Asphalt Junkies CLOSED AND GETTING OUR FIX (Page 52)

Tracy I am the same way I usually swim during my lunch hour and when I get back I am usually starving so I can relate.

Jonathan I'm sorry to hear about what happened tonight while you were out biking. I will never understand why people do things like that. It's too bad you weren't able to get the full plate number to report it to the police. I am glad you are alright as well.

Well on the training front I did get in a 9 mile run tonight but it wasn't a typical run for me. It was warm out and there was a nice breeze but it was humid out and the bugs were out in force so I guess I would consider this my first unpleasant run of the season. The humidity just kills me as I sweat so much I wind up looking like I jumped in the pool. That was pretty much the case tonight. I did alright up until mile 3 and just totally bonked out. I had to stop and get something to eat and walk it off for a few minutes. I am not sure if I didn't eat enough today, I was just tired or it was the humidity but I never have that type of thing happen to me. I also felt like I was hydrated and had a GU before I started so I can't explain it. Once I started up again I was fine and was able to get 6 more miles in and I think I ran pretty well the rest of the way. I was definitely not lacking energy, no dead legs or feeling out of breath. I actually felt good when I finished. Now if I wasn't soaking wet, didn't have my glasses totally fogged up for most of the run and didn't have the bugs attacking me I would have said it was a great run.

Dina, I'll see about posting a few pics later.  I already have some on my facebook page for those who are into that sort of thing.  (Anyone wanting to friend me it's Dirk Pauley.)  Also I imagine a trip with toddlers for 8 hours will be trying with or without food.  I was never any good at it myself.

I have been to Oklahoma about 3 years ago for ice storm restoration (again, pics on facebook) and I am not seeing a lot to see there except for flat land (like Illinois) and steers and cows.

Tracy, your pool work sounds pretty awesome!  I use a 50's WO that is KILLER whenever I do it.  I am always exhausted when I complete the MS.  It can be very brutal to say the least.  I am the same as Jonathon for hunger after a swim.  It's runs and rides that leave me looking for meat with a gun and knife and skipping the cooking part.

Jonathon, I haven't had that happen to me or really anything like that while running or riding.  If you have partial plate with a description they may be able to use that to find the vehicle.  Once found, I think the culprit should be castrated.

Tony,  Your run sounds pretty brutal.  This is the second run you have described in similar fashion.  I would try to get a few more calories a little sooner.  Maybe make sure you are taking the gel at least 20 minutes prior to running.  If you have been taking it immediately prior the run it doesn't have enough time to get into your system.  Also, if your body isn't used to these distances than you should be getting more calories in general before these runs.  Once your body adapts the the longer and longer range runs, you'll stand a better chance of feeling better.

The heat is another thing altogether.  There is nothing other than slowing your pace more that can be done really.  As the heat begins to rise all of us have to slow our effort, particularly on the run, to compensate for the added heat stress.  I suggest slowing about 30-45 seconds during higher temperature runs.

Jackwagons.......I just don't understand why people do that.

The heat really gets me.  I just can't cope with it.  Where I live, it rarely gets into the 70's.  I'm sweating buckets and complaining about the "heat" when it's in the upper 60's!  I race in hot areas quite often, though.  I simply slow down.....and curse.....and drink electrolytes.  What did you eat a couple hours before you ran?

I don't think I did anything different then I normally do. I ate lunch at around 12:15 PM and then had my normal afternoon snack at around 3 - 3:15 PM. So I think lunch was about 800 cals and the snack was about 250 cals. I did one GU gel probably 15 - 20 minutes before I ran. Plus I was drinking water through out the day so I thought I was hydrated enough. I didn't try to run faster than I normally do either and I drink a lot when I run especially when it is humid because I sweat so much. My pace was pretty easy so I don't think I was overdoing it. I usually slow down when it's like that. I was taking in sports drink every mile as well which is what I normally do. I can't explain what happened but I do know that after I ate that powerbar after mile 3 I felt better so I am thinking maybe I just didn't eat enough before that and the humidity contributed to that being this is the first time this year that I have run where it was warm with higher humidity. My next run is Friday so I will be more cognizant of this if the weather is the same. 

Tony - it sounds a little like you were underfueled - I'm guessing the gel would have kicked in around the 3 mile mark and that's what gave you the boost to finish. That should be about how long it takes to digest... If it was just the heat, I'm thinking you would have struggled to finish too. Just a thought.

Jonathan - I hope that was just a one off. Someone used the horn at me for the first time on the same day. If the idiot hadn't tried to pass me around a blind bend on a downhill when I'm already doing 30+ I'd have more sympathy.

Matt - I'm a big fan of burning a few spare tire calories - they're "spare" for a reason!

Tracy - brutal swim workouts are fun... until you breathe in some water! Good job hitting all your workouts this week, I hope you're able to finish strong!

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I'm back to a training routine this week with no race this weekend. I did 4 miles and 20 on the bike Tues, plus 2 miles yesterday and another 4 plus 20 on the bike today. The first 20 on the bike were pretty brutal and I have a sore hamstring today from the climbing, so I'm going to take it very easy on today's workouts.

John

Well, I really don't know where to start.  I'm really looking for easy to prepare food for my daily meals that give me good, overall nutrition to fuel my workouts.  Now that I exercise for close to 2 hours per day on most days, I'm feeling like something is lacking or could be improved.  I live off of chicken breast, frozen vegis, baked potatoes, cottage cheese, whole wheat toast, avocados, and various fruits and fresh vegis when I have enough time to prepare them.  I don't drink milk or eat ice cream because it upsets my stomach.

