Good Stuff, Bad Stuff

July 13, 2010 — David Crowell

Good Stuff

I’ve been riding a lot of miles.  I broke a few records on Sunday.  I’ve ridden two centuries in a little over a month.  I hit 3000 miles of cycling for the year during my commute today.  I’m well on track to get 5000+ miles for the year.

The depression that was really affecting me earlier this year has gone away.  I’m sure it’ll come back again some day, and I’ll have to cope.  Overall, I’ve been feeling really good recently.

Bad Stuff

My eating has been crazy.  It’s partially from being hungry from riding.  It’s partially due to treating myself to beer, pizza, ice cream, steak, and similiar items much too often.

I haven’t had any real weight loss since March of 2009!  That sickens me.  I know weight is just a number, but I still have a gut.  I feel like I’m way too fit for this gut.  I’ve got to lose the gut.  Damn the gut!

I’m having comfort issues on my newest bike, Surly Sue, the LHT.  Although I’ve ridden two 100-miles rides on that bike, the recent rides have left me with possible ulnar nerve issues in my left hand.  I also have some saddle issues to figure out.  As such, I’m riding Oria, my recumbent, more often, as there is no pressure on the hands.  I will get a bike fit to help get comfortable again, but in the meantime it’s nice to have another option.

What’s Next?

I’m trying to get my eating under control.  I had started my “food diary” back up a while ago, but that didn’t last long.  I need to track what I eat.

I’ve decided that I need a fast bike.  Both my current bikes are designed to be comfortable for hauling stuff long distances.  Neither is really designed to be fast.  After much thought, I think my fast bike will be a recumbent.  Probably a Bacchetta Strada.  It won’t be until at least next year until I can afford one, but that’s the plan.

Posted in Bikes, Exercise, Food, Goals, Mental, Physical. 5 Comments »

Normalcy?

July 1, 2010 — David Crowell

I seem to be over the strep now.  I have a feeling that I’ll have no more symptoms sometime tomorrow.

Unfortunately, normal for me usually means my wife is out of town.  That will be true again.  I’ll be taking her to the airport early tomorrow morning before work.

So, mostly alone, body healed… It’s time to ride some miles.  :)

Posted in Bikes, Mental, Physical. 1 Comment »

Some Improvement

June 29, 2010 — David Crowell

After several days of feeling only slightly better than death, today is refreshing.  It started out rough this morning.  It was just like yesterday morning.  I woke gasping and choking and making horrible noises.

By mid-morning, I was able to eat solid food.  That’s a switch.  By early afternoon the feverish feeling appears to be gone.

I won’t be riding my bike to work this week.  I haven’t actually been to work this week yet.  I shouldn’t ride tomorrow, I still need to recover, and I can’t ride anyway, because I’m picking Kristy up from the airport.  There is some better news!  I won’t be riding on Thursday so that I can spend more time with Kristy.

I can’t ride on Friday, because I’m taking her back to the airport for another adventure.  I thought she’d get to stay home for more than two days.  Such is my crazy marriage.

On the other hand, I’ve got every weekend in July available for putting in some miles on the bike.  I’m planning at least one more camping trip too.

Posted in Bikes, Marriage, Physical. 1 Comment »

Feverish Writing

June 27, 2010 — David Crowell

I’m taking the recommended medications, but I feel shaky, weak, and feverish.  This really sucks.  Swallowing (even my own saliva) is torture.  I’ve had strep throat before, but I don’t remember it being this bad.

I’ve been unable to sleep much at all.  I ate very little yesterday, and limited myself to soup, ice cream, and popsicles today.

This damn bacteria set up shop in the back of my throat and is trying to poison me.  In addition, my own body is making me miserable while fighting the bacteria.

I felt better mentally after finding out that this was strep, and having a plan to get rid of it.  Now I’ve been suffering with it long enough that it’s affecting my mood badly.

The thought of riding my bike is comical.  I don’t even want to step outside.  Actually, I’d rather not be inside either.  I want to be able to sleep through this.

