About a month left until my half IM!
I've been feeling good about my training lately, but also wishing I was getting in more time on the bike.
It was very inspirational to watch Tesia do the Ironman, and I've gotten great tips on nutrition. Doing the whole bike race route last weekend was a great workout and I learned if it's going to be that hot I need to drink more, and eat more regardless.
One of my college friends/post-college Brooklyn roomies just invited me to do the Texas IM with her next May but to be perfectly honest I currently have no urge to do the full IM just as I've never wanted to do a marathon. So much training, so much time. Plus, can't imagine myself in the 2.4 mile swim yet.
Last Friday I did my second 1.2 mile open water swim race of the summer, and I was excited to drop 8 minutes off my time. I'm still super slow but this means progress. June 11 time = 1:07 and July 9 time = 58 minutes!
This weekend has in store a Friday long run (my day off), and a race simulation Saturday consisting of Fat Salmon 1.2 mile open water swim, followed by 30-40 miles on the bike then whatever 30 minute-ish run I feel like. Maybe more run, maybe less.
My husband has his full body scan for cancer residuals tomorrow (he had thyroid cancer 2 years ago) so I guess it's a good thing I'm getting lots of chances to work off the stress of waiting for those test results...
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Putting on my game face
The last couple of weeks, I've been feeling tired. Tired of training, tired of talking about and thinking about Ironman. I've heard myself say "I'm really looking forward to being done with Ironman," to more than one person. I say that I can't wait to have more time, less structured training and not feel obligated to spend the entire day on my bike, even if it is raining. These things are true, but I'm already starting to feel nostalgic for Ironman training. I have loved the journey (ahem, sorry Muggy!). Slowly I've gotten used to packing my assortment of workout clothes and snacks each night, waking up at 5 (6:30 feels luxurious), filling bottles of Gatorade and Perpetuum the night before a big ride, taping Gus to my bike frame. I look forward to the different post work-out sensations: the scent of chlorine on Mondays and Wednesdays, the tight calves after hard runs, the insatiable hunger that follows a six hour bike ride. I love pushing myself to my perceived limit, only to realize I can go further and faster.
After the hardest training weekend of my life, I've started my taper (woohoo!) and am trying to prepare mentally for the big day. This article provided a bit of perspective. I'm trying to think of the race as a celebration, rather than a dreaded test. Muggy, who was that teacher who called exams a "celebration of knowledge?"
After the hardest training weekend of my life, I've started my taper (woohoo!) and am trying to prepare mentally for the big day. This article provided a bit of perspective. I'm trying to think of the race as a celebration, rather than a dreaded test. Muggy, who was that teacher who called exams a "celebration of knowledge?"
Sunday, May 30, 2010
73 rounds up to 112, right?
I've also been meaning to post for weeks now. I thought about posting about my 100 mile Tour de Cure ride. It was the coldest, rainiest most miserable ride of my life until yesterday, when I rode the IM Coeur d'Alene course. I was planning to ride two loops, to complete the full 112 miles, but my friends bailed after the first one because we were all soaking wet and chilled to the bone. I went out for a couple of shorter loops totaling 73 miles for the day and headed out for an 8 mile run. My feet thawed out after 15 minutes of running and I felt pretty good. I also learned that I LOVE sports beans. They're so salty and sweet and delicious.
Today, I ran another 18 miles, aiming to run an 8 minute pace, but my right hip flexor was screaming at me from mile 8 on and my pace slowly increased to about 8:40 by the end. Other than my legs hurting, I felt pretty good, but I could have used another Gu or two. I had a mint chocolate gu (yum!!) at mile 8 and pineapple gu (not so yum) around 11. I took a nice 2 hour nap after the run, but my legs are still tight and achy.
Tomorrow, I'm going to do another ride and then I'm heading back to Seattle where I will be signing a mountain of paperwork to become a homeowner with my brother!
I'm looking forward to my taper (which I starts next week, I guess) and to seeing Muggy in Portland or Seattle soon!
Today, I ran another 18 miles, aiming to run an 8 minute pace, but my right hip flexor was screaming at me from mile 8 on and my pace slowly increased to about 8:40 by the end. Other than my legs hurting, I felt pretty good, but I could have used another Gu or two. I had a mint chocolate gu (yum!!) at mile 8 and pineapple gu (not so yum) around 11. I took a nice 2 hour nap after the run, but my legs are still tight and achy.
Tomorrow, I'm going to do another ride and then I'm heading back to Seattle where I will be signing a mountain of paperwork to become a homeowner with my brother!
