Thanks guys.
I got my ass handed to me on the bike yesterday. A 10 lb weight gain on a bike is like cutting a foot off of a runner. I felt so sluggish and like I was retaining fluid so I couldn't breath right or control my heart rate.
One of my buddies dropped back to check on me. He asked what was wrong so I told him that I gained 10 lbs after I quit dipping. We had never discussed dipping before and his response was "it's impressive that you haven't dipped in 30 days, you will look a lot cooler on a bike if you are slow vs if you had no lips''.
One of the other guys, whom I never saw again, until we were back at the trail head, said "man, I heard you quit dipping". He then stated that he knows what I am going through as he quit 1.5 years ago.
All that being said, sometimes you just have an off day so I may be making too much out of it.
On the other hand....I don't like losing in anything so I started my diet last night. I can drop 10 lbs in 2 weeks without losing strength. I can drop it in 1 week but that's too fast to do it correctly.
So as it turned out, I couldn't stay quit, on dipping and do a serious diet at the same time. This struck me as really odd as I have always been an athlete and could drop or gain weight at the drop of a hat. This time around, I just couldn't do it mentally and the quit was the most important by a mile so I made some changes.
I pulled out of the Fall mountain bike race series as I was just getting way to slow with the added weight. I decided to just keep riding for fun and enjoy nature a little.
All the sudden last week, I set a personal record, on a 20 mile loop of my favorite trail which had me really scratching my head. I figured it was a fluke and didn't put much thought into it.
I was just getting over a head cold and decided to just go out for an easy mountain bike ride yesterday. I started off trying to go slow but something just felt different. By a mile in, I was just cooking it. At the end of a 15 mile loop, I downloaded my computer and I had bested my best run, ever at this trail, by an average of 0.6 mph. That kind of increase in just 15 miles and at my level is unheard of.
Trail conditions were just average, I didn't feel 100% and the humidity was at 91%. Humidity usually kills me.
This is my body responding to the loss of nicotine and poisons. I told you guys, early on, that my heart rate was running lower as soon as I quit and now I guess this is the next step.
Now I am motivated to start a strict diet. I am 13 lbs heavier than my competitive weight and setting records. I can't wait to see what happens when I drop the weight!!!!!
All the crap was pulled out of the fridge last night and it was reloaded with all healthy foods. Eating a great dinner also felt nice and put a smile on my face. I think I am back.
