Cowquaculture! I Want A Cowquarium!

Morning weigh-in: 164.5#, 11% BF

 

Good news, bad news? I'm liking those weights, but the body fat percentages? ...eh, not so much. I suspect that my body fat was reading a "false low" of around 11%-12% when I was heavier, because my scale reads body fat based on electrical impedance through the legs, where there was very little fat. That number shouldn't change as the fat disappears from areas, like my gut, that don't have any impact on the measurement -- at least, that's what I hope is happening. The (somewhat disquieting) alternative explanation is that I'm losing muscle as well as fat, while the percentage remains the same; I find that hard to believe though, since my strength is actually up.

 

W101, NFA (Phase Zero) Mission Accomplished: Either way, I have reached my "number" goal -- I'm below 165 pounds. (My real-world goal is to get rid of all the chub, and the mirror tells me that I have a little more work to do.) I guess it's time to talk about why I decided to lose the weight...

 

Next year I'll be doing the Wilderness 101 again, and I'm involved with a challenge with my friend Greg M (among others), that he calls "No Fucking Around." You can treat the W101 as a lark for extremely tough people, or as a survival contest for the weekend warriors, but what he wants is for us to take it seriously as a race, and do whatever you have to, to get the best time there that you can. For me that means some serious training, but before that I have to prepare myself to even begin that real training. Hence the weight loss -- this is a good time of year for it too, since the dieting is not very bike-friendly, but cycling should not be a big priority at this point in the training year anyway. Next up will be the introduction of cardio and base work into the mix, of low intensity but gradually increasing volume, a phase that will probably last for several months.

 

My actual goal is to break 10 hours in the race. I absolutely know I can do this, but I also know it won't happen by not caring.

 

Teh Funny: This Sadly, No! post got this comment, which brought about this comment in reply, which made me spit coffee on my computer screen.

 

Anyway, kick-ass yoga class last night, followed by the second half of a turkey sub that I bought for lunch. Tonight is the gym, followed by laundry and dinner at Which Brew.