I always try to remind myself that the only reason people do hurtful things to others is because they are so miserable and hopeless in their own life, the only thing that they can think to do is share their pain. I feel sorry for them.  I'm glad that he didn't cause you to wreck and hurt yourself.

I did my first non-stop mile swim today.  I'm still not fast, I did it in about 44 minutes, but I just tried to keep a steady pace.  I felt strong the whole time.  

This weekend I'm going to take my new (used) wetsuit and do my first open water swim in the lake.  I don't want me first ever open water experience to be with 500 people kicking and splashing around me.  I'm kind of looking forward to trying out open water, because I sometimes feel like I get into a good rhythm, then when I turn at the end of the lane, it throws me off.

Thanks to whoever it was (Warren maybe?) who suggested the AquaSphere Vista goggles.  I love these things.  They're about 1000x better than my old traditional Speedo goggles.  They're totally comfortable, and have a great field of vision.

Oh no!!! Sorry to hear about your chicken! (never thought I'd say that one)  Did the dog wander over to your property and chase one down?  That's awful.  

Nutrition is tricky.  Are you looking for ideas on how to actually get enough calories in?

Dirk...how's that deck coming?

Thanks everyone for the sympathy regarding the bottle-wielding motorist.  The person obviously was just looking to cause some trouble.  I only hope they live in this area and I see the car again.  I won't forget it.

Just finished mowing the lawn.  Going to go for a quick run I think.  Hope everyone has a great night!

Nice work!  A mile is not easy.  Great milestone to have as well.  Let us know how that wetsuit works out.  I'm guessing that you'll be impressed with your swim speed with that thing on.

Yeah, this kind of thing happens to me every so often.  Looks like your blood sugar was just low for a bit there.  I have had times when I had to stop running and put my head between my knees to stop the world from spinning.  Now I carry a gel with me.  I have only had to use it once in the last 6 months....but it's nice to have on me.

Hahahaha!!!!!  She was one our oldest and friendliest hens.  We could easily pick her up.

The dog ran full tilt from the back of our property and started chasing the chickens.  It singled one out and nabbed it.  Apparently, the owners had to spray water on the dog to get her to drop it.  I'm a little uneasy about allowing my toddler to get very far away from me in the back now.  Screw the bears and mountain lions!  Loose dogs are more of a threat!!!!

Yes.  How to fuel good enough to allow for good workouts.  I have plenty of reserve but I'm not in a weightloss mode right now.  I'm actually quite happy with my current weight for now.  Over the winter, I might try to drop a few more pounds.

Let me tell you what I live off of... it will sound boring, but literally, this is the majority of what I eat...

My main "meals" are generally my eggs or my wraps, sometimes (usually) several times a day.  I use these both as pre- (if eaten early enough) and post-workout food.

My egg "meal" (I don't know if this is called an omelet?) consists of:  2 eggs, 2/3 cup rice, 1/3 cup cheese (usually 4 cheese mexican), probably ~1/3 cup onion, and... salt, mixed together and fried, usually with olive oil.  Seriously, I LOVE this!!  And I generally eat this like every day... sometimes more than once a day.  Yeah, that makes for a lot of eggs in a week.

My other typical "meal" is the wraps, and these I make in different ways (the content of the wrap anyway, always with a flour tortilla, bulk available at Costco. ) For example, today's wrap: rice, beans, onions, swiss cheese, and (homemade) guacamole... um yeah, and salt, and generally I add garlic powder too.  I use the microwave to make the wrap nice and soft (and warm) and get the cheese melted.

My wraps have also consisted of (as another example): tuna, rice, mayo, cayenne pepper, onion, cheese, cilantro... And I'm sure you could come up with your own combo based on your taste.  But mine generally all include rice, onion, and cheese as the "base" or whatever.

Oh, and the other staple of my diet... chocolate.  Sometimes if I get hungry I'll just eat chocolate instead since it's quick, and if I don't get my chocolate fix at some point, I will just go crazy on it later... so I just make it a part of my regular foods. (I may go crazy on it later anyway...) Sometimes I will make chocolate my pre-workout food... hey, sugar = carbs...

This is all very simple and easy stuff (if you've got everything ready and on-hand, which I generally do), and I don't require much variety, and it hasn't bored me (yet!)  The wraps are very quick to eat... actually I usually eat the eggs pretty quick too.

I would estimate that each of the wraps or egg thing (the way I make it) is 400-500 calories.

Today I did have something different though for "dinner" (I kind of just eat whenever so it's   difficult for me to title it as a meal..)  I had garbanzo beans spiced up with various spices (cumin, turmeric, garam masala, red chile powder), onions, green pepper bits, and mixed this with rice (and salt ). This again to me was quite delish!

Again, it's not like I'm a foodie, so I'm quite alright with the same old thing and what might be considered plain food. This is my base, and I'm completely happy with this.

Oh, and another thing that's quick that I used to do but don't do so much anymore (not sure why, really), is make a smoothie.  Smoothies were sometimes my quick and easy post-workout food- milk, banana, strawberries, ice, and a dash of vanilla slimfast powder or whey protein for added flavor.  This can easily become 300-400 calories.

Nothing as extreme as this, but I've had a couple of moments lately where drivers have annoyed me... I was very conscious of giving the car space that I saw coming from behind me (he/she had plenty of room to pass me), this car honks at me (not in a friendly manner) as he/she passes me, and is zooming, speeding up, past me!  This was a 35mph zone, the car must have been going at least 45, and accelerating!  ...and knowing that they were passing a bike...

Wow!!!  Awesome!!!!  Thank you for this idea!!!!  Sounds super easy and yummy!!!!  Although, I'm not going to have as many eggs now.