I did it! I rode 85 miles in one day.

I decided to not repeat last year’s late morning start and missing the team photo. No, not again. Friday night, I got my equipment together, and placed it next to the door. As soon as I got ready Saturday morning, I take everything there and put it in the car, load the bike, and take off. Saturday morning, I woke up at 5am, and my wife kicked me out of the bed. I got ready, loaded up the car, and was on the road by 6:20 AM. I unfortunately took the somewhat longer route, but got to Monmouth University in West Long Branch by 7:15 AM.

Everyone was arriving after 7am

There were lots of people arriving in the morning, and I got parking, then walked into the Boylan gymnasium to drop off paperwork at the Team CentraState table. So did I forget anything that day? Yes. I forgot the rider packet they mailed me earlier this month with my rider number and luggage tags. I ended up heading over to the “Solutions” table to get a replacement tags.

Interesting story — Friday night, I got a message from a mutual friend of my wife & me, who has a work colleague/friend who was to ride the 170-mile two-day ride, but a companion backed out. The mutual friend knew I was riding, and put me in touch. I called this colleague/friend, Jacqui, and she decided to ride the one-day Saturday 85-miler with me instead. I figured this would be good, since I’m helping someone out, and it’s nice to have company. We met up in the gym Sat morning after I participated in the team photo, and then got our bikes ready.

8;05 AM, after a speech and “opening ceremonies”, we were off! The mapped route was 85 miles from West Long Branch down to Tuckerton. We had rest stops for stretches and snacks/drinks every 15 miles or so. If you check out the map (previous link), the route hugged the Jersey coast for the most part down to Seaside Heights, then took us all across the water on a long bridge (Rt 37, “Little League World Champions Blvd”) towards Toms River. This part of the ride was cool, as they closed of two lanes on the bridge for us, and I’ve never ridden on such a large bridge before.

Lunch stop

We went inland the rest of the day. Apart from the rest stops, we had lunch at mile 52 at an elementary school in Lacey Township. I don’t believe I was ever so happy to see a turkey sandwich in my life. Lots of food, and a DJ playing music for entertainment. Around 2PM, Jacqui and I hit the road for the next 35 miles. At this point, 50+ miles has been the most I’ve ever ridden on my bike. When I got back on after lunch, my saddle-area was aching very badly, and my legs were feeling the first pangs of muscle fatigue. I’ve never asked my body to go farther than this, so it started to rebel. Still, we went on, and my posterior settled down for the most part. Over the next 35 miles, I started to experience more pain in my neck, my lower back, and a lot in my left wrist. The wrist pain go so bad, I struggled to find a comfortable position for my left hand to hold the handlebar. My knee held up surprisingly well, but the rest of me wasn’t so hot.

Mile 85, 5:05 pm, we pulled into the Pinelands Regional Junior High School, and I was happy to not go any further. There was an option to now complete a 15-mile “power loop” around the school, to make it a full 100 miles for the day. However, since I wasn’t much shape, and it was getting late, I ended my flirtation with trying for another 15 miles. I’ve never done 85 miles in one day, so there’s no reason to be crazy to try for 100. I can leave that for next year!

Jacqui and I just after arriving at the Pinelands school

We loaded up the bikes on the bus, and the bus eventually left around 6pm. We got stuck in traffic northbound on the Garden State Parkway, and arrived back at Monmouth University at 8 PM. I hobbled back to my car with the bike, loaded up, and drove home. I got home at 9:00 PM, and I was pretty tired. Of course, I had plans to go see Thor, but that’s another story.

All in all, I’m happy that I could do the ride this year. I started training back in February, dieting and exercising towards a better, healthier lifestyle. I lost 12 lbs along the way, and my doctor likes my blood test results and weight loss. I like accomplishing a new cycling milestone in my life. I liked riding and realizing that I’m not half bad climbing hills. I like that I raised $1,050 for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. I like that I’m now a “Super Cyclist” for MS, and I earned myself a cool 2011 Super Cyclist jersey. These are all good things.

