Sick Days... and Feeling Fat

Ugh. I've been sick.

Yesterday was the worst. I was achy and congested, with a sinus headache and sore joints. David has been up all night coughing for days in a row. Even though I'm not coughing, when he gets up with the hacking in the middle of the night, it wakes me up. That makes us both sleep deprived too.

Today has been better than yesterday. Not that I've felt well by any means, but better. Now I'm also feeling sluggish from a lack of exercise for past three days. As I was paging through an issue of an advertising publication that arrived in our mailbox this week, I noticed that there are lots of ads for town recreational programs and gyms -- obviously targeted to all of us with New Years resolutions.

We have a gym membership that is expiring this month. The gym is close to my former place of employment, and that is 45 minutes west of our home. With the relatively mild winter (so far) and facing a good amount of driving, we've cycled or walked outside and haven't taken full advantage of that membership in a while.

So, I've been considering options for winter exercise closer to home. Costs, scheduling, etc.

There's something else I'm considering too. One of the gyms closer to where we live is offering a Biggest Loser Contest. There is an entry fee and weigh-ins, but you don't need to be a gym member to participate. Half of the entry fee will be divided between the winners, and the other half will be donated to two local charities. The contest also awards prizes provided by local sponsors to the man or woman who loses the greatest percentage of body weight.

The first year I started cycling seriously with David, I lost about 40 pounds. But then, I had a health crisis and got a desk job, and much of the weight returned. I figured if I rode enough miles, it would naturally go down again, but it hasn't happened. My doctor says I'm getting older, and that it will be harder to come off. Another bit of advice from another doctor was that I should mix it up -- that my body is used to the movement of cycling and it needs new challenges.

So maybe, now is as good a time as any to act seriously about shedding the extra weight. And maybe anticipated weigh-ins and the lure of prize money can entice me to stay on board with a program.

Mild December Weather Brought Us Out!

It's been amazing weather in Connecticut lately! Kind of crazy, actually. In October, a freak snowstorm hit our area, leaving a large number of residents powerless for up to a week. I was thinking that we were in for a rough Winter... again.

Last year, we had a Winter for the record books with so many severe snowstorms hitting us one after another. Working full-time with a long commute, and  having a daughter in elementary school that was repeatedly being cancelled, I was lucky to have been able to make it to work many times -- never mind ever getting to squeeze in a bike ride or even hit the gym. It was depressing, and I gained back weight I had worked so hard to lose the year prior.

Fortunately, November gave us Indian Summer weekends, and Dave and I took full advantage of it! We keep track of our cycling mileage on DailyMile, and it's interesting to note that last year in November, we had in a grand total of 23 miles. This year has tallied up to 352 miles!

And so far, for December, we have 50 miles in.

On the road just after sunrise on December 6th, 2011!

Skies like this might have scared us away from riding in July,
but in December, 50 degree temps lured us out.

Twenty three of this month's mileage so far has come from two early morning rides. I've been providing childcare for my grandson, Carter, who just turned 6 months old. My daughter leaves for school a little after 8 a.m. each weekday, so Dave and I got up extra early and we were in the driveway, on our tandem at 7 a.m. to squeeze in our 11.5 mile loop.

To be able to ride in December, yesterday morning's gray skies and drizzle did not hold us back. We were grateful for the chance to get some time for US!