The Importance of Recovery Days

Time to STP: 114 Days

 

 

I think I am not alone as a burgeoning cyclist (or anyone that is working getting in shape) in thinking that the more your exercise, the better you will end up looking.  It seems reasonable.  You go from drinking beer on your couch and watching Dr. Who reruns to hopping in the saddle or in the gym and after some amount of time, you start looking ripped, breathing better and can go longer and longer.  Well, from everything that I have seen, this is only mostly true.  And it is something that I am trying like a madman to realize.

 

According to this article and many other online resources, a recovery day is just as important as those days that you are exercising.  The whole purpose of those days in which you rest is to give your body a breather, to allow it to mend itself with rest and with the nutrients that you are filling yourself with. 

 

From the above linked article

 

            " One of the most common mistake made by the amateur cyclist is over training. In recent     years more and more importance is being paid to recovery by top riders. All too often riders will go out and ride hard at every opportunity which would appear the best way to improve. However it is actually after rides when your fitness will improve when your muscles recover from their workload. Exercise damages muscle tissues creating small tears and it is during the post ride recovery period that they heal and grow back larger and stronger."

 

 

In the end, it is in your interest to rest up and not continue to push yourself.  The fear that I have, and I am sure you might as well, is thinking you will "fall off the wagon" and treat every day until the weekend as a recovery day, then try and make it all up on the weekend.  While there is something to be said about high intensity workouts, you do your body more good by being consistent and varying the intensity of your workouts above your comfortable baseline.  Make sure to eat well, and healthy on your recovery day as well.  Treat your body right and you are going to have the energy to push on further the next day.  Here are a couple examples of a good recovery day meals.  Work within it or out of it.  I have discovered that just because you are exercising doesn't mean you now have to eliminate every flavorful thing from your diet.

 

Breakfast

 

1 eggs, poached (poaching does not have to be hard )
Whole grain muffin
1 slice low fat cheese (go provolone, great flavor)
Olive oil (drizzle a bit on the muffin)
Diced fruit (don't forget the starchy stuff like watermelon)
1 cup of milk/almond milk

Lunch

Turkey Sandwich
4 oz turkey breast sliced
2 slices whole wheat bread
2 tsp mayonnaise (or have some fun with this, maybe add a teaspoon of adobo to the mayo, mix it up and give it a spicy flair, alternatively, some pureed cranberries added to this could also give it a more fruity character)
1/2 sliced tomato
shredded lettuce
1 cup milk 1
8 oz glass water

Dinner

1 fish fillet (marinated in a tablespoon of olive oil, lemon, dash of salt and a few sprigs of fresh basil)
1/2 cup brown rice
1 cup broccoli (steamed)
1 8 oz glass water

 

Preheat oven to 400, cook fish on a wire rack just until done.

With the rice, you can use minute rice, which is inherently a little more processed.  I recommend just making your typical 1 cup of brown rice and saving that for reheat later (after taking out your 1/2 c portion)

Another week down

Time to STP: 123 Days

As I am getting closer and closer to the 3 month mark before STP I am approaching things with both a degree of fear and optimism.  Since setting my sights on the Monster Cookie Metric Century in April, I find myself with something of an achievable goal to go for.  I know that this 62 mile ride will be achievable if I continue at the pace I have been going and it makes something of a milestone for me as I head towards those century rides (I am still hoping to do an organized century before STP).

Since I had my kids this week, though, I was unable to get in the amount of miles I would really like to.  I have to wake up early and get in my morning interval training just so I can remain limber before getting back home and rousing the troops for another day at school or something. Then, on the weekends, I have to pray they sleep in a little longer so I can get out and get something in the 30 mile range in before they wake up and we start things for the day.  Truly one of the most difficult parts of trying to get all the training in for this ride, as a single parent, is getting all the training in.  It becomes somewhat impractical at some point to track with the training schedule when you have to make sure to get breakfast made for four hungry mouths.  Squeezing in those 10-15 mile rides during the week and trying to do some hill work on the weekends is ultimately all I can muster, and regardless if it IS enough, it has to be enough.

I would be interested to see how other single parents manage training for this or other similar events (or marathons for runners or even triathlons).  Trying to fit everything you can into a limited window of time really can be a lot to deal with.  But, the end goal ideally will be worth it.

