Back from Hiatus

Missed the blog post last week.  Sorry if you were counting on the menu planner, but life/work got in the way.  In more ways than one.  Not only was I insanely busy at work, including a lot of weekend work when I would normally be doing my blog, but a lot of family events/commitments as well.  Worst of all was the impact on diet and exercise.  While I love sharing this blog with anyone it might help or inspire, it's really my own weekly planner to help keep myself on track.  Not composing my workout and eating plan for the week had a dramatic impact.  I only got one LHT workout in, and, though I made up for it with a very long ride today (see ride report below),  I also did not get a chance to run any errands or commute by bike (really need to add a quality light set up so my confidence with night riding is bolstered).  Furthermore, the diet suffered as not having a set plan made it too easy to make last minute decisions to eat out.  And we did...way too many times.  And though I generally ate well, I didn't do as well as I do with my own carefully planned meals.

So this week I plan to be back on track with the two LHT workouts below (see the last post for details) and the meal plan.

And importantly, we kicked it off with with a 49.5 mile ride along the beautiful Santa Ana River Trail.  We started our ride in Yorba Linda Regional Park.  Though it was overcast and a bit chili, the weather forecast, as of our departure, called for the clouds to lift, so we felt confident setting out with our shorts and windbreakers.  And though the clouds did not lift, the weather on the ride out was fairly mild, the wind calm, and we kept a 16-17 mph pace all the way along the river.  The flat route keeps you working the pedals, but the only hills are the short climbs out from under the many overpasses the trail intersects.

As we got closer to the ocean, we saw the breakers in the distance just as we were hitting the 20-mile mark. A short time later, we hit the final overpass: PCH.

 

 We paused to take a couple of quick pictures with 21 miles under our belts and the Pacific Ocean to our backs:

We then road three miles up PCH to find a spot to take a break and have a quick bite.  TK Burgers, just south of the pier, proved the perfect spot.  We refueled on the sticker-festooned patio where we could keep an eye on our bikes and on the ocean.

The ride back was a little more challenging.  We had a terrible headwind to fight as we made our way down PCH back to the river trail.  Once we got on the trail, the wind came and went, but we generally felt pretty good as we headed back up through Orange County.  As we approached Anaheim, the skies darkened, the air chilled, and we felt the first hint of mist in the air.  The drizzle got heavier and steadier by the time we reached Angel Stadium, and the temperature dropped noticeably.  We definitely regretted wearing shorts for those last 9 miles, and we definitely did some suffering with the cold and fatigue.  We crossed a final bridge across the river, and the last mile or so back to the park and our car seemed interminable.  But once there, we felt great for having met the 49.5-mile challenge, and quickly loaded up the bikes and got into some warm, dry clothes. 

We rewarded ourselves with a nice warm coffee from the Coffee Bean and a picture of ourselves in front of the big Christmas tree on their patio.

Here are the workouts and meals for the week:

LHT Workouts

Tuesday, 12/18

Warm Up (2 rounds):

• 15 min walk
• Samson stretch
• 15 sit ups

Workout (2 rounds):

• Air squats (max reps)
• Push ups (max reps)
• Planks (max time)

Thursday, 12/20

Warm Up (2 rounds):

• 15 min walk
• Samson stretch
• 15 rolling v-sits
• 10 twist lunges

Workout (2 rounds):

• Russian Swings (max reps)
• Upright Rows (max reps)
• Pull ups, chair assisted (max reps)

 Saturday, 12/22

Warm Up (2 rounds):

• 15 min walk
• Samson stretch
• 15 sit ups

Workout (2 rounds):

• Air squats (max reps)
• Push ups (max reps)
• Planks (max time)

Meals

Monday, 12/17

 

Meatballs with Red Sauce and Spicy Italian Sausage over spaghetti squash

Tuesday, 12/18

 

Apple Bacon Cheeseburgers

Wednesday, 12/19

Siggy's Greek Gyro Salad

Thursday, 12/20

 

Paleo Pork Fried Rice

Friday, 12/21

 

Mini-Meatloaf

Saturday, 12/22

 

Chicken Fajitas with Roasted Carrot Fries

Sunday, 12/23

Chicken Soup

What's the Best Workout?

