This morning I had my Tuesday morning bike interval workout. 5 x 3 minutes w/ 1 minute recovery. Just like last week and the week before, but this time I had to do it 2 times through with 15 min. recovery in between the intervals.
I have specific power zones, heart rate zones and cadence zones to stay within and riding outside, rather than on the trainer, didn't make it any easier. After my 26 mile ride (which went by SUPER fast) I had a 3-mile run. I like these runs a lot because Shawn has me do the runs "embarrassingly" slow. Now that I have my heart rate monitor I can really run "slow". Although the HR monitor is great for hard training, a recovery run can become intense if the HR gets up too high, even when you think you are running slow.
I decided to take Campy with me for me run. Since Karel was out on his bike, I just hate coming home and then leaving again. Those puppy dog eyes really get to me. I put Campy's harness on and we headed out for our run. A pee stop every few minutes but Campy did awesome! I was so proud of him. He smiles the whole time and he is a great runner. We ran for 25 minutes and hardly walked. The first 5 minutes were tough because Campy is a sub-6 minute miler and I am....well, not even close to that! After about 10 minutes Campy slows down and that finally brings my HR down.
After the run it was time to recover...for both Campy and me.
I always talk about the post work protein snack or smoothie (depending on the length or intensity of the workout). I made a great whey protein smoothie for Karel and I to share (he came home about 15 minutes after my brick workout was finished) but then there was Campy.
I give Campy regular dog food (Science Diet for Active dogs) but he has no idea what the word "treat" is for dogs. "Treats" for him are carrots, apples, cheese and lean meat. I believe that pets resemble their owners. Or, in other words, an active dog needs the right fuels to recover and to get stronger.
After our long walks (3 miles) and runs (1-2.5 miles) I give Campy his recover snack. I give him a scoop of cottage cheese or a few scoops of yogurt. Call me crazy, but I would hate for Campy to not fully recover after our runs. I am not exercise physiologist for dogs but I assume the same principal applies for dogs as it does for humans. The only question I have now is if humans are taking care of themselves and recovering properly?
Make sure you give yourself a small protein snack after your 90 min or less workouts (ex. low fat yogurt, cheese, lean meat, egg whites, cottage cheese, skim/soy milk, whey protein and water or a handful of nuts). If the workout is around 60-90 minutes and is intense, stick with a liquid protein such as yogurt, skim milk or whey protein w/ water. For workouts longer than 90 minutes, give yourself more than 100 calories w/ whey protein and milk or a whey protein smoothie. It is important that your post workout protein snack has a biological value of at least 90% (whey protein has 100%!) so that you receive all essential amino acids that need to be consumed in the diet.
In an effort to get stronger and fully recover, daily nutrition and proper recovery nutrition are just two of the many components of becoming a better athlete. Be sure you are getting enough sleep to wake up rested, most days of the week. Because we all have schedules that don't give us enough hours in the day, be sure to give yourself one day to wake up without an alarm and/or rest from intense exercise. The body needs time to rest and with all the effort you put into training, it is so important to get a good night sleep (that means sleeping fully through the night to get through several REM cycles) in order to let the body repair damaged tissues and fully recover.
Campy will now show you how to enjoy your post-run cottage cheese and take a well needed nap.....
I have specific power zones, heart rate zones and cadence zones to stay within and riding outside, rather than on the trainer, didn't make it any easier. After my 26 mile ride (which went by SUPER fast) I had a 3-mile run. I like these runs a lot because Shawn has me do the runs "embarrassingly" slow. Now that I have my heart rate monitor I can really run "slow". Although the HR monitor is great for hard training, a recovery run can become intense if the HR gets up too high, even when you think you are running slow.
I decided to take Campy with me for me run. Since Karel was out on his bike, I just hate coming home and then leaving again. Those puppy dog eyes really get to me. I put Campy's harness on and we headed out for our run. A pee stop every few minutes but Campy did awesome! I was so proud of him. He smiles the whole time and he is a great runner. We ran for 25 minutes and hardly walked. The first 5 minutes were tough because Campy is a sub-6 minute miler and I am....well, not even close to that! After about 10 minutes Campy slows down and that finally brings my HR down.
After the run it was time to recover...for both Campy and me.
I always talk about the post work protein snack or smoothie (depending on the length or intensity of the workout). I made a great whey protein smoothie for Karel and I to share (he came home about 15 minutes after my brick workout was finished) but then there was Campy.
I give Campy regular dog food (Science Diet for Active dogs) but he has no idea what the word "treat" is for dogs. "Treats" for him are carrots, apples, cheese and lean meat. I believe that pets resemble their owners. Or, in other words, an active dog needs the right fuels to recover and to get stronger.
After our long walks (3 miles) and runs (1-2.5 miles) I give Campy his recover snack. I give him a scoop of cottage cheese or a few scoops of yogurt. Call me crazy, but I would hate for Campy to not fully recover after our runs. I am not exercise physiologist for dogs but I assume the same principal applies for dogs as it does for humans. The only question I have now is if humans are taking care of themselves and recovering properly?
Make sure you give yourself a small protein snack after your 90 min or less workouts (ex. low fat yogurt, cheese, lean meat, egg whites, cottage cheese, skim/soy milk, whey protein and water or a handful of nuts). If the workout is around 60-90 minutes and is intense, stick with a liquid protein such as yogurt, skim milk or whey protein w/ water. For workouts longer than 90 minutes, give yourself more than 100 calories w/ whey protein and milk or a whey protein smoothie. It is important that your post workout protein snack has a biological value of at least 90% (whey protein has 100%!) so that you receive all essential amino acids that need to be consumed in the diet.
In an effort to get stronger and fully recover, daily nutrition and proper recovery nutrition are just two of the many components of becoming a better athlete. Be sure you are getting enough sleep to wake up rested, most days of the week. Because we all have schedules that don't give us enough hours in the day, be sure to give yourself one day to wake up without an alarm and/or rest from intense exercise. The body needs time to rest and with all the effort you put into training, it is so important to get a good night sleep (that means sleeping fully through the night to get through several REM cycles) in order to let the body repair damaged tissues and fully recover.
Campy will now show you how to enjoy your post-run cottage cheese and take a well needed nap.....