I have been reading more and more into healthy dieting and fueling up before a ride, after a ride, and just good snacks to have.  There are literally hundreds of books out there that cover these issues that I have scratched the surface on, but I have recently discovered one that seems to be pretty promising that I picked up at Powell's this last weekend.  The Feed Zone seems to be a great book with a lot of really interesting and easy recipes in it.  I will be posting some of my favorites as I go along.  For the last week, though, I have really been trying to use other recipes that I have found online along with some general information that I have located to make meals that are more healthy and diverse for my kids.  Things that they might not typically have and makes them feel better at the end of the day. 

One, that I made Saturday night is a Mediterranean Bulgur.  A fabulous "salad" in a more abstract sense that was a real hit with everyone (recipe follows).  It is full of flavor and highly filling.  I suppose this could be made as a side dish, but it is so hearty, that it easily operates as a main course.

The other thing, and this is something of a happiness point for me, is crock pot oatmeal.  As you know, I am a real oatmeal consumer, every morning, and the idea of throwing it in the crock pot before I go to bed to have it hot and ready in the morning seemed like a wonderful idea (recipe follows).  Since I make breakfast for my kids every Sunday morning, this was a great way for me to be able to sit down and eat with them and provide a low sugar, nutritious meal full of vitamins.

Mediterranean Bulgur
1 1/2 cups of either cooked lentils or chickpeas
1 cup cooked bulgur
1/2 cup feta cheese
1 tomato, diced
1/3 cup diced red onion
1/2 cup kalamata or black olives
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 stalk celery, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 cup fresh lemon or lime juice
2 tsp fresh mint, chopped
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
2 tsp dried dill
1 tsp sea salt
Pepper to taste
1 Tbsp olive oil (optional)
Let the bulgur and lentils or chickpeas come to room temperature. Toss all ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Makes two servings, I would double it if you are feeding a family.

Overnight Oatmeal

• 1 cup steel cut oats
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• 1 cup dried figs
• 4 cups water
• 1/2 cup half-and-half

In a slow cooker, combine all ingredients and set to low heat. Cover and let cook for 8 to 9 hours.

Stir and remove to serving bowls. This method works best if started before you go to bed. This way your oatmeal will be finished by morning.   This should be sweet enough for you, as well, but if it isn't, drizzle a tbs or so of pure maple syrup in there.  If your crock pot doesn't have a delay timer, try using one of those Christmas light timers and plug your crock pot into that.  That way if you go to bed early, like I do, the oats do not overcook.

Oven baked lemon chicken-No more boring food

Tired of the same grilled and baked chicken recipes as you are trying to fuel your body?  You don't need to punish your taste buds as much as you have been.  There is a happy medium between being a food lover and exercise lover and you can dress up and spice up those go-to meals with minimal extra effort.

Oven Baked Lemon Chicken
1 Large boneless/skinless Chicken Breast
1/2 cup of nonfat Greek yogurt
1 cup of breadcrumbs
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 large lemon (cut into several thin slices)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Place 1/2c of Greek yogurt in a bowl and 1c of breadcrumbs in another (add salt and pepper to your breadcrumbs to give it the extra kick that you may want).  Wash your chicken breast off and pat it dry.  Dip your chicken breast in the Greek yogurt and then lightly coat in breadcrumbs.  Place chicken breast on cookie sheet, cover with thinly sliced lemon and cook for about 10-15 minutes, just until the crumbs start to brown.  Turn over with a pair of tongs, add a couple more slices lemon and cook until done and second side of breading is browned as well.  Remove from oven and let sit for a few moments, then enjoy.
For a little advanced planning, and a bit more flavor, I suggest taking the 1/2c of Greek yogurt and adding a few spices to it, then marinating the chicken in it for a day.  This helps make the chicken more tender and will give that added flavor kick that you may want.  The same approach can be taken with the break crumbs.  Why not add a dash of Cayenne or onion flakes?  Change it up and see what best suits your pallet.

To make this a whole meal, steam some fresh veggies or even some frozen ones that can be purchased cheaply.  For last night's dinner, we steamed a mix of peas and corn and then toss it with some cracked black pepper.  Then look at a grain like brown rice or quinoa.  We will cook some quinoa (in the same way you cook rice.  2.5c water: 1c quinoa, cooked for about 20 minutes) with a herb blend mixed in as it cooks and then toss in a rich olive oil at the end to give some flavor complexity.

