Eat me/Drink me

So, back to normally schedule blogging thankyouverymuch.

A gazillion years (pre-weight epiphany blogging tangent), Trying to Tri asked me a question about getting calories on the bike. And, since I don't have her email address, I was going to leave a really protracted response on her blog. On a totally unrelated post. Which might violate some blogging rule somewhere. I dunno, but I'm not going to risk it.

Protracted post goes here.

[oh, and by the way, i'm pretty sure there's a way to let people see your email addresses when you post...so they can reply...cause you know, there are bloggers out there who i've been DYING to write (and this means YOU, AGA!) and never can because their emails are hidden...just saying]

So...eating on my bike. And, for that matter on the run.

I've changed things up recently on account of advice from the Elf and a commitment to never have to puke in the water again. It really wasn't even as pleasant as it sounds. Seriously.

The Elf gave me advice lots of advice on coming to what works for me, but I'm going to just highlight a couple of things here. I hope she doesn't mind. Maybe she'll never know...she is down with the girls in somewhere like South Cakalacky on a hunt for the wizard. SOMEONE, QUICK, DISTRACT THE COACH! I'M GOING TO GIVE AWAY SOME OF HER SECRETS!

First -- do your race nutrition all the time. And I don't mean kind of sort of maybe do your race day nutrition when you're training. I mean every time you eat or drink on the bike or run, you eat or drink what you would during a race. That was a mistake I made last year -- I was trying a million different products and I would use certain things for longer rides and totally different products for medium rides. It was a mess.

Now, I have a plan for getting a certain number of calories on board based on the clock. If I'm doing a 90 minute ride, then I get 90 minutes into my master plan. A 3 hour ride? Same plan...I just happen to get 3 hours into it. You get the picture.

Second -- Make and stick to time markers. I never ever ever would have thought of this, but it makes absolute sense. Decide when eating on the bike works for you. And then ever single time you're on the bike (for long enough to need the nutrition) eat at those times. For me? 0:10, 0:40, 1:20, 2:00, and so on for intervals of 40 minutes.

Now, I don't even think about it anymore. I see 1:20 on the CatEye and I eat. It takes the thought out of it, and I've been screwed in the past by asking too much of my noodle. In West Virginia last year I was all over the place...eating at odd intervals, trying to get down too much at one time to catch up with my plan. Not good.

Now, I have my numbers. And my noodle can take a break and think about other things. Like staying upright and watching for potholes. It's a good trade off.

Third -- break it down into units for each feeding, with each unit in kind of the same caloric ballpark. That way, you can move units around, based on how you're feeling. If my stomach is feeling sour 90 minutes into the bike, I can switch out a bag of beans for a 1/2 of a power bar. Close in calories, and gives me some flexibility. And since I've taken the variable of when out of play, I can manage the variable of what.

Fourth -- this isn't eating, but it's always a good idea to do a sweat test to see if you're sweating as much as you think you are. Turns out, when I'm in my basement without a fan, I only need 16 oz of fluids. Later in the season, when I'm spending more time outside I'll test again.

So, to answer Trying to Tri's question, here's what I plan on doing this weekend for my long ride. I hope it helps!

0:10 - Fruit Punch sport beans (100 cal)
0:40 - 1/2 Powerbar protein plus (145 cal)
1:20 - 3 Clif Bloks (1/2 pack)(90 calories)
2:00 - 1/2 Powerbar protein plus (145 cal)
2:40 - Fruit Punch sport beans (100 cal)

20 oz Accelerade each hour (180 cal)

So for a three hour ride, I'm consuming about 1120 calories.

Go...Eat...Drink...
Be Merry
(but only on intervals of 40 minutes)

Apparently, Mississippi thinks I should eat at home...

...or at least a few of them do.

But more about that in a second. First, I've had a post about weight in the hopper for a while now. Some thoughts that have been knocking around about reshaping my body through the training process with the Elf and how that's altering my own body image and relationship with food. Changing composition, improving strength and flexilibility, and supporting it through proper food choices.

