It’s Monday. Also known as rest day 😀  Just walking for me, thank you.  I was up somewhat early and made up some pumpkin oats for breakfast.  Yeah, it’s June, but it was cool out this morning!
My legs feel fine today. Â 72 miles is a lot of miles, even for us. Â The funny thing is, I feel the most tired and sore the evening of the ride, but on Sunday, my legs felt quite good. Â I actually recover almost scarily fast.
I had some saddle soreness, but that was expected.  I got new bike shorts a couple weeks ago and they are great!  There was a 12 mile recovery ride to breakfast on Sunday morning, but just a slower pace and as flat as possible ride (for around here any way).  It felt good just to ride  a bit, but not too much.
Yeah, I have to say I have no interest in another 100 mile ride. Â After we had gone 40+ miles on Saturday I said to John, “What was the point of a ride this long?” Â His answer – “Because it’s a nice day”. Â Touche. Â Indeed it was.
I did have a calorie deficit for the entire day. Â I burned 3800 for the whole day and managed to eat about 3100. Â Funny how on a day like Thanksgiving or Christmas, I can pack away the calories and get that in easily (and more). Â On a long ride day, it is a struggle. Â Part of it is just being too busy actually riding to eat. Â The other is just not being hungry at all and having to sort of force myself to keep eating food. Â I usually end up being very hungry the next day, although Sunday was not too bad since I actually did get in a good amount of food for the day.
Shelley brought up a point about the stopping and keeping going is hard, but when biking, it is not so bad. Â Part of the reason is just the length of the ride and needing to get off and stretch the legs, but the other part is just that biking is much different than running as far as the pounding on the joints. Â It’s easier to get going again and keep going.
Of course, having to get home is the other thing. Â We could always make a ‘sag wagon’ call, but then it is a matter of A) finding someone with a large enough car for the bikes and B) someone that is home with said vehicle on a weekend LOL.
Are you tired of me talking about biking yet?  I can keep going… Okay, I’ll stop.  😀
How about a snack and lunch instead?
Between breakfast and lunch, I had one of the new Zone Perfectly Simple bars. Â I had gotten some as samples, which I quite liked – even though they have soy protein – and so we bought a couple boxes (guess that worked for them, eh?). Â I think this peanut flavor is my favorite.
Then I worked up to lunch:
Note the bread! Â How’s that for a change? Â Again, I have been trying to increase my carbs with all the riding. Â Not that I want to bring back a lot of bread, but it goes well with a turkey burger. Â Pluot on the side.
There has been a little visitor that has been hanging around the garden lately.  She has a collar, but I haven’t gotten too close to check it out.  I don’t want to start petting her or getting her used  to me since she isn’t our cat.  I can almost feel that panicked feeling John gets when I start befriending cats. Pixie is not happy with the visitor:
She stares and chuffs at the window. Â The other kitty could care less. Â Poor Pixie’s liver.
Afternoon snack time.
I had this before going for a 15 minute walk. I have really been trying to get in that bit of walking most days to at least help my brain during work days.
Monday seems to be fish day around here. Â We got some nice salmon at the store yesterday. Â Marinated it in this:
John cooked that on the grill.
It was quite good. Â I really like that marinade.
I still prefer other proteins, but the salmon is a nice change and I know how good it is for me. Â Oh, and this picture? Â No direct sun ever comes in this window because it faces north, but it reflected in off the house next door with sunshine into our kitchen. Â Made for a nice shot.
I have catch up on work tonight, plus more walking and making a lesson plan for meeting with my new literacy learner tomorrow. Â Yep, it’s Monday!
Salmon looks yummy. have you ever tried Ahi tuna? I am not even a fan of regular tuna, but a girl at work assured me that it tasted just like really good steak, and she was right! Haven’t had it for a long time, now I’m gonna have to find some.
Never tried Ahi. I am kind of off of tuna for a while.
Okay….a couple of comments here. Hmmm, a sag wagon big enough for two bikes and someone who is home on weekends. Sounds like a job for Dad! My car was your “sag wagon” a while back, but you weren’t really sagging, it was equipment fail. I don’t think I could do two bikes, though. Hope you won’t need the wagon anyway. Oh, and the brown sugar bourbon marinade sounds like something I could use for the chicken that Dad likes. Have to get some. I’m glad you are recuperating so well from your ride.
I could just imagine Dad trying to find us on one of our bike trips… It would have to be Colleen and the van 😀
I am the same way–on long bike rides when I burn 2000+ I struggle to eat enough calories to recover. Sometimes my stomach just isn’t hungry. I don’t know why. MExican food or burgers are usually high in calories so that’s our go-to meal after a big ride.
Interesting how much of a mental game a really long bike ride turns out to be. Do you think you’ll stick the the 40ish milers from now on?
Re the calorie burn/intake…do you think it’s critical to replace everything you burned on a day like that? Or could you just eat what feels comfortable, and hey, if you lose a pound, no biggie?
It’s more critical in recovery and the more I take in the day of, the less of a bottomless pit I am the next day, which is helpful to me. I never lose weight after long rides, either.
I’ve been meaning to ask you about how you sleep after a long race. I imagine you sleep like a log! The only night I remember sleeping like a log was when I participated in a two-day bike ride when I was 15.
Might Pixie feel a little bit threathened with the new cat in the neighbourhood? 🙂
I usually sleep pretty well, less insomnia, but I don’t necessarily sleep longer.
Your description of hunger/appetite following the bike ride could have been written by me verbatim to describe my 24 hours following a long hike. During the hike, I have to force myself to eat and then I’m not hungry that evening either. The following day, I could eat the fridge itself plus everything in it!!
Knowing you don’t weigh often, this is a moot thought, but would be interesting to know. I ALWAYS gain a tiny bit of weight on the morning after I’ve hiked a long hike. Always thought that curious since there is always a calorie deficit! My best guess is it has something to do with the excessive water consumption on hiking days.
I love hearing about the bike rides – never too much!!!
I gain 2 to 3 pounds after each long ride, so I don’t really like to weigh myself the next day. The only time I do that is to make sure I have hydrated enough. If I lose weight, means I didn’t take in enough water.
Interesting that you don’t feel like eating much with that sort of exertion. I never do either when I run really long. In fact, I’m usually more hungry the day after than the day of. When it comes to that sort of exercise, I think it’s more important to rehydrate properly than eat all the calories you burned. Just my opinion.
You’re right about salmon being good for you. I wish I liked it but I’ve tried it so many different ways and still didn’t like it that I’ve given up!
Pixie!!! Too cute! Maybe she wants a friend! 😉
Your rides amaze me!!! I love that you recover so well but my butt would be toast! Do the bike shorts help with that long a ride?
I used to eat Zone bars a lot but stopped a long time ago… maybe I will check out this new one…
Maybe Pixie wants a friend? Cute kitty.
You’re in good shape to recover quickly. Hope the same goes for John? 🙂
Good eats – L O V E Salmon!
Gotta laugh about Pixie’s liver comment. A little excitement every once in a while is good.
That’s terrific you recover from those long rides so fast. I know you don’t stretch too much, do you stretch at all before or after the long rides? If so, do you think that helps at all?
I’m FAR from expert (no kidding!! 🙂 ) but I think your quick recovery speaks to how fit you are!!!!! Yay Lori!!! OMG, that Pixie picture is HILARIOUS. “Don’t come any closer – this is MY kingdom!” Have a great day Lori!!!!