Why Mavic Bike Computers Suck

Short answer:  There is no documention online about how to reset their bike computer.  And, boy oh boy, does that piss me off.  

I spent about an hour and a half of my life searching in vain this evening.  Apparently Mavic puts its tech stuff behind some user name password thing.  Someone else (on some page I'm not going to look-up again) said it was similar to the avocet 15 or 20 or 25.  None of those did the trick.  

the stupid thing seems to reset just fine.  But, the moment, I spin the wheel or get on the trainer, it goes back to "SEl."  

Bullshit.  Nonsense.  Utter nonsense.  

I'll never buy another cheap Mavic crappy bike computer again.  Instead, I'll buy a avocet (like I had before), so i can reset it when I need to.  Now, I just have a useless lug on top of my stem. . . while I can just pay to have teh bikeshop redo it for me, when it next trips up. . . well, then, I'll need to pay them another $10 or $15 to redo it. . . in which case, I could have just bought a new one, and then reprogrammed it myself.  

Incidentally, I'm sure I threw away the manual because I was self-assured that no worldwide company would fail to have their manuals online in 2008.  Ahhh, actually, Mavic has those kinds of balls.  

Well, I have to go pick-up my mountain bike on wednesday anyway. . . I might as well bring my other bike in. . . 

kc

getting more resolute

I feel more resolute about committing to training now.  

I thought tonight that I'd like to commit to doing the Strawberry Fields Triathlon up in Ventura.  I need to put together my own plan and get some intensity going.  

K

Laughable - how little I post

it's laughable at how little I post these days.  

Life is hectic.  I have nearly two dozen jury trial stats.  But with every 'yin' comes a 'yang.'  In this case, I have more professional experience and satisfaction in my job than I have ever thought I would have.  Nonetheless, the job satisfaction has occurred at the expense of not only weight, but to a large degree also fitness.  

that said, I would say I regularly row 3-4 times per week, with rowing between 5,000 and 15,000 meters per session (a 15k row, for my money, is worth about a 10k run (6.2 miles)).  I also go to the gym a few times a month and grab a swim.  I've been lackadaisacal about doing mountain or road cycling, since it takes up the most time.  I did more of it in the summer, but less this fall.  

I still consider the idea of commuting by bike to work, but its awfully far (>20 miles one way).   

I thought I would be able to transition to a different county as a prosecutor this fall, but unfortunately they didn't pick me for second round interviews (boo hoo!).  Of course, I wondered whether my husky appearance effected the ultimate results (I suspect it didn't effect my results in hindsight, but initially I thought they have downgraded me because I was more husky than the others).  

I still dream of having 20 hours per week to train -- but one of the benefits of being older and wiser is knowing one's time limits and setting limits.  there's a trade-off between triathlon training and job satisfaction.  I don't think I'm rationalizing, but I simply can't (and won't try) to do everything.  I continue to have regular workouts.  My eating habits could be more healthy, although, in fairness, I eat a 10 pound bag of apples every week (it's eaten on teh morning ride into work, usually two of them) and I eat relatively healthy healthy choice meals during the evenings, or burritos from costco, lots of yogurt, the multi-fruit-veggie drink from costo and a healthy dose of bananas.  

I do have some frozen yogurt (those skinny cow ones are pretty good) with some regularity and hummus and bread, along with regular turkey sandwiches.  It's not that I'm the most unhealthy eater of all time, but, self-admittedly, I could improve my diet and, as importantly my caloric intake should be lower.  

I hope to do a few triathlons next year.  I'm going to have to get real with the schedule and try to set real limits and boundaries upon my demanding girlfriend too.  . . 

k

Scheduling challenge

In fact, the new challenge? to create a workable schedule that contains less rather than more miles and workouts. A functional schedule that truly accounts for my crazy work schedule. . . .

k

20 miles - cycling

I got a 20 mile ride in today which felt pretty good.

I began to think about trying for a triathlon in september -- perhaps one or two. That would give me about 60 days to train, +/- 15 days.

Indeed, I likened this to my first year of law school. That year I did no triathlons, because my newfound education required my focus. Similarly, my new career as a prosecutor, has requred my focus to the degree that I haven't had the focus, time, attention, or energy necessary to be an effective triathlete. Nor even a functional triathlete.

I still have a decent base of fitness -- as shown by today's ride -- at about 14.7 mph. Usually it's more like 12-13 mph -- but I attribute the bump up because not only did I have a flat ride, but also because I have done more rowing and, in particular, more MTB riding. That climbing develops power -- and I could feel the power today. That's good.

However, my lack of running and swimming presents problems.

My thought was to run morning workouts and evening workouts -- except when I'm in a trial.

Lack of Tracking - Profession v. Exercise

I continue to flounder. Sort of.

