Day 6

Yesterday I did my third set of intervals on the treadmill, and while they are wreaking havoc on my back, they appear to be the magic promised. When I started I weighed in at 155.5ish, and yesterday I weighed in at 153. Ummm, is that possible? And consider that the longest I have spent on the treadmill with a warm-up and cool-down has been 30 minutes. The treadmill says the most I have burned it 290 calories, and I don't do other exercise accept for walking the dog because the intervals work their magic during the rest period in between workouts. It's crazy cool. Yes, I have been better about eating as well, but most of this has to be the intervals. So even though my sciatica is not happy and my stomach is angry from all the Advil, even though I used a whole pack of icy-hot patches, a bunch of horse aspercream, ice packs and my heating pad, plus stretches, all just to get back to good enough to run again, it is TOTALLY worth it!

FM

I have been reading about interval training because Covert Bailey once wrote about how great they were but didn't explain them well enough for me to do them. They sound magical, really. There are programs with slogans like, "when losing 2 pounds a week is not enough." Seriously, that's pretty Hollywood. So I am going to see if I can put these tips to work and kick some weight loss butt over the nest few weeks. I'll let you know how it goes.

Things I have learned in bar review class today:

BARF KID (general intent/malice crimes)

Battery
Arson
Rape
False Imprisonment

Kidnapping
Involuntary manslaughter
Depraved heart murder

BARKRAM (a not so memorable pneumonic for inherently dangerous felonies)

Burglary
Arson
Rape
Kidnapping
Robbery
Attempt
Mayhem

Commitment

Committed to being very strict with my eating until the Bar because I am tired of being stuck around 158. I have so many bad days that I can't afford to have all the rest just be OK. I am only eating when I am hungry, damn it, at least after 4:00, which is when all hell usually breaks loose. So far, so good. I just keep reminding myself that I can either look how I want or eat whatever I want when I want, and then the choice appears easier. The pay off is that yesterday, because I had been careful all day, when Stephanie and I splurged for delicious beer battered onion rings at a Rubicon, I only ended up at around 1700 calories for the day. Not bad, I say.

We have also started cultivating a taste for red wine because it is supposed to be very good for your heart and make you live longer. I'm not sure I am one of those longevity junkies, but I'd rather live well until I drop dead one day, and perhaps this will help. Plus, since we were drinking a glass of wine a few nights a week anyway (read tipsy Tuesday, wine Wednesday, and Thirsty Thursday), I thought I might as well cut down the sugar content. I love fruity dessert wines! Already the tannins have set to work on my taste buds, because last night we tried a merlot and it wasn't horrible. Weird.

Today, I went for a 21 mile bike ride, my furthest to date. I have also ordered a book by Lance Armstrong with a 7 week training program for beginner riders. I have been very inspired lately because I read We Might As Well Win, by Johan Bruneel, Lance's team director and friend. It was soooooo good! So today I completely ignored my speed and just worked on keeping my cadence high (too bad my computer doesn't measure that) and made sure I didn't let my heart rate get too high or my legs too tired. I stayed down on the hoods most of the ride and worked hard to give my poor shoulder a break. I lean on my arms way too much with my new bike, but apparently only one of them, because the other one is never in any pain at all. I'm a freak, clearly. I felt good and didn't bonk, which was very cool. Normally the last fourth of my rides are no fun at all. I think it helped that I went out around 10:00am, and it was so pretty and blue, the temp was nice, and there were tons of cyclists to inspire me. Who knows. However, when I went to jump out of the car when I got home, my quads sort of buckled, and they have done it several more times. Apparently, they are tired. So I am off to take a nap and then I have some serious outlining to do!

Exercise for the month so far:
Cycling - 3 hours, just under 40 miles
Elliptical - 2 hours 40 minutes
Walking - 13 miles
Jogging - 2.5 miles

May Successes

May was a pretty good month for me, all things considered.

Workout Total:
Walking - 35.5 miles
Elliptical - 200 minutes
Jogging - 7 miles
Cycling - 580 minutes

Despite eating everything I could get my hands on while in Las Vegas and the following week during the BBQ and Mother's Day food fest, I am back down to 157ish. Stephanie and I are continuing to eat very well, and I am diversifying by adding peanut butter to my diet. I think PB on a graham cracker is about the best damn thing in the world. You could get me to turn over American secrets to the Russians if you offered me one of those. And its a good fat that fills you up, so I don't even feel bad.

We have been studying for the Bar for nearly three weeks. We are pretty dang busy. We had all these ambitions for the days we didn't have class, and I wanted to go home all the time to see my parents. I had planned to bring my horse out, finally. I am not sure what we were thinking, because i am behind and seriously unsure when I am going to find the time to actually memorize the black letter law I am supposed to be able to spit out on the exam. The multiple choice are coming along OK, but they're just a small part of the exam, and by OK I mean I only miss 5 or 6 out of every 18 questions. It's sad, but that's actually a respectable score. I think June is going to be about lowering the bar. The best part is that we are actually not homicidal or super stressed, although we have our moments. Nearly everyone else sounds pitiful every time we talk to them, but Stephanie and I like to think we are achieving a good balance between studying hard and staying sane. We may revise this assessment when we get the Bar results back in November.

I have now ridden my new bike 3 times on the river trail and it and I are getting along better. I was even able to drike while riding yesterday (although I panicked when some people were coming in the other direction and I wasn't sure I'd be able to steer away from them and not die). Several of my fingers went numb yesterday, and a few of my toes, but I am making progress in the bodily suffering department. Stephanie and I have also started watching videos of Lance's seven Tour de France victories to warm us up for Le Tour next month. I have no idea how we are going to find time to do everything. We may have to give up sleeping.

I am also going to try getting into red wine because yet another report has come out about how good it is for you. If you know of any that don't taste like ass, please let me know.