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September 13, 2010

getting in those miles

Filed under: Fitness/Health,Sports Nutrition — Tags: , — Kristen :) @ 8:45 pm

Anyone else out there think Monday came waaaay too fast?  Especially after that holiday weekend!  Not too much ensued for me this weekend, but I did get to visit with my grandparents in town on Friday evening and spent a good portion of Saturday finishing up wash and house chores.  I am definitely enjoying the slight cool down we are having here because that means that race/ride/endurance event season is approaching!!!  Granted it is still 100 F here today and I’m wondering if fall is ever going to come?  

With about 3 weeks left until my 115 mile ride, I really need to get the miles and intensity in so that I won’t crap out on the big day. To be honest, I am a little worried even though I probably said that my first century.  It always seems fairly awhile away and then BAM!  it’s coming whether you’re ready or not.

I have to also confess that for the past month I have been in a funk of some sorts.  There was a lot of personal stuff going on, but I’d like to blame it on the hot, blah weather.  I just did not want to get out there.  It seemed I’d much rather catch up on sleep and chill than sweat my booty off and risk heat exhaustion.  Or really I just wanted to hang out with friends and do this . . .

silly girls!

I am definitely feeling better, but it also doesn’t help that work and school is all jam packed in there as well.  It’s tough when you can’t get a 2-hour training ride in or ride to work during the week because you need a car and the public transportation system here is crap (whew, someone needs to vent!).

But somehow, somehow you manage to pull through and bust it out.  That is what I’m hoping for anyway 🙂  Y’all have been there I am sure.  Send me some positive vibes!!

Sunday I did manage to get that ride in that I was hoping for!  Sometimes when the time is limited, when there are so many other things going on, and you question why the heck did I sign up for this? . . . I try to hold onto that feeling when you finish a long training sesh pretty strong to make it all worth it and push you towards the next challenge and ultimate goal.

Ride Stats:

  • Mileage:  65.6 miles
  • Time:  About 5 hours
  • Average:  16.5 mph

Our day started early and we were up at 4am to get ready for the ride.  That’s another thing about cycling is that it always seems to take some time to get ready and get all your crap together!

Breakfast –> I had a quick ww naan with peanut butter, topped with honey dates, 1/2 a naner and micro’ed egg whites on the side. I really wish I would have eaten more though because that didn’t seem to fill me up enough.  My metabolism has been on a rampage lately.  I also had an Elete tablyte + 2 cups of water for hydration.  We were off with our nite rider lights at about 5:45am since it was still pretty dark . . .

For the first hour, I had about 20 oz water + another tablyte to initiate metabolic efficiency (still working on a post on that btw).  We rode about an hour before we just barely hooked up with the Green Valley Cyclists for the start of a group ride.

First rest stop –>During this part of the ride I had about 20 oz of Gatorade with added electrolytes (For me most sports drinks do not have enough electrolytes).  Elete also has a liquid version which would make mixing a lot easier, but we just ground up 2 tabs in the bullet and added it to the gatorade mix to add 300 mg of sodium (I want to get at least 600-700 mg of sodium/hr).  When we stopped I had a MoJo Peanut Butter Bar + 5 honey dates and some more water.  This was about 35 miles into our ride and I was ready for some fuel!

Second rest stop –> I had the rest of my Gatorade in the Speedfil during the ride and grabbed a large water and rice krispy treat at Starbucks. Love those things!  I had an extra baggie of Gatorade mix + electrolytes and mixed it with some water in a cup and then added it to the speedfil.  I made it way too concentrated or else it didn’t mix well enough because it tasted way too sweet! ick.

My jersey may look a little baggy because I stole it from Chris hehe I don’t have too many and he has a couple nice ones with better ventilation.  He calls me the jersey stealer.

After this last stop Chris and I made our way back home and it was getting toasty!  Once that sun starts beating down I lose a lot of energy, but we made it!!  Chris also had a nice flat on the ride home.

Once we got home it was time to recover!

Since our ReGen is running low, we make a mix that is somewhat similar and delicious.

Depending on recovery needs I mix:

  • 1-2 cups low fat milk
  • 1-2 tbsp nesquik
  • 1-2 tbsp cocoa
  • pinch of salt

Usually it’s best in a bullet or blender. Yum!

After this I also had about 1.5 cups of orange juice to get in the recovery carbs/fluids.  This juice is so good and fresh.  Love it.

After I took a glorious cold shower and washed off all the saltiness and stink, it was time for some more solid fuel.

I took 1/2 cup cottage cheese + 1/2 cup Wallaby yogurt (my fav) and mixed in a bowl along with some cinnamon.

Topped it with my favorite munching cereal.

and other topping favorites like frozen cherries (love!), frozen blueberries, naner, and peanut butter.

to get this bowl of goodness!