Photos are now up in the May 2011 Photos gallery, so please enjoy.

I think I’m basically ready for Saturday’s big 85-mile ride. I’ve got two more days to go, and although I’m a little nervous about attempting to traverse that long distance, I’m sure it will be fine in the end. I’m even considering, depending on how fast I ride throughout the day, to attempt the 15-mile “power loop” at the end. More on that later.

For the past 3 months, I’ve been working out at least 2-4 times a week. Most of the time, it was only twice a week, but sometimes I was able to squeeze in an additional workout or two. The whole knee injury in Feb certainly through a monkey wrench into the plans, but I’ve mostly recovered. I may take it light on my knee for 1-2 weeks after all of this so I can let it recover with quality. I worked out last night, and I’m no worse for wear. Back at 194 lbs,

Today is my “Friday”, since I’m taking off tomorrow. I have no major plans, but want to run a few errands in prep for Saturday:

• Get a super-short, race-ready haircut.
• Ask my local bike shop to make a quick evaluation whether my bike is in decent shape for Saturday. I inspected and cleaned it recently, so I think it’s going to be fine. Still, if I have a problem at mile marker 70, I’m going to rue the day.
• I have a eye doctor’s appt in the morning, as I wouldn’t mind some new trial contacts on Saturday, vs struggling with my current worn-out pair.
• I’d like to meet my exquisite wife for a quick lunch in the area.
• I need an oil change for one of the cars.
• I plan to squeeze in one more workout at Gold’s. I may do cardio, but I’ll most likely focus on weight-training. Okay, maybe light cardio — how can I resist?
• I need to go over the registration paperwork and the separate personal checks that I need to submit.
• Probably do some cleaning up around the house.
• Lastly, go to bed early for once.

The last item, about going to bed early, is pretty important. Last year, I woke up late, and with the hour drive to Monmouth University (and getting lost trying to find the correct entrance), I missed out on the Team CentraState group picture at 7:30am. Argh, that still bugs me. Of course, I was so wired last year, I didn’t go to bed until 2am the night before. This year, I’m making the group photo!

I’ve never done 85 miles before, so yeah, I’m a little nervous, but I’ve got from 8am to 6pm. Riding at least 16 MPH should get me there in about 6 hours, which would be around 2pm. Now, here’s the interesting part — there is an option at the end to follow a marked 15-mile loop. If I have the energy for another hour of riding, I could ride another 15 miles, and make it a full 100 miles (also called a ‘century’ ride.) Again, I haven’t done more than 51.5 miles (back in May 2004), and that took me 6 hours when I was more fit and thinner. How the heck would I do 85 or 100 miles in about the same time?

Well, I figure that the Valley Forge ride consisted of a lot of me getting lost in the Philly suburbs and going uphill many places. Also, I was fairly inexperienced at the time. I’m older and less fit, but the Jersey shore route will be fairly flat (to uphill bridges though, I’ve been told), so as long as the wind is to my back, I should make good time. I’ve done 50 miles in 3+ hours since May 2004 on more reasonable terrain, so I don’t think this will be as bad. Compared to last year, I’ve got better shoes and pedals, new handlebar tape (with extra gel padding), I’m lighter, and I’ve been working on my cardio and muscle-building for three months now. I’m definitely in better shape than I was last year.

In the end, I’m ready for Saturday, rain or shine. Um, okay, not the “rain” part, but I’m ready for Saturday…. shine or partly cloudy. Overall, I’m pretty psyched!

It’s been nearly a week, and I’m apparently stuck at 194 lbs. Have I reached a plateau? For those unaware, in fitness terms, weight loss can halt at certain stages, which can be frustrating. From what I’ve learned, it happens because your body has noticed the fat loss. It likes its fat, so the metabolism adjusts to counteract your attempts to deprive it of the ‘safety net.’