Hopefully I’ll feel better tomorrow, and I’ll quit whining.

Posted in Mental, Off-Topic, Physical. 4 Comments »

Sick Weekend

June 27, 2010 — David Crowell

I didn’t ride to work on Friday.  I had a scratchy throat most of last week, but I ignored it.  By Friday it had gotten worse.  By Friday night it had gotten quite unbearable.

I waited until today (Sunday) hoping it would get better, it didn’t.  I went to the urgent care clinic and it was quickly determined that I have strep.

I had initially planned to ride to Louisville on Saturday to help Tom move.  I was also hoping to ride with Tim today.  Those plans didn’t happen.  Instead, I’m home-bound, trying to recover, and avoid spreading the bacteria to anyone else.

I’m also staying home tomorrow to avoid sharing this with anyone, but I should be safe to return to work on Tuesday.  If I’m feeling well, I’ll even ride my bike and attend Car-Free Happy Hour afterwards.

Posted in Bikes, Car-Free, Physical. No Comments »

Beautiful Weather – Day 2

March 7, 2010 — David Crowell

The RCCS held a ride today titled “Gone With Thee Old Man Winter”.  I’m hoping we’re not jinxing the nice weather we had this weekend.  I’d hate to put the studded tires back on.

Four of us arrived in Edwardsville for ride.  Tim, Dominic, Patrick, and I were prepared for a chilly day, as the temperature was barely above freezing at the ride start.

As we headed toward New Middletown we ran across several members of the Louisville Bicycle Club, and they were moving quite fast.  It turns out they were running time trials.  One of them was Dale, who used to ride with us occasionally, until he preferred riding faster.  As we got into New Middletown we talked to a few more LBC members including Chaz, Tom, and Jen.

As the ride progressed we needed to shed clothing due to warmer temperatures, and actual sunlight!  I know, it was sunny yesterday, but after months of dreariness, this weekend is wonderful.  The temperature topped out in the low 60s.

We went a little off-route, so the total mileage was about 56.  This was probably the best ride I’ve had this year.  The New Year’s Day ride was nice also, but was much colder.

I was also in a cheerful mood because my weight had dropped below 200 lbs as of this morning.  We’ll see if that trend continues.

I rode 126 miles this week.  That’s my highest mileage week this year.  I’m hoping to start next week off with a full commute to work tomorrow morning.

Posted in Bikes, Physical, Pictures, Stats. 7 Comments »

Vomiting

January 13, 2010 — David Crowell

Vomiting helps with weight loss, right?  I’m trying to find something positive about this morning.

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Foot Update, and Riding My Bike

October 5, 2009 — David Crowell

There was nothing broken in my foot.  The doctor seems to think it’s strain from my 150-mile ride combined with moving stuff from Kristy’s old apartment.

It was feeling better on Saturday, so my daughter and I went on an 11-mile, slow-paced ride.  I was very careful on how I used that foot, and all was well.

I did a lot of yard work on Sunday, again being careful on my foot.

I woke up this morning with no foot pain.  I rode Nermal into work at a brisk pace, and probably overdid it a little.  I’m having some minor discomfort.  I’ll be sure to be more careful on the way home.

Posted in Bikes, Physical. 1 Comment »

Foot Issues

October 1, 2009 — David Crowell

I didn’t ride on Monday and Tuesday because I was still recovering from last weekend’s 150-mile ride.  I didn’t ride on Wednesday because I was running Kristy to the airport.  She left for work again and should be back by the end of November.

I was going to ride to work this morning, but I woke up to some horrible pain in my right foot.  The foot is swollen and won’t support my weight.  I have an appointment with the doctor later today.

I don’t know if it’s an injury, but I wasn’t having any problems with it on the the ride last weekend.  Kristy suggested a spider bite, but I don’t see anything on the skin anywhere.  I’m almost thinking it’s a broken bone, but I have no idea how that could have happened.

