The 30-yr old metabolism is a slowin' down. And it turns out that what would have previously passed for a solid dinner the night before a key workout, is in fact a "work-out derailler" now.
The story: Monday Night Football. Nachos and Beer. Or course. You've got your protein from the chicken and cheese, veggies from the salsa and jalapenos, and some simple sugars from the yeast. What could possibly go wrong. Let me tell you. I think I spent more time sprinting behind the bushes then actual sprinting at my Tuesday morning workout.
As I ramp up the training for my fall half-marathon and cyclocross awesomeness, I am seriously considering a foodie makeover. I have settled on a few rules that might help.
1. (obviously) No beer or nachos before hard running days (probably okay before hard cycling days).
2. Fruit and veggies at every meal.
3. Meat (mostly chicken) is best limited to small amounts and only three nights a week (sad... my midwest farmer ancestors are turning in their graves).
4. Ice cream... gotta have it. It is the reason I run! But, not to be had within an hour of bedtime and definitely not before hard run days.
5. Don't forget the vitamin.
6. ... And the water. I started up with the Nalgene again (bis-phenol-A be-damned), discovering that I have been consuming less than a liter a day of the clear stuff (not counting when on runs and rides and swims). This became really obvious when I was in Colorado last week-end... non-stop cotton mouth.
7. Cook... I have lots of good food at home. Less preservatives, more Vs and Ms.
8. And this one is really kinda important. Start some social eating.... i.e. I went out to lunch with Al on Friday to talk shop. We were heading toward the Monroe strip and I benignly asked what he wanted to eat... "Sandwhiches?" To which he goes, "ah, no... I want to sit down and eat. I don't want to walk while eating." WHAT? Apparently, I have a reputation for taking a walking-lunch (as opposed to a working lunch). Heading out the door with sandwich in hand, on my way to the gym, or to enjoy a few minutes of sunshine. But, walking (and sometimes riding my bike) while eating. I'm thinking I do this more often than not. As a triathlete, I am constantly eating while running or biking... it's part of the training. Apparently I have taken it to the next level with at least one or two meals a day "walking". In addition to my walking-lunch, I eat breakfast while standing on the slant board or walking/riding into work (this last is usually a Clif Bar). I often eat dinner standing at the kitchen sink or while driving on my way to somewhere. Snacks are on the go or while training. I DON'T SIT DOWN! So, in order to get myself to eat actual meals most of the time rather than on the special occasion I am going to engage in more social eating whenever I can, prefereably with good friends. Inviting people over for home-cooked food (or inviting myself over... sorry friends!). Actually sitting down at the coffee shop. Sometimes eating with strangers... like my recent experience at the airport.
Aside: I was sitting at a four-person table at the airport. One after another people kept coming to steal the chairs. When the last chair was about to be whisked away to another table by two gentleman, I politely suggested that they dine with me (it was more like a squeak and a frown and a long, drawn-out "we-e-elll"). They did and we had a very nice dinner as travelers meeting on route to stop and sit and eat and not walk.
Those are my new rules. I'm sure I'll break 'em and find exceptions as it goes. But I am thinking about this and trying to be food healthy and give my digestive track a break. If you have any ideas for me, let me know!
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Monday, September 14, 2009
Race Report: Cross-Over Stage Race
A Cyclocross stage race... a 3K time trial, a 30-minute gravel and parking lot criterium, and a 1-hr long course race that wound around a 3-mile course. Of course!
Day one showcased the time trial and the criterium race. It was raining on and off and a litte on the cold side. Someone asked me how my time trial went... my response "I blinked and I missed it!" Or, more accurately, I was breathing too hard to notice I was riding a cyclocross course. 5 minutes of pain, a few "I didn't think it would be this hard" thoughts, a dismount/ bridge crossing, an uphill finish and I was done. Now, I know how 100m runners feel when they warm-up for an hour and a half for a 10 second race. Good thing there was more racing to be had!
Crit-style cyclocross racing is something I was wondering about. Would there be a barrier? How would that work out in a crowd? How much of a draft could I expect while going 13 mph on a gravel road, all the while, backing off in order to see and avoid big rocks and potholes? Answer: no need to worry! All that crit racing over the summer, and my tactics were honed. I made a move on the second lap that turned into a big move. I stayed off the front so successfully that I won a prime lap! Then, I melded myself back in with two of the women in my category. We hung around each other until two laps to go. I punched it on the uphill and used my advantage on a blind gravel corner to gap the two women. It was enough to stay away and get another 39-seconds in the "G.C." to my closest competitor.