I'm looking forward to my taper (which I starts next week, I guess) and to seeing Muggy in Portland or Seattle soon!
Falling Off the Wagon
I've been meaning to write a post for many weeks and have even come up with various things to write about in said post. At the moment, however, my mind is a blank and we're going to go with the mundane training details to get me back on the wagon of both posting and training.
Training was going pretty well through week 9 of the 18 week plan--I was missing maybe one or two workouts each week, but felt pretty good about that generally. Then came defense week when I allowed my celebration of finishing my PhD to get in the way of training. And then came graduation week when I allowed cleaning for, feeding, and entertaining 13 out-of-town guests to get in the way of training. Then came break-up week when I started to get back on the training horse, then broke up with Paul, and spent many days on the couch and thus NOT training. Then came packing week when I divided up belongings, packed, and planned for my impending move to Portland and went on nightly runs to beat the stress out of my body, but didn't get back on my bike or back in the pool.
This pretty much brings me up to date. Next week is moving week when I'll return to Madison on Monday (currently in Minneapolis), pick up the truck Tuesday, and drive to Portland Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, and, once again, NOT train. So the NEXT week, I will get back on the training wagon and I cannot wait. I feel like a complete slug having spent 10 days off of my bike and away from pools. I feel like an even bigger slug for doing no long runs or rides in the same 10 days. And clearly, I could use the added exercise to deal with my stress and the unexpected course that my "journey" has taken me (excuse me while I puke over the using the word "journey").
I won't be returning to WI for the tinman I had planned on doing (thank god I hadn't registered already), but I'm still planning on competing in one in the Pacific Northwest. Any suggestions??? I know you've done several, Tesia. Would you recommend one over the other? Any interest in doing a tinman later this summer after you've already become an Ironman? Hopefully a new race date will provide some focus and structure to my life as I embark on a summer of unemployment, turning 30, and living with and being financially supported by my brother. Here's hoping!
Training was going pretty well through week 9 of the 18 week plan--I was missing maybe one or two workouts each week, but felt pretty good about that generally. Then came defense week when I allowed my celebration of finishing my PhD to get in the way of training. And then came graduation week when I allowed cleaning for, feeding, and entertaining 13 out-of-town guests to get in the way of training. Then came break-up week when I started to get back on the training horse, then broke up with Paul, and spent many days on the couch and thus NOT training. Then came packing week when I divided up belongings, packed, and planned for my impending move to Portland and went on nightly runs to beat the stress out of my body, but didn't get back on my bike or back in the pool.
This pretty much brings me up to date. Next week is moving week when I'll return to Madison on Monday (currently in Minneapolis), pick up the truck Tuesday, and drive to Portland Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, and, once again, NOT train. So the NEXT week, I will get back on the training wagon and I cannot wait. I feel like a complete slug having spent 10 days off of my bike and away from pools. I feel like an even bigger slug for doing no long runs or rides in the same 10 days. And clearly, I could use the added exercise to deal with my stress and the unexpected course that my "journey" has taken me (excuse me while I puke over the using the word "journey").
I won't be returning to WI for the tinman I had planned on doing (thank god I hadn't registered already), but I'm still planning on competing in one in the Pacific Northwest. Any suggestions??? I know you've done several, Tesia. Would you recommend one over the other? Any interest in doing a tinman later this summer after you've already become an Ironman? Hopefully a new race date will provide some focus and structure to my life as I embark on a summer of unemployment, turning 30, and living with and being financially supported by my brother. Here's hoping!
Monday, May 3, 2010
Blistering in the sun/Wildflower race report
After a 15 hours of driving, I'm back in Seattle and have that droopy, dehydrated, sunburned feeling that seems to follow races. The Wildflower long course was a great confidence boost for CDA! Keep reading for more details than you ever wanted about my race....
Pre-race
Chris and I left Seattle on Wednesday night, stayed at my folks' house in Portland that night, and went for a modified golf course run on Thursday morning before hopping back in the car for a 10 hour drive to Alameda. On Thursday, we stayed with Sarah and Johnny in their lovely beachfront apartment and got up early to drive the last 3 hours down to Lake San Antonio.
We arrived at the course around noon on Friday. After setting up camp, we drove a bit of the bike course to check out the "nasty grade hill" at mile 42 and went for a 10 minute swim to say we'd done some open water swimming this season. I was feeling well rested, but also tired. I slept for 3 hours in the car on Friday and still managed to fall asleep by 9:00 p.m. the night before the race, after a dinner of chicken burritos at the race festival and ravioli back at the campsite.