When one reaches a plateau, the remedy is to switch it up — change the diet and the exercise you do. I don’t know if o have hit an actual plateau, but I was shedding the fat fairly consistently doing what I was doing. This past week, nothing has changed. I will have to put some thought into how I can adjust

I wanted to get down to 190 before Saturday big ride, but I find it highly unlikely at this point. I don’t want to get discouraged, because 194 is a lot lighter than I’ve been in years. Literally, years. It is Wednesday, and I have two more workouts (Wed and Fri), so I can continue to watch my diet and get some good cardio done in the next few days. Still, this plan of getting healthier has already worked. I’m lighter and healthier.

Furthermore, this isn’t a sprint, but a lifelong marathon. I am trying to hit my goal of 170 by Dec, but even after, I need to continue to be healthy for the next 65 years. I don’t think I could ever go back to eating unhealthy on a regular basis again. Fries and ice cream every once in a while after I reach my target weight? Absolutely! By then, I’ll have plenty of buffer. Still, I won’t be doing it every day like I used to. I wont be eating portions for two people. I’ve learned too much. Those days are over.

Yeah, baby. I’m down to 193.5 lbs! That means that I just need to lose another 3.5 lbs by next Saturday to hit 190 lbs. I think it would be nice to weigh 16 lbs less than last year. The less I weigh next week, the less energy it will take to drag my body each mile. I haven’t been 190 in a long time, but you gotta believe.

Lost another pound by the end of this week. The running total is 11 lbs lost. Nice! I don’t think I’ll realistically be able to get down to 185 in two weeks (before the ride), so I’ll have to work with whatever I’ve achieves. Two weeks to go, so maybe I can lose another 4-5 lbs by May 21st. 190 isn’t 185, but it’s a lot better than 206.

Not a lot to say, but I want to use this opportunity to mark that I’ve lost 10 lbs in my battle of the bulge. It is a battle in my ongoing war on…. being healthy? No, that’s not right. It’s my ongoing battle to fight my natural, bad, binging, grazing, sedentary habits.

So I started this war in Feb, albeit a little slowly. I ramped up in late March by beginning to modify my diet, but I really changed it for the better in early April. I think I finally found a sustainable dietary lifestyle.

Earlier this week, I had my annual checkup with my regular physician. Among other topics, I spoke to her about my left knee, and how I still experience some pain at times with it. She checked me out in-person (it was over the phone last Feb), and I initially thought I damaged a ligament below my knee. After examining my knee, she diagnosed me with patellar tendinitis. It seems the tendon connecting my quadriceps and my left tibia has not fully healed, and thus I’m experiencing pain due to inflammation.

Her advice was to forgo any cycling, take Alleve (an anti-inflammatory) twice a day, and ice my knee up to keep the swelling down. She said running on the treadmill is okay, but no stationary bike, and no outdoor cycling. For how long? Four weeks.

I mentioned that, um, you know, I have this bike thang in late May that I need to train for, but she was adamant about the four weeks. I asked her if she thinks i’ll be 100% again in the future, but she gave a weird look and said hesitatingly, “Maybe. You never know.” I always thought I was invincible, but this isn’t proving my argument.

I don’t know exactly to do. I don’t want to further damage my leg, but I won’t be able to complete the 85 mile ride in three weeks if I never get on the until that actual day. There’s no way!

After considering my options, my plan is to continue to ride, but keep the pressure off my knee as much as possible. I think I can do this by avoiding tall hills, and going slower during rides in the next two weeks. This will give me some time in the saddle, but also gives my tendon more time to recover before May 21st.

24 days to go until the MS Ride, and I haven’t even been on one training ride. My training has primarily been around strength-training and cardio at the gym. At least I’m regular about it. This weekend, there’s an initial team ride at the Laurita Winery, which looks to be an interesting place. In anticipation of the new cycling season, and because recently celebrated my birthday, I got some new cool upgrades to my bike. Before I get into the upgrade details, let me recap my upgrade history.