Remember, your protient intake on a day to day basis (for meat) should only be around the size of a deck of cards.  You want the bulk of your plate to be as full of multi-colored foods and diversity as you can.  With this meal, you are hitting most of the major food groups and giving yourself fuel for the following day.

Truly, you can make every meal interesting and healthy as you go, and it starts with just changing the way you approach your food and the flavors you are willing to give a go.

Blurry and ill lit, but delicious
 

Mount Tabor, Arugula and a Great Training Week

Time to STP: 131 Days

In every place I read, it seems that there is a high recommendation to take at least a day off every week for recovery.  And while my chocolate syrup works wonderfully for recovery purposes, it doesn't fully rebuild me for the next day; invariably I need to contend with some soreness.  However, I haven't seemed to take a lot of the advice on this.  This is the first week in which I biked every day.  Out to my girlfriend's house, out to dinner.  Name it, I would bike there.  The only real exception was a 24 hour period when I didn't ride but ended up riding that night.  At this point, I am becoming somewhat comfortable with a constant state of soreness on my legs.  It is something of a comfort though.  I like knowing it is there, if that makes any sense whatsoever.  It makes me know that I am really working and that STP is within reach.

The week's morning rides were as expected and we are still having an unseasonably dry winter (knock on wood for me, will you?), but I spent the week getting in around 10 miles every morning, sometimes a little more which is a fabulous way to start the day.  Where my week was really quite something was yesterday, however.  

I have a friend that works for Castelli and he is an avid cyclocross racer.  Cross, as you will read from the Wiki, was actually started in Europe as a way for the professional racers to stay in shape during the winter months.  I have heard him talking about it as long as I have known him and he has become something of a benchmark for me when it comes to cycling.  This guy is a encyclopedia (too dated?  Let's say he is a Wiki) of information on the cycling world, and pretty much my go-to when I want to know anything that I don't quite know where to look online.  Well, anyway,  we had been tossing around doing a ride together for a couple of weeks and it finally came together.  Saturday morning I headed over to his place and within minutes I learned about ways to replace presta valve stems on an inner tube (I feel I would need to draw a diagram), and then we headed out.  What he had planned for the ride was a tour throughout Southeast Portland taking us through Powell-Butte, the Springwater Corridor and everywhere in between.  At some point, we were going to drop by Apex, a local cash only fermented beverage establishment, and then head onto a very large hill so we could work on hills (and my standing fear of The Big Hill).  It was a true change-up from what I have been used to when going out and riding.  We went through city streets, over packed dirt trails, I learned some had signals that he says I would be seeing often in STP, and I learned about drafting (a practice I had read about, but since I don't ride in groups-had never employed [basically, you ride 3-6"'s from another rider and let them split up the air for you]).  We really went through such a great variety of places (followed along Johnson Creek which is so great, you need to see it for yourself) that it has inspired me to try to explore what else Vancouver has to offer.

After we had ridden about 22 miles, we stopped at Apex with a line going around the block.  No beer was worth the line to me, and it was only 11:45 and I wanted to get some more miles in, so we made a couple of quick turns and headed toward Mount Tabor.  Now, as we approached the "foothills" of Tabor, I looked on and said "where exactly are we going", he looks back and says "towards that clump of trees there".  I gulped.  I didn't know exactly how high it was, and I had hiked something similar on many occasions, but this looked positively daunting at least a couple miles out.  I know I sounded like I was complaining, and he heard it.  At one point he says "you said you wanted to ride your bike, right?".  I did.  I wanted to get to wherever we were and I wanted to challenge myself.  I think I tend to psych myself out some when I look at hills; not thinking of what I know I can now do, but instead thinking of what it felt like the first time I did them (I still hold dread for the Mill Plain/Grand hill).  But we headed on.  

