Crater Lake Century

Before we'd found the house we wanted to buy, our plan was to ride the Crater Lake Century in August. We'd thought about putting that off to save money and time (training), but it's a ride I've always wanted to do and I'd hate to miss out. We've got 12 weeks of training between now and then, so getting in shape shouldn't be too hard. I've got some weight to lose, but I hope to be about half way to my goal by then. Training for it and for the ability to commute to work by bicycle from our new home (20 miles each way) will go a long way towards getting me to my weight goal. This is kind of funny, but it illuminates a little about how messed up I can be in the head. I've been battling my weight for most of my life. I've always been 'heavy' and that really doesn't bother me. I don't care about a number on the scale relative to charts or what others might think is 'normal'. I know that I'm heavy and even when I'm lean, I'm quite heavy for my weight. That's fine. My problem is that I've let my bodyfat get out of control. I don't know how I let it happen (it's a combination of a lot of issues), but I'm now about 35 lbs over what I would consider my ideal weight. I'm about 45 lbs over my 'ultimate' goal weight - which is leaner than I think I could maintain over the long haul anyway. So...when I became aware of what's in store for our future as a society (how's that for a nice way of putting it?), I kind of got it into my head that it's ok to gain some body fat now as times will eventually be so lean that I'll be glad that I have it. Once that thought got into my head, I've had a VERY hard time getting on track, nutritionally. I've allowed myself to gain about 15 lbs in the past 8 months or so. That's on top of a weight that I wasn't happy with to start! So...I know that I can't work towards my old goals of being 'lean' because it goes against my beliefs of what is the smart thing to do. BUT, there IS a happy medium and where I am now is NOT it. I've decided on a new goal that is about 10 lbs higher than my ideal weight (and 20lbs over my 'lean' weight). This new goal will allow me to fit into almost all my clothes and it will allow me to be as active as I'd like. I'll not be ashamed of my body even though I'll know it could be better. The most important part is that I feel comfortable with this new goal. It'll make me happy in the near future as I'll feel much better about myself at that weight and biking will be fun again...and I think it's a good weight to carry towards the future as it'll give me a 'cushion' and it will allow me to be healthy and strong.

As far as the training goes, we are already on our way. This weekend's training ride will be a 40 mile ride with some climbing (more than we did last weekend) followed by a 25 mile recovery ride. My goal is to also get in two resistance training (RT) workouts a week. One will be upper body/core focused and one will be total body. I'll also try to get in as many commutes by bicycle that I can both now while I have a 1.5 mile commute and after we move when it goes to 20 miles.

Today we've been discussing the tasks we have ahead of us to get our homestead ready. The list is LONG and I believe that this weekend we are going to list everything out, prioritize it all, and then split up the responsibilities. I've listed a few of the more major goals in the side bar here. These are goals towards sustainability. There are other tasks not listed such as fixing the siding, painting the house (outside and in), massive cleaning, replacing fixturing and a few appliances, and making some plumbing repairs. We also have plans for a huge yardsale to scale down on some of our possesions. It's a bit overwhelming...but step by step, we'll get there.