The bike itself is about 9 years old now, but that’s, like, 2 in bicycle years. Since purchasing it in late October 2002, I’ve upgraded it a few times. My history on the bike has been spotty, which I freely admit:

• I didn’t get to ride it more than 1-2 times in 2002.
• In 2003, I remember tooling around like a novice in regular shorts and the original toeclip pedals (which I despise), but eventually upgraded the pedals to SPD type in June 2003. I also got decent road cycling shoes.
• In 2004, I was the most serious about the sport. I rode 1-2x a week. I started wearing the right clothes, and added a cyclocomputer in March 2004.
• From 2005-2009, I didn’t do much riding, due to the kids being, work, travel, etc.
• Last year (2010), I got back on the horse, and I rode about 258 miles, which isn’t a personal record by any means, but it was an improvement over the last four years. I paid for some much-needed replacement of worn-out parts, and I upgraded from a the big cushioned saddle to something more respectable. I also ditched the pocket-protector of cycling — the kickstand.

This year, since I’m serious about cycling, I got some serious new upgrades. I purchased a new, more stylish helmet, to replace the worn out unfashionable silver Bell helmet I purchased back in Oct 2002. I purchased new Shimano 105 SPD-SL pedals, so I’ll be trying a new pedal model that should give me better support and power with each stroke. Finally, I purchased new Specialized road shoes to replace the Pearl Izumi road shoes that I bought back in June 2003.

Of all the improvements, the biggest are the pedals and shoes. While the old SPD pedals are easy to clip in and out of, they don’t provide much support. Sometimes my feet would experience a little pain in the arches, as I am working off these tiny platforms. With the SPD-SL pedals (and the new shoes), I’ll have wider platforms to provide support, and the new shoes will give me the rigidity to support my arches. This particular cleat set provide a little “float”, which gives me a little wiggle room and eases the pressure on my knees.

I picked up the helmet last week as a gift for my birthday, I bought the shoes and pedals this week, and I had the pedals and cleats installed today. I also had the saddle height adjusted for my height. What’s left? Cycling sunglasses that won’t cost me an arm and a leg. I’m on the hunt for them now, before Sunday’s training ride.

Bell Solar helmet	Specialized road shoes
Shimano 105 PD-5700 SPD-SL pedals	Shimano SPD-SL Cleat Set Float SH11

I’ve tried to lose weight every year for the past few years. I went back to look at earlier entries, and I’ve been historically excited about losing a pound or two after going to the gym. Using hindsight, it’s ironic to read how excited I was, but then note that the weight came back, and I was back to square one. I exercised, I lost a nominal amount of weight, but I reversed it somehow. At the end of the year, I would then vow to “finally lose the weight” next year. Lather, rinse, repeat. This would be comical if this wasn’t sad and pathetic.

What’s the problem? Earlier this month, I began wondering what was going on again. Here I am — I’m working out 2-3 times a week, I’m “eating better”, but the weight loss slowed to a crawl. A weight loss of 3 lbs in over a month is not that impressive. Isn’t there an old adage that the sign of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting a different result. I’m eating more salad and protein, less carbs, but the weight loss wasn’t dramatic. What was wrong with this picture?

I realized it was my diet. Every year, I start a workout regimen, but my diet never changes. I work out, and then undo the good work with overeating. A little less than two weeks ago, I realized how many calories I’m gorging on daily with abandon. I was going to take the kids out for dinner at Taco Bell, and I checked out the number of servings and calories in my favorite menu items like nachos and burritos. Perusing the nutritional info online, I was appalled by the number of calories. Volcano nachos, burritos, chalupas, etc, are loaded with calories. One order of volcano nachos or the grilled stuft burrito were nearly 1,0000 calories each. If I take into account the 2,000 calories a day guideline, just one item on the dinner menu would account for half of my calories for the entire day. JUST ONE ITEM!