Over a quick dirt path and then onto the paved road of Tabor we went.  It was steep.  Like, really steep.  Like 636' elevation gained in a couple of miles steep, which isn't much when you are hiking it, but add the fact that you are also pushing an additional 20 pounds of aluminum, steel, rubber and cabling and it all becomes quite a bit to handle.  He knew it was hurting and he knew that I, as a former smoker, was going to have some breathing problems.  And, it seems that a safe word had already been developed "arugula".  I say that, and we cut out and return home.  I breathed hard.  I geared down as low as I could (although my #1 cog wouldn't engage so I did this on the 2nd cog on the crank).  I pushed.  Sometimes painfully slow, but I pushed.  I looked at it and wanted to cry out the safe word.  I wanted to stop, but I knew...at what point do you give up?  When do you say it is too much when just a little more effort will take you that much further.  I couldn't say the word (I think it would have been a breathing issue, in part), but I didn't want to give up.  And I didn't.  I made it all 636 feet to the top where a remarkable statue resides.  I saw it briefly, and then back down the hill through a packed footpath we went.  If the ascent was the hard part , then the decent was the sweet victory.  We wound down the hill, cutting up the dirt, avoiding railroad spikes and getting a wonderful view of East Portland/West Gresham.  If I could, I would make the trip up tabor every weekend.

We made our way down the hill and to a local Stumptown (best coffee in Portland) at 29.52 miles ridden,  As we sat drinking our coffee and enjoying our pastries, my friend looks at my saddle, angled distinctly downword and says "we need to fix this".  You see, I had been complaining my hands were hurting on the decent.  This was in part because I was squeezing the crud out of my brakes (and the resulting mental strain that puts on you) but also, as it seems, because when your seat is angled down, it pushes you forward.  Go figure.  Your saddle should be level, ultimately, and mine was not.  A few quick turns of an allen wrench later, I was level (the clumps on your seat post not only adjust back and forth, they adjust angle).  My first big ride with someone else ended up being a total blast.

Today's ride was just a nice change-up.  Instead of the 30 mile loop that I had planned, I instead tried to revisit a portion of my old commuter route.  So I headed from home, over the interstate bridge and then detoured along Marine Drive to the I-205 bridge and bike path.  This ended up being a completely beautiful ride on a   a sleepy Sunday morning with the hill on Ellsworth in Vancouver really making me work.  All told, I only put in about 23 miles today, but I have to figure the hill work counts for something.

I have done some reading on nutrition ideas as well, and it has just backed up what we hear all our lives about breakfast: Eat a big one to carry you through the day.  Along with regular snacks, the idea is to stay full all day long and not eat too big of a dinner, because this will end up carrying you through the entire following day with hunger and screw up the way your body is processing food if you go the junk food route. Thus far, my oatmeal with soy milk morning has worked really well (and, as I just picked up a case of soy milk from Costco, I am good for a while).

'On a final note, I have now officially registered for what will be my first organized group ride: The Monster Cookie Metric Century.  100km (62 miles) sponsored by the Salem Bicycle club.  It falls right in line with when I need to do my first 60 mile ride and will be a great education for riding in a group.  It is just a couple months away and I am looking forward to it.

Getting your weight in line

As I move forward on not only training for STP, but also getting a bit healthier, I am always looking for a but more information. The below article seems to have some great information for both and I encourage you to read it even if you are not training for a tour, but maybe just trying to get your body in line to where you would like it to be health wise.

  Find Your Ideal Cycling Body Weight | Bicycling Magazine

And I tackle the training schedule

Time to STP: 134 Days

As you know, I have been training actively for about two months at this point, but I have finally started falling on the basic training schedule guidelines put out by the Cascade Bike Club. 

Because I have gone so long without seriously riding, and because I am nervous about hitting up STP without dying in the process, I basically put all my free time into riding whenever and wherever I can.  This starts with moving up my alarm clock in the morning to 4:59 (I contend that there is something psychologically different about waking up at that hour versus at 5:02) so when I have my kids (I am a part time dad and have them for a week at a time), I can get up and ride while they are sleeping and be home before they wake to shower and have my first cup of coffee.  I also have stopped driving to my girlfriend's house (or anywhere else that I can help it) and instead ride there in the evening when I don't have my kids.  It gives me about 6.5 miles if I go there as directly (and safely) as I can, and more if I want to work in another mile or two during the day.

As a result of this, I think I am getting into a better habit of general training for interval purposes and I have recently decided I would try and really concentrate on my cadence as well.  The bike computer I bought is finally set properly, so I can more closely monitor how fast I am going.  My goal is to maintain around a 14mph average wherever I go with the idea that I can complete each leg of STP in about 6 hours or so (my 30 mile ride day last Sunday took me just over 2 hours, so I am optimistic).