On race morning, the temperature was 35 degrees and ice crystals had formed on the outside of my tent. Needless to say, I was not excited to jump into a cold lake. We biked down Lynch Hill to the start (this caused me some stress because I had to ride down the hill with my race gear stuffed into a Trader Joe's tote bag, which I precariously strapped to my back). Since Chris's wave was an hour before mine, I had plenty of time to make friends with the women setting up next to me in transition, stand in line for the bathroom and watch the pros start their swim, finish their swim, and tear off their wetsuits in about 1/300th the amount of time it takes me to transition.
At 9:00 I headed down to the start for my race.
Swim: 37:47
I started in the front, which was a BIG mistake. After running into the water, 25 or so women immediately plowed over the top of me, and I choked and sputtered. I tried to keep my head down, stay calm and not panic. I moved out to the outside left and got into a relaxed rhythm. Maybe a little too relaxed because soon I was all alone with no drafting options. Then I veered too far to the left and had to re-orient myself and swim back toward the buoys. About halfway to the turnaround, I started catching a few of the slower swimmers in the waves before mine and got kicked a couple of times. I still felt like I was swimming really slow, breathing every 3 or 5 strokes, but I felt comfortable. I tried to imagine doing the whole loop twice in the Ironman and it didn't seem impossible. For the first time in a race, I didn't consider quitting and stayed positive. Near the end, I even started to feel a bit nostalgic about the swim and wanted it to last longer. What?!!
T1: 4:17
A bit slow, but I always feel wobbly when I get out of the water. My friend Ryan somehow picked me out of the crowd and cheered me up the hill to the transition area. I slathered on sunscreen, but couldn't reach my back and now have a huge, blistering burn between my shoulder blades.
Bike: 3:13:23
Shortly after getting on my bike, I realized that I hadn't added any water to my flask full of perpetuem. I learned this by taking a swig of powder. Oops! I pulled over at the first aid station and dumped all the perpetuum into my water bottle and shook it up. I had a mix of Gatorade and carbopro in my aerobottle, half of which splattered on my arms and handlebars as I started out on the bumpy road. I felt great on the first hill, passing people continuously, and then got passed by most of them on the way back down. I used my heartrate monitor for the first time in a race and tried to keep my heartrate between 140 and 150, but allowed it to go up to 160 on the hills. I felt relaxed most of the ride, but around mile 17, my tummy started to hurt. I thought I might have had too much sweet Gatorade, so I ate some of a Luna bar, but that didn't help. I finally I pulled over at a Honey Bucket around mile 20 and the problem was solved! I used the stop to top off my aerobottle as well, which was a mistake because the next 3 miles were downhill and I was drenched by Gatorade. The back of my legs were sticking to each other with every pedal stroke. The middle of the ride went by quickly, partly because I was focusing on conserving energy for the big hill at mile 41. I downed a Roctane Gu just before the hill and felt great all the way up. I tried my best not to ride the brakes down the other side. The whole ride went by quickly (so much shorter than 100!). During the last 5 miles, I was ready to run.
Nutritionwise, I think I did pretty well. My goal was to take in about 300 calories/hour on the bike. I think I got about 1100, including: one 16 oz. bottle of perpetuum (~350 calories), 16 oz. of carbopro/Gatorade mix in my aerobottle (200 calories), 1 luna bar (~150 calories), 2.5 gels (~220 calories) and and a couple of Gatorade refills (~200 calories?). I also planned to have 1 salt tab per hour, but couldn't get the plastic ziplock bag open on the bike, so gave up until the run.
T2: 2:06
This transition was uneventful. I grabbed my watch, gu, salt stix, hat, race belt, sunscreen and was off.
Run: 1:44:09
My first two miles felt nice and easy and were both 7:48's (w/ a 20 second bathroom stop between the two). Mile 3 was a 7:37, and then miles 4 and 5 combined were 18:21, much slower because the hill on mile 4 was so steep that I almost put my hands down on the trail at one point and was scrambling. Mile 6 was a slight downhill and I felt great (6:55). Mile 7 (7:21), 8 (8:03), and 9 (7:10) were mostly uneventful. Around mile 8, the course circled back to the campgrounds where the crowds cheered us on. I saw Ryan again and gave him my heartrate strap and declined the beer bong being offered around mile 9. Mile 10 (7:51) was the start of a long out (down) and back (up). Mile 11 (8:53) was hardest one for me. My feet started hurting, the end didn't feel close enough, and it was a long gradual uphill in the sun. Mile 12 (8:34) was about the same, but by mile 13 (7:20), I knew I was home free. Overall, I couldn't believe how easy the run felt. My feet started to hurt near the end from all the trail running, but no blisters, hot spots or leg pain. My calves burned on the steep uphill, but I felt good overall and continuously passed people. I drank water or gatorade at every aid station and had a salt tablet every 45 minutes or so. I had 1 gu around mile 8.
