Fatty throws down the gauntlet

Two days ago, as I was sitting on my couch wallowing in my displeasure at not having done much over the Thanksgiving break, when I saw a post from the Fat Cyclist. He wanted to reverse his annual trend of gaining weight between Thanksgiving and Christmas, so he's giving away a bunch of stuff for people who want to participate in the process with him. He's just trying to lose 10 pounds before 12/25. A pretty manageable task, really, if you watch what you eat, exercise, and avoid the temptation of comfort food when your body tends to crave it most.

Lately, I've been pretty well motivated (barring Thanksgiving weekend, of course), but seeing as Weight Watchers hasn't jump started my progress, and I've been sort of mired on a plateau for a while, I figure this couldn't hurt. Twice before as part of weight loss contests I've shed weight. Both times I shed enough to win or come very close, and the second time I kept it off as part of my overall weight loss to date. Having a contest I can't lose, but can't win is a little different, but it still gives em something realistic to shoot for. My personal goal is still 299 by 1/1, but any progress at this point would be a positive step.

It must be tough if it has Challenge AND Competition in the name.

It also just so happens that today begins the National Challenge Competition. I've mentioned previously that USA Triathlon has an annual competition for it's clubs (and individual athletes not associated with a club) in order to help us all focus on our off-season training. Clubs are pitted against each other for a series of prizes over 3 months time. Each month will have a focus discipline (swim, bike, run; in the same order as a triathlon), with which special goals and extra incentives are associated. We've got 14 or 15 members of Team Wheelworks participating, including Rach and I. As the teams manager for the contest, I've gotta make sure my results are enough to be a real contributor to our cause.

I got a good start last night, even though we can't count it. 35 minutes on the stationary bike at FitRec with Rach followed by another half hour spent lifting. I didn't do as much weight this time, but more reps, and my arms aren't killing me today so I must have done a better job. I tried a couple of new things, and while there are still a few machines that I don't really understand, I've found enough I know how to use that I can get by for now. I wish the gym had some of the Concept2 ERGs we used in training class. I might wind up needing to join Community Rowing to get in some rowing time.

Notes:

- 21.6 pounds, 31 days.

- This month is supposed to be swim intensive from a NCC standpoint, but I also need it to be run intensive from a Lowell 1st Run standpoint.