This week I had a particularly poor exercise regimen. I just wasn't quite up to it. I worked out, something like, Tuesday and Friday. I also played tennis on Saturday, but, as always, I'd hope of more. Hell, I'd _dreamed_ of more. But I just didn't have it.

I finished a jury trial on Tuesday -- Wednesday the jury returned (guilty, which is what I wanted :-)). However, in doing that trial, I had to sacrifice other things. Namely, lesser exercise. Trials just take a bunch out of me, and leave me exhausted at the end of the day (although, invigorated through the day).

Nonetheless, it could well be that I use work as an excuse for not doing what I want to do (and not being responsible to myself). My girlfriend tells me to be easy on myself -- easier said than done.
I consistently explain to her that the reason I have climbed this far up the mountain is _because_ I'm an over-achiever, not despite it :-).

I think I'm ready to get into a nutrition software site and start trackin some things that way. That could be quasi interesting. I'll go all out on that for a while and see where it goes.

Incidentally, my nutrition hasn't been great, but it hasn't been abysman either. Just thinking off the top of my head: I had a cobb salad friday evening for dinner, I had a club sandwich (with fries) for lunch that day. I had oatmeal and yogurt for breakfast and an apple. And I had some natural smoothie earlier today. So, the broad pieces seem to be there. . . but less than stellar exercise habits coupled with below average nutrition can make a mess over a 20 year period of sloth. . .

hmmm. . .

kc

More measurements

Though I'm sure self-retrospective thought is more appealing to an audience, rather than pure data, some of the blog's purpose is to record my own history. And, without data, self-reflection is difficult. Thus. . .

N: 17.25
B: 16.00
C: 48.00
US: 48.75
LS: 44.50
T: 24.50
H: 46.00
Wrist: 7.50
forearm: 12.75

body fat caliper data:

P: 25, 25, 21, 30, 20; kept: 25, 25, and 21
S: 63, 56, 54, 59, 62; kept: 56, 59, and 62
T: 16, 15, 12, 12, 12; kept: 15, 12, and 12.

Result: 28.31%

Incidentally, the test which measures using weight, waist size, forearm and wrist calculations came up with 38% (105 ponds of fat available for loss). Huh. I'm still in a better spirit than I thought I'd be. I **do** know my eating habits over the past few weeks (particularly last week) have been less than ideal. I need to work on that. I think I'd like to repurchase and reuse the fitday software. See, http://www.fitday.com/ (somehow I think it may have been nutrifit before. . . but. . . not sure).

time to go ride 15 miles and go do girlfriend duty.

kc

DATA: Measurements

Here are the measurements for the week:

P: 26, 19, 23, 26, and 25; remaining: 23, 26, and 25.
S: 61, 61, 60, 59, and 60; remaining: 61, 60, and 60.
T: 17, 20, 17, 17, and 18: remaining: 17, 17, and 18.

body measurements:

N: 17.00
B: 16.00
C: 48.00
US: 47.50
LS: 44.25
T: 25.25
H: 45.50
Wrist: 7.25
Forearm: 12.75

According to the caliper measurements, I have 29.89% body fat; according to dr. hamilton, i have a 29.13% body fat. either way, I need to lose about 60-100 pounds.

ROWING

On a brighter note, I had a really strong 6000 meter row last night. It turns out it was NOT a personal best, just a second personal best. My best time for a 6k was on 06.06.05 at 24:09.9; last night it was 25:30.3 -- the two times are a world apart.

Second -- I also learned that my rowin machine has 3104 kilometers on it (i bought it used with 199 kilometers on it). Therefore, I've rowed 2950 kilometers or 2.95 million meters. I purchased the rowing machine in march 2005. 38 months later I have 2.95 million meters, which is an average of ~18,000 meters per week rowed. (roughly 90 minutes of rowing exercise per week on average). Importantly, it's an all weather tool -- no matter whether it is hot, cold, or raining outside, i can always row. I spent $600 bucks on it (roughly) 3 years ago and I've consistently used it. I would highly recommend it.

Moreover, the concept2.com website is really excellent. It lets you look at other rowers' times and see where you measure up challenge wise.

Finally -- I did finally clean up the blog as best I could. I removed the dead links. I do hope to add more links. I suppose I'll need to look through the links I have and then go back and do some searches for some other cool stuff I find.

New data / weigh ins

measurements for the week:

body fat:

P: 22, 20, 20, 25, and 18; keepers: 22, 20, and 20.
S: 63, 61, 61, 60 and 60; keepers: 61, 61, and 60.
T: 15, 4, 3, 5, and 4; keepers: 4, 5, and 4.

BODY FAT: 25.84.

(Incidentally the test that measures body fat with a wrist and elbow circumference and some other body measurements comes out to 29.2%. . . basically, 26% vs. 29%. . . which is probably close enough for my purposes).

