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.

Lent Day 29 (Thursday)

Exercise: Cycling 24 miles.  This was the first Thursday ride at the local bike shop.  The weather wasn't pristine, so the turn out was low.  Thus I got to put "Rule 5" into effect and hang on for dear life as the A group folks put the hammer down.  I think overall I did pretty well, even if my numbers in Strava really don't show it.  When the pace is something where I'm not over lactose threshold just keeping in the peleton, I think I'll be fine.

Verse:

2 Peter 1:5-8
New International Version (NIV)
⁵ For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; ⁶ and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; ⁷ and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love.⁸ For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Thoughts:  I still struggle way too often with emotional eating.  Without a lot of preparation, I can make good choices and manage to do okay on any given day, maybe two days in a row.  The issue is making good habits every day.  I still contend that I need to improve on preparing for the bad days, so the choices aren't being made when I'm already in a bad place.  When I get home from work and I'm tired, and not really happy with myself for whatever reason is the last time that I really want to make choices about what to eat and make sure that I eat just the right amount.  If I can decide what I'm eating when I'm in control, then when I'm having a breakdown I should be able to stumble through it without having to expend the energy I don't have to cope.  I am happy that I have more good days than bad, I can manage to string together multiple good days, and that I don't roller coaster as much as I used to.  Now if I can just continue to improve on my preparation, I think I'll see the results both on and off the bike.

Lent Day 17 (Saturday)

Exercise: None (weather). When the training ride was canceled, I originally had planned to do the morning shop ride. When I woke up the weather forecast stated a 40% chance of snow/rain mix, so I thought better of going out. Within an hour there was a wet, icy mixture falling. It definitely didn't help my overall mood for the day, but I would rather not go out on a ride one day than get sick or injured. 

Verse:

Mark 7:15-16

New King James Version (NKJV)

¹⁵ There is nothing that enters a man from outside which can defile him; but the things which come out of him, those are the things that defile a man. ¹⁶ If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear!”^[a]

Thoughts: Days like today are very challenging for my personality.  When I'm faced with not being able to do what I've steeled myself to do, typically I can go into a pretty heavy psychological nosedive.  This usually leads to an emotional decision that I would not typically make otherwise, either as a purchase or in nutrition.  Trying to navigate these feelings without making unwise decisions is always difficult.  I can't say I was perfect today, but I think I did pretty well all things considered.  The weather forecast looks promising for tomorrow, so a good solid ride should be in the plans.  I look forward to getting out and riding to help brighten my mood up some.

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.  

Lent Day 10 (Saturday)

Exercise:  None - Rest.  Rainy day here, high was in the low 40's.  Cold + wet doesn't create a good environment for exercise for me.   Instead of pushing it and risking getting sick again, it was a rest/household kind of day.

Verse:
Proverbs 14:23

New International Version (NIV)

²³ All hard work brings a profit,
    but mere talk leads only to poverty.

Thoughts:  Multiple times this weekend articles about nutrition and how it impacts fitness have been presented to me.  Food is probably one of my biggest struggles since I started working on my overall health, and it's because it's an easy comfort area.  When you think about food like fuel, a lot of things change, but it's hard to implement those changes.  I've been doing a whole lot better about eating breakfast now.  It used to be that I'd have breakfast once or twice a week at most;  Now it's just part of the daily routine.  Figuring out how much is enough, and working out the evening/nighttime hungers is still a bit of a mystery to me, though.  I need to work on improving what I eat earlier in the day so my body has what it needs later in the day.  Knowing the basics is just the tip of the iceberg with nutrition, and any television ad or book that claims that there is a simple formula is just trying to take your money.  Calories in - Calories out = weight is true in the basics, but our bodies are the most complex engines ever developed.  We spend time and effort into engines that will only last a few years, but this is an engine we only get one of.  We have to treat it right, baby it, give it what it needs to be successful, and go out and enjoy it's performance from time to time. 

What are you aiming for?

