Richard Ha writes:

January 7th I started on a program to lose a half pound per week.

Weight on Jan. 7, 2007: 204.5 lbs.

Weight on Sunday, Feb. 18th, 2007: 200.3 lbs.

Target weight today: 201.5 lbs.

I am 1.2 pounds ahead of target. Resting heart rate is 64 beats per minute, which is 10 beats per minute higher than usual. This probably means I am not completely recovered from two hours on my bike yesterday.

I’m training for a Poker Run on April 15th. I just learned about this from Chris Seymour, elite mountain biker and owner of the Hilo Bike Hub. It’s a mountain bike event where jugs, with playing cards in them, hang from trees along the way. You collect one card from each jug you come upon. The further you go, the more cards you collect. And at the end of the day the best poker hand wins. This will be a fun ride.

The route is long and tough. Chris told me there will be a beginners’ loop, which will continue on as the advanced riders’ loop. When I asked him how long it would take, he said it might take him 45 minutes or so for each. I know it would take me at least two hours for the beginner loop. This is off road, and there is a world of difference.

On Monday, when I first heard about it, I thought the Poker Run sounded interesting. On Wednesday, I thought, “Hmm.” By Friday, it was “Where am I, and what do I need to do?” On Saturday, I took a two hour ride. On Sunday, I was totally committed.

I have eight weeks to train before the Poker Run. My goals:

• To be able to ride continuously for three hours by systematically increasing the length of my long rides.
• To be comfortable riding off road by practicing in Kulani twice a week.
• To increase my ability to ride at high heart rates for short frequent bursts by doing off road hill climbs, where I reach high heart rates for short periods.

What would help me the most is losing weight. I’m like a 170 pound guy in fairly good shape who’s carrying a 30 pound pack. Any weight I lose between now and then will allow me to go faster for a longer time. So I plan to cut way back on sugars and fats. I’ll be careful to eat the amount of carbs and proteins I need, but not go much over. I’m eating salads every night.

Now I have real motivation to lose weight. I have a hard time getting motivated by things such as, “You will look better,” etc. But mention a race and I can really relate and focus.

I’m busy making up my training schedule. This will be a lot of fun.