(But, these measurements are a bit skeptical; particularly the thigh ("T") measurement -- which just is either 17 or 5, because the caliper always slips.

Body measurements:

N: 17.50
B: 15.00
C: 49.50
UW: 49.00
LW: 44.50
T: 24.25
H: 45.75

* * *

there are always hiccups in measuring something -- that's just the scientific method. While I strive to take measuring error and subjective elements our of a scientific measure, I think i sometimes fail. This may have been one of those days.

Interestingly, the actual circumference numbers of my body measurements went up; while the body fat measurement using calipers went down. Nonetheless, there is an emotional component to always wanting to see increased and enhanced performance levels. I do know that so long as I keep measuring from week to week, the numbers will go down so long as I eat a bit better and exercise a bit more.

* * *

REST DAYS

It definitely worked out better this week for the rest days. I have decided to move my rest day from Mondays - this week it was a forced rest day on Wed (and thu) due to work demands (I was in the middle of a trial and ended up staying late and working on a brief.

ROWING

I had a nice row this evening after a movie. I decided to just go for 30 minutes and do the best I can. I created a new PBest in doing so. . . which is great. Thrilled to have that athletic feat now captured in my life.

BIT DOWN - MEASUREMENTS
I do admit I am a bit down over the measurements. I almost never look at my prior week(s) measurements until after I've measured for the current week. I figure if I do review -- I'll be too tempted (even if it is subconsciously) to measure lower numbers. Perhaps I was too aggressive with the measuring last week? I doubt it -- the error rate for measurin with a measurin tape is really ~0.25 inches.

Nonetheless, I **DO** notice that my shorts seems to be getting mroe and more loose :-).

c

One Step Back

"Frankie liked to say that everything in boxing was an unnatural act. Sometimes the best way to deliver a punch was to step back . . . but step back too far -- you ain't fightin' at all."

Six Million Dollar Baby. (Narrative by Morgan Freeman).

* * *

I ended up taking Saturday off. I can't decide whether I did it out of pure laziness, or whether it was done for self-preservation -- or, somewhere inbetween, indeed, perhaps a rest day.

HOURS

My work hours are crazy at times. I think my hours were:

mon: 830a - 6p -- 9.5 - 1.5 = 8.0
tue: 830a - 11p (1.5 hours of driving); -- 14.5 - 1.5 = 13
wed: 830a- 1a -- 16.5 hours
thu: 830a-6p -- 9.5 - 1.5 = 8.0
fri: 830a-5p - 9.5 - 1.5 = 8.00

That was a 54 hour week. So, I was a bit sleep deprived by the end of the week (like usual). . . while I don't want that to be an excuse. . . I slept like 6 hours tuesday evening and like 4 hours wednesday evening. less than the required sleep under "healthy" norms. I tried to feel ok about it -- but I'm actually quite conflicted by it.

Measurements and thoughts

First the data:

N: 17.25
B: 15.00
C: 48.00
UW: 47.50
LW: 44.00
T: 25.25
H: 46.00


COMPARED TO 03.29.08

N has dropped 0.5 inches; biceps remain the same; chest is down 3 inches; upper stomach has dropped 2.5% while lower has dropped an inch; thigh is down 0.25.

COMPARED TO 04.11.08. . .

I can also note a .25 drop in neck; .25 drop in biceps; 0.75 drop (from last week) in chest;
a 2" drop in waist and a .5" drop in lower waist; hips were teh same; and thighs are actually 0.25% larger (probably from increased cycling and rowin).


Calipers:
P: 26, 27, 26
S: 59, 57, and 59; and
T: 15, 13 and 14.

Result: 29.03%

I suppose that's a drop of about 1% from the prior 30.19%. Or, perhaps it's only a rounding error.

NEW WORKOUT PRODUCTS

I have considered the purchsae of two new potential workout products. Ultimately, though I think I reject them. However, I did recently buy some rollers from Performance. They Rock --

Rollers
I did also purchase one new product : Rollers (for riding on the bike indoors). I owned rollers (and used them quite frequently in the midst of really loud rock music) for a few years back in Boston. However, while I moved them out to California, I rode more outdoors than indoors, so I sold them off. Now that I often work late, and I don't like to ride my road bike in the dark -- I bought another pair of rollers (incidentally, about $100 bucks on sale, so it was a pretty good deal too!).

The P90x
I did look into the P90x, since it had rave reviews. Apparently it's put out by Beachbody or Beachbody fitness.