Day two brought sunnier skies, warmer temps, and my first taste of what the rest of the season will fee like.
Aside: The powers that be have switched up the Women's A racing... pulling us out of the slot that had all female competitors (including beginners) on the same course at one time, and thrusting us in with the Men's A field. No need to rub your eyes. You read it right. I will now be on the course at the same time as the elite men. Excellent. This also means, our race is longer.... 1 hour now (up from the 45-minutes we competed at last year).
The long course was contested over a three-mile loop for 1 hr. Dismount/remount does not even begin to describe the amount of running and hopping on and off the bike that occurred during each lap. (see video below). Each lap had a slightly uphill asphalt section, followed by a mole-infested (think giant pot-holes and loose dirt) field and a log jump. Immediately after the log, there was a tiny bridge and a vicious run-up (carrying the bike, of course). Next came the undulating single track, the four log barriers spaced just far enough to make getting back on the bike in between futile. And lest you think for a moment that momentum was to be had on a downhill, there was a nice big log to break it up. After a stint on pavement, there came more barriers, a slippery bridge, and a ditch just deep and steep enough to make you think you could ride it... but no! I wound up and down sweet single-track, barely missed some berry pickers and their dog who weren't aware a race was going on (what?). Then came the sand/mulch bit with the water hose jump. And finally, the stair climb. I'm tired all over again just thinking about. It was epic.
Result: I won :-) And I need to practice my barrier dismounts.... I almost sent myself arse-over-applecart into a rasberry stand on a later lap. I also got a little overzealous when tossing my back onto my shoulder... knocking my pedal around and into my right kidney. Good thing there are two of those!
Are you ready for 'cross stage racing?
Day one showcased the time trial and the criterium race. It was raining on and off and a litte on the cold side. Someone asked me how my time trial went... my response "I blinked and I missed it!" Or, more accurately, I was breathing too hard to notice I was riding a cyclocross course. 5 minutes of pain, a few "I didn't think it would be this hard" thoughts, a dismount/ bridge crossing, an uphill finish and I was done. Now, I know how 100m runners feel when they warm-up for an hour and a half for a 10 second race. Good thing there was more racing to be had!
Crit-style cyclocross racing is something I was wondering about. Would there be a barrier? How would that work out in a crowd? How much of a draft could I expect while going 13 mph on a gravel road, all the while, backing off in order to see and avoid big rocks and potholes? Answer: no need to worry! All that crit racing over the summer, and my tactics were honed. I made a move on the second lap that turned into a big move. I stayed off the front so successfully that I won a prime lap! Then, I melded myself back in with two of the women in my category. We hung around each other until two laps to go. I punched it on the uphill and used my advantage on a blind gravel corner to gap the two women. It was enough to stay away and get another 39-seconds in the "G.C." to my closest competitor.
Day two brought sunnier skies, warmer temps, and my first taste of what the rest of the season will fee like.
Aside: The powers that be have switched up the Women's A racing... pulling us out of the slot that had all female competitors (including beginners) on the same course at one time, and thrusting us in with the Men's A field. No need to rub your eyes. You read it right. I will now be on the course at the same time as the elite men. Excellent. This also means, our race is longer.... 1 hour now (up from the 45-minutes we competed at last year).
The long course was contested over a three-mile loop for 1 hr. Dismount/remount does not even begin to describe the amount of running and hopping on and off the bike that occurred during each lap. (see video below). Each lap had a slightly uphill asphalt section, followed by a mole-infested (think giant pot-holes and loose dirt) field and a log jump. Immediately after the log, there was a tiny bridge and a vicious run-up (carrying the bike, of course). Next came the undulating single track, the four log barriers spaced just far enough to make getting back on the bike in between futile. And lest you think for a moment that momentum was to be had on a downhill, there was a nice big log to break it up. After a stint on pavement, there came more barriers, a slippery bridge, and a ditch just deep and steep enough to make you think you could ride it... but no! I wound up and down sweet single-track, barely missed some berry pickers and their dog who weren't aware a race was going on (what?). Then came the sand/mulch bit with the water hose jump. And finally, the stair climb. I'm tired all over again just thinking about. It was epic.
Result: I won :-) And I need to practice my barrier dismounts.... I almost sent myself arse-over-applecart into a rasberry stand on a later lap. I also got a little overzealous when tossing my back onto my shoulder... knocking my pedal around and into my right kidney. Good thing there are two of those!