But there is a saying in our family that sticks -- "Short, fat and squatty. All a$ and no body."

Thankfully, I've avoided the tail end part, but not without thousands of miles on the bike. But I haven't been able to avoid the biological imperative passed down through my parents and their parents.

The short story is that I've always been short and I've always been heavy. I've never been whispy or slight and buying clothes has always been a struggle. And since the advent of my 30s, my metabolism has gained a surly attitude and needs a lot more convincing to work with me, rather than against.

But, I've begun the process of self acceptance. This is what I look like. And with the exception of some refinements in shape and possibly a little weight, this is essentially my body for life. And I've grown used to it and tried to see the sexy side to my curves. It's a process, for sure. I am green with envy when people talk about running an 8 minute mile -- that will never be in my cards. I still worry about what I will look like in my wedding dress and I harumph about getting the proper jean fit. I don't fit the norm of beauty, but I've managed to find my beautiful side.

And for the most part, I'm satisfied. Satisfied because it's perfect? Nope. Because it's not. But I am satisfied because it's mine. And I learned a few years ago that trying to fight the things out of your control is guaranteed failure.

So. Here I am. A kind of short woman with a great deal of muscle and an extremely healthy lifestyle. I don't drink, I don't smoke, I am careful about my nutrition, and exercise is my part time job.

And, there may be a point where I would be turned away from a restaurant in the state of Mississippi because as an OBESE patron, I would not be allowed to dine out. Anywhere.

Yes. LET ME REPEAT THAT. As defined by the state of Mississippi, I would be obese. Thus, restaurants (any that have more than 5 seats) would be obliged to turn me away. Yes -- that is they would lose their permits to operate if they failed to do so.

I swear. Read the proposed bill here. (Thanks to The Big Fat Deal for the heads up.)

Honestly, when are we -- as a populous -- going to realize that poor health status is not just about what the scale says and healthy decisions are made based on education, available resources, and healthy food options.

This is NOT about regulating behavior. This is about providing the collective resources for good nutritional choices, regardless of financial means or geography, and supporting a culture that incorporates and rewards physical activity. Regulating behavior by legislating access is a simple "answer" to an overwhelmingly complex phenomenon.

And moreover, the use of BMI scales is thoroughly inappropriate. Even if I were to allow for the argument of some form of regulation, the BMI scale is simply not a sophisticated enough tool. Period. I am a perfect example of how it can be over-inclusive (do I really need to be regulated by the state because I cannot manage my own dining decisions alone?), and the individual with a normal BMI number and dangerously high cholesterol or unmanaged diabetes is the example of how it can be under-inclusive. Want to regulate your residents? At least use criteria that is appropriate.

This bill to be motivated by stereotypes and is entirely too shortsighted and unsophisticated for what should be expected of elected officials. Reps. Mayhall, Reed and Shows should be ashamed of their submission.

Hello world

:: blink ::

:: blink ::

Hello world. Nice to see ya.

Feel like I missed out on some stuff. We should catch up over coffee. What's that? Coffee? In my hands. Mmmmm. 'Nilla spice.

Sigh.

Let's see. When we last left the episode, I was exhausted. And vaguely hungry. But distracted by being so tired.

I tried to do a swim, but upon arriving at our gym found that everyone and their sister were swimming. Did you know that our pool has one lap lane from the hours of 4 to 8 during the week? Yup, that's one.* If we're lucky, it won't be the one with the mechanism to lower wheelchairs into the water, that tends to make the lane sharing a tad bit more awkward. We weren't so lucky last night.

So, I stared through the outside window at the busy pool inside and thought about taking a nap. I went in to get an extra copy of the schedule, walked back out, and again stared through the window, wondering if I could get a sense of how long the two people in the lap lane would be. Did they have lots of equipment? Intent looks on their faces? Bulging muscles?