I don’t know if I’ll be on the bike this week, next week, or even further out.  I should know more this afternoon.

Posted in Bikes, Physical. 1 Comment »

Yo-Yo Weight

July 17, 2009 — David Crowell

I haven’t been tracking my calories.  I haven’t been riding my bike to work recently.  I’ve been sick.  I’ve been skipping my daily weigh-in at times.  So what’s happened?  I’ve gained weight again.  I weigh the same now as I did five months ago.  My weight has bounced around a bit, but no lasting loss since February.  That’s really frustrating.

I want my goal weight to remain at 175 lbs, but that doesn’t seem achievable right now.

I’ve been sick for a couple of days including taking one day off of work.  I’m feeling better today, but I’m taking yet another day off of the bike just to be sure I’m over whatever this has been.

Posted in Mental, Physical. Comments Off »

Sick Day

July 15, 2009 — David Crowell

I had my bike packed last night for a ride into work today.  I woke up sick, and stayed home.

I haven’t eaten well today, but I haven’t eaten much either.  That coupled with not riding my bike has me feeling lazy.

On the positive side, I have some better tires ordered for Nermal and I’ve got my new hand-built front wheel to match the one in the rear.  I should be able to put it all together this weekend.

I’m also going on an early morning ride with Tim on Saturday, possibly 80 miles.

Posted in Bikes, Food, Physical. 5 Comments »

Mid-Week Stuff

June 17, 2009 — David Crowell

After my long ride on Sunday, I stayed off the bike until today.  I seemed to have damaged Nermal’s rear wheel slightly, so I rode Oria to work today.  There was a chance of rain, but it was sunny out for most of my commute.  I made good time on the way in, and averaged 15 mph.  I was slower on the way home, partially due to a headwind.

On Saturday I drove to Michigan to pick up my daughter.  She’s spending most of the summer with me.  Tonight, she’s eating dinner at a friend’s house, so I’m taking advantage of that and just “grazing” on some healthy food instead of cooking a meal.

I’ve been rather busy, and haven’t posted on the blog as much.  I also haven’t figured out how to get my daily weigh-in page fixed.  It broke when I upgraded to WordPress 2.8.  I still track my weight in Excel so I’ll update it here once I fix the issue.

I’m still above 200 lbs, but I think some of the lack of weight loss is due to building muscle.  I’ve had a lot of progress in my weight-training sessions for my shoulder.  I still have shoulder pain, but it’s more manageable.  I can also lift substantially more than I could when I started.  I still have the most trouble when trying to sleep at night though.  Being really busy and not sleeping well does not make me happy, but other than that, life is good.

Posted in Bikes, Exercise, Food, Physical. 4 Comments »

More Weight Gain

June 11, 2009 — David Crowell

My weight was below 200 lbs for eight days in a row, then started climbing again.  I weighed 206.8 this morning.  I really feel like I have less control over it now.  It’s getting a lot harder to lose weight.

My eating hasn’t been great, but it hasn’t been horrible either.  I rode to work on Monday, but not since.  It’s easy to say I’m going to “buckle down” and eat better and ride more, but it’s not so easy to do it.

I’ve been very busy recently, which stresses me out.  My shoulder pain has taken a turn for the worse.  These things aren’t helping any.

Posted in Mental, Physical. 1 Comment »

Monthly Update – May 2009

May 31, 2009 — David Crowell

Weight

chartmonthly200905My average monthly weight was 203.3 lbs, or a loss of 3.3 lbs from April.  I’ve made up for April’s gain, and then some.  My daily weight has dropped below 200 lbs for three days in a row.

Mileage

Month Bike Car
01-2009 277.8 678.0
02-2009 263.0 768.0
03-2009 192.4 1,995.0
04-2009 290.9 1,550.0
05-2009 452.0 1,087.0

May mileage is improved.  I’m driving less and riding more.  I wasn’t tracking mileage by month last year, but May 2009 could be the most miles in a month for me.