I have also discovered increasing problems trying to find ways to stay local and meet my mileage goals.  While I intend on starting to bike to and from work towards the end of March (around 16 miles round trip), the big weekend rides are going to be difficult to do with the limited resources that  I have available to me (I do have the entire Internet, true, but sites like Bikely.com do not have a lot of resources for the Vancouver area).  So, in an effort to get in my mileage requirements and learn more about the nuances (and rules) of group riding, I plan on doing a Metric Century in April and then a full century ride in June.  STP is just over four months away and I want to be as prepared as I possibly can.

I have also, just in terms of suggestions, have found that Ride Oregon is a remarkably useful website for a variety of reasons and have started frequenting it more and more as I learn more and prep up more. 

As I prep up my menu for next week, I will post a few more recipes, as well.  My morning breakfast standard, instant oatmeal, has been modified for the last couple of weeks.  I have continued with the low sugar oatmeal, but now make it with organic soy milk.  It is quite tasty, fills you up and provides you with a wide variety of nutrients.  For those of you that want a nice and healthy snack during the day, I recommend picking up some dried soy beans or some edamame (which you can find in the frozen food isle).  It really takes the edge off hunger and gives you a healthy dose of protein for the day.

Saddles do matter, recipes and a new milestone

Time to STP: 138 Days

As stated in a previous post, I decided to buy a new saddle that was ideally going to be a little bit more comfy on the longer rides, as I progressed.  Throughout the week I have been riding on my Oval Concepts saddle and have been quite surprised.  I can't say that there are a ton of real discernible differences between my old Specialized saddle and this one at first.  The back end is a little more narrow and there aren't any gripping features on it.  But as I rode this week, things just felt largely more in tune with the way I ride.

if my own experience wasn't proof enough, my youngest son, daughter and I went on a ride Monday to enjoy an usually warm(ish) PNW day sans rain down a trail we had ridden much when we lived closer to it, but had not in some time.  My son on a Haro BMX style bike and my daughter on a Magna mountain bike that she got for her birthday last year.  The ride was not much, about 12 miles, but more than either of them had done in a very long time.  And although my son was fortunate enough to have a gear ratio on his Haro that lent itself to multi-purpose riding, my 8 year old daughter had to figure out how to use her six speeds to go up and down the hills along the Burnt Bridge Creek trail.  This in itself created some issues, but as we were returning, my poor daughter's bum started to hurt more and more.  Point of fact, this bike was probably not built for total comfort and she was feeling it.  I would be inclined to buy her a saddle that would fit her better, but as I have figured out-it is a crapshoot when you are trying to find a perfect saddle and likely she was going to grow out of it in the next several months.  It is funny, because it never occurred to me that something as basic as a saddle could make such a difference in riding.  As a kid, I used to ride for hours and hours and I don't remember thinking that my butt hurt afterwards.  Maybe it is the haze of reflection from 25 years past.

The honey/chocolate syrup has been marvelous for my post ride recovery and as I have been trying to get more familiar with the healthier options of taking care of my body for riding, I have also been stumbling upon more recipes just to make things more interesting.  Friday night was a Thai Green Curry (recipe follows).  Be careful on how much green curry you use, though, as it will really spice things up.  And don't be disparaged if it doesn't look like the curries that you get at your local Thai place, chances are, they are using a LOT of coconut milk to create that saucy look that you get at the restaurant.  Saturday night was baked salmon fillets and mashed cauliflower.  I know a lot of people that were/are doing Atkins do this as a replacement to mashed potatoes, but let me say-mashed potatoes this is not, so don't treat it that way, I think.  I mashed a signed cauliflower head and added 1/2 a cup of Greek yogurt with some sea salt and black pepper and some dried onion flakes.  It was quite good and I really recommend it.

Finally, I hit my first mental milestone in training today.  Just over 30 miles in the saddle at 2 hours and 15 minutes, which I was pretty happy about.  Fortunately, the weather has been pretty forgiving for Winter (about 40 degrees and dry).  A nice combination of hills and flat made the ride quite nice and although I should not be wearing headphones while riding, I was listening to the last several episodes of Radiolab the entire time which makes the ride feel a bit less long, like I have someone chatting with me the whole time (like most of NPR's programming, I highly recommend this show).  I really feel like I am making progress towards STP now.  I think it is because 30 miles is the most I have ever ridden uninterrupted and feel that if I am in the end of February and can do this, that the 138 days I have left are really going to be enough.  I feel fabulous and can't wait for my next ride.