The p90x seems to have a rabid followin (e.g., Tom (a hockey player-cyclist, looking to build more muscle); and Kyra's review; a more lackadaisacal review here; and Tamson and Sara talk about it too [though I think they're runners and home workout enthusiasts]; and Rich Bilson has one of the better posts (an avid cyclist who did p90x in his offseason).) And Rich gave a nice shout out to cross-fit. . .

new measurements fri 04.11.08

here's the data for today:

n: 17.50
b: 14.75
c: 48.75
us: 49.50
ls: 44.50
h: 46.00
t: 25.00
wrist: 7.50

P: 23, 30, 30, 23 and 21: keep 23, 30 and 23
S: 58, 63, 60, 65 and 64: keep 63, 60 and 64
T: 16, 17, 16, 15 and 16: keep 16, 16 and 16.

SKINFOLD BODY FAT: 30.19%

279.6 pounds;
36.5 % body fat (per tanita)

COMMENTS:

Less than ideal results, but sometimes one needs to take the good with the bad. I did have pretty good exercise this week. I also thought the exercise worked pretty well. However, very poor sleep habits this week.

measurements

N: 17.50
B: 15.50
c: 49.25
uw: 49.50
lw: 44.75
h: 46.00
t: 23.75

Data from measurements. . .

P: 23, 20, 19, 21 and 26
S: 68, 67, 60, 64 and 61
T: 3, 17, 11, 3 and 11

Body fat: 28.63%

[Note, I checked my data against a site that estimates given forearm, wrist, hips and largest waist. It comes up with 30.47%. . . less than a 2% difference. see, http://www.healthcentral.com/].

Running, Rowing and Cycling - trying to find the groove

I'm still trying to get my groove back in all of this.

I went out on a windy 20 mile ride today. Then I followed up with 4k on the rower (which, incidentally, I don't think I even recorded the data. . . uh oh).

I like data. I like keeping track of things. It looks like I lost about 5 pounds the first week (roughly). But from 278 to 273 (back to 275) -- it's all basically a rounding error. I intend to take some measurements today as well.

I actually swam and ran yesterday. On Thursday -- after my trial tanked -- I came home and did 10k on the rower. That was pretty satisfying as well. I had no workout on Tue and Thu., because I was stuck at work putting on a trial (which always results in 14 hour days).

Drastic II

Another unfortunate day. I was listless and lethargic most of the day. perhaps in a bit of shock. Failure sucks.

I wanted to go mountain biking but I just didn't have it in me. Literally, I tried, but I ended up taking an hour shower and then a 2 hour nap and it was 4p before I knew it (I didn't get up until noon). I'll come back tomorrow and hit it hard (and I'll row tonight instead).

I know it'll get better. I sent a relatively dramatic text message to my girlfriend:

"I've had a self-inflicted rough day. Now mostly listless and lethargic. Essentially, I gained actual knowledge of my physical state: 278 pound and about 35% body fat. If I fail at this it'll kill me. Trying to resolve mentally/emotionally. Hard to hear. "

All of that is true. I think I'm going over to her place later. At which time, I'm going to seek out the coolest triathlon I can find for June, sign up for it, and then start to train diligently for it. i'll also need to start monitoring the state of my physical affairs.

We'll see.

(mountain biking area captured via google earth, listed above).

Drastic

My view is that desperate issues require significant "beatback" efforts. I can do better. I should do better. I must do better. This will cost me years of my life.

Ugh.

new body fat numbers - highest yet

well, as predicted:

New number: 30.423%

p: 33, 29, 24, 23, and 31; I kept: 29, 24, and 31.
s: 53, 63, 63 68 and 67; I kept 63, 63 and 67.
T: 15, 12, 16, 10 and 8; I kept 15, 12, and 10.

"T:" was the most difficult measurement. I simply couldn't quite get the calipers to work right -- it mostly caused redness on my skin. Also, it seemed to either be 18 or 3. . . but little inbetween.

As for tape measurements, they are:
N: 17.75;
B: 15.00;
C: 51.00;
US: 50.00;
LS: 45.00; and
T: 25. 50

I must say it was predicted. I can't quite bring myself to get on the scale though.

Frustrating.

Update and preparing for new measurements

The truth is this: I often hide from the truth. It's not healthy. But it's predictable.

I hope to do some measurements tonight -- but I know. I know that my pants are tighter then they have ever been. I also know that some of my suits no longer fit. I suppose it is part of the cost of my first year of practice.

During the past year I think my nutrition has been better than my exercise -- but it's been a low threshhold. I suspect my average workouts are 2-3 times per week. I know I consume too many calories per day; however, i do try to eat more roughage, vegetables and fruit. However, I often fail at that task. Salads for me are definitely hit and miss. I do like to eat frozen meals since they are more predictable.

But, fact is: When you work 60-70 hours per week, some portion of your life is going to suffer. For me, that something seems to be not only relationships with others, but also my health. Doesn't seem like that's a rational trade, but it seems to occur with some regularity for me. That probably deserves some examination.

kc