Health

It turns out I have arthritis in my right shoulder.  I probably injured it years ago, and just don’t remember it.  Most of the medication I have been given for it didn’t do much, and had side effects, so I’m no longer taking medication for it.  I have been doing strength training for my upper body with a personal trainer.  This has been helping my shoulder, and is good for the general fitness also.

Personal

kristyKristy is still too far away.  I’ve been focusing on bikes, cooking, and diet to keep the loneliness away.  Kristy sent a picture, and gave me permission to post this one.  :)

I’ve been recruiting some co-workers to go on a bike ride during lunch.  Several people keep a bike at work, and we ride along the riverwalk during lunch.  We ride slow, and it’s not a long ride, but it helps break the day up and clear the mind.

Posted in Bikes, Off-Topic, Physical, Pictures, Stats. 4 Comments »

Pain Medication

May 23, 2009 — David Crowell

My doctor prescribed pain medication due to my shoulder issue.  I resisted it at first, but after waking up this morning with intense pain, I took a pill.  I’ve taken two more since.  I’ve spent the day being lazy, and not really caring about anything.

I didn’t ride, do housework, yardwork, and anything else useful.  To make matters worse, I’ve been eating like crazy today.

I don’t think I’ll be taking any more of those pills.

I rode the full way to work on Thursday, and had to ride to my strength-training session after work.  I was on Oria, my recumbent, and the trainer there thought it was quite cool.  The ride home was difficult after the workout though.

I didn’t ride Friday due to oversleeping.  I intend to go for a ride tomorrow, even if it rains.

Posted in Bikes, Physical. 1 Comment »

Extra Riding and Eating Well

May 20, 2009 — David Crowell

After last week’s 186 miles (all on the ‘bent), I took a break on Monday, and didn’t ride.  I rode a partial commute on Nermal on Tuesday, and convinced a co-worker to take a quick lunch ride.

Today, Wednesday, I rode the full way to work on Nermal, had a lunch ride with two co-workers, then rode the Ride of Silence through downtown Louisville before heading home.  I rode 49 miles today, and didn’t get home until almost 10:00 p.m.

I’m not really lined up to break my weekly mileage record again unless I do a lot more riding this weekend.

I’ve been eating better the last two days and I’m actually “feeling thinner” again.  I’ve been through that before, and it usually happened at the beginning of another drop in weight.

I’ve had twice-weekly strength-training sessions for my upper body.  The idea is if I strengthen the muscles around my shoulder, it will help protected my poor arthritic shoulder joint.  So far I have some reduction in pain… until I move wrong, then the pain is back.  I haven’t seen any improvement in range-of-motion yet.

Posted in Bikes, Food, Physical. 2 Comments »

Upper Body Exercises – Ordered by the Doctor

May 8, 2009 — David Crowell

I’ve had shoulder pain for a while now, and it has gotten much worse over the last couple of months.  It doesn’t seem to be affected by bicycle riding, so I’ve got that going for me.

I finally brought it up to my doctor, and after tests, X-Rays, and an MRI, I now know that I have arthritis in my right shoulder.

He sent me to another establishment where I work with a personal trainer to strengthen the muscles in my upper body.  I’ve only had one visit so far.  He had me start out with some dumbbells and free weights, with little weight, and paid close attention to how I lifted.  My right side is stronger, but yet it’s the bad side.

We then switched to some of the machines, and some of the exercises extended my shoulder beyond my comfort level.  I could feel the huge difference between the two shoulders.

I was a bit sore when I left, but by the time I got home the shoulder pain was much improved.  I woke up this morning with the shoulder pain again.  I realize this will take time, but at least I’ve found something that works.

Posted in Exercise, Physical. 5 Comments »

Monthly Update – April 2009

May 1, 2009 — David Crowell

Weight

My average monthly weight was 206.6 lbs, or a gain of 2.0 lbs from March.  I had been gaining in late March and early April.  I’m fairly confident that May will show some more loss.  I haven’t weighed under 200 lbs yet, but I’ve been very close, and it’s a bit frustrating.

