8 month bandiversary! with pics & stats

Coming off my triumphant, epic bike ride & its time for a bandiversary.  I'm about a week late with this but oh, well!

Monday's weigh-in 157.6lbs
down 2lbs from last week & down 68lbs in total

I love being home!  I lost those 2lbs before my race - actually, my scale is up AFTER the race.  how is this possible??  actually, hubs was pleased to hear that because he said losing a couple pounds during a big ride is not the thing to do - usually means significant dehydration which is never good.  whatever - I'll just keep repeating to myself that gaining 2lbs during a race is good. really.

 Here are the latest comparison pics (I'm wearing an XS tank & size 8 shorts - both from Eddie Bauer in these pics):

I also took measurements - interesting to note some things keep changing.  All the big losses are behind me but there are still improvements. :)

cheers,
chloe

I DID IT!!!

Racing into the finish

I DID IT!
I DID IT!
I DID IT!
I DID IT!
I freakin' DID IT!
Above is a very blurry pic of me cruising into the finish.  I really did do a 67-mile bike race. :) Behind my sunglasses, I was totally bawling.  So proud of this accomplishment!

All in all, it followed pretty close to my expectations.  I targeted 6hours ride time + 1 hour at rest stops.  It took me a total of 5 hours & 35 minutes (rest + ride) so I'm **very** pleased with that!!!   I was seriously cranking - heart rate was almost always 80+% for the whole ride.  I burned 3503 calories. :)

First half of the race was fabulous - cool morning, Colorado farm land, mountains in the distance.  Even the one big climb was a snap.  Organizers had a water stop halfway up & another rest stop at the top.  Great locations!  Breaking up the climb seemed to make it easier.  By about mile 50 the sun was out & it was getting hot.  Sun beating down & reflecting off the pavement and I started to wonder what I got myself into.  Fortunately, the last rest stop was at mile 59.  Great place to chill a bit with a steel drum band before pounding out the last 8 miles.

Hydration & nutrition were key for me.  It felt like I was always stuffing my pie hole with something.  Actually, I ate too much & too fast at the 40mile rest stop so I ended up getting stuck.  It never really eased up so I had to pull over & PB.  (Gross!) I stopped drinking & eating for a while but then I could feel the leg cramps coming on in the last 5 miles.  I now know what the point of goo/power gels are.  They are not tasty in anyway but a very easy way to get in some calories - especially appreciated as a bandster :)  Had a quick gel shot & was feeling fine in about 20 minutes.

I am so very proud of this!!!! I lost 67lbs for this 67-mile race.  There is just no way I could have even imagined doing this ride a year ago.  Hubs is already asking when I'm going to do a 100-mile ride with him.  I've started looking at the calendar....!

At the starting line - wearing size medium cycling gear!

cheers,
chloe

Preparing for my big ride

Its Saturday evening and in about 12 hours I'll be leaving my house & heading to Boulder to start the big ride.  I can't believe I'm doing this!

Just going through a checklist in my head to make sure I have everything: helmet, camelbak, gloves, bike, etc.  Also thinking about my expectations for this event.  In no particular order, here they are:
            1. I expect to finish this race.  each & every mile. no quitting
            2. I expect it'll take about 6 hours ride time + another hour for the aid stations
            3. I expect to burn 3000-4000 calories
            4.  I'm going to work on staying well-hydrated & well-fueled all day (challenging since my band is being quite fickle right now.  soft foods for me)
            5.  this is no Sunday afternoon leisurely ride!  I want to keep my heart rate about 75% of max on the flats & 90% on the climbs
            6. No dawdling for me. I will pedal on the downhills &keep cadence on the flats
            7.  I will relish every single part of the experience!!!!!!

It sorta sunk in today that I'm 8 months from surgery.  that's it.  just 8 measly months & yet here I am preparing for an epic ride.  Preparing like its no big thang; like its completely natural that non-athletic me is capable of this.  Who is this girl???  I took pics & measurements today that I'll post later this week.  who is this girl? I honestly don't recognize my body at all.

Jennifer Hudson's "Feeling Good" is my theme song for tomorrow.  what's yours?
wish me luck, my lovelies!!!


cheers,
chloe

I got to the gym

Happy to report I was able to peel myself out of the office & got my ass to the gym tonight.  1 hour of spin & 1 hour of chisel.