It was my “Eureka!” moment. As a result, I recently re-examined my diet by using the 2,000 calories a day guideline, and come Monday, I checked out the nutritional info at other fast-food restaurants. You should try this sometime, and I guarantee you would be appalled and surprised.

• At Taco Bell, if you don’t eat off the “Fresco” menu, you’ll be in trouble.
• At McDonald’s or Burger King, if you get fries, you are in trouble.
• Mayo? Trouble.
• Sour cream? Trouble.
• You get anything with bacon, you are in trouble.

I thought I was so smart recently for eating a small chicken sandwich, side salad, and nuggets from Wendy’s, but even that is throwing out my calorie budget. I can’t believe how much I was overeating. No wonder I never accomplished much weight loss all these years. I would work out the night before, then go and eat a 600 calorie BK Whopper and a 400 calories in french fries at lunch the next day. Oh, and drink a Diet Coke. Add in calories ingested at breakfast, snacks, 2 servings at dinner, and maybe dessert. Consider that I can burn maybe 400 calories on the treadmill in 30 mins, and it’s all a recipe for weight gain.

Last week, I weighed myself at back up to 202 lbs on Monday afternoon. I watched my calories intake and portions throughout the rest of the week, and I broke 199 by Friday. I didn’t even have time to work out all last week, but the cut in calories was monumental. These past two weeks, I’ve been sticking to the actual serving sizes for snacks, baby carrots with lite ranch or hummus dips as snacks, and serious calorie watching. Before I go out, I know where I’m going, and what I’m going to eat. 500-550 calories for lunch, and a lot less for breakfast and snacks. I’m doing my best a dinner to eat more protein and veggies, and just a fistful of rice. It’s tough, but I think I’ve figured it out.

I'm a baby

I’ve always been fat. I was a regular-sized infant, but I can tell from the photos afterwards that I was one chubby kid growing up. I cite two reasons for this:

1. I was never much of a traditional active childhood. Apart from riding my BMX bike around the neighborhood, I didn’t play any sports. Yeah, I played with other kids in the neighborhood, but I didn’t play on any junior sports teams. I spent a lot of my childhood watching tv — a very sedentary lifestyle.

2. I ate a lot. My parents grew up in India, and came here in the early 1970′s. Their primary goals in raising us were to make sure we were educated, safe, and well-fed. It’s probably not even an immigrant thing — maybe it’s just an old-school parenting thing, but food sometimes substitutes as love. Making sure your kids are fed well will hopefully ensure that they have the energy and nutrients they need. However, for somebody like me with self-control issues and an sedentary lifestyle, this wasn’t the best recipe for success. Even up until recently, I ate 2nd and 3rd helpings at meals.

The 90′s – High School and College Days

I didn’t start working out until 1994-1995. I occasionally hit the RACC at University at Albany, and sometimes played racquetball with friends. However, I continued to overeat. 2nds at the dining hall, and then getting chinese food or pizza late at night. I didn’t balloon up, but I wasn’t thin. They call it the “Freshman 15″, no?

In the summer of 1995, I went to India on a family trip, and as usual, I lost weight. This normally happened, since I never ate much there. My girlfriend at the time and I had broken up before the trip, so by the time I came back to school for my sophomore year at University at Albany, I was single and looking to reinvent myself. I don’t think I ate much better, but I used to go running pretty late at the track. Eventually the weight came back.

During the course of 1996 – 1999, and two more relationships, my weight fluctuated. In 1997, I tried the Atkins diet, and I lost a good 20 lbs. I went off the diet, and I packed on the pounds. I had no exercise, no good eating habits, and I let myself go. I’ve never had a decent plan or strategy to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

In 1999, my senior year was wrapping up, my professional career would be starting in the Fall, and I needed to lose weight. I joined the NY Sports Club, and I enrolled in a program to have a trainer monitor my BMI (body mass index), create a meal plan, and monitor my fat butt. I did learn to eat better, and I went to the gym 2-3 times a week. I got fitter and stronger. This was one of the few periods in my life where I was actually living healthy.