I know remember where I heard this or perhaps read this, but a great response to the question in the title of this post was, "The one you'll actually do."  So true.  I have embarked on so many fitness endeavors in the past, and even with the best of intentions or strong initial efforts, I often found myself bored, burned out, injured...or sometimes just flat out dreading the workout.  While cycling has been the sport for me that has definitely kept me inspired--whether I'm commuting, hauling, or riding for sport/recreation (see ride report below), I'm always excited about getting on the bike.

However, the same cannot be said of my regular workouts, which are designed to ensure that I "Lift Heavy Things (LHT)" as per the Primal Blueprint.  I had done Crossfit for almost a year, and while I enjoyed it, the toll it was taking on my body often had me dreading the next session.  I've been trying to program crossfit-inspired workouts for myself, but have been finding both the planning and the workouts themselves tedious.  Recently, I revisited the Primal Blueprint Fitness eBook, which is available with a free subscription to Mark's Daily Apple.  In it, the author, Mark Sisson, greatly simplifies the "LHT" portion of the blueprint.  In fact, he advocates completing just "four essential movements"(see overview and videos HERE) that involve body weight lifting two times per week.  They are simple, easy, quick, and, most importantly, effective.   I've been experimenting with these the past couple of weeks and have been feeling good, keeping injury free, and, while not exactly looking forward to each workout, at least motivated by the knowledge that they will be short and sweet.

I've also decided to modify/augment the approach a bit.  Instead of 4 movements twice a week, I'm working out ever other day and doing 3 exercises each time (in addition to a warm up).  In the spirit of "the one you'll actually do," I've added two kettle bell drills I really like, Russian Swings and Upright Rows.  These make 6 movements which I'm alternating every two days, 3 movements each.  So far so good--I'll keep you posted, and if you're doing the workouts, let me know what you think.

As for this week's ride report, I got no commuting or hauling in this week, but made up for it with a 35 mile ride to the Rainbow Oaks Restaurant on Old Highway 395 down in Rainbow.  We did a circuitous, traffic-avoiding route from our home in Murrieta through Temecula.  The steep climb up to Rainbow Canyon was challenging, but inspiring views helped:

After a tough climb, a fun downhill took us to the restaurant after just a hair under 17 miles:

We got a spot on the patio in the back where we could keep an eye on the bikes:

We then had a fantastic breakfast and much needed coffee to refuel for the ride home:

Unfortunately, the food was too good, and I ate a little bit too much considering I had to tackle the hill back up the canyon to get home--fortunately, on this side of the hill it is a long, gradual climb unlike the steep route we had coming:

Once we made it over, the ride speeding down to the Temecula Creek golf course was exciting:

Back to flat land, we quickly escaped Temecula traffic by crossing the bridge west of Old Town:

This back route is pleasant, and there is an underused bike trail that runs along Diaz Rode next to the wash.  Lots of Heron spotting along the way, though I wasn't quick enough with my camera.

Once we got back to Murrieta, Michelle was all smiles knowing we were on the home stretch:

We were just shy of 35 miles when we reached our house, so we did a quick loop of the neighborhood to finish at 35.25.  Beautiful ride, beautiful day, beautiful riding partner...nice way to end the week.

Here are the planned workouts and meals for the week:

Workouts

Tuesday, 12/4

Warm Up (2 rounds):

• 15 min walk
• Samson stretch
• 15 sit ups

Workout (2 rounds):

• Air squats (max reps)
• Push ups (max reps)
• Planks (max time)

Thursday, 12/6

Warm Up (2 rounds):

• 15 min walk
• Samson stretch
• 15 rolling v-sits
• 10 twist lunges

Workout (2 rounds):

• Russian Swings (max reps)
• Upright Rows (max reps)
• Pull ups, chair assisted (max reps)

 Saturday, 12/8

Warm Up (2 rounds):

• 15 min walk
• Samson stretch
• 15 sit ups

Workout (2 rounds):

• Air squats (max reps)
• Push ups (max reps)
• Planks (max time)

Meals

Monday, 12/3

 

Smoky Bacon Chili over baked sweet potato

Tuesday, 12/4

 

Philly Cheesesteak Melts (without the bread)--inspired by my friend Mary

Wednesday, 12/5

Pho--sans noodles

Thursday, 12/7

 

Easy Curry Chicken over cauliflower rice

Friday, 12/8

 

Mini-Meatloaf

Saturday, 12/9

 

Chicken Fajitas with Roasted Carrot Fries

Sunday, 12/10

Chicken Soup