I'm glad I went.  I feel good.  I ate a sensible bandster dinner.  I'll sleep well tonight.  I just need to remember this feeling in the future. :)

Of course, now its almost 11pm & I'm working on slides for my boss but I think this is how its going to be for me now.  At least, I got my a$$ to the gym.

And as a cosmic reminder of the benefits of this journey, I found this dress I'd ordered on my doorstep.  Prana dress.  its very simple but oh, so soft & comfy.  very flattering.  I have this image in my head of a look I love but its never really worked for me in the past.  this year I'm hoping to rock it!  Imagine....simple dress, cute belt, tights, fabulous boots & colorful scarf.  Autumn, casual, cool.  the best part?  I had to order the dress in a small :)

good night, my lovelies!
cheers,
chloe

Fail.

Two days into my new responsibilities at work & I already blew my workout schedule.

I blogged recently about a new role I'm taking on at the office & wondered how it would impact my ability to take care of me.  Yesterday, I found out.  My big bike race is coming up this Sunday & I want to rest the few days before the race which means I need to hit the gym at the *beginning* of this week.

Monday morning my boss sent out the announcement of the re-org & it has been chaos since then.  I made it to the gym Monday & had plans on hitting a spin class last night.  But, then, work happened.  Meetings all day & needed to catch up with some folks who are in town so more meetings.  Then a couple of us went to grab some drinks to continue the conversation.  out goes any hope of making to the gym.

Plus I'm now post period & SUPER tight.  I can barely eat.  just had a glass of red wine last night.  When I finally got home, I had a bowl of cereal (Kashi Go Lean Crunch w/ lite soy milk. yum!!! lots of protein).  Or I should say...I tried to eat.  A couple of bites & then it all came up.  ugh.

its only mid-day & I still have high hopes for today.  My gym bag is in the car & I'm trying to keep my afternoon clear enough to escape this place. wish me luck......

cheers,
chloe

Can I get a woot-woot?

Today's weigh-in: 159.6lbs
down about 3.5lbs from last week.  WOOT!!!!

Finally, finally, finally in the 150s :) I was in the 160s for over 2 months.  sheesh!!!  on one hand, it seems so slow but then that still averages out to be 5lb loss per month.  Really, not too bad.  get over yourself!

Looking back in myfitnesspal, I'm starting to notice some interesting trends - especially around my period.  I gain right before TOM & then a big drop during the week my period is here and then more or less steady the rest of the time.  sort of a one step back, 2 steps forward kinda thing.  interesting to notice my own patterns.

I also get super-snacky right before my period & the band goes wonky.  Sometimes super tight; sometimes way too open.  guess I just gotta ride out these fluctuations.....Given my super-girl-snackiness last week, I went on the hunt for some better choices.  Hitting up the vending machines is always a poor choice plus I'm burned out on protein bars & wanted something lower in calories than the typical Clif bar.  So I made these Power Cookie from the 17-day diet on Saturday.  After reading some reviews, I made a few changes...upped applesauce to 1/2c, swapped dried cranberries for cherries & added 1/2 c dark chocolate chips.  All in all, each cookie is only about 150 calories & they are quite good.  These days I pay a lot more attention to serving sizes & so I made exactly 18 cookies the recipe called for & they are good-sized.  No two-bite nibbles here.  totally worked on my snack attack, too!  You should give them a try....

Saturday I went for another bike ride - this time it was about pace.  My goal was to keep my heart rate up around 85% of max for an extended period of time & see how far I could get.  In two hours, I rode about 30miles & burned about 1300 calories.  not too bad!  just gotta keep the pedals pumping :).  Last Thursday I went out & rode the climb that is in the race.  It was pretty gentle but long.  my ass was definitely feeling the last two miles.   It took me over an hour to ride up but only 10min to race down.  The plan for this week is to do a couple spin classes early in the week & then rest the three days before the race.