I finished in 5:41:42. I felt strong through the whole race and finished 10th in my age group!
Pre-race
Chris and I left Seattle on Wednesday night, stayed at my folks' house in Portland that night, and went for a modified golf course run on Thursday morning before hopping back in the car for a 10 hour drive to Alameda. On Thursday, we stayed with Sarah and Johnny in their lovely beachfront apartment and got up early to drive the last 3 hours down to Lake San Antonio.
We arrived at the course around noon on Friday. After setting up camp, we drove a bit of the bike course to check out the "nasty grade hill" at mile 42 and went for a 10 minute swim to say we'd done some open water swimming this season. I was feeling well rested, but also tired. I slept for 3 hours in the car on Friday and still managed to fall asleep by 9:00 p.m. the night before the race, after a dinner of chicken burritos at the race festival and ravioli back at the campsite.
On race morning, the temperature was 35 degrees and ice crystals had formed on the outside of my tent. Needless to say, I was not excited to jump into a cold lake. We biked down Lynch Hill to the start (this caused me some stress because I had to ride down the hill with my race gear stuffed into a Trader Joe's tote bag, which I precariously strapped to my back). Since Chris's wave was an hour before mine, I had plenty of time to make friends with the women setting up next to me in transition, stand in line for the bathroom and watch the pros start their swim, finish their swim, and tear off their wetsuits in about 1/300th the amount of time it takes me to transition.
At 9:00 I headed down to the start for my race.
Swim: 37:47
I started in the front, which was a BIG mistake. After running into the water, 25 or so women immediately plowed over the top of me, and I choked and sputtered. I tried to keep my head down, stay calm and not panic. I moved out to the outside left and got into a relaxed rhythm. Maybe a little too relaxed because soon I was all alone with no drafting options. Then I veered too far to the left and had to re-orient myself and swim back toward the buoys. About halfway to the turnaround, I started catching a few of the slower swimmers in the waves before mine and got kicked a couple of times. I still felt like I was swimming really slow, breathing every 3 or 5 strokes, but I felt comfortable. I tried to imagine doing the whole loop twice in the Ironman and it didn't seem impossible. For the first time in a race, I didn't consider quitting and stayed positive. Near the end, I even started to feel a bit nostalgic about the swim and wanted it to last longer. What?!!
T1: 4:17
A bit slow, but I always feel wobbly when I get out of the water. My friend Ryan somehow picked me out of the crowd and cheered me up the hill to the transition area. I slathered on sunscreen, but couldn't reach my back and now have a huge, blistering burn between my shoulder blades.
Bike: 3:13:23
Shortly after getting on my bike, I realized that I hadn't added any water to my flask full of perpetuem. I learned this by taking a swig of powder. Oops! I pulled over at the first aid station and dumped all the perpetuum into my water bottle and shook it up. I had a mix of Gatorade and carbopro in my aerobottle, half of which splattered on my arms and handlebars as I started out on the bumpy road. I felt great on the first hill, passing people continuously, and then got passed by most of them on the way back down. I used my heartrate monitor for the first time in a race and tried to keep my heartrate between 140 and 150, but allowed it to go up to 160 on the hills. I felt relaxed most of the ride, but around mile 17, my tummy started to hurt. I thought I might have had too much sweet Gatorade, so I ate some of a Luna bar, but that didn't help. I finally I pulled over at a Honey Bucket around mile 20 and the problem was solved! I used the stop to top off my aerobottle as well, which was a mistake because the next 3 miles were downhill and I was drenched by Gatorade. The back of my legs were sticking to each other with every pedal stroke. The middle of the ride went by quickly, partly because I was focusing on conserving energy for the big hill at mile 41. I downed a Roctane Gu just before the hill and felt great all the way up. I tried my best not to ride the brakes down the other side. The whole ride went by quickly (so much shorter than 100!). During the last 5 miles, I was ready to run.
