Just a day late? That's practically early!

So, about that challenge I mentioned on Sunday. I spent a half-hour or so writing up a post about it yesterday, then it got so muddled and boring that I gave up. So here I am again, this time just giving the basics.

The MS150 is 22 weeks away. I would like to be ready for it when the day arrives, and I would also like to be considerably lighter. I don't have any experience with this, but I strongly suspect that hills and headwinds are easier to deal with at 160 lbs than at 200.

So, I have a challenge ahead of me. Click OPEN WIDE to see the full description, in three parts: Goals, Plans, and Rewards.

Goals

• Ride the MS150 at a respectable pace without SAG help, and recover quickly (like, not drag ass for a week afterward)
• Lose 30 lbs. I struggled over this number. My more optimistic side wanted to shoot for 50, but then realized that I haven't averaged over 2 lbs/week in...well, ever. Hell, I haven't even averaged 1 lb/week in 2 years. Expecting to do it now, even with a rigorous training schedule, would just be inviting failure. Still, I'm seething a bit about gaining 25 lbs back this year, and I am beyond ready to take it back off. So, I split the difference. Thirty pounds is 1.4 lbs/week, which I think is doable.

Plans

First, the training plan, because it's more complicated.

• In the words of Eddy Merckx, "ride lots." Like, upwards of 100 miles/week. Not much for Eddy Merckx, I don't suppose, but a bit of a stretch for me. Especially since the only days I have time to do it are Friday-Sunday. So, my plan is to continue my commute on Fridays (22 miles), ride to the start of my club ride on Saturday (9 miles), do the ride (22 miles), add a small loop I like (6 miles), ride home (9 miles), and do the Sunday club ride every other week (29 miles). Every 3-4 weeks, I'll add mileage to the Saturday ride to get up to 75-80 miles by the end of March.
• Spin classes. Two of them, each week. This is sort of a corollary (or addendum?) to the "ride lots" plan, since it's just riding indoors with someone else telling me whether to stand up and how fast to pedal. My current plan has these scheduled on Monday & Wednesday mornings. Let's say each of these 60-minute classes equates to 15 miles on the road, that's another 30 miles/week for my legs.
• Weight training. I only have 4-5 more sessions with the trainer, but I think I can come up with a routine of my own twice/week. Concentrating mostly on core and upper body strength. I may go back to the sculpting class at work on Tuesdays for one of them.

As for the food plan, it's simpler.

• Stay core(...Ponyboy). The WW Core plan is like South Beach Diet with free fruit and 35 cheat points. Lean protein, lowfat dairy, whole grains, etc. If I can stick to it even 75% of the time, I'll be better off than I am now.

• Don't overcompensate for long rides. I have a tendency to eat the world after a long or hard workout, taking in way more calories than I need. I'm not going to be as diligent about food on weekends as I am on weekdays, but I'm going to try to keep it under control, at least.

Rewards

Ah, my favorite section. :)

First, to keep myself motivated, I figured I'd need some intermediate rewards. Then I tried to think of some, and couldn't. Apparently, I am in the enviable position of having all the stuff I want. So, I decided to incorporate fundraising into my reward scheme.

• For every week where I log over 100 miles on the bike, I will donate $10 to my own MS150.

• I will also donate $1 for every pound lost.

If everything goes exactly as planned, that'll take me almost halfway to my donation requirement. To keep from having to make a whole bunch of little donations, I'm going to transfer this money to a savings account weekly, then donate all of it at once.

As far as the end reward...the biggest one is going to be finishing the event without needing weeks to recover. And, of course, being 30 lbs lighter will be its own reward, also.

However, accomplishment as its own reward has never really been a great motivator for me. Neither have prizes, but I think that's because I tend to just get them whether I meet the challenge or not. So, this time I had to choose something so outrageous that I needed some serious justification to buy it.

For a while now, I've been saying that I'll start shopping for a new bike when my current one gets up to 5,000 miles or I get to my weight loss goal, whichever comes first. Guess what? This MS150 training will get me up to 5,000 miles by early April.

So, if I meet both goals, I'm upgrading my bike. Probably to this or this, but I'm going to have to ride and see.

So, to quote a talking toy truck that Noah had when he was 2, "Let's get movin'!"

I will double you up and donate $2 to your MS150 for every pound lost. Go get 'em! (And keep us informed!)

awesome--thanks Frazier!

Man I hated that truck.