Since I reached my weight loss goal, it's not like it's all magical and I have it all figured out. I still struggle. I have no idea how to maintain where I am. I carb-up before a race, I spend the entire race eating sugar, and then I'm starving when I'm done and eat everything in sight... and a beer. I'm up 10 lbs since I've been able to eat solid foods after the whole maybe-broken jaw saga. So I thought a weight-loss book for athletes would be a good read.
Here's some of my favorite points from the book that spoke to me:
During a survey, 54% of endurance athletes said they were dissatisfied with their body weight. And that number was almost identical to a survey of the general population (non-athletes) who are quite a bit heavier. (So basically I'll never be happy. Ha.)
More than half of endurance athletes reported being heavier than the weight they consider optimal for peak performance. They have different standards for their bodies and they struggle to attain them just as non-athletes struggle to meet their own, more relaxed standards. (Yup. Struggles.)
A 160 lb runner expends 6.5% more energy than a 150 lb runner at the same pace. (That's crazy! That's why I really notice when I gain 10 lbs!)
Training and the rest of your lifestyle send your body different messages... Training says, "Let's get leaner!" and your diet and inactivity outside of workouts says, "Let's fatten up!" (This is why I go up and down the same 10 lbs I bet.)
It talked a lot about "Dieting" vs "Performance weight management". Diets are all about eating less calories but large calorie deficits deprive muscles of the fuel they need for optimal performance in workouts. (I totally see that. When I could only drink smoothies with the whole jaw thing, I was super weak and slow during workouts.)
So... I was thinking, "This book is awesome!!" I'm taking screen shots and highlighting different paragraphs, etc. And I started thinking, "Okay, okay... I get it. Now what do I do about it?! Tell me what to eat!" Since I bought it on my Kindle, it's hard to just kind of flip through and find the part I'm looking for so I could get started. But I started swiping through and skimming pages anyway. I haven't read the whole book yet but it basically says, "Eat cleaner (more protein, no white starches, more fruits and veggies, etc. And don't eat foods like potato chips and candy." Um... duh! I think I have that handled pretty well right now. I'm disappointed. Like I said, I haven't finished it yet but there isn't anything super revolutionary so far. However, I found a follow-up book that says it's a 4 week plan though so maybe that's what I need...
Anyway, I went to the gym on Tuesday and husband and VK Sista' did arm day. Since my arm and shoulder are still sