I planned on starting off with a rant about how this article - http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1914857,00.html - is the dumbest thing I've ever read, about how every idiot should know that exercise doesn't make one lose weight if one eats more calories immediately post exercise than one burns, about how overweight people that want to lose weight cannot reward themselves for every single healthy action they take and expect to lose weight, about how hilarious yet sad it is to see obese people complete a 5K walking event only to stop at the post-event food table and eat two 450 calorie bagels and a Powerbar, about how one simply has to eat healthy food when one becomes hungry instead of eating french fries even though french fries may taste better, about how the "woe is me" attitude of so many overweight people is a just a way to avoid personal responsibility for one's action. But I won't. I'm not going to waste my time on it.
Anyhow, back on the topic of the blog - training - Friday was an off day. Stacey and I went out to dinner at a cool seafood restaurant in Birmingham, and we even got some dessert afterward.
Saturday we headed to Lansing, partially to escape the 'burbs and ride on low-traffic rural roads. I started off with a 45 minute run with Stacey and her mom, and we got rained on the pretty steadily the entire run. Toward the end of the run the rain turned into a downpour, which was fun. (Note that that is not sarcasm; way more adults need to suck it up and get outside even when the weather isn't perfect...they may actually find it enjoyable!)
After the run, I waited a few hours until the weather cleared then headed out on my 'cross bike sans power meter, which I brought instead of the tri-bike because I expected to get rained on. No rain came, though it was windy, warm and humid. Despite riding the first 45 minutes into the wind at a paltry 14 mph to keep my HR below 130 bpm, I ended up riding 54 miles in 3 hours with my HR around 125-130 bpm. The ride was very easy and I felt fine afterwards. A good sign of a recovery from IMLP, I suppose.
Sunday I decided to ride first and swim second, though the plan called for the opposite, in order to get the ride done on quit roads outside of Lansing. The ride went well, although the temp started at 85 and rose to above 90, once again with a high humidity. The temp didn't get to me, but maybe because I wasn't working very hard. I still sweated buckets - good prep for IMLou. Once again, I kept the HR around 130 and got in another 54 miles or so (I didn't look at the CPU).
After driving back to Birmingham, I headed to Lifetime for a swim. About 1,000 m in I was stopped by a lifeguard. The pool was being closed, I was informed, for what sounded like scuba training. Scuba training? In a four foot deep pool??? Oh well, guess I will add the optional swim onto tomorrows workout.
Now it's time to munch on some carrots and watch an episode of Lost on the couch with Stacey.
I wrote a letter to the author of that time article. Did you know that the average American watches 153 hours of TV per month and spends another 30 on the internet? That's over 5hrs of TV alone. And he says finding 60 minutes per day to exercise is impossible.
ReplyDeleteI believe that exercise is just one component of health. If a person only focuses on one component, chances are he/she will not succeed. One is only as strong as one's weakest link. If someone can exercise, that person can improve nutrition, mental health and focus, the "self control muscle", etc. I'm not a poster child of health, but I firmly believe it's the personal choices I make every day that affect my health. I educate myself to understand the consequences of those choices, positive or negative.