Mileage

Month Bike Car
01-2009 277.8 678.0
02-2009 263.0 768.0
03-2009 192.4 1,995.0
04-2009 290.9 1,550.0

My bike miles are still low, and I still drive too much.  I don’t think it’s going to be possible to hit my 5000 bike miles for the year.  April’s car miles are lower only because I went two weeks without a car.

Health

My blood pressure is excellent, my cholesterol is good.  I’ve been seeing a doctor for some severe shoulder pain.  I still don’t know what’s causing it, but I have an MRI scheduled for tomorrow.  Maybe that will clear things up.  Some of the medication I have been taking has drained my energy, and made it difficult to ride to work recently.

Personal

As I blogged about before, I’m engaged to Kristy, and will be getting married this September.

I haven’t ridden to work since buying my truck, but I have taken some evening rides.  I’m also trying to get  a co-worker interested in riding.  He’s going to bring his bike over this weekend for adjusting, and we hope to meet up on Tuesday for a partial commute into work.

I had hoped to ride to work today, but woke up late, and really sore, so I’m driving.

Posted in Bikes, Off-Topic, Physical, Stats. 1 Comment »

Weekly Average Weight for April 25, 2009

April 25, 2009 — David Crowell

My average weight for the week ending 4/25/2009:
205.1 lbs

Down from last week:
2.8 lbs

Down since I started on 10/31/2007:
91.3 lbs

My average loss per 30 days since 10/31/2007:
5.05 lbs

Weight until goal:
30.1 lbs

My weight is going the right direction again.  I’m trying to eat well when I ride, and eat much less when I don’t.  If I don’t restrict my calories when I don’t ride, I’m worried that my weight will go back up, now that I have a vehicle again, and the ability to not ride.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, Kristy won’t be moving in until at least July.  That gives me more time to focus on the weight loss.  It would be nice to be under 190 lbs by then.

I’ve had some shoulder issues that I’m now seeing a doctor for.  They don’t directly affect the cycling, but the pain does keep me up at night, which makes riding a lot harder the next day.  Also, some of my medication makes me sleepy, further compounding the problem.  It’s weird, it seems my body started falling apart the moment I decided to take care of it.

Today is also the one-year anniversary of me buying Nermal, my first real bike.  Strangely enough, I probably won’t ride him today, except for a quick grocery trip.  I have a lot to do this weekend that can’t be done on the bike.  One year ago, I weighed about 265 lbs.  Today I weigh 204.

Posted in Bikes, Physical, Stats. 1 Comment »

I Hate Being Sick

March 24, 2009 — David Crowell

I had originally planned on riding to work today.  I really enjoyed riding both to and from yesterday.  The Spring weather makes it so much nicer.

I woke up this morning at 5:00 a.m. (thanks to my girlfriend for the wake-up phone call).  I had a sore, scratchy throat, sinus pressure, and a headache.  I set my alarm for 7:00, and figured I’d feel better, and drive into work.

I woke up feeling worse, especially the throat.  I’ve recently been exposed to strep throat… so I called off work, and called my doctor.  I have an appointment later today.

A good workout on the bike generally leads to heavy breathing, which is the last thing I want right now.  So I’ll stay inside, mess with the computer, and do some housework.

Posted in Bikes, Physical. 7 Comments »

Weekly Average Weight for February 28, 2009 and Monthly Recap

February 28, 2009 — David Crowell

Weekly

My average weight for the week ending 2/28/2009:
206.1 lbs

Down from last week:
0.6 lbs

Down since I started on 10/31/2007:
90.3 lbs

My average loss per 30 days since 10/31/2007:
5.57 lbs

Weight until goal:
31.1 lbs

Monthly

My monthly average weight for February is 208.2 lbs.  That’s 8.3 lbs down from January, and 88.2 lbs down from the beginning.  I really did well in the first part of February, but slacked off a little in the last week and a half.

