Lent Day 36 (Thursday)

Exercise: Rest (planned).  With a proposed 75 mile training ride on Saturday, I have planned to take today and Friday off in preparation.  The weather is looking iffy at best for the ride Saturday which may mean a less than optimal ride total for the week, though.

Verse:

Psalm 139:13-15
New King James Version (NKJV)
13 For You formed my inward parts;
You covered me in my mother’s womb.
14 I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;[a]
Marvelous are Your works,
And that my soul knows very well.
15 My frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.

Thoughts:  With another big training ride coming up, my thoughts are definitely on that. The big challenge that I have in front of me is dealing with fueling needs.  I have done several ~60 mile rides, and a few 70+ mile rides.  How I fuel my body for these definitely determines the outcome.  If you wanted to take the metaphor into the realm of cars it's knowing how much fuel to add when to keep the engine running for 5+ hours.  Unfortunately, that's where the metaphor stops being relevant.  Our bodies are so much more wonderfully made than any engine crafted by man.  The type of fuel, and how our bodies digest it and deliver it to the muscles, is so complex.  Just looking at the specialty food line at any sports store is a great indication of the confusion:  I was at REI last night, and they have a huge lineup of all different types of gels, gummies, tablets and powders to help fuel you on an endurance event.  There are enough different types of bars with all sorts of ingredients, and that's not even taking into account natural foods like bananas and raisins.  

There are times that I wish that there was a simple formula for how to fuel my body so I could stay lean and have the nutrition that I need without all of the variables.  It's extremely challenging to figure out how much of what to eat of this type of macronutrient  .  My overly controlling OCD side wants to figure it all out and have a plan, knowing that if I plan it out ahead of time that I don't have to think so hard about it when it's time to eat.  The problem is that the planning can be daunting, and there are times when you just want to go out and have a big juicy cheeseburger, or a plate of wings (even when you know it's totally off your nutritional plan).  There in comes the kicker with any simple plan for a complex solution.  While keeping it stupidly simple works for creations of man, I believe it's because man's grasp on otherworldly things is likewise simple.  When we keep it simple our brains can manage it.  God on the other hand is complex and wonderful, well beyond our comprehension.  His creations can be complex and wonderfully made, adaptable and sustainable.  They are able to just "be", and work as intended.  

So maybe having a complex meal plan that is able to handle the wing bar every so often isn't such a bad thing.