It seems like all I’ve been posting lately is bike ride this and bike ride that doesn’t it?! Sorry about that, but alas I have another cycling event post! At this point last year when Chris was getting ready for Viva 2009, it was about 4 months after we had both started cycling and I had thought to myself, I don’t know if I could ever do a century! It’s funny to look back and realize that was going through my mind at that point in time. I was so happy for Chris, but I was still pretty new to this whole cycling thing and my foot was just barely touching the water. Flash forward to now and I’ve just about jumped right in!!! So far with this century under my belt now, I’ve finished 2 centuries, one of which was the Napa Century, and am going to be on a cycling team! A lot can happen over the course of a year . . . (more…)
October 10, 2010
October 6, 2010
what an experience – Furnace Creek 508
Hi guys!! I am sooo loving this cool down we are having! I actually had to put on a little zip up jacket when we were walking Buster last night. We even had a pretty torrential downpour Monday and I didn’t quite make it home from my bike ride (pic to follow). First, I have to share some pictures from the Furnace Creek 508 bike race this past weekend with my friend Jen. She is the most inspirational, amazingly strong cyclist and athlete I know and I was absolutely honored and excited to be on her crew. It was one experience I will never forget . . . (more…)
September 13, 2010
getting in those miles
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? (more…)
July 22, 2010
recovery makes all the difference + a giveaway!
May 14, 2010
FYF: my nutrition strategy
Happy Friday! We all know how important nutrition can be with any type of endurance activity. Having a sound nutrition strategy is just as important as one’s physical preparation and training, and can make or break a new PR. With dance, nutrition was important yes, but very different from cycling. I find cycling to be much more taxing physically, requiring a much different nutritional and mental approach. I am fairly new to cycling as well, which throws in a steep learning curve, while dance on the other hand was like second nature to me, mostly because I’ve been doing it since I was 8! (more…)
April 16, 2010
FYF: vitamin D in athletic performance
Well, I decided for the BH bike because it just felt really good when I got somewhat fitted and rode it around for a little bit, but I went to buy it yesterday to find that the frame is not quite right for me. I have really long legs and a short torso so the seat post was a bit too high, not far enough down into the seat tube and could risk breaking 🙁 I was kind of bummed to be honest because my heart was finally with a decision, but there are other options! . . . (more…)
March 19, 2010
fat loading for endurance athletes
Happy Friday! I went to 6am spin this morning, and it was a super sweat fest! I usually don’t have time to shower afterwards, so hopefully I won’t be too smelly 🙂
Let’s take a look at fat-loading for this Fuel Your Fitness topic . . . (more…)
March 5, 2010
what is maca?
I know we’ve all seen maca circulating in the blog world lately and I wanted to delve a little deeper into the research behind it and check it out for myself.
According to the Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database maca is a plant that grows in central Peru in the high plateaus of the Andes mountains. It has been cultivated as a vegetable crop in Peru for at least 3000 years. Maca is a relative of the radish and its root is used to make medicine. (more…)
February 12, 2010
FYF: Whey Protein, Is there a benefit?
Ah, so glad it’s Friday!! I’m really looking forward to having an extra day off in addition to a special day with Chris. Cue awwwwwhs here lol Nah we don’t really have anything too crazy planned. Our good friends are having a Valentine’s Party, my other friend is having a housewarming party and we are having a ‘cook together’ party for V day. We were thinking about making reservations and going out, but we enjoy cooking together so much we finally decided it would be better to stay in (and save money!) But we’ll see if we change our minds last minute 🙂 On to the FYF topic for today . . .
Many athletes, especially those looking to build mass and bulk up, believe that whey protein is the magic bullet that will give them the optimal results they crave. We see those giant bottles of whey protein in the health food stores and muscle men carrying their protein shakers and gallons of water, so I wanted to look into the specific topic of whey protein further to see if there really is any added benefit. . . . (more…)
February 5, 2010
Fuel Your Fitness: Overtraining Syndrome
What is overtraining syndrome & how can you prevent this?
In this series of ‘Fuel Your Fitness’ (FYF), let’s look into the topic of overtraining syndrome. While many think that athletes have to give their all 120% of the time, go for the gusto, and take it to the max in order to maximize and improve their performance, too much training can also be detrimental if not carefully monitored. Even if we are not elite athletes, overtraining syndrome can occur if we take it too far too quickly. In some runners, as explained by Noakes, (more…)