I also had 1/2 cup of micro’ed egg whites for some more protein.  I am diggin’ the egg whites lately.

mmm peanut butter.

After the ride I felt pretty darn good.  My hip started talking to me during the ride a little bit, but then went away and it’s been feeling pretty good since thank goodness.  By about 3:30pm a wave of ‘must sleep now’ came over me and I went for a 1/2 hour nap which of course turned into 1 1/2 hours.  I sure needed it though and it was nice.

Once I got up it was time to eat again!!!  I had a big handful of grapes and some pistachios and then we headed for some dinner at BoardHouse Sandwiches.  We really like the Turkado sammie.  I don’t usually have chips, but they have these ones called Earthquake chips with a mix of all different flavors and they are surprisingly really good!

I also made a spinach salad to go along with it for some green goodness.

Oh yes and can’t forget the orange and small bowl of popcorn + a few dark chocolate chips while settling in with Netflix.  We decided to watch Memento.  While the movie was pretty good and made you think, I found it disturbing and creepy.

Pretty sure my calories for the day topped 3,500, whew!

Hope you have a nice week!

What keeps you motivated to keep training and keep active?  What gets you started?

25 Comments »

  1. Wow! That’s a couple of days’ food for me–I DEFINITELY need to start doing endurance sports so I can see what it’s like to need that much fuel. 🙂

    Re: your bad day… a little story, if I may. One of my sisters used to have an anonymous blog about her profession. She would bitch CONSTANTLY. Nothing was EVER right or good. I couldn’t stand all the negativity, all the time; I couldn’t read it–my job is 80% sucky (soon to change!), frankly, so absorbing all of someone else’s workplace angst just hurt my soul. But in the healthy living blogosphere, I see a lot of women being real–and that seems to mean mostly positive and active and healthy. Bottling it up is NOT healthy–and it’s not exactly “real” when someone has it great *all* the time. Sometimes, you just want to say “this is what’s going on” and we shouldn’t feel bad about that. It makes us human, right? 🙂 I say, glad to hear a little venting, hope things get better for you–I sympathise about thesis stuff lots after 7 years of grad school!–and your riding is pretty inspirational!

    And motivation for me is not wanting to look and feel like I’ve let myself go. It’s easier to handle life’s ups and downs (especially the downs) when you’re starting from the best place possible!

    Have a great week–doctor’s orders! 😉

    Comment by S @ extremebalance.net/blog — September 13, 2010 @ 9:20 pm

  2. @S, Thanks girl!! totally understand about the negativity, don’t like that energy all the time. I always try to look on the bright side as best I can, but sometimes it’s nice to vent 🙂 Congrats on your job, wooo-hoo!

    Comment by Kristen :) — September 14, 2010 @ 11:56 am

  3. My oh my – talk about an awesome ride!!! 5 hours???? You go girl!!

    Comment by Lisa (Bake Bike Blog) — September 13, 2010 @ 9:32 pm

  4. 5 hours riding! wooo!!! congrats!!! I love how you post fuel…. I don’t do it properly because my stomach seems to shut down after a long workout, but I know it’s important to restore the energy right afterward.
    yummy eats ~~~ 😀

    Comment by coco — September 14, 2010 @ 4:04 am

  5. I can’t believe how hot it still is there! Its in the 50s in MA overnight this past week. I love this time of year!

    You are going to do great in this next race. 115 miles. I can’t even imagine!!

    Comment by Shannon — September 14, 2010 @ 4:31 am

  6. I tried going on a tough uphill ride in 95 degree weather with bright sunlight… needless to say it did not go well. It sounds like your training is on key. I think the hardest part is just sitting on a bike for that long, it becomes mental. But you’re going to be great!! And have really inspired me to log longer rides.

    Comment by Alex @ I Eat Asphalt — September 14, 2010 @ 5:37 am

  7. It would be so hard for me to do anything in 100 F temps! It must be hard to train in the midst of the heat and everything school related. Great job on your Sunday ride! I can’t imagine ever riding for 5 hours!

    I have found that having something to train for makes me more motivated to run. I’m trying to decide if I should train for another half right now and am loosely following a training plan. This summer was so hot and my times were so much slower that it’s been discouraging.

    Comment by Emily — September 14, 2010 @ 5:53 am

  8. Emily, oh man girl I was sooo slow this summer, but when there is just a little bit of chill in the air I have so much more energy so I think you’ll be great! 🙂

    Comment by Kristen :) — September 14, 2010 @ 11:41 am

  9. Monday always comes so fast, I agree! And congrats on the long ride!! All your food looks delicious… I love TJ’s pb too!