This week's menu is all planned out:
Sunday (last night): Chile Crusted Scallops with Cucumber Salad  it was meh.  not a repeater
Tonight: Bourbon Smoked Chicken with grilled corn on the cob.  I set the chicken to brine this morning. Hubs should turning the bird every couple hours & he is going to smoke it tonight while I'm at the gym.  I'm expecting plenty of good leftovers for lunch :)
Tuesday: Steaks with Pebre Sauce & Avocado with broccoli
Wed: Baja Chicken with Avocado Crema perennial favorite & super easy to prep.  Plus Cumin Carrots cook in the same time & same temp as the chicken
Thursday: Thyme & Sesame Crusted Halibut

Looking forward to a good week!
cheers,
chloe

Random Ramblings

Its Thursday & I'm here to ramble.....a couple of recent NSVs have stuck with me & so I think I'll write them down.

First happened last week on my biz trip to Cali.  I'm there for meetings during the day but try to build the network if I have time and/or energy in the evenings.  Last week I reached out to one of my mentors to see if she was in town & wanted to meet for drinks.  This lady is about 10 yrs older than I am, she is an EVP at a start-up but has been in the IT business for a long time.  We've worked together off & on for the last 5 years or so and managed to build a professional relationship and something a little deeper in that time.  Her situation is somewhat similar - she's ambitious, she's successful, she's a mom, her husband takes care of the kids.  She knows what its like to be the only woman in a room full of pricks.  She knows everybody in Silicon Valley & if I ever decided to move on from my current company she would know who's hiring & who to stay away from.  All in all, a good person to stay connected with plus I wanted to get some career advice with the recent increase in job responsibilities.   I haven't seen her since I've been banded & she was very complimentary when we first met up.   Later in the evening, she was totally staring at me.  It was actually getting a little odd!  She interrupted my story and said she couldn't get over how good I looked.  She said everything just popped - eyes, cheekbones, the whole bit.  She couldn't get over how different I looked.  Reality is I am not a pretty girl.  I am not photogenic - rather, I'd say I'm well-groomed.  I never got the line "you have such a pretty face if only you'd lose weight"  nope, never heard that one.  So, my friends comments were really nice to hear.  I've gotten tons of compliments on the weight loss but this was definitely something new!

The other NSV happened on Sunday.  We have a wedding here in Denver to go to this coming weekend & the hubs needed new clothes.  He's always exercised a lot but now that we're eating so much healthier he's lost about 20lbs and gone from a 36 to 34.  Gotta celebrate his successes, too!  Since he's a stay at home dad, he doesn't have a closet full of boring buttondowns & drab khakis for the office.  He has a stack of Old Navy cargo shorts (& cargo pants for winter), random tshirts and flip flops plus a few nice outfits for the occasional night out.  Truth is, he does like to dress up & look smart.  He has is vanity, too.  :).  So off to Nordie's we go to get him something fab.  Ended up with a great blue/green/gray plaid jacket that is cut really slim plus a nice blue & white paisley shirt.  For a pop of color, I insisted on an orange pocket square.  Then had to get him some gorgeous new shoes.  I love that man but he is a shoe whore!!!  All in all, he looks damn good.  :)  Well, after seeing how fabulous & sartorially splendid he turned out I knew we had to run up to the Ladies department for me.  Here's the NSV part...we were walking through the designer section and I spied a delicious camel coat in St John.  St John is definitely not my style - too much big hair, ladies who lunch and aging Dallas debs for my taste - but I decided to try it on for shits & giggles.  When I was huge, I totally avoided high-end designer because they are cut so slim.  I grabbed the size 10 coat expecting to be tight across the arms & boobs as usual.  Nope!!! it was huge!!!!! there was only one other coat in a size 6.  My hubs said no way would it fit.  It fit - and it was still very roomy.  I could actually see my husband process it.  I could just see the gears turning in his brain.  I think I might have seen "damn girl" flash across his forehead.  hahaha.

Finally, my daughter started 4th grade today.  I can't believe it.  Really.  seriously.  I.can't.believe.it.  So not typical for me but I am posting some personal pics.  Here she is rolling out to meet the bus this morning.  The other pic I found in my phone & think its really sweet.

.
 cheers,
chloe

Distance Ride

today's weigh-in: 163.0lb
up about 1.5lbs from last week.

Not surprising given my travels last week.  I'm happy to say I'm home all this week & I don't anticipate any travel for the rest of this month.  yippeee!!!!

