<p>OK- 43 very hilly miles done (biking- not running) on the hottest day of the year so far. It was horrible. 97 out right now- probably 90 plus when I finished my ride. It was an organized ride “event” with about 1200 people over various distances. I opted for the 42 (really 43) and my husband did 80. I’ve ridden most of this course once before, but the hills never cease to humble me. The heat was terrible, but I stayed hydrated. Oh- and some wind. Averaged 14mph (did 16 on the flat 62 two weeks ago) which my biking friends tell me is pretty good for this course (for me- not for the real cyclists). The rest stops were awesome- you could actually gain weight during this thing. PB&J sandwiches, homemade banana bread and cookies, watermelon, bananas, trail mix, Fig Newtons…was hard to pull away from the stops! I was SO glad when I was finished. Waited in the heat forever for H to finish (he averaged 17mph). I’m not used to exercising for 3 plus hours in this kind of heat. Note- is there ANYTHING less flattering than bike shorts? Even if you are thin it looks like you have a load in your pants.</p>
<p>MOWC, LOL!!! It’s not a bad idea to wear a pair of gym shorts over the bicycle pants.</p>
<p>I DID run 1.4 miles before the bike ride so I have a mini-streak of 14 running days in a row going. If I can run 6 tomorrow (not at all a sure thing due to the dead legs and heat) I’ll have a 30 mile week. Obsessive maybe???</p>
<p>Padded bike shorts remind me of the SNL “Oops, I crapped my pants” spoof. </p>
<p>MoWC - I think the jury has delivered its verdict a looooong time ago about you!</p>
<p>Back in the saddle, a little bit. Still wheezing and coughing and sniffling, but I’ve turned the corner on feeling sick and run down. Too rainy to walk, so I hopped on the Schwinn Airdyne for a leisurely 32 minutes. Talk test pace – fast enough to breath a little heavy and work up a little sweat, but no intervals, no heavy heart rate. I was hoping to do 40 minutes, but I started feeling a little chilly and figured that was probably about it for today.</p>
<p>Felt good to get a little exercise after being out of commission for five days. I’ll do something light again tomorrow – maybe a walk – and then I think I’ll be good to go.</p>
<p>I’m baaaack! From my vacation. I have not exercised while in HI (I’m not counting the daily 2X500 m swim or my high heel walks :)), yet I only gained 3 lb. I expect to lose them in a couple of days - I always gain 2-3 lbs due to water retention during long flights. Today I declared a war on weeds that got way too wild during my absence. My yard waste bin is full :). Thank you Mother Nature for the first 75-degree day of June!</p>
<p>Ugh! Our family went to Farmer’s Market yesterday and had a wonderrful time picking out beautiful produce and flowers. On the way home H wanted to treat us to breakfast. I broke down and ordered the omelet special with whole wheat toast and hashbrowns. I ate the omelet, one piece of toast and a few bites of hashbrowns and left the rest. Unfortunately I was so miserable the rest of the day and night I never ate anything else the rest of the day. I had a horrible stomach ache and cramps so went to bed and didn’t eat until right now. What an awful feeling! No more cheating for me! Got up this morning and did 25 miles on the bike and feel a little better. Reached my weekly goal of 3 weight sessions and rode 143 miles. All that and only lost one pound.</p>
<p>NMinn, what’s wrong with having an omelet?? Doesn’t sound outrageous to me.</p>
<p>One pound a week is considered a good rate of weight loss for women. As depressing as that can seem! I was moaning about it to my doctor and she let me know I had nothing to complain about. 
It’s the rate of loss that leads to long term maintenance and loss of fat, not muscle, water, or the contents of your colon.</p>
<p>We are having brutal weather. It’s 15 degrees ABOVE normal for this time of year. I am convinced (since it’s always All About Me) that this is payback for all my whining about the cold and ice this winter and how much I hated the dreadmill. Not to mention my bragging about what a good heat runner I am (2 successful hot weather marathons in 2009 while runners dropped like flies around me). Well- I apologize to the mid-South for the torture that is now being inflicted. I made my 6 miles this morning (and my 30 mile running week) but it was ugly. I went as slowly as I could and still had to take frequent breaks to re-group and bring my heart rate down. I was 80 degrees and humid at 6am. I am really tired. H, on the other hand, went scampering out on his bike for 30 miles even after his 80 mile heat-ride yesterday and seems very chipper. I would like to go float in the pool but not sure I have the energy to get myself over there!</p>
<p>Hot and really humid here too…real temp is over 90. H and I did an easy bike ride this morning…around 15 miles with some hills. Mixed asphalt and trail. LOVE the asphalt in the hot weather cause you build up so much speed and the wind feels great. Makes me feel like a kid again.
