DING DING DING DING DING

I've been remiss but I have a good excuse, really I do!

::tries puppy dog eyes::

::tries quivering lower lip::

FINE! No excuse is good enough for my whiny gentle readership! So let's see where did we last leave off?

Bubbles had destroyed me in a Zumba class for crying out loud so I had to go home and drink heavily in front of the firepit while hanging out with my cool wife, burning wood and pondering the figure eight swivel motion that Bubbles can do and mere mortals merely strive for.

Saturday we got up (my wife and I, I assume Bubbles got up, in fact I'd bet on it) and rode our bikes to a nearby park. If you live in my neighborhood this is a nice, safe bike ride along a nice bike path. From my house and not doing the loop because your wife is tired it was around a ten mile round trip. I plan to make use of this path, study its nuances and see if I can get a workout from it without the overhead of being run down by some psycho in a car.

The whole ride took about an hour and we had fun, I definitely kept my HR below 65% which is the point of the Saturday workout. On the way back I opened it up a bit leaving my wife behind, it felt good (not leaving my wife behind you dolts, getting up to a speed that felt right!). I got up to and held 21.5 for a bit and the HR shot up too. Then I sat on a bench and waited for my wife to catch up.

Later that day we went swimming.

Sunday was our annual trip to Kokosing Gap, the prettiest bike path I've ever been on and one of our favorites. The first leg is about 4.5 miles and that's all we usually do. You can see from the GPS pic that it runs along a river mostly (converted rail line) and farm fields and looks like this:

This leg of the trail is mostly tree covered.

One of the bridges you cross along the way.

When we get to the 4.5mi mark we always stop and picnic while the kids play on the train. We were doubly blessed since it was a holiday weekend and the caboose was open. That was the first time we every got into it and it's beautifully restored!

The Gambier Train Station

Since you're at Kenyon College you also get, um, "art."

"Art" ::rolls eyes::

We ate, napped, played Frisbee and just hung out awhile before heading back. My son and I opened it up on the way back which you can see from the heart chart.

The first eight minutes were so languid that it didn't even register on the Garmin! LOL I think you'll be able to spot where we opened it up. It felt GREAT!

Monday we ran errands and went to the swim club.

Today I came in needing to do a tempo workout of thirty minutes and then Bubbles ABS for Those not Ready for ABS routine. It was also weigh in day and I was apprehensive, how much did I put on?

I tried the following on the recombinant. I went for 35 mins at level nine but dialed it back to level eight after ten or so minutes. I was trying to keep my cadence around 75 to 80 RPMs and that was tough for me to hold at level 9. After a bit the sweat started to flow which was what I was after. I'm also of the opinion that it takes fifteen minutes of work before my muscles feel 'warm.' I need to keep that in mind.

I got there pretty early but eventually the gym filled up. Marathon Man came in and was quite proud of his son who ran a 5K in the neighborhood with him. IronMan showed up and was doing some routine and so did awesomeGirl and benKingsley. I was taciturn, thinking about what it will take to get rid of this lousy pound (pounds?) while Emenem's Lose Yourself blasted in my ears. On the last two minutes I held the cadence above ninety. I was covered with sweat and felt pretty good getting off the bike.

I then did the ABS, showered and stood before the scale like someone awaiting sentencing. I slid the counterbalance up to around 240 and stood on the pad. Exhaling I slid the counterbalance down to 208 mentally preparing for the worst.

Then I went past it, then I eased passed 207 and at 206.75 the arm came up to mid point.

150 days after starting this madness, 74 days ahead of schedule I made my first weight goal of losing thirty pounds. I grab the towel, cover up and stare stoically at myself while spraying Right Guard in front of the mirror.

As I'm getting dressed by my locker in my gym I'm grateful the locker room is empty at the moment. Once dressed I sit on the bench, bury my face in my hands and SOB!

It meant more to me than I thought I guess.

Too many to thank without sounding like an Academy Award speech. Thank you Nolska (wife), thank you Bubbles. I plan to hold the 207 by going for 197, let's up the bet to 40lbs shall we?

You can do anything you set your mind to, man - Lose Yourself