Thursday, February 28, 2013

Lent Day 15 (Thursday)

Exercise: Cycling 24 miles.  This is the same course as yesterday, but this time I was by myself.  I got a chance to test out the second of my base layers I got this week, and it seemed to work rather well.  One thing of note:  the next time I think "maybe I should go back and snag my toe covers" when I'm leaving the parking garage, maybe I should really go back and snag my toe covers.  My feet should thaw out sometime later this evening.

Verse:

2 Timothy 1:13-14

New International Version (NIV)
13 What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus. 14 Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you—guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.


Thoughts:  I spent a while today looking at formulas and theory around hydration and replenishment for endurance athletes.  Of all of the theory crafting that involves cycling, how to keep your body nourished on a long ride I think is probably one of the most complex.  Calories in, calories out;  sucrose versus glucose; carbs in your drink versus eating your carbs.  Just looking at the food isle in your local bike shop should give you an idea of just how varied the schools of thought are out there.  The common thread is the fact that for a long ride, you have to successfully replenish a part of what you exhaust while you are riding.  You aren't going to be able to metabolize enough of any nutrient you are burning, be it water or calories or salts, to 100% replace what you are using.  The goal is more about making sure your body has what it needs to keep on running in the short term so it can be effective for the long haul.  Without a good fueling strategy, you are bound for a lot of pain.  I think back to the Preservation Ride last year, and I think I learned this lesson the hard way.With the Assault on Mt Mitchell just a few months away, I have a long way to go with learning how to handle fueling on extremely long rides.  The struggle is that I seem to be able to cope on 50-60 miles rides now without a solid fuel plan, and the opportunities for me as a weekend cyclist to get in a 70+ mile ride are few and far between.  My first good attempt will be the Mitchell training ride this weekend.  Hopefully I can get a good feel for the basics of my fueling strategy so I can refine it over the next 12 weeks.  

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