Skip to main content

Training and Traveling

Training
I don't have much to talk about because I am a little unfocused for training. I have been staying busy swimming, biking and running but I find myself just doing it and not really feeling like I have to do it. I kinda like just going out and doing one or two sports every morning and coming back hot and sweaty. Since the Y is so close I have been taking advantage of my guest pass and running to the Y. After a 18 min run I am ready to get in the pool. Yesterday I ran to the Y, did 15 min. on the treadmill and then jumped in the pool for a 2000 swim. I then put on my clothes and ran home all wet. Karel was confused when I came in with my hair wet and out of breath. On Tuesday morning I biked with karel. I wasn't feeling the ride when we started but once I found myself hanging on to his wheel (we were both on our road bikes) I was really enjoying his company. It helps to have him tell me that I'm doing well so I find that inner coach in Karel coming out when we are together..and I love that! We finished with 30 miles in about an hour and 40 min. and it was a great ride. The good thing is that my cycling is finally getting better and I can actually ride with Karel. Because Tuesday morning was his endurance day at a steady pace, he was worried that he would have to slow down for me. Well, I guess Karel has a new training partner because I was able to stick to his wheel for the whole ride. I'm in no rush to pull or ride side by side so I will keep pushing hard to try to keep his pace. On tuesday afternoon I ran to work and ran home. Again, the luxury of being close to work and having a shower at work.
This morning I passed on riding with Karel during his 3 hour ride (I enjoyed staying in bed for an extra hour when he woke up at 5am) but we plan on riding together tomorrow. I am going to try to convince him to take out his tt bike so we can ride aero together. Maybe if I cook him a good dinner he will agree :) I went for a 1:10 run which totalled to 9 miles. I am getting pretty tired during my runs but I am finding it hard to slow down my pace. I am comfortable with my pace but I think I am in need of re-training myself for higher thresholds. Sure I can go the speed but without teaching the body how to clear lactate after it is produced I can only go so long before I get tired. My big goal this year is the Jacksonville Marathon in Dec so I am not worried about getting up the speed and distance anytime soon. I jumped on my road bike after my run and went for a 20 mile spin after my run. I came home thirsty and tired but no time for excuses...emails, school work and nutrition must be done. I am really focused on my cycling right now so I decided to get my cycling license and I plan to do more cycling races. Since they are so much cheaper than tri's I can train and race with cycling and then pick my tri's to really see if the cycling paid off. I am heading to Ocala with Karel (and the team) on the 15th for the state road race championships. I am hoping that I can upgrade from cat 4 to 3 before then so that I can race with the pro girls. Also, with Karel starting 2 hours after me, I will have 40 miles on a 5-mile loop to show Karel that I can ride a bike without aerobars :)......hopefully.
Traveling
It's that time of the year again. Time for the International Society of Sports Nutrition annual conference. This is my 4th year attending this conference and for the third year in a row, I am heading to Vegas! I leave jacksonville on sat afternoon and fly to tampa to spend a night with my parents. Then I leave on sun and head to Vegas until tues evening for a red-eye home.
I am really looking forward to meeting people, networking and learning. I see this conference as a way for me to learn and then educate others. There are some good speakers and some good talks planned. Specifically, I will be listening to the creatine, nutriting timing, whey protein and athlete nutrient requirement talks. Not all of the talks appeal to me but I am always looking to learn new info. Last year I spoke at the conference on sports nutrition for the endurance athlete, so this year I can be stress free all day on mon and tues. I like to remind people that the nutrition products in our sport all come from research. There are so many studies demonstrating how the ingredients in products (maltodextrin, creatine, whey, soy, glucose, etc.) work in certain controlled conditions. Well, when I go to this conference every year, I get to meet the researchers that designed the study and prove that creatine works with weight training, that maltodextrin prevents a spike in blood sugar and that whey protein expidites the recovery process after training. The best part of the ocnference is hearing research that is new and announced. Kinda like breaking news. Well, I'll be sure to share the info with everyone when I come home on wed.

School is keeping me super busy with weekly assignments that are very tedious. I have my first exam on mon so of course, it has to be during the conference. Bummer. Then a quiz in my other class on tues. Another bummer. Oh well. Things are good at the shop and I sold my first bike yesterday! Ok, so it was a 16" kids bike but I guess that counts :)