And, although I didn't post the photos for the fork modifications for the Bridgestone, that went smoothly.  A $6 metal file purchased at Home Depot and about 5 minutes of time opened up the dropouts on the fork enough to drop in the 700mm front wheel into the fork.  It is sitting on the bike at present and waiting to be ridden.

Many thanks to Bicycling.com for these recipes

Spicy Thai Curry
16 oz. cubed chicken breast, tofu, or shrimp
2 Tbsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic, chopped
3 tsp fresh ginger, chopped
3 Tbsp soy or tamari sauce
2 large red bell peppers, thinly sliced
3 scallions, chopped
16 oz. fresh baby spinach
1/2 cup low-fat coconut milk
4 tsp green curry paste (or to taste)
4 1/2 cups cooked brown rice
1/3 cup fresh basil

1/2 cup unsalted peanuts, chopped 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 lime, quartered

Cook the chicken in a tablespoon of the olive oil over medium heat until done. Remove from pan. Add remaining oil and saute garlic and ginger on medium heat. When the oil is absorbed, add soy sauce, then add the peppers. Cook for two minutes, then add the scallions and spinach. Cook for two more minutes. Add the coconut milk and green curry paste and stir until well combined. Serve over rice and season with fresh basil, chopped peanuts, crushed red pepper, and a squeeze of lime. Makes four servings.

For my part, I instead used extra firm tofu and squeezed as much fluid out as I could by sandwiching it between two cutting boards and placing a cast iron skillet on top of it for about 10 minutes.  I then cut them into 1"X1/2" bits and seared those in a nonstick skillet with a little olive oil.  The tofu really ends up absorbing the flavors of the curry etc... and tastes great.  Also, brown rice is something of a pain if you are used to cooking white rice.  I recommend checking here to cook brown rice good every time.  Seriously, brown rice just provides a bit more substance and fills you up a bit quicker.

Oven-Roasted Salmon
1 5-oz. fillet of salmon (or other fish) 
1 Tbsp butter 
Salt, pepper, and other seasonings to taste
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place fish on a foil-lined baking sheet. Top with butter and seasonings. Bake for 15 minutes, or until desired doneness. Makes one serving.

I nixed the butter entirely and used olive oil instead.  Then I just tossed on some herbs de provence  which is my sort of catch all herb blend.  You could do anything you want with this, truly.  Along with the mashed cauliflower, too, I took a few slices of sourdough bread, brushed them with olive oil and dusted them with garlic salt.  Put this under the broiler until they brown and you have some fabulous garlic bread to go with your meal.

A short shopping list

Time to STP: 141 Days

As alluded to in my previous post, I have been reading "The Cyclist's Food Guide" and in the first few pages of this guide, there is a great shopping list of things that you should just generally have in your cupboard to healthy eating.  One thing that I have really discovered as of late is that a lot of foods that you eat when you are working to train for anything (in this case, a tour) are really protein heavy. But at the same time, you want to make sure that you are not overly depleting your glycogen stores daily (see previous post for chocolate milk recipe that is quite useful in getting some of this back to your body after a run/ride).  Really, keeping your body fueled before and after a long workout really quite important.

Although you may be trying to trim up, I have found, you can't rely entirely on your typical caloric intake for the day to fuel your body.  On a typical 1 hour ride, I burn around 660 calories.  For someone in my age bracket, just to maintain, I should be eating around 2400 calories a day. If you want to lose weight, then the recommendation is cutting your caloric intake by around 500.  So, even if I am trying to trim up a bit, I still need to consume around 2500 calories per day just to keep things working.  It has been a terrifically interesting trying to learn these things as I am trying to not only shed a few pounds from when my daughter was born, but also feel more energized on a ride.

As an aside, I saw something at New Seasons the other day and wondered if I could replicate it.  This is really a meal unto itself depending on your proportions, and will last for days.