We passed an ambulance on the trail though…not surprised with the heat as it is. Not sure if it was a runner, biker or walker.</p>
<p>Yeah. An omelet sounds pretty good to me. I actually have one for breakfast pretty often. Heck, I had bacon with my eggs yesterday morning (we had a package that had to be used up!). I’d probably try to resist the hashbrowns, although I sure do love 'em. A pound is a good week. Look at this way, you probably lost 3 pounds of fat and gained 2 pounds of lean muscle! That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it. I now have abs of steel. You just can’t see 'em yet! You are exercising so much that you are gaining lean muscle mass at a pretty good clip, which is a very good thing.</p>
<p>MOWC:</p>
<p>I am so unacclimated to heat as a New Englander that it is going to impact workouts during heat spells this summer. I’ll just have to treat it like rain or snow and work around it to some extent. I was actually mad that I was sick last week because it was perfect working out weather. It was so cold all week that I finally had to break down and turn the heat on in the house – in JUNE! It’s 62 degrees outside now, after noon.</p>
<p>I refused for five days just on general principle. My wife and I used to play tennis is 90 degree weather in Atlanta. It’s like an altered state of consciousness. You know you have to stop when you start shivering.</p>
<p>I think it made me uncomfortable because it was too much, outside of my regular cereal and fruit routine, and the cheese inside and whatever it was cooked in had to be more fat than I am used to. </p>
<p>MOWC…it is cool and rainy here. Need some heat to dry things out!</p>
<p>Wonderful mexican food last night. Fresh chips, rice,beans and 2 chicken enchilada verde. Two pds on the scale this morning. Hoping most of the weight gain is the salt.</p>
<p>Regarding omelets and eggs – I think as long as you skip the cheese, you’re OK. I like vegetable omelets, because it lets me slip in some extra veggies without really meaning to or being so aware of them. And they’re colorful, too.</p>
<p>^^^^</p>
<p>I agree. I think the other problem is when ordering an omelet at a restaurant, it isn’t cooked on a non-stick pan and so it tastes pretty greasy. I use a dab of canola on a paper towel to make it super easy to slide my omelet off. I have had the same experience when ordering out, we forget all of the changes we have made when cooking at home. Anyway, cheese +cooking grease = indigestion for me!</p>
<p>RE: Heat in the South.</p>
<p>So next year the Senior Games will be held in Houston. I am not feeling inspired to train since I have NO desire to go to Houston. I usually look forward to the games because the whole atmosphere is so inspiring and I have met some wonderful fellow racewalkers. It is also one of the few opportunities to have some real competition. </p>
<p>Just how bad will it be in Houston in July? In the morning? Just not feeling the motivation :(</p>
<p>Omelets are on my “good for you” foods list, even with a little bit of cheese. A 1/4 cup of shredded Parmesan cheese has 110 calories. I only need a quarter of that to sprinkle on my omelet to add more flavor to it! I love veggie omelets for breakfast. You guys made me think about cooking them for our Sunday “brunch”, since we had fruit and oatmeal for breakfast.</p>
<p>I was surprised to see many folks from the South in HI - some said they were escaping the heat wave by booking last minute travel. It is always pleasant in HI, even 90 degrees does not feel like 90 degrees because of the tradewinds. Once we were in Maui in August, and the winds died down - it felt much hotter than usual. The locals were telling us it was quite unusual.</p>
<p>(Just as I expected, my 3 lbs of extra water are already gone.)</p>
<p>idad- That’s amazing that you had to turn the heat on!</p>
<p>workn- Houston is humid, which is my problem with the weather there. The temp itself won’t be as bad as Dallas, but the humidity is bad. That said, you could hit a nice week. Where in Houston are the Games?</p>
<p>
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<p>Uh, let’s put it this way. After Houston in July, you’d feel like you need a sweater to avoid getting chilly on a stroll around Hell.</p>