The elusive 70 kg barrier

Warning! Boring reading ahead...

Back in January, I set a goal for myself to lose some weight. At the time, I weighed 78 kg (172#). I knew the weight was hampering every aspect of my cycling except for going down hill. I went back through some of my old notes and "training" diaries. I say "training" because I really haven't taken my cycling seriously since my first senior year of college in 98. Yes, I had two. I highly recommend it. That year, I believe I logged about 6000 miles, which was a great year for me. I also weighed about 68 kg. In 99, I didn't have as good a spring as I did the year before due to a heavy class schedule and interviewing for jobs. But, I started kicking it in around April and got myself somewhat fit for Fitchburg. I got myself back down 68 - 69 kg. Then, real life happened. Full time job, second job trying to get the frame building business off the ground, I started travelling for work, blah, blah, blah. I went from rice and beans while in school to these crazy over-sized sandwiches we would bring in when we had customers into our facility. Dinners out, food at airports, fast food in the car, the whole enchilada (sometimes a plate of 3). And I didn't have a grasp on time management (I continue to work on that. Certainly not my best quality). So with all that, I ballooned up to a high of 83 kg in 2003. Shit, I could have been on Super-Size me. My cholestorol was up, blood pressure was up, liver functions were up. Not good.

Cross has been my savior. That, and meeting some of the greatest people in the world to ride with. Between my pals in the Worcester and Boston areas and my Hup teammates, I have received so much support to get myself back into racing. I did my first cross race back in 92 as a junior. The BCA race was tiny back then and was at Pittsfield State Forrest. I remember thinking it was some wierd kind of mtb race, with these funny looking bikes. I did my first full season of cross in 97 when I was at UMass. Everyone there on the team raced cross. It was mandatory in some ways. We even had a little points competition between the guys living in our house. Much fun.

Fast forward to 2003. Super pal Zac Daab starts this Hup thing. Cool. I get my first green kit to race in. I could have given the Michelin Man a good run for this money. Enough was enough, and the good doctor was getting concerned about my health. I have been coming down steady over the past couple of years, hovering between 168 and 175 depending on the time of year. But last year I earned my cat 3 cross upgrade. I knew that racing the 3/4 and 2/3 races was going to be tough, so I committed to doing this. By June 1st, I was down to 166. Then the big push came. I started training really hard for cross on July 2. It's been twelve weeks. I am certain that the higher intensity training is what has done the trick. That and eating smaller portions at every meal. Do I still give myself a treat? Yup. Just not nearly as often. Why was I giving myself a treat to begin with? I didn't earn it. And now I don't mind being hungry.

I like to be able to say that I am in the 60 kilo range. It's all in my freakin head. 69 is better than 70 because there is a 6 there. I am currently at 71 kg. I want to be able to say 69 kg by Gloucester. 2 kg in 3 weeks? I am going to try my best.

See you at Bedford on Sunday.