 I receive emails from Chris Carmichael this week, and it struck a very major chord with me.  It's something I  had already experienced, and after getting through it and looking back, it's such a major reason why so many people "quit" or in my case took too long to try.

You have to continually focus on where you’re going to be and how you’re going to get there. In the early days of a new business, the start of a long education process, or the beginning of your path to an athletic goal, where you are stinks. You can barely support yourself, nobody gives you any respect, and you’re working terribly hard for what seems like very little reward. A lot of people get stuck there, because they spend too much time focused on where they are and too little on where they’re headed.

The simple fact is this - as long as you are focused on doing what you are doing now, you will not get to where you want to go.  I spent years wanting to lose weight.  I thought "if I was just 20, or 30, pounds lighter things would be so much better.  My focus was always on the weight.  The simple fact is weight does not define you, it can only limit you.  Once my focus changed from weight to activities, I saw change.  Now I look at goals, and my goals get larger.  Yeah, I like a good burger from time to time, and I like pizza.  I like standing on top of White Oak mountain, claiming victory over a grueling ride.  I like coming back tired and sore from a hard shop ride, knowing that I at least kept the group that I couldn't stay with in sight as I was getting dropped.  I like that I feel like I can go out and DO things.  The difference is that I'm not defining myself by food, but rather by the other things that need to be in my life.

This is a major change for me.  Last year at this time I was struggling with just going 7 miles without having to stop for a break.  I had to make hard decisions, and decide what was important to me.  If that means getting in miles during lunch, and having to heat up my lunch while on a conference call while not being able to  change until after the call is over.  Having to chase that last bit of daylight, and having a late dinner because I have to get to the gym.  If I'm not going to make the time to do these things, I'm not going to get stronger.  It's a hard reality.  As I face down my 38th birthday, my goals only get larger and more seemingly Ludicrous.  I mean, is it feasible for me to expect to be able to ride the Assault on Mt Mitchell in 2013?  It's 100 miles of riding and 10,000 feet of climbing.

It's just another stepping stone in my active lifestyle.  It means a lot of hard work over the next 6 months, but I look forward to standing at the highest point in the Eastern United States, victorious.

Going Bananas!

Originally I was going to title this entry "I Hunger", in reference to the classic Williams arcade game "Sinistar".  That said, I worried there would be too many click throughs that I didn't really want to end up here.  My geek and gamer side does show through sometimes while dealing with this journey, though.

This week seems to be dealing with Hunger more than anything else.  For the first 5 to 6 weeks of this Journey, my body seemed to be handling the changes well.  I was getting in good exercise, I was feeling great, and I was blessed with being kept from temptation and hunger.  Then about a week ago, things started to change.  Now I don't have many cravings, but when I go by the pastry counter at Panera I definitely go "hrm. that looks really good" more.  In fact, I had a great conversation this week with Rob and Kristen about hunger along with the how much my family has been a major supporter (and participant) on this journey.

Listen to my conversation with Rob and Kristen!

That seems to have sparked several other conversations about eating, exercising and overall hunger this week.  One of my friends and co-workers, who also happens to be a coach at Greenville Cycling Center offered up some advice as well

Make sure you're getting calories on your longer rides. Not a lot and not from sports drinks. Maybe 300 calories for a 2 hour ride. You shouldn't end a ride hungry. The other days, rat some real food within 30 minutes. Something with protein and carbs. Even a glass of chicolate milk.

 I even posted up a question to the Voler.com about all the nutrition items out there in the "snack" isle at the local bicycle shops, and had a great response from Peg over at MountainPedals.net.

Check out the article on Voler.com!

That said, I'm working on eating more often, and having a larger variety of foods during the day.  I've even been adding Bananas to the mix, and for those that know me at all, for me to say I had a banana in something else is weird, let alone by itself!   The workouts are going well, and I want to fuel my body to continue to burn through my fat stores so I can reach my goals, not just for this first 12 week journey, but every journey I have planned in the future.