The 00′s – The Working, Marriage, and Parenthood Years

By the end of 1999, I was single, living in Jersey City, working full-time, and travelling. I still maintained my NYSC membership, but I was going to the one in Hoboken. My weight slowly went up as I reverted to my usual bad habits. In 2002, I purchased my Fuji road bike, but I only tooled around with it for the next two summers.

In 2004, I was spending a lot of time on the bike on the weekends, half-day Fridays, and I went running at the nearby Glen Ridge High School track in the evenings on weeknights. At my best, I actually had dropped down to 171 by August 2004, and I was fairly impressed with myself. Unfortunately, that was the apex of my healthy lifestyle. In August 2004, I went on a two-week-long trip to India, and I gained 6 pounds. After that, life at work was busy, and I no longer had a gym membership. The pounds slowly accumulated. Once the kids arrived in 2005 and 2008, I was often too tired and lazy to go out and exercise. On the weekends, my beloved bicycle sat unused.

2011 – The Present Day

Fast forward to 2011. I’ve come to grips with my bad habits — lazyness and a lack of self-control when eating. I’ve used the fitness center at work for two years, but I undo the good workouts by overeating. It was a vicious cycle. It frustrates me to think of how much time I spent on treadmills and stationary bicycles, yoga, and produce no good results. Do you want examples? How about Feb 6 2009, Feb 7 2009, Feb 20 2009, Feb 23 2009, Feb 28 2009, Aug 8 2009, or Aug 14 2009, By the beginning of this year, I ballooned to 206 lbs. I don’t have cholesterol or blood pressure issues, nor do I suffer from any form of diabetes.

So what changed? What made me wake up and smell the french fries?

1. I’ve been fairly disgusted when I see my bloated figure in photos. I looked gargantuan. I took this one photo at BJ’s, and I was appalled to see that my head was so fat.
2. The fear of diabetes. The more I read about it, the more I was frightened that I could potentially destroy my pancreas, and wreck my body past the point of no return. How foolish does a person have to be, if he or she willingly walks a path that could break your own body? The thought that I could one day irrevocably break my body through bad habits hit me hard.

This is when I realized that I had to do better for myself. As the regular readers know, I joined Gold’s Gym in February, but I realized my diet hadn’t improved, In the past month, I’ve altered my diet, and I’m trying to force myself to be at the gym 3x each week. I’ve realized that I snack and overeat during the day, and I eat a lot of carbs. No wonder that I’ve gotten fat — I could exercise all I wanted, but with the amount of carbs and snacks and large portions, what good would it do?

I’m happy to report I’ve lost 6 lbs since starting this journey, and I’ve learned a little bit more about myself. I’ve learned that this will not be an overnight improvement, but it’s a long-term, lifelong change of lifestyle. I’ve also learned that eating healthier doesn’t have to hurt. Salad isn’t bad. Fruits and veggies are delicious. I don’t miss pizza, french fries, potato chips, or desserts. I’m still figuring out the right size portions of my meals, but I’m getting there slowly.

I’ve not delirious. I’m not being unrealistic. I’m very cognizant of the fact that I’ve been down this road before with middling results. A strong start, but it fizzles out in a month or two. Why is this different?

1. I don’t want to wreck my body. I don’t want to break it. I don’t want to die early. I want to be healthier. One day, I’ll reach a point of no return, and it’ll be too late.
2. The office gym was free for me, and I wasn’t motivated to get my money’s worth. With Gold’s Gym, I’m paying for it, so I want to get my money’s worth.
3. I’ve set short-term and long-term goals. I registered for the 85-mile ride on Sunday, May 22nd, and it’s imperative that I lose weight if I’m going to survive a ride of that distance. My objective is to get down to 185 by the end of May. I want to get down to 170 before the end of the year. I hope that’s reasonable.