just a couple things

I did my bike routine today - just to see where I was at. I biked for just under 30 minutes at level 5 - totaling 10 miles. It wasn't bad. My question is, are the calorie counters on that thing for real? It said I had burned like over 700 calories. I'm betting that is a little of an overstatement. I wish it weren't.

As for calories, I have a friend who has lost tons of weight and her main objective when going to the gym is to burn as many calories as possible. And it has been really successful for her but I just can't work out that way. I think I would go crazy. I need a race - an actual physical goal or event I am working towards. Weight loss or calories is not enough for me. My workouts need to be more utilitarian than that. Like I'm not going to use a rowing machine unless I want to row somewhere eventually. That's why I hadn't gone swimming or used a stationary bike until this week. Now that I know I've got a race doing those things - it makes sense to me. Do you feel the same way?

Here is a plan I found online* for training - it's a 13 week plan. I think I'll start that as soon as I get to consistently running for 20-30 minutes at a 10-12 minute mile pace.

one more thing - have you seen oprah's food journal? That woman doesn't eat anything! It seems it is time for me to really take stock of how much I eat. Do you eat a lot more than her too? I may just have to keep a food journal as well...

*to see the plan scroll down a bit on that page.

Update - I just found an online free food journal and punched in what I've eaten so far today. I'm already up at 819 calories and 14.4 grams of fat today. It also has tons of other features -like it tracks your measurements, weight, moods, etc. I'm already totally hooked. I just want them to have a widget for my blog!