And I thought about food and sleep and how good they would be. But I turned on my heel and headed towards the building again...only to change my mind one more time and pull a 180 and head back towards the parking lot.

The funny part? There was a completely full spin class watching all of this without my knowledge. All of it! All the indecision, the harrumphing, the getting of the schedule, the longing looks through the window.

Who turns the lights out in a spin class? Don't they know I can't see them through their window then? Sneaky bastards.

So, after suffering that embarrassment, I left and headed home, trying to talk myself into just doing the simple sit and spin hour on the bike. Seriously -- the easiest bike session the Elf has ever given me. And I couldn't talk myself into it.

I walked in my front door, grabbed a huge handful of almonds from the kitchen, and then buried myself under the comforter upstairs. I didn't sleep. I just laid there. Unmoving. Just breathing.

After a little while, M came home and announced that I was in no way, shape, or form responsible for dinner -- it was on him. I wanted to leap for joy, but had no energy. I mustered a "weeeeeeeeee" from under the covers and let him tackle the kitchen (a very rare sight, indeed) while I was just still.

A half hour later, there was steamed broccoli, baked chicken nuggets and mashed potatoes on perfect little plates. Love him.

And then I went to bed. At 7:45, I went to bed. I was sound asleep before long and now have almost 12 glorious hours of sleep tucked deep in my body.

Oh. What. A. Difference.

I'm wracked with guilt about not getting anything done last night, but I've learned my lesson.

Unless you take care of your sleep and eat what you actually need, not what you think you need, there will be hell to pay.

Okay, maybe 'hell' is over speaking the problem. But dang will you be tired.


* To be tooootally fair, I could and should go in the morning, when they have 4 open lanes just for us. I used to go in the morning, but then my sleep got all screwy and I got a little lazy and things got sloppy. I need to start that again. Like now. Ugh. Does it count if I say it in a footnote? It's sooo hard to get out of bed... .

According to Me: Accelerade

It is abundantly clear to me that I like talking about me. I mean, really...I have an entire webpage dedicated to that very hobby. Plus, I'm a lawyer. And frankly, we LOVE to talk. Often about ourselves.

So, I've decided to do an "According to Me" segment to the blog. Mainly because I'm a wonderfully lucky individual who sometimes is approached by endurance product companies to review their products.

And anyone who is willing to send me free food and drink is my BFF.

My first installment of "According to Me"?

Accelerade

Now, I know I'm not the only lucky ducky who got THIS promotion from Accelerade, but I'm damned glad I did. And here's why: I was deep in iron training and adding more and more hours to my bike and was building a hate-hate relationship with my endurance drink.

There. I said it.

I had to break up with Perpetuem. It was a sad breakup. One that I will not easily forget. I had taken my little baggies of powder with me everywhere -- it was a cornerstone of my weekend rides. And still, weeks after the transition, I find plastic baggies labeled "Perp 2 scoops" in the oddest places. It's sad. Like desperate "let's talk about it messages" left on the unanswered phone, late at night after too many martinis with the girls.

So sad.

But it had to be done. And Accelerade turned out to be my rebound relationship and -- frankly -- this rebound is coming with me for the long haul. The iron haul.

Here's the basics:

1) Accelerade comes in powder and premixed form. I was sent the premixed bottles and they now fill prime real estate in my fridge. For a foodie to give up shelf space to a beverage, it's gotta be good.

2) It comes in bottles that are exactly the same volume as bike bottles. Surely not a mistake, and definitely a detail I didn't miss.

3) It comes in fantastic flavors: fruit punch, citrus grapefruit, mountain berry and, peach mango.

4) It has shelf-stable protein in the drink. SHELF STABLE PROTEIN. The perfect 4:1 ratio to make my (and your) legs go the extra mile.

So...here's my review of Accelerade:

1) Taste. I really love the taste of all of the flavors, with the exception of the peach mango. In fact, I haven't tried the peach mango. Frankly, I hate mangoes, so I don't want to ruin this budding relationship. Kind of like reading a new boyfriend's old emails. Bad. Idea. But the flavors make the concoction amazingly easy to palate and I find myself scarfing it down on both reasonable and super hot rides. I never "scarfed" down my Perpetuem. It's just not the scarfing kind of drink.

