Category Archives: recovery day

Fueling post workouts

We are bracing for a heat wave here.  Ick.  Still a little cooler this morning, but you can feel the humidity building.  At least it was cloudy when I headed out for my lifting this morning.

Today’s workout was lower weights, higher reps and less rest time.

Exercise Set/rep/weight
1. Plank with alternate arm/leg reach 2 sets of 10 each side
2. Complex: Deadlift, High Pull, Push Press, Reverse Lunge 4 sets of 8 each exercise with 20# bar
3A. Bulgarian Split Deadlift 2  sets of 15 with 10# DBs (30 seconds rest)
3B. Single Arm Chest Press on ball 2 sets of 15 with 15# DB (30 seconds rest)
3C. Back Squat 2 sets of 15 with 45# bar (30 seconds rest)
3D. Chinups 2 sets of 15 with assistance (30 seconds rest)

I was surprised to finish up in about 40 minutes today. Normally these workouts are about 55 minutes. I was super, super sweaty and felt like I got in a great aerobic workout.  I almost took a picture of sweaty me and then figured you see enough of that on my ride posts 😀

I came back and made up a banana breakfast pudding!

Topped with coconut butter and orange marmalade. Such a yummy breakfast.

Busy work day today.  I busted out a lot of work before lunch.  I had premade some apple topping for my yogurt last night, so it was a quick fix for lunch!

This is topped with some of those Perky Flax nuggets.

Thought I would talk a little more about fueling after rides and more post recovery.  I am no expert and I am still playing around with this, but I figured that I would answer some stuff that came up in the comments.  Guess some of you aren’t tired about talking about biking (Yay!!)

 

Sharon: 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!.

Yes – I *always* gain after long rides.  Usually 2 to 3 pounds, no matter what the calorie deficit.  That gain slowly goes down over a couple of days.  I know it is water retention, but it can feel annoying if I choose to weigh myself after a ride.

 

Shelley: 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?

Helen: 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.

Hydration is really important.  On long ride days, I make sure I drink several glasses of water when I first get up.  I had 4 bottles of water on Saturday’s ride and actually ran out the last 5 miles.  No way to fill up then, though.  Then lots of liquid through the night.  That is part of not being hungry, but I think the body is too busy trying to repair than send signals for hunger and digestion is actually slowed way down.

I do try to get a good amount of food or I end up like a bottomless pit the next day.  Not just craving food, but like the food actually vaporizes when it hits my stomach.  Not a good feeling. I also like to eat salty foods that night and make sure I get in protein as well, not just carbs 😀

Ali: 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 don’t stretch enough in general, but one thing I am good about is stretching after a ride.  That helps with recovery.  We also stretch a bit mid ride as well because it just feels good.

I have pretty much decided I am going to purchase this book to help me out with the best way to do eating on the long rides with lifting in there during the summer months.

You know, we all need to do a big blogger cruise like the Low-Carb cruise so we can all get together and chat in real time.

Ready for that snack?  Latte and date with PB.

No cat hair on my snack taking this shot, so extra bonus for me!  That’s always a risk around here.  It’s hot now and Pixie is in eject hair mode.

I finished up work early, another bonus for me! With tutoring in the evening,  it’s nice to get that out of the way early.

Poor John was busy as well, so I cooked up dinner.   Sweet potato wedges on the grill with maple syrup and cinnamon.

Turkey burger for lifting day protein!

I am off for literacy tutoring.  This is the first real lesson with my new learner.  We met once to get to know each other and to give me some ideas to make lesson plans and now it will take a couple times to get on the right track.  Wish us luck!

Recovery and return to normal.

Thanks for all the comments on my 100 mile day!  I definitely am still recovering.  Yesterday I walked for 2 miles and that felt fine.  I noticed some wrist soreness still and then when John and I went out on the scooter yesterday, I had soreness in my saddle area!  That is pretty unusual for me, but really not unexpected.  Even breaking the ride into chunks, it is still a lot of miles.  It took me a day to get fully hydrated again, too.

I woke up this morning contemplating a short ride to test the waters, but then decided not to.  I certainly could use another day off from the bike. I made up some breakfast after being productive with vacuuming and scrubbing the back porch to prep for painting.  Not sure where all that energy came from, but whatever.

1-minute muffin (applesauce version)

Had a nice work morning today.  It feels relaxed.  I think just having my ride over makes me relaxed.  Even though it was not a formal event, I still put some pressure on myself for training as if it were.

Our temps are starting to warm up around here, but certainly not as hot as the south!  I made up a nice cool lunch to eat on the porch.

Greek yogurt, berries, and Newman’s Own Honey Flax flakes.

I had some questions on the ride that I thought I might answer here today.

1. Flat tire issues. I did not get a chance to get the super puncture resistant tire as they did not have my size at the bike shop (who says size problems only happen with clothes??).  Almost all of our flats can be traced to a foreign object in the tire, so we just seem to have a string of incredibly bad luck going on.  I’ll take a flat tire over a crash any day, though.