I just find this banded life a little easier when I'm home.  I'm going to hit the gym tonight - my gym bag is packed & out in my car.  I planned out the week's dinners on Saturday & went shopping to get everything. 

Here's what on the menu:
Sunday (yesterday): Shrimp & Cheddar Grits  pretty good & SUPER fast.  one of the restaurants around my house offers something like this & I love it so I decided to try it at home.  I added some mild green chiles to the grits - they were great.  good comfort food.  the shrimp was ok but I'll try it again with different seasoning.  leftovers for lunch today.  yum!

Monday: Chicken Enchiladas
Tuesday: Chicken & Asparagus with melted gruyere
Wed: Hoisin Chicken with mashed sweet potatoes
Thursday: Scallops with Cucumber Salad

My big bike race is in about two weeks & I'm getting nervous.  I have no idea what I was thinking when I signed up for the 67-mile course.  To help me prepare, my hubs organized a distance ride for us yesterday.  We got a babysitter for the kid to make it a little easier & then headed out.  We went west up to Golden, past Red Rocks, through Morrison, down C470 to Chatfield Reservoir, up past South Pearl Street over to Wash Park for a few laps then up Cherry Creek trail & past the big REI downtown and on home.   Total ride: 55mile.  Total time: 4h 43min (including 2 rest stops) Total calories: 2473 burned.

I hadn't been eating particularly well lately & not drinking enough water either.  I could totally feel it on the ride.  So now I have two weeks to fuel right & hydrate well for this race....

Looking forward to a low key week at home.
cheers,
chloe

End of my ME Year

Well, its official.  I think today marks the end of my "Me"  year.  I was banded in December & the plan was to step back from work in order to dedicate more time to me.  Lose weight, get healthy, leave work early to hit the gym, clear my head & figure out what I want in my 40s.  Kind of a mini mid-life crisis without the corvette or 20-year-old boy toy.  At the very beginning, it was a little hard to dial down at work, leave all those emails unread, phone calls unreturned & not always angling for some new project.  But I got into the groove & got better at leaving work at work.   It was nice....and now its over.

A little work background....I am a director of product management at a major IT company.  This basically means I run a global business and am responsible for P&L for a portfolio of products.  The company I was working for was acquired about a year & half ago and I have stayed on with the new company.  At the old company, I owned a very large portfolio & the business generated well over $1B a year in revenue.  At the time of the acquisition, my boss knew my portfolio would not find a home in the new company & so he moved me into a new assignment.  I LOVED my new assignment - it was working on emerging technology & building a whole new business from scratch rather managing an existing one.  I had a pretty small staff, cool technology & carte blanche to get out of my silo & work with anybody across the entire organization.  Overall, the business is small but its the fastest growing product line in my division.  A few weeks ago my boss held a huge all-hands meeting & he singled out my portfolio for best marketing.  Nice kudos.

Soon after these very public accolades, he followed up with a HUGE bonus.  Big money & big stock.  I'm lucky to have a good boss (& he's lucky to have me because I make him look sooooo good)   For a few days there, I was feeling pretty good.  Success & recognition at work.  Big $$$ in the bank. Cool, fun portfolio.  And balance.  I could have all this without sinking every waking hour into the office.

But I think that ended today.  A few weeks ago, my company acquired another company.  Today my boss announced the new org structure & I picked up a lot of responsibility.  I am going to keep what I have, pick up the newly acquired company and pull back in the remnants of my old portfolio.  This acquisition was personally driven by my CEO & he will be keeping tabs on how the integration goes.  The new company is extremely small but the execs have high expectations.  The hot mess of stuff I have now needs to be multi-billion dollars in just a few years. 

I know what needs to be done to get there but I also know how much time, effort & work it'll take to do it.  I know that this new assignment is a reward for past successes.  I know that high profile is good for my career & this role could propel me into the executive ranks (if I'm successful).  I know I am grateful for yet another amazing opportunity.

But it feels like the ability to leave the office at 5pm for Kickboxing just flew out the window.  How do I do this & still be good to me?  That's a skill I haven't mastered yet...


cheers,
chloe

Cali

Today's weigh-in: 161.2
down 1lb from last week


I'm sitting at the airport waiting to catch a flight out to the Bay Area.  I'll be there most of the week for an industry conference.  I am not speaking but I do have a lot of meetings scheduled.  My company was asked to deliver the keynote speech.  I am not giving the speech but I did write it once we found somebody with a big enough title.  Should be an interesting week but this is easy work - no stress.  I heading in a day early to spend time in the Santa Clara offices.  I have some staff there that I hope to take to lunch today.