    Comment by Megan @ The Oatmeal Diaries — September 14, 2010 @ 6:05 am

  10. I love the picture of you and your friend its lovely, everything on this post looks sooooooooo yummy x x

    Comment by Tamizn — September 14, 2010 @ 11:33 am

  11. I’ve been on an OJ kick lately too. You said it–so delicious and refreshing!

    Comment by BroccoliHut — September 14, 2010 @ 3:10 pm

  12. Sometimes I have funks too, definitely. They typically last a week or so, and then the next week I’m happy as a clam! haha, it’s like a mini PMS….typically caused by some type of stres, either with work, family, or just life in general. Life is tough, so this is very normal, and that’s what I always tell myself.

    To get motivated to do the things I have to do (like workout, clean the house, etc.) I just remind myself of the reward at the end. I also like to have something at the end of the week to look forward to. This weekend I have my best friend’s wedding. I’m SO excited about that!!

    Comment by The Candid RD — September 15, 2010 @ 4:04 am

  13. I am glad you got in that ride. I know it is so easy to just blame everything in Vegas on the heat when it is summer. It’s easy to think it just fried your brain, which some days I think it did!

    I stay motivated by knowing that my time at the gym is my time and I get to think about whatever I want, listen to whatever I want and/or watch whatever I want and I feel good when I sweat.

    Comment by Melinda — September 16, 2010 @ 7:08 am

  14. @Melinda, So true, I think it does really fry my brain too!

    Comment by Kristen :) — September 16, 2010 @ 9:36 am

  15. What a great ride! You are so dedicated..4am. Gosh, that is early.
    I have been doing so much more on the weekends it seems that my routine has been super thrown off. I am trying to stay on track with exercise and healthy eating as much as I can. It’s just that those margaritas taste so good.haha.

    Comment by Kristen (swanky dietitian) — September 16, 2010 @ 10:48 am

  16. I didn’t know you are doing another century… well 115 miles. Way to go. It has been so hot here that we only ride 30 – 40 mil distances so we can get out of the heat.

    I have hard of Puffins and now that I see it on your blog I am tempted to give it a try 🙂

    Comment by Gelareh | Nutritious Foodie — September 16, 2010 @ 12:54 pm

  17. @Gelareh, Thanks girl! The heat has been really rough here too. I’ve only been able to do about those kinds of rides too except last weekend. I’m hoping I can pull through!
    They aren’t the most nutritionally dense, but fun to munch on 🙂

    Comment by Kristen :) — September 16, 2010 @ 1:22 pm

  18. Good job you guys. Glad to see that Chris didn’t get too down about his race being cancelled, and he got back on his bike. 🙂 I went for a mile run today at lunch followed up by a light work out. It has been in the 80’s here this week, and at lunch time it is around the mid 70’s, perfect running weather. Enjoy the weekend. Looks like dad and Shirla should make it to Vegas next week.

    -Allen

    Comment by Allen — September 16, 2010 @ 12:56 pm

  19. Allen, Very cool, I’m so jealous of your weather. It’s still freaking 100 degrees here! Looking forward to seeing those guys and their wine-filled motorhome 🙂 Chris and I miss having them in town.

    Comment by Kristen :) — September 16, 2010 @ 1:14 pm

  20. @Kristen 🙂,

    Yeah, I agree. We enjoyed having them here, and Mason and Morgan loved it too. Even Koinu enjoyed it, she loves company.

    We will see you guys in December…unless you are heading back east again.

    -Allen

    Comment by Allen — September 16, 2010 @ 3:50 pm

  21. Hopefully able to comment!

    Your meals look wonderful and healthy! At least it’s 3500 caloires worth of health-E-ness 🙂

    My greatest motivation is keeping my body healthy. When I absolutely don’t feel like working out, then I know I need a rest but most days I feel BETTER have a good walk, run, or aerobics class!

    Comment by thehealthyapron — September 16, 2010 @ 1:14 pm

  22. @Erin, Yay!! it worked! I definitely try to listen to my body too 🙂

    Comment by Kristen :) — September 16, 2010 @ 2:10 pm

  23. Well, it’s Friday now…soon to be Saturday. So in 4 days, I hope your week turned up! I’m sorry about the funk…but it happens to the best of us, and I think you’re still trucking on really well.

    Sending you all the positive vibes I can!!!

    Comment by Sophia Lee — September 17, 2010 @ 10:13 pm

  24. I am so belated on getting caught up, but it looks like you’ve been too busy to post anyways! I love that picture of you and Kristen — too cute! I think about you and your long rides…I don’t know how you do it!

    Comment by Nicole, RD — September 18, 2010 @ 1:24 pm

  25. […] Continued here: getting in those miles | eatingRD.com […]

    Pingback by Diabetes Articles» getting in those miles | eatingRD.com — September 19, 2010 @ 1:08 am

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