ChChChanges

My body is changing in different ways.  The fat is coming off of my midsection faster now.  That’s nice, as I’ve heard that losing the belly fat is the hardest.  As the progress pictures show, it definitely happening.

In October 2007, I was wearing pants with a 44-inch waist.  They were getting too tight.  In November 2008, I bought new clothes for work.  The pants were a 40-inch waist.  So over 60 lbs loss meant a 4-inch waist difference.  Now, less than 30 lbs later, my new jeans are a 36-inch waist, and they are not tight.  I will probably be buying 32-inch waist jeans this year.

When I hit my goal weight of 175, and I’m wearing 32-inch waist pants… That’ll be about the same as my senior year of high school.  That just floors me.

Posted in Physical, Stats. Comments Off »

Updated Progress Pictures

February 22, 2009 — David Crowell

I’ve added a new picture to the progress pictures page.  I kept putting it off thinking I hadn’t lost much weight since the last picture, but going back over my spreadsheet and thinking about my clothings sizes change that.

So, if you don’t want to see me in my underwear, don’t click the link.

Posted in Physical, Pictures. Comments Off »

Short Ride, and Clothes That Fit!

February 15, 2009 — David Crowell

I really wanted to do a lot of riding this weekend.  It didn’t happen.  I went on one 13.8 mile ride today, and that’s it.  I just didn’t have the energy.  It’s a bit colder than I really wanted to ride in, but not so cold as to make it miserable.  I tried some sprinting uphill runs for practice, but my clipless pedals weren’t adjusted properly, and the cleats kept pulling out.  I guess I need to adjust that.

The former fat guyI have my new clothes that actually fit now.  I took a picture of myself, and if you look closely, you’ll notice that I still need a smaller belt.  :)

I’ve gone through another transformation recently.  My previous transformation was just the realization that I wasn’t going to be fat forever.  That I would reach my goal weight.

This new transformation is me realizing that I’m not a “fat guy” anymore.  I don’t feel fat anymore.  I still have a few pounds to lose, but I’m nearly at my goal.

Posted in Bikes, Mental, Physical, Pictures. 5 Comments »

New Pants

February 14, 2009 — David Crowell

I kept putting off buying new jeans.  I wanted to wait until I knew I could wear a size 38 comfortably.  I didn’t want to go with “relaxed fit” either.

I guess I waited too long.  I tried on a few sizes, and a size 36 fit perfectly.  I bought three pair on sale, and will get ride of the larger ones I have.

I’ve heard that the last few pounds are the hardest to lose.  I feel like I’m in that home-stretch.  I only have 33 more to lose.  However, the weather is getting nicer, I’ll be on my bike much more, and I really do see hitting my goal weight of 175 by late August.

Posted in Goals, Physical. 3 Comments »

I’m No Longer Obese!

February 7, 2009 — David Crowell

When I became aware that I was obese rather than “just a little heavy”, it was a bit of a blow to my self-image.  It took me a couple of years to come to terms with it, and was part of the reason for my lifestyle changes.

Obesity is defined as having a BMI of greater than 30.  Mine was over 40 when I started this.  I was “extremely obese” according to the linked chart.

My last two weekly average weights bring my weight down into the simply “overweight” category, meaning my BMI is just below 30.  When I reach my goal weight of 175 lbs, I will be in the upper end of the “normal” category.

I realize that BMI is not something that can be relied upon.  Everyone’s body is different.  Someone with enough muscle mass could be considered obese based up weight and height.  BMI is more of a statistical tool.

The recent changes in my body are striking.  I can see the veins popping up in my arms when I work out now.  They were buried in fat for years.  My legs are much more muscular, yet thinner at the same time.  Some would say I have chicken legs.  :)

My gut is still the biggest problem, but it is substantially smaller than it was a year ago.

At the rate I’ve been going, I will be very close to my goal weight for The Ride to Conquer Cancer in September.

Posted in Physical. 3 Comments »
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