Bill's House of Pain-No Vacancy (Page 22)

Bill - 2009-06-25 5:16 PM

I just received a copy of The Paleo Diet for Athletes. Have any of you read the original Paleo Diet book? Interesting stuff.

 

Cliffnotes version so far: Eat lots of lean meat and fresh vegetables. Avoid starchy carbs unless it's for recovery. Be sure to get omega-3 fatty acids and branch chain amino acids in your diet. I'm only a chapter into it so I'll keep you posted.

I try to eat that sort of diet as it is. My former binge foods can still fit into the recovery picture. For example, where I used to eat a bag of hot, fresh white flour tortillas in the car on the way home from the store, when I'm craving them now I'll have two after a long workout with some slower digesting carbs and protein.

I'm not far enough in to the book to discern if that's okay by the diet, but looking at a few sample menus I can see already I wouldn't convert fully. I'm not giving up legumes and grains altogether. No reason to really.

Bill - 2009-06-27 3:15 PM I don't want to fire potshots at the Paleo Diet without having read the whole book, but I do have to wonder so far about the whole grains/acidity thing.

If a food like quinoa is excluded (or consumption is very limited) based the fact that paleolitihic man didn't eat it, that's one thing. But for the author to further state that whole grains and seeds like quinoa should be limited based on their acidifying properties, I have a few points to consider. Number one, the "acidifying" properties of foods haven't (to my knowledge) been studied extensively or linked conclusively to any disease process. The only info I can find is on sites where they sell pH test strips and colon cleansers, and a book by a naturopath (which I've read) and this makes me highly skeptical about the acidification thing.  Why aren't there any articles in reputable peer-reviewed journal? It's not a new idea, so there's been plenty of time for the scientific community to come out and say we should consider the acidifying properties of foods when we make dietary choices. Of course even when the scientific community does say "this is bad" no one seems to care much. Case in point, yesterday while I was puting a central IV line in a cardiac patient her hospital-provided dinner tray arrived: Cheeseburger with tater tots. WTF? Job security I guess...

That said, lets say for the sake of the discussion that acidifying foods are bad. Foods included in the Paleo diet such as seafood and lean red meat are classified as "highly acidifying". But they're in there because they were available to paleolithic man.

I think he shoud have left the acidification thing off the table because it has nothing to do with eating like paleolithic man and it clearly has been applied to support his hypothesis about what is good to eat and what isn't. But if you apply it across the board, including highly acidifying foods flies in the face the rationale for excluding whole grains for athletes who need good carbs.


My ultimate take is this. I think lean protein, a TON of fresh veggies and fruits, some whole grain foods that are minimally processed, limited lean dairy (the only dairy I consume daily is fat free Greek yogurt with probiotics), and then recovery nutrition with medium and high glycemic index carbs and lean protein are the best way to go for me. Also, avoiding highly processed foods and alcohol in excess (I have a beer or two every few weeks) are important.

Overall though, I think there is a lot of good information in the book. I'm going to read the whole thing before I pass judgement, but the "acidification" stuff sort of raised a red flag and honestly, disappointed me a little because I think that concept isn't supprted by good science (yet?).

EvenOlder - 2009-06-29 9:35 AM Just wanted to thank Bill for his positive help.  I decided to try doing a practice sprint each week, and he was very supportive.
I had great results yesterday, following his quote of "slow is smooth, smooth is fast."
That quote is gold.
I've screwed up my races by trying to go too fast.  At my practice yesterday, I did everything slow and smooth, and was comfortable and faster because of it.
So, Thanks Bill.

So I've always worried about my knees 20 years from now, and tried to not run any more than needed.  But I can see the improvements that running longer distances brings.  Argh.

steve

EvenOlder - 2009-07-02 6:58 PM So now I need to read up on knee pain.  My right knee, basically the tendon/ligament from the patella to the shin below, is sore after riding.  Before researching it to death, should I move my seat back or front, and/or the pedal clip closer/farther from the bike?
steve

Sledge - 2009-07-06 11:38 AM

I spent the 4th running in the U.S.'s largest 10K -- the Peachtree Road Race.  It's really an event, with 55,000 runners.  But they really do it up right, well organized and lots of fun! 

Chicago_Joe - 2009-07-06 6:10 PM Had a killer week last week. Was in New York for a trade show and ran 6 miles along the Hudson and then over through central park. That was a lifelong dream for me to do that.

Came back last week Wednesday, packed the car up and headed to Saugatuk, MI, harbor country in the midwest, absolutely beautiful. My wife and I go twice a year. It's a triathletes dream, nothing but open road and trails everywhere.

I did my first 3 sports brick on Saturday and killed it. Swam in the STILL bruatally cold waters of Lake Michigan for a full 25 minutes, don't know the distance but it was definetley over a 1/3 mile. My wife walked along the shore line cheering me on and keeping an eye on me. Got out of the water, struggled a little with the wetsuit until I told myself to calm down and chill out. Ran up 90 steps up the bluff and proceeded on the ride. Rode for 35 miuntes, about 8 miles. Then came back to our cottage and transitioned really smoothly into the run. Ran 2 miles in 20 minutes. I felt awesome afterwards and could have kept going. I'm just really anal about sticking to my training plan.

Some random thoughts:
1. Swimming in open water is no joke. I paniced a little at first and ditched the form until I heard my coaches voice "retreating from proper form does more harm then good, keep the form no matter what".
2. Taking off a "wet" wetsuit is a lot harder then i thought especially when my heart rate is going.
3. I need to accept that I can only go so fast on a Hybrid bike. It's frustrating but want to make sure I get hooked on this sport before dropping some serious dollars on a new bike. Maybe next year after I get a few races under my belt.

And here is the topper to the weekend, was at a pancake breakfast yesterday morning and all of a sudden come walking in 6 guys and girls with "marked" arms and legs. I asked one of them and there was the Benton Harbor Firecracker Sprint Tri just 5 miles away. DAMN. I had no idea. Too bad, maybe next year. Besides, I have my first Tri in two weeks. Woohoo!!!

We

Bill - 2009-07-06 8:03 PM

I've been off work since last Thursday. Friday I spent 5 1/2 hours in the car driving to Austin with the family (three kids in the back seat). Report card:

9 year old: B+
19 month old: C+
6 month old: A++ (she literally entertains herself for hours and hours and hours. Lowest maintenance baby ever).

I dropped off the family in Round Rock and went to Jack and Adams to have an excellent bike fitting and have these bad boys installed on my bike. All I need now is a pair of mini-guns:

Chicago_Joe - 2009-07-07 5:20 PM Quick question:

How crucial is it to inspect a course prior to a race? As you guys know I'm doing the Harbor Lights Sprint on the 19th in Waukegan, IL and don't think I'll have time to go all the way there prior to the race day. Any input would be much appreciated. Starting to get nervous and it's still 2 weeks away!