Are you ready for 'cross stage racing?
Saturday, September 5, 2009
On the eve of CX...
What's happening? Big changes happening this week-end! Lot's of transitional stuff. Some welcome, some not so.
First thing: This is officially my fourth week of running. I am still doing everything my PT has laid out for me to do (takes 1 hr + a day!). This has been super hard as my gym closed for three weeks of cleaning! Three weeks. What kind of gym closes for three weeks? I'm forced to be creative (I hate that). I am using my front stoop for "box jumps". I incorporate my lunges and hops into my runs (what is that strange girl doing in the park???) I have converted my living room into a yoga/ plyometrics gym. And my torture collection that includes The Stick, the foam roller, the extra-long yoga mat, Trigger Point tools, and the slant board have become my living room furniture. I don't sit and watch TV any more. I foam-roll and watch TV. Stick me!
Thing 2: It rained this morning. First hard rain in a long time. I went running anyway. This is a "rest" week, so I dragged a slower, "shorter" runner into the Mac Forest for a training run (his first run in the forest). When I called him, it was pouring. He asks, "Do we run even though it is raining...." Um, yeah. You want to go running in the rain this time of year because it is warm. Acclimate yourself to the rain in warmer weather and you will be more likely to head out when it is just plain awful and all the sensible people are sleeping-in. If you don't run in the rain in Corvallis... you never run.
Third thing: Cyclocross is here! Tomorrow I ride in the first (and only, I think) Cyclocross stage race in the Pac Northwest. I have no idea what to expect, other than some typical craziness and debauchery following. The event is held over two days. There is a 3K time trial and a 1K-30 minute crit on the first day. Day two is a "cross country" style ride with a really long loop course that we will fly around for 1:30. Egads! That's not a typo. I'm hoping there is a feed zone of some sort. No place to put a water bottle on a cross bike!
Fourth thing: Cash for Clunkers... I no longer have my clunker. But, I also no longer have any cash. Instead I have a sexy new Subaru Forester. It is ridiculously new. We are talking, 65 total miles on the odometer new (that was seven days ago....now there are slightly more because I can't stop driving it). It has been a major struggle to bike commute. I only managed it one time this week. Better start soon before it really starts raining or I'll never ride to work again (see previous advice for running in rain)!
First thing: This is officially my fourth week of running. I am still doing everything my PT has laid out for me to do (takes 1 hr + a day!). This has been super hard as my gym closed for three weeks of cleaning! Three weeks. What kind of gym closes for three weeks? I'm forced to be creative (I hate that). I am using my front stoop for "box jumps". I incorporate my lunges and hops into my runs (what is that strange girl doing in the park???) I have converted my living room into a yoga/ plyometrics gym. And my torture collection that includes The Stick, the foam roller, the extra-long yoga mat, Trigger Point tools, and the slant board have become my living room furniture. I don't sit and watch TV any more. I foam-roll and watch TV. Stick me!
Thing 2: It rained this morning. First hard rain in a long time. I went running anyway. This is a "rest" week, so I dragged a slower, "shorter" runner into the Mac Forest for a training run (his first run in the forest). When I called him, it was pouring. He asks, "Do we run even though it is raining...." Um, yeah. You want to go running in the rain this time of year because it is warm. Acclimate yourself to the rain in warmer weather and you will be more likely to head out when it is just plain awful and all the sensible people are sleeping-in. If you don't run in the rain in Corvallis... you never run.
Third thing: Cyclocross is here! Tomorrow I ride in the first (and only, I think) Cyclocross stage race in the Pac Northwest. I have no idea what to expect, other than some typical craziness and debauchery following. The event is held over two days. There is a 3K time trial and a 1K-30 minute crit on the first day. Day two is a "cross country" style ride with a really long loop course that we will fly around for 1:30. Egads! That's not a typo. I'm hoping there is a feed zone of some sort. No place to put a water bottle on a cross bike!
Fourth thing: Cash for Clunkers... I no longer have my clunker. But, I also no longer have any cash. Instead I have a sexy new Subaru Forester. It is ridiculously new. We are talking, 65 total miles on the odometer new (that was seven days ago....now there are slightly more because I can't stop driving it). It has been a major struggle to bike commute. I only managed it one time this week. Better start soon before it really starts raining or I'll never ride to work again (see previous advice for running in rain)!
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