Saturday, August 8, 2009

Nutrition - it's not just what's for breakfast anymore...


The week's totals....
swim --> 2600 yds/55 min
bike --> 61.7 miles/4:01
run --> 6.1 miles/1:23
strength --> 45 min

Sadly, no walking on the beach this week.



I almost made it through my Daily Extras (butt day, chin-up bar day, etc.) I think I got 6 out of 7 of them.


Nutrition - it's not just eating breakfast anymore. I am still struggling with nutrition. I am no longer unwilling to do something different - which is good. Now, I just have to learn how. I am trying to balance eating things that are yummy (to me), with eating things that are nutritionally dense (like kale - I love kale by the way), with eating enough to fuel myself during training, with eating less so my already big butt and thighs don't get any bigger (yes, yes I know I shouldn't say that but there it is - it's part of the equation and I have to deal with it), with being used to using things like PowerBar (my most effective fuel) and Shot Bloks (the most fun) and Gatorade (old skool),



with knowing that Hammer products are on the B2B course, with knowing that if I'm going to use the course-provided fuel I need to get used to it now. (That's a lot of stuff to balance.) I can hear an argument that I can just take all of my fuel with me (stuff my bento box or the pockets of my bike shirt or whatever) but I'm not willing to do that. I don't like carrying things with me - too much to keep up with in that kind of situation - the kind of situation in which I need to be more focused on breathing and moving my body through space. So, I have to figure out how to use the Hammer products. I'm not unwilling - just...um...inexperienced with changing my nutrition patterns.



Then, there was Bikefest...it's a TOUR (not a race) of our county and bits and pieces of 2 neighbor counties. I had a great time. Me, MFTLP, our friend visiting from TN rode the Bikefest today. There wasn't really any pressure. It wasn't a race - it was a TOUR - so we didn't have to think about speed (unless we wanted to). And tour, we did. MFTLP did 35 miles, I did 62 miles and our TN buddy did between 75 and 80, (the other option for the tour was 100 miles not 75-80 miles but she marches to her own beat so she did her own thing). If you live in the south you know what I mean when I talk about the heat and humidity of August. And, we did NOT have that today. The sun came out at the very end of the tour but throughout the tour, we had overcast skies and significantly cooler temps than any Cackalackian has any right to expect on an August day. My personal goal was to push myself to see what I could do. For over 40 miles, I maintained just over 16 mph! Now, I know some of you Speedy McSpeedypants out there can do that with your big toe on your left foot but I don't usually. I'm usually a 14-15 mph kind of girl. (One thing I'm trying to learn how to do is to get faster on the bike). Now, I can bike to the moon (well, except for gravity and the absence of a land bridge) just not very fast. And, I don't have a problem with that. But, there's this RACE I'm doing in November and the word RACE implies a degree of speed. Hence, my focus. But, I have gotten off track. Back to the TOUR. Temperature was great. Fuel was pretty good. I did get very tired at the end. I think it was a combination of the distance (duh), the wind (which picked up in the last 10 miles and wind wreaks havoc on my mental strength) and fuel. BUT, with that said, I had a great ride. I had fun pushing myself. I even passed some guys (which is a big deal for me - I'm short and stocky and don't have much of a chance against a lot of you boys out there with your long, strong muscles). AND, I got to see significant portions of the county (in which I live) that I've never seen before. Woo freaking hoo. (I'm not being sarcastic here - I love seeing parts of the world I've never seen before - especially when I'm seeing them on my bike.)

That's all for now.

1 comment:

  1. You'll need to have some stuff with you. One good thing to experiment with is whether you want to do all liquid nutrition or have some solids mixed in there.

    Think about where you are going to get your calories from. I get most of mine from Perpetuem which is one bottle on my down tube thingie. But I like solids too so I cut up little blocks of clif bar and put those in my bento box.

    On the back of my bike I have Gatorade Endurance. I don't like Heed and don't plan to use it on the bike. For the run I can deal with it.

    For the Utah Half I'm wearing my Camel Bak for water since it's going to be hot. For B2B I will skip the Camel Bak and get water from the aid stations.

    Since you are committed to practicing and trying some different things I would really recommend having much of what you need with you on the bike. You can estimate the hours it will take you to complete the bike course and measure out from there.

    For the run (both races) I plan to wear my fuel belt with just two bottles in it. That way I can drink on my own and also rely on the aid stations for gels, water and Heed.

    Oh and don't forget the salt. :-)

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