On the down side, there is a weird quality to the taste of the drink. Mighty M picked up on it and we've been trying to figure out what it is. It kind of gives you 'dry mouth' when you drink it, but it's weird. Not off setting, just odd. I've found that it's best to also have some plain jane water with you to cut this taste, but it hasn't persuaded me to find another product.

2) Texture. I've been doing the premixed drinks, so it has the texture of...well...water. Go figure! But this is a big leap forward for me, because my discontent with Perpetuem was really a textural thing. It just never dissolved in a way that made it easy to drink. Not that it's horrible. It certainly is NOT. I have lots of long rides to thank Perpetuem for. But, if these were going head to head? Accerade all the way, baby.

3) Performance. I have about 4 months of training with Perpetuem under my belt and about 6-8 sessions with Accelerade. But, I've found that a couple things happen when I'm using the latter. First, I drink more. I don't get more calories from this drinking (we'll talk about that later), but I do get more fluid. Almost always a good thing.

Second, I can go longer, as in more hours and more miles. Now, here I have to qualify my According to Me statements. Accelerade has entered the picture at my peak moments. So, I can't say that it's because of the drink that I can manage longer rides than before. But I can say that it hasn't impeded that progress in the end of the season.

4) Recovery. Case in point. Last weekend did a 108 mile ride with about 6,200 feet climbing, with the temps in mid-80s and humidity topping out at 82%. NOT AN EASY DAY. It was hot and sticky, extremely sweaty, and there was some serious pounding on the legs going on. Accelerade was there for a good portion of the day (as well as other fluids and solid food) and a muscle milk recovery drink. The next day -- felt minimal soreness and mild dread for the following day, when I usually get hit. Monday came and things were perfectly fine. So, again...I can't say it was the Accelerade, but I can say the Accelerade didn't get in the way of the recovery. Had I tapped out early in those 8-hours because of lack of fluid or fuel, no amount of muscle milk would have brought me back. I'm just saying.

5) Calories. Here is my only complaint about the product. The 20-oz bottle only has 180 calories in it. This isn't horrible, of course, but I'm used to my 300 - 400 calorie bottles of Perpetuem. So, folding Accelerade into the picture has forced me to get creative with planning out my calories. I'm eating more bars on long rides and now also have fig newtons.

So, in sum, I like the product. A bunch. I hope they send me another shipment like they said they would, so I can use it at IMmoo. If they don't, I'll go find it at some LBS and stock up. My favorite flavor is the citrus grapefruit because it's so tart.

NEXT UP: Mattise and Jacks Organic Nutrition Bars!


PS -- Also of note, Accelerade is paying attention to the online community and its endurance junkies. They are building an online community called Accelerade Edge, where people can share ideas and articles, compare notes on their favorite activities, etc. It seems to be in the young stages now, but I've signed up and posted a few things and found a familiar face or two there, as well. Check it out!

NUUN PARTY ... MY HOUSE!

And you're all invited!!!

I am pleased to announce (drum roll please...) that my Monday got uber bright when I learned that my transition tip submitted to The Journey of Hakado Ruk (aka Hak) won the Top Triathlon Transition Tips contest for best T2 tip!

Yeah!!

How darned fun is that?

If you're looking for some great tips on how to shave time and anxiety from your transitions, check out all the submissions made on the contest page. Every single tip is a little nugget of great information -- not to be missed. Want to know mine? You gotta go there to see!

Also, if you haven't heard about Nuun, definitely check out their site. It's a portable, convenient and tasty electrolyte option for adding more oomph to your water and helping you go further and faster. There's well thought out science behind the product and some of the best triathletes out there today swear by it!

And, frankly, if it's good enough for ELF and Desiree, it's good enough for me!