At 178 lbs and a height of 5′11″ I have a BMI of 25, the upper bound of “healthy” weight.  Using the wrist test I have a small frame and therefore have an ideal weight range of 160-164 lbs.  At 164  BMI would drop down to 23.  Based on my current weight and exercise level I have a maintenance calorie level of 2,600 and a fat loss level of 2,000 (1,600 for extreme fat loss but we won’t go there) which sounds about right.  Remember that to lose a single pound of fat you must create a deficit of 3,500 calories, or 500 calories a day if going by the pound a week philosophy.

Ideally I would like to achieve a calorie balance of 50/25/25% carb/fat/protien.  Not sure how close I am to that, haven’t been tracking it, but I would guess I’m close.  I plan to modify my tracking file to figure this out.

So if my target is 168 that gets me pretty darn close to the calculated ideal weight, not too shabby.  To be fair I haven’t weighed that much since high school so I’m trying to stay reasonable.

Although I haven’t written down a formal plan for my training, its going pretty well so far.  One key target is losing weight by the first race in April.  When I started tracking, I had 15 weeks to Yankee so I could safely lose 15 lbs in that time, which actually worked out to a pretty ideal weight range for me.  I have lost 6 so far and am ahead of schedule.  I am tracking my exact calorie intake everyday and sticking to a hard limit.  I actually come in well under it most days since I’ve done a good job planning my meals all day.  I have routinely been coming in several hundred short by the end of the day so to make sure I’m not starving muscles I’ll usually eat a good snack before bed.

We joined Snap fitness which is super convenient (24 hour access) and since Sarah is going with me we are keeping each other on target.  We’ve been going a minimum of 5 times a week, alternating cardio and weight training, at least an hour per visit.

I’m trying to loosely follow the cycling training plans recommended by most of the books on the subject.  This consists of weight training the core and leg muscles used most on the bike, and doing slower paced riding (aka base mileage).

Oak Park Police Officer Mason Samborski, age 28, was killed in the line of duty around 12:30 am on December 28.  Samborski is survived by his wife, Sarah, and his one-year-old daughter, Madeline.

A memorial fund has been established for the family.  Checks written to the “Mason Samborski Memorial Fund” can be addressed to the Mason Samborski Memorial Fund, c/o 13600 Oak Park Boulevard, Oak Park, MI 48237

Tentative race schedule for this year

• 4/19 Yankee Springs TT
• 5/3 Fort Custer XC
• 5/9 Six Hours of Addison Oaks
• 7/11 Boyne Marathon
• 7/26 Stony Creek TT
• 8/22 Maybury TT
• 9/13 Addison Oaks XC
• 11/8 Iceman

Basically I want to do a minimum of CPS races, moving up to Sport class so its not likely I’ll place all that well based on the amount of training I’m likely to actually accomplish.  I”m sticking as much as possible to races that are close and that I actually like doing trail-wise.  I have 6 on there right now, technically only need 5 but may drop 1 if there’s a conflict.

This makes room for doing some longer course races, right now I’m going with the Six Hours of Addison partly because its close by, and also because I really like that trail.  I would prefer if it were late in the season to give me some more time to prepare, so we’ll just have to see.  The Six Hours of Ithaca would be my fallback since it is flatter and later in the year.

Finally The Iceman in November assuming I get in.  Have to do the Iceman!  If not maybe Ore To Shore or Peak 2 Peak.

To prepare for the season I intend to lose quite a bit of weight by Yankee, this holiday season has been brutal!  Riding the trainer, and hitting the gym for some weight work will be key.  Haven’t worked out a definitive plan for that but it’s starting to come together.

Last year I never really got comfortable with my bike which I felt hurt me in a few races.  I am also working to remedy that, but more on that topic later!

Our finch feeder is almost always busy, especially now that the weather has turned cold.  Here is a shot from this summer of the ubiquitous chickadee:

We get tons of Goldfinches, and though they are more colorful in the summer, this plump winter goldfinch is also pretty cute:

During the recent serious cold spell and heavy snow we got a flock of Juncos loading up on thistle seeds at our feeder.  One would sit on the feeder knocking the seeds down to the ground where the rest would chow down as they prefer:

The only other variety I recall seeing on our porch is a woodpecker, nothing too exotic.  Our recently added suet feeder so far has had no customers, but hopefully it will draw some soon.