Nutritionwise, I think I did pretty well. My goal was to take in about 300 calories/hour on the bike. I think I got about 1100, including: one 16 oz. bottle of perpetuum (~350 calories), 16 oz. of carbopro/Gatorade mix in my aerobottle (200 calories), 1 luna bar (~150 calories), 2.5 gels (~220 calories) and and a couple of Gatorade refills (~200 calories?). I also planned to have 1 salt tab per hour, but couldn't get the plastic ziplock bag open on the bike, so gave up until the run.
T2: 2:06
This transition was uneventful. I grabbed my watch, gu, salt stix, hat, race belt, sunscreen and was off.
Run: 1:44:09
My first two miles felt nice and easy and were both 7:48's (w/ a 20 second bathroom stop between the two). Mile 3 was a 7:37, and then miles 4 and 5 combined were 18:21, much slower because the hill on mile 4 was so steep that I almost put my hands down on the trail at one point and was scrambling. Mile 6 was a slight downhill and I felt great (6:55). Mile 7 (7:21), 8 (8:03), and 9 (7:10) were mostly uneventful. Around mile 8, the course circled back to the campgrounds where the crowds cheered us on. I saw Ryan again and gave him my heartrate strap and declined the beer bong being offered around mile 9. Mile 10 (7:51) was the start of a long out (down) and back (up). Mile 11 (8:53) was hardest one for me. My feet started hurting, the end didn't feel close enough, and it was a long gradual uphill in the sun. Mile 12 (8:34) was about the same, but by mile 13 (7:20), I knew I was home free. Overall, I couldn't believe how easy the run felt. My feet started to hurt near the end from all the trail running, but no blisters, hot spots or leg pain. My calves burned on the steep uphill, but I felt good overall and continuously passed people. I drank water or gatorade at every aid station and had a salt tablet every 45 minutes or so. I had 1 gu around mile 8.
I finished in 5:41:42. I felt strong through the whole race and finished 10th in my age group!
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Wailing, Spanking, and Slapping
Paul has long referred to his lifting sessions as "wailing;" for example, "I'm going to wail on my pecs." After this weekend's long ride and long run, I tried to use wailing to refer to how my legs felt; "that ride really wailed on my legs." Paul, however, maintained that because these activities were much longer in duration than the normal lifting session, they required different terminology. So we came up with a continuum of physical intensity and pain: wailing, spanking (as in how my legs felt after the long ride), and slapping (how my legs felt after the long run). I'll keep you all posted as to whether these terms actually catch on.
With that introduction, there has been a lot of spanking and slapping going on for me in the last couple weeks. I decided yesterday that given the aimless nature of my life right now (in limbo with a finished but not defended dissertation and no job in sight), I was focusing all my energy on training and avoiding the world by training instead. Case in point: after the trip to Phoenix, I did 11 workouts in 6 days (5 swims, 3 rides, 3 runs). I've eased up a bit since then, but did a solid 48 miler on Saturday (that felt like ass on a cold, foggy day) and a 70 minute run on Sunday.
In other training news, I've ditched my physical therapist and his exercises. After almost 9 months of regularly seeing him and doing the exercises (he was also the 4th PT I'd seen), my hamstring still wasn't cured. In Phoenix, I thought things were great, but it turns out that really just going slow makes my leg feel 10 times better than going normal pace (8:30s). This is both awesome and (to me) tragic. I can run 10 minute miles without pain, but am afraid that having gotten myself into double digits pace-wise, I will lose any fitness and speed I ever had. I think I'm going to have to convince myself that really I'm running 9:59s just so I can mentally keep doing what my leg needs to feel ok and for me to get through all of this training. The other downside to this is that since I normally don't run 10 minute miles and have no sense of pace these days, I've done my last 3 or 4 runs on a treadmill to make sure I'm going slow enough. It sucks. I did not enjoy an hour on the treadmill Sunday when it was 50 outside, but hopefully this will all help in the long run and/or I'll adjust to this pace and get to go outside. Keep your fingers crossed because it's a gorgeous day outside and I can't keep myself on the treadmill too much longer!
I'm off to find other forms of distraction from job applications and a dissertation abstract that needs to be written (or copied and pasted from my diss intro). I'm thinking some sewing and soup making. And maybe a nap...
With that introduction, there has been a lot of spanking and slapping going on for me in the last couple weeks. I decided yesterday that given the aimless nature of my life right now (in limbo with a finished but not defended dissertation and no job in sight), I was focusing all my energy on training and avoiding the world by training instead. Case in point: after the trip to Phoenix, I did 11 workouts in 6 days (5 swims, 3 rides, 3 runs). I've eased up a bit since then, but did a solid 48 miler on Saturday (that felt like ass on a cold, foggy day) and a 70 minute run on Sunday.