Quinoa Salad
2 Cups Quinoa (cooked)
1 Cup dried cranberries
1 bunch of spinach (chopped) or 1 cup of baby spinach
1 can chick peas
2 tbs pine nuts (optional)
2 tbs olive oil
Herbs to taste
Mix together and chill.
Serving size  is what you like of it, but I found around a cup works good and puts you at around 300 calories, give or take.

Where I figure out that saddles matter and that you should eat food.

Time to STP: 143 days

 

 

What a massively productive week! Per Runkeeper, I ended up logging 114.6 miles in the saddle last week.  That is me riding every day except last Wednesday which I used as a recovery day.  I ended up getting up earlier every day and starting to try a recovery regimen.  Basically, this week was just about upping the mileage and trying to not kill myself doing it.

 

My girlfriend, an active runner, has become something of an information resource for me.  She has been exercising consistently for a few years now and as a result is in the best shape of her life and shedded an astonishing amount of weight.  I figured if anyone knew anything about how to really properly take care of yourself after a ride.  She had mentioned that what I really needed was something to help rebuild the muscles after a ride and that something would typically be proteins.  So, for the first couple post ride days this week I tried boiling a few eggs and scarfing those down with my coffee.  A little sea salt and a little cracked pepper and I was good to go.  I happen to love eggs and this wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but these things wen straight to my stomach and sat there in a way that I would necessarily describe as "pleasant".  It didn't give me that full feeling that I was hoping for, but I figured if it was helping my legs do it all over again the next day then it was no big deal.  However, she then suggested that there was a theory that chocolate milk could be a good recovery drink as well.  Evidently there are a number of fats and proteins in chocolate milk that are good for recovery as well as antioxidants (there is a great article here that discusses it).  As an added bonus, I also happened to have a carton of soy milk (hello protein) that I wasn't doing anything with and now, for the last several days, I have given the chocolate milk a good go.  I can say, that though I thought it would feel too thick or sweet after a ride, it has been quite refreshing, and although my legs are still tight during the day, I don't feel as drained as I did when I started training last month.

 

Really, what I have been doing for the last week is also trying to make myself aware of more of the nutritional requirements of what it is that I am trying to do.  I am trying to trim down, improve my cardiovascular and build up so I can take STP head on and not feel wiped Monday after I come back to work after training or after the big ride itself (yes, I am actually coming back to work after STP).  I know myself well enough to know, too, that if I skip too many days, that I will find it harder to get back on the training wagon.  So, as it sits right now, I train for six days a week.  However, I know I need to feed myself properly, so I have been finding some great recipes online, including-but not limited to- a homemade chocolate syrup that isn't infused with high fructose corn syrup (I am making this tonight).  I recently picked up "The Cyclists Food Guide" as well, and so far this is an interesting read with even a good list of the things that you should keep in your house to build up a good set of healthy meals. 

 

Saturday I decided to increase my days mileage some and ride the 20 mile loop that I had put together for the previous Sunday.  I woke up a little late and had a few cups of coffee and headed out.  The first bit of the ride was uneventful, but fun, but as I whipped back for my return trip I encountered a headwind.  From what I understand, most of STP operates with a headwind so this wasn't something I had planned for but it was good training.  What I was not prepared for is the wall (metaphorical) that I hit right around mile 13.  I sort of lost my pep.  I lost the energy I was enjoying for the first half of my ride.  As well, I started having some rather irritating saddle rubbing issues that I also hadn't expected.  Basically, this made the last 7 miles of my ride tiresome and irritating (physically speaking).  I do ride with bib shorts and I spoke with the manufacturer and they had said their material is not necessarily designed to have to use butt butter but that people did.  I was finding, though, that it wasn't the whole of my bum that was hurting, just a section on back end of the saddle itself.  After another 23 mile ride Sunday, I resolved to do some investigation into saddles.

 

While a buddy of mine rides a fi'zi:k and swears by it, I wasn't really prepared to spent upwards of 20 bucks on a saddle just yet (yes, the argument can be made that it is money well spent, but ever since I bought Betsy, I have done nothing but buy something every week...is this normal?).   I ended up with a nice Oval Concepts saddle (can't seem to find the model number) that I picked up from the CCC.  I will give that one a go and see how it works out, but all indications seem to point to something that will be a fair bit more comfortable than what I have been riding up until this point.