Back in the saddle again (ouch)

I'm tipping the scales at a hefty 215lbs these days; my all time record high.  It appears that my strictly regimented diet of beef jerky and hoppy ales is not conducive to staying light in the pedals (not to be confused with being light in the loafers).  Albeit, a considerable amount of loafing has brought me to my current status.  So, I've committed myself to some type of physical activity each day, after work, be it running or riding etc.  Additionally, I will slather not two, but one modest helping of light mayo on my sandwiches moving forward; and of course, make similarly responsible dietary choices.  End goal weight:  190lbs.

Last night I put in my first 15 miles of the year.  My poor road bike actually had a thick layer of dust & ash (from the wood stove) which billowed up before my eyes upon blowing it off the top tube.  *poof*  I lubed it up, aired it up, and carried it up stairs and out into the evening sun for a reunion ride.  The Attendees:  My ass & my ancient saddle, which has a Rockwell hardness value of at least a billion.  Still, my pace was decent (14.5mph) and I enjoyed an hour of quiet riding through the countryside.  Stats from Endomondo are as follows.

A run is better than a walk - 3 miles

And also better than no riding at all. Today's weather was FUNKY. I started mowing the lawn and had to quit twice because it began snowing & sleeting. This blew my riding time out the window so I had to settle for a run. I so hate running. At least I got my heart rate up and kept it there for a while. That's what counts in my mind. I don't think I'm really building leg muscles with the how infrequently I run.

Endomondo App

I've been meaning to blog about the Endomondo app I have been using with my iPhone 4s. Maybe you haven't noticed, but usually, when I say how many miles I rode in a blog post, I hyperlink the mileage. If you click the link it will take you to my "work out" at Endomondo.com. What I love about this app... First; it's free. Had to get that out of the way. But other than being free it's incredibly easy to use. You just open the app, select the activity (road riding, running, mountain biking, kitten juggling etc) and off you go. You of course enter your personal information (height & weight) when you initially join Endomondo. The app then tracks your distance, speed, elevation gain & loss and even the calories burned. I've found it to be incredibly accurate. When you're finished riding, you just stop the app (though it can be set to automatically stop after 10 seconds of no movement - and automatically resume when movement is detected again). You can then view your route in satellite or map view just as you would with Google Maps. What's even cooler is that you can then log in, online, and view your statistics, set goals etc. Pretty awesome. I chose to embed today's ride just for kicks. I love it.