2. The stops at home. The original plan for the 100 mile day a few months ago was basically for both of us to bike 50 miles away and back.  There were several reasons I did loops closer to home.  One was being by myself. For safety reasons, I wanted to be on known roads and accessible to a family member if need be.  The other was the tire issue.  I didn’t want to get stranded really far from home if I had something disastrous happen.  The side benefit to coming home was being able to restock my water and fuel and not have to carry tons of stuff with me. Leaving the house the first time was not a problem.  I had trouble before the last 15 miles and did not stay inside longer than to grab water and try to use the bathroom.

3.  What do I carry all of said snacks in? I have a bike rack on the back of my bike with a removable bag.  I cannot stand to wear a backpack when I bike.  I get too sweaty and it tires out my shoulders.  We have the Topeak system, which I adore.  Lots of interchangeable components to it.

The cool thing about this bag is that it has a detachable shoulder strap so I can slide it out of the rack and take it with me when off the bike like a purse.

4. How do I know what snacks to bring? This has been trial and error of the last couple of years.  We always plan our rides around some sort of food, whether that is lunch, dinner, cupcakes, coffee, whatever.  So we always know where we will be stopping for that snack.  What I bring with to eat depends on how long it takes to get there.  I like to have about 100 – 200 calories every 15 miles or so.  The best way to get that is in the form of dried fruit (or regular fruit) or bars.  I don’t do gels or stuff like that.  Can’t stomach them.  I do love coconut water, though.  I have a large insulated water bottle that I fill up at most every stop we make, too.  I drink a good amount when riding, but could probably do better.

5. What’s next? Really, nothing is next. LOL!  That was my big fitness goal for the year since running is out for now.  This ride was easier than last year’s 100 miles.  For one, because I actually knew this was the day I was to do that ride, and I was very well trained for it.  We do have a group ride this weekend which will be fun.  It’s about 35 miles.  Other than that, I am going to enjoy my summer rides and not worry about having to get in X number of miles for training.  Not to mention all the other things that need to get done around here that I have put off (cleaning, painting, weeding, going to the library, that stuff). I can also get back to eating more normally instead of having this constant hunger (or I hope that goes away at any rate).

Speaking of eating, I had a refreshing iced latte for a snack today.  (Note I still have not done my caffeine free week yet.  Must roast my decaf).

Plus some blueberries.

John cooked up extra chicken on the grill last night, so you know what I had to have for dinner tonight!

Are you getting tired of seeing this salad on my blog?  I have to get more experimental again.

I have noticed that I am less hungry today.  Yesterday I was still fairly hungry and let myself eat when I was really wanting something.  I was really craving salt, likely from sweating so much the day before.

I have a snack of some fresh pineapple and a side of peanuts for tonight.

This pineapple is soooo good!  I just can’t ever go back to canned unless I am cooking with it.

Feels good to be back to normal eating.  I am taking Shelley’s example of doing the right thing this week and working on my next goal of moving the scale.

Question:  Do you like pineapple?

Tuesday musings and waffle sandwich!

Went to bed a little later last night after watching the Broncos top the Chargers – WooHoo!!  6-0 baby!  I actually fell asleep during part of the game because I was so tired.  What a fan LOL!  I woke up this morning and nixed the gym because my thighs were still feeling sore.  One more day and I’ll hit the gym Wednesday morning.  I miss my weight lifting.

Yummy protein pancakes with banana/maple topping for breakfast.  We got a ton of bananas at the store the other day.  The over ripe ones were on sale, so I peeled and froze probably about 10 bananas for future use.

pancakes1020

Still waiting on the cord for my computer.  It’s so hard to get used to a different one and work efficiently.  It’s like being plopped into a new office and not knowing where anything is, but being expected to hit the ground running.  But at least I am functional!

I was wanting waffles for lunch, and decided to use them as bread for an egg sandwich!  This was sooooo good.  2 waffles are 120 calories, which is less than 2 slices of bread.  With an egg and some laughing cow cheese. And a pear on the side.

wafflesam

We have a winner!  Loved it.

Trying hard to keep calories down today, since I overate yesterday and am not moving around much.   I have to remember to rest  – the duathlon was a big deal to my body and I need to pamper it.

A few years ago this woman:

LoriBefore

never would have thought she would become this woman:

prerace1018

There was definitely some radiance to be found at the finish line 😀  It still feels weird to think that I have done a triathlon and a duathlon (and a few 5Ks) this year.  Who is this lady?  I also know that there is plenty of room for improvement and challenging myself, and it is pretty exciting to see what is in store for next year!

Pink item of the day!

 candlepink

Cranberries are in the store and I finally got around to making the world’s best cranberry sauce.  Served along side chicken and some pan sauteed brussel sprouts.  Delicious!

din1020

Tomorrow is bagel day and hopefully biking!  The weather is supposed to be warmer overnight for a change.  The break has been fun, but I do like being back in routine.