Never 2 Late 2 Chase the Dream (it's better than liposuction)

[Bytsi]

I can't remember what my old bike was (Trek something) - this time, although it was nowhere near the 10 month search you had, I knew the person at the shop -- I actually am the one who "hired" him to be our intern at my regular job this past spring, and he's a major avid almost-elite cyclist. So, I went to the shop he works at (which is also the shop we usually end up at anyway as it is HUGE and "the" place for bikes around here) and he worked with us. He got quite technical and I just went "huh?" for much of it, but...

Rode my new bike today and LOVED it - so much more comfy for me - better ergonomics and my seat didn't hurt! Slight deraileur (sp?) prob in 3rd-4th gear but took it right back and they said it's fixed. Poor DD - every time she went from 2nd to 3rd on the front gears of her new bike the chain fell off! They fixed that too!

I was (slight off-topic here) SO happy that she wanted the bike and went with us on the trail. She's at that age (16) where she doesn't really groove on family time, especially with her annoying (ADHD) little brother along. This is both healthy and helps instill fitness-as-fun habits for her, AND she was willing to spend some family time with us, so I don't even begrudge her the $ we paid for the bike...

/hijack

[Espi]

If you don't mind me sharing my bicycle with you.. I've had a custom-made randonneuring bicycle since 1997 and must have covered nearly 50 000 miles on it. Yet, since 2004 .. barely anything. Zilch, nada, because of a bacterial infection I got in my lower spine and the psoas muscle. Result was : I no longer fitted on that 'perfectly fitting' bicycle and would cramp up.
Heck it was so bad I'd not even be able to get out of bed normally and had to roll side ways. I still can't do a normal crunch even if it'd save my life, but flexibility has returned. I'm most fortunate to have very looooooong hamstrings as I can still touch the floor easily with my finger tips. Used to be able to put my palms on the floor even as far back as the heels.

The bicycle is by now in a truly sorry state.. especially since I moved late 2004 to a damp house with an even damper bicycle shed. It'd been kept in a tiny but very dry student apartment for 8 years and then, in just 4 damp years turned to rust. I've been thinking to get it patched up for years, but now I'm having a car (used to cover everything by bicycle), I'm dreading the costs. I'm sure it might cost close to 1000 USD to get it all back to a mint condition.

Your story made me all feel stupid for not having it done 2 years before, as really flexiblity shouldn't be an issue anymore. No thrilling mountains here, but still enough reasons to have it patched up.

[GinnyLou]

Just saw your pictures and you look amazing. Nice work, Karla.

[foodfromafar]

Yes, Karla, you do look amazing!

Espi, all this bike talk makes me determined to get mine out of our shed and take it for a spin. The kids are probably old enough to make a short ride enjoyable. I have no idea what kind it is - got it at a bike shop many moons ago.

[marthand99]

Holy crap, Karla! You are ripped!

You have done an amazing job with this challenge. I'm really impressed with all your hard work.

[tcoy777]

Glad you had a great ride. I have really started to enjoy the bike rides. It gives me a chance to scout out new running routes.

[realcdn]

Just thought I'd drop a note in your log about your pictures. Very cool - and looking forward to seeing what the next challenge brings from you.

[stingo]

Well done Karla - looks like you're overcoming your personal demons re: your eating and have really taken control of your body.

[kfisherx]

Thanks everyone. I did get sort of ript in this challenge. It was fun and there is much more to come still. I won't be down to a low bf for a few more months still since I am losing very slowly. And yes Tom I am dealing very well with those deamons and starting to listen to my body. It is the best thing ever.

Today I had a nice early AM walk of about 45 min. Then in the PM I had a quad, lower back, calf workout. I struggled to do the work again. The more I get skinny the harder it is to throw weights in the gym. I just don't feel strong enough to do it and want to just go run or do some other cardio. Cardio is easier....

Warmup Superset 3 times
Back extensions (+25)
alt toe touches (20 each leg)

Superset 2
db push press
2x15 (15)e
1x15 (20)e
1 legged romanian dead db
2x10 (30)e
1x10 (40)e

seated calf raises
3x15 (150lb)

Rack Pulls
1x15 (135lb)
2x10 (185lb)

swiss ham curls
1x15
2x12

[tcoy777]

I am so with you on the cutting and lifting heavy. It is much harder then I thought. Keep up the great work though, your kickin ass.

[kfisherx]

This week's stats.... did not lose as much as normal 'cause I did a nice calorie increase last week. That said I saw the scale read in the 123lb range and the bf read in the 14% range so I know it is trending correctly still for me.

Interesting aside is that this weekend I did not plan food but allowed myself to freely eat. I ended up taking in about 30% fats and got right around 2K calories in. I am thinking that it might be time to increase the fats a tiny bit...

	Date	lbs	bf%	weekly avg cals	weekly avg protein in g	weekly avg carbs in g	weekly avg fat in g	weekly avg macro % (P, C, F)
	4-May-08	133.8	19.5%	2656	263	266	69.4	38,39,23
	27-May-08	130.2	17.4%	1696	193	163	37.1	44,37,19
	3-Jun-08	129.6	18.4%	1784	190	182	41.2	41,39,20
	10-Jun-08	128.2	17.8%	1648	192	166	38.8	43,37,20
	18-Jun-08	125.6	16.6%	1538	167	165	37.2	40,40,20
	24-Jun-08	124.6	16.8%	1587	165	151	44	40,36,24
	30-Jun-08	124.2	15.6%	1721	188	165	43.2	42,37,22
	30-Jun-08	124	15.2%	1798	183	184	43.5	39,40,21
	Day	Exercise	Duration in hours	Avg HR if cardio		Total lbs	Total bf
	Tues	lift w/David = Bi, Shoulders, tris	1	NA		9.8	4.3%
	Wed	Run	1	140
	Thrs	lift w/David guns 1 hour run	1	140		This week	This week
	Fri	Walk	1	NA