In other training news, I've ditched my physical therapist and his exercises. After almost 9 months of regularly seeing him and doing the exercises (he was also the 4th PT I'd seen), my hamstring still wasn't cured. In Phoenix, I thought things were great, but it turns out that really just going slow makes my leg feel 10 times better than going normal pace (8:30s). This is both awesome and (to me) tragic. I can run 10 minute miles without pain, but am afraid that having gotten myself into double digits pace-wise, I will lose any fitness and speed I ever had. I think I'm going to have to convince myself that really I'm running 9:59s just so I can mentally keep doing what my leg needs to feel ok and for me to get through all of this training. The other downside to this is that since I normally don't run 10 minute miles and have no sense of pace these days, I've done my last 3 or 4 runs on a treadmill to make sure I'm going slow enough. It sucks. I did not enjoy an hour on the treadmill Sunday when it was 50 outside, but hopefully this will all help in the long run and/or I'll adjust to this pace and get to go outside. Keep your fingers crossed because it's a gorgeous day outside and I can't keep myself on the treadmill too much longer!
I'm off to find other forms of distraction from job applications and a dissertation abstract that needs to be written (or copied and pasted from my diss intro). I'm thinking some sewing and soup making. And maybe a nap...
Thursday, April 15, 2010
First Century Ride of the Year
Let's be honest: this was my second 100 mile bike ride ever. The first was a 140 miles on the first day of the STP ride last year. This ride felt (and was!) much faster, despite more than 4000 feet of elevation gain. After the ride, I was happy to find out that the ride had about twice as much elevation gain as IM CDA. This is a good thing because I was HATING life as I pedaled up the last hill back into Kirkland. Other than that, it was a great ride - no flats, no crashes, good company, and I almost had enough nutrition.
I tried a few new things nutrition-wise that I want to remember for CDA:
1. I felt like I was eating constantly, but I didn't get hungry until the last 10 miles. I had 2 bars, 2 gus, 2 bottles of Gatorade w/ carbopro for extra calories, Strawberry shot blocs, a flask of Perpeteum, and I bought 2 extra liters of Gatorade along the way. Next time, I want to double the Perpeteum and carbopro and and ditch one of the bars. Too much chewing!
2. Salt Stix! After about an hour of drinking and eating sweet gus and sports drinks, my tolerance for sweets is low. Very low. I don't know if this has anything to do with not getting enough salt, but I took a couple of Salt Stix pills w/ water during this ride and it seemed to help.
3. Knowing I had to run 13 miles in a relay race the next day, I wanted to try out a recovery drink. I had some protien and a not-so-tasty packet of strawberry Recoverite w/in 20 minutes of finishing the ride. The next morning, I was able to hold a 7:02 pace for my first 8 mile leg of the relay! Of course it was downhill, and it helped that 3 miles from the finish, a guy caught up to me and carried me the rest of the way. Not literally, but after he told me he was "taking it easy" because he did a "really hard workout" the day before, I couldn't let him beat me. When did I get to be so type A? Don't answer that.
I tried a few new things nutrition-wise that I want to remember for CDA:
1. I felt like I was eating constantly, but I didn't get hungry until the last 10 miles. I had 2 bars, 2 gus, 2 bottles of Gatorade w/ carbopro for extra calories, Strawberry shot blocs, a flask of Perpeteum, and I bought 2 extra liters of Gatorade along the way. Next time, I want to double the Perpeteum and carbopro and and ditch one of the bars. Too much chewing!
2. Salt Stix! After about an hour of drinking and eating sweet gus and sports drinks, my tolerance for sweets is low. Very low. I don't know if this has anything to do with not getting enough salt, but I took a couple of Salt Stix pills w/ water during this ride and it seemed to help.
3. Knowing I had to run 13 miles in a relay race the next day, I wanted to try out a recovery drink. I had some protien and a not-so-tasty packet of strawberry Recoverite w/in 20 minutes of finishing the ride. The next morning, I was able to hold a 7:02 pace for my first 8 mile leg of the relay! Of course it was downhill, and it helped that 3 miles from the finish, a guy caught up to me and carried me the rest of the way. Not literally, but after he told me he was "taking it easy" because he did a "really hard workout" the day before, I couldn't let him beat me. When did I get to be so type A? Don't answer that.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)