This trip is well timed.  My husband & I are getting on each others nerves!  We went up to the mountains this weekend so he could ride in the Copper Triangle.  He did very well but the steepest, longest climb is right at the end of the 78-mile course & I think it really kicked his butt.  Sunday we went out to Glenwood Springs to enjoy the wonderful hot springs & then caught Keb' Mo' playing at the Botanical Gardens.  It should have been a wonderful day but we spent most of it sniping at each other.  ugh.  Then this morning, he helped carry out my bags to the car (which he does most every morning) and planted a long & truly masterful kiss on me.  damn that man!!! now I have to deal with THAT until I get home Thursday.  sheesh.

cheers,
chloe

Seoul & Beijing

Forbidden City in Beijing

Monday weigh-in: 162.2lbs
down about 3 lbs from last weigh-in

I got back Friday nite from my business trip & I'm just now shaking off the jetlag.  Almost feel back to normal today.  Trip was ok.  The only thing is that the air quality is sooooo bad in Beijing that I always feel ill while I'm there.  Its a good reminder why I'm glad I don't smoke!

Stuck to decent bandster habits while I was on the road.  I packed my favorite protein powders, protein bars & supplements.  I packed workout gear & hit the hotel gyms almost every day.

Getting better at managing the band while traveling but there are always challenges.  Schedules are packed and I never know what I am going to eat & when (this is especially difficult in a foreign country)  Case in point:  Thursday in Beijing.  Had small breakfast of muesli & hot tea at hotel.  Had meetings all day at sales office.  Went out to lunch with a few local guys - hot soup with noodles & dumplings.  Mostly just drank broth in soup & ate 1 dumpling.  got stuck.  More meetings & presentations in the afternoon.  Snacked on some trail mix I brought along.  Then we decided to meet up with my boss & the Engineering VP who had just landed but they were over at Engineering office which was about an hour away in traffic.  Engineering guy wants to hit up a local Peking duck place for dinner.  We go there & its another hour wait so we go to a nearby bar for drinks.  Have a whiskey.  Get seated for dinner but its another hour before the duck will be ready.  Have a few bites of an eggcake pancake & some mysterious meat-based appetizers.  The guys order beer.  I don't do carbonated drinks anymore so stick to hot tea.  Duck finally shows up.  Peking duck can be really good if its done well & this place was better than most.  You start with a thin pancake (like a crepe), add a couple of slices of roasted duck, plum sauce, sliced cucumbers and sliced green onion.   yum!  However, it was late & I was very hungry.  bad combination. Ate too fast & did not chew well.  I get through one when I realize its gonna need to come back up.....

For those who haven't traveled much in Asia, there are actually two types of toilets.  There is the "seater" which is what every westerner is familiar with.  Have a seat, do some reading & get your business done.  In Asia there is also something I call the "squatter."  Its a glorified hole in the ground.  Nicer places have porcelain fittings.  Check out the pic.  So imagine bending all the way over & getting your PB on....at least this place employed a bathroom attendant and it was pretty clean.

Another hour back to the hotel & then ordered creme brulee from room service.   sigh.  not an experience I want to repeat.  Happy to be home.

I think the little back-to-basics experiment I tried right before I left really worked for me.  I lost the 3lbs during that week but didn't lose anything on my trip.  Hard to attribute the entire loss to my little experiment since my period also showed up that week but I do believe it helped.  I also just feel better when I can plan the week's menu and cook at home.  I've noticed that what I eat really affects how I feel now.

Too bad I won't be able to get back to it for awhile.  Too fried this past weekend to go grocery shopping.  Got home from the gym last night about 8pm & then started scrounging for dinner.  not the best for me.  Leaving Friday for the mountains because my husband is doing another 100-mile bike race this weekend.  Then leave first thing Monday morning to spend the entire week in California.  At least I know what I need to do...just need to have a schedule that lets me do it.


cheers,
chloe