my training, which is the reason I think my weight went back up a little this week. I can feel myself losing a little fat and toning up, but I also sense my leg muscles getting more pronounced and we all know muscle weighs more than fat so it will probably be a week or two of slight weight gain or holding steady before I start shedding pounds.

Week #3 is loaded up with rides every day, including a hill climb time trial scheduled for Thursday which should be fun... {pause}... NOT!!!

*That last sentence was a Borat reference. If you didn't catch it, go to the theatres and see Borat now. You must.