Good deal on Garmin 301

If anyone is interested....I frequent a website called slickdeals.net.

I found a post for the GARMIN Forerunner 301 / HRM for $80 with free shipping.  

http://slickdeals.net/index.php?to=2009-01-12&page=7

I havn't looked at the amazon page.  But thought it was interesting.

Week 2....Diet, Throw in a Bike, Technology

Week 2....19 Miles running, 21 Miles on the Bike and 2 days off.  I felt great training this week and did really well with my diet as well.  

After a day of rest on Sunday, I got right back into it on Monday.  My parents had stopped in for a night on their way to Myrtle Beach and I was showing my Dad my GPS.  I happened to leave it on and I drained the battery.  Apparently this model doesn't have a sleep mode!  So I decided to let loose a little.  I had no timer except looking at the clock on the way in and out and I estimate that my 4.1 mile loop was about 37 - 39 minutes.  I thought pretty good, and I found myself slowing myself down as my breathing got heavier.  Tuesday was a rest day because I had a few visitors coming to look at things I was selling on Craigs list.  Then Wednesday the loop (chest strap malfunctioned then) and on Thursday it was cold so I went 7 miles on the Dreadmill where I felt Great!  My intent was to only run for an hour but felt so good I went for 1 and 1/2 and added a 20 minute cooldown.  I paid for it on Friday with Lower leg pain and some evidence of shinsplints, so I decided to take it easy over the weekend.  I've started icing my shins after running on Thursday and as of right now on Sunday I feel pretty recovered.  I've also added some stretches with an elastic band and have been trying to stretch for a good 15 minutes before bed.

Saturday, the weather forecast called for 60 degrees and Sunny!  We fed the kids breakfast and I convinced that I needed to take Liam (my son) to the dump to throw away some old electroniccs, and finish recycling the rest of the cardboard from X-mas.  On the way we happened to stop at our local triathlon store with my road bike for a quick cable and brake adjust (10 minutes and FREE) and we were on our way.  So I decided to take a leisurely ride and simulate my trip to the office for when I start riding to work.  In short.  Great Ride, Pretty Flat, and it took about 20 minutes door to door.  

This morning it got up to about 58 degrees so we blew off the early playoff games and took the kids, toys, and mountain bikes to ride the American Tobacco Trail.  Looking at the results, I didn't ride that great....But I had Gracie (38 lbs,) in a kiddie seat on my luggage rack, and I was pulling a Burley Deelight Trailer with Liam (5) and Sissy (3) riding with their Leapsters, Snacks, and enough water for a cross country hike.  So given the situation not bad.  I felt great, and strong.  So 1 more week of training before I do my AT test next Saturday.  

Diet.  

I ended last week at 190.3 pounds.  I've been doing some research and found this calorie calculator.     It estimates based on 6.5 hours of sleep, my work schedule, and 1 hour of exercise daily, I should be burning around 3400 calories per day.    And it also indicates that every 3500 calories of deficit I eat, it's work 1 pound.   So If I continue to work out 1 hour per day, and only intake a maximum of 2000 calories per day.  Roughly I'll be losing around 3 pounds per week.  Throw in a few rest days and 1 cheat day (Beer) and I think I can comfortably stick to losing 2 pounds per week.  So... What have I been eating.  

A typical day will look like this

Breakfast 2 egg white omelet with tomato, onion, redpepper, and some feta cheese  140 cal

Snack   3/4 cup of Kashi Ceareal and Activia Yogurt    150 cal

Lunch Can of Tuna (un mixed) and 1/2 cup of mixed nuts    300 cal

Snack Kashi Snack Bar, Apple, Mixed Nuts   150 cal

Dinner 3 oz Tuna Steak, and 2 servings of Green Giant mixed Veggies   450 cal

Snack Fruit Smoothie 8 oz.  Almond Butter, 5 strawberries, frozen blueberries, Ice, Vanlla yogurt, and orange juice    150 cal

So you can see for most of the week, I've been well under 2000 calories, and have managed to eat all day long.  This works for me and I dont' let myself get starved.  I'm saving Saturdays for a cheat day where I'll eat pizza, drink beer, tacos, and all the crap I miss.

So in the end, a pretty good week.  I got my bike out, and mixed up a little.  This week I go to Montreal for a few days, so we'll see how I do on the road.

Oh,  about the technology.....I noticed all week, I was getting funny HR readings.  At one time it reported my HR to be above 220 bpm and at others, it simply wouldn't register.  My first thought is no wonder that guy sold me this used junk so cheap....But when I started looking at the chest strap, it has a battery compartment (I've had a Polar HRM in the past and their straps don't have a battery)  I replace the battery this morning and the problem seems to be solved.

`Dave

Week 1 results....as of Jan 5

A quick summary of week 1 results.

In 7 days, I exercised 6 and rested 1.  Though tuesday was about a 1 and 1/2 hour hike of the tobacco trail with the kids stroller, backpack, etc.  But I still managed to burn a fair amount of calories.

In total, just shy of 24 miles of SLOW running with a lot of recovery walking.  I started the week at around 197 lbs. and Sunday AM was 192 lbs.

As it relates to diet, I've done pretty well.  NO BEER with the exception of New Year's eve.  I've pretty much cut out all breads / carbs, and more or less backed off of red meat.  It's all been cereals, salads, fruit smoothies, tuna fish, egg white omelets, and yellow fin tuna steaks (on sale for $7.29/ lb at Harris Teeter.)

Tonights run I felt pretty good.  My battery in my HRM was dead so I let it go a little.  I sprinted until I was breathing pretty heavy, or my calves cramped, and I walked briskly to recover.  I did Typical 4 ish mile loop in 39 min. vs. my regular 58 minutes.    Tomorrow....Back to the discipline of the HRM, but it was fun while it lasted.

So in summary.....6 days, 24 miles, 5 pounds.  No Pizza, No Burgers, no Bread.

What I didn't do......Get the bike out!

I'm planning to start to record what I'm eating and make an effort to count calories.  Hopefully I'll have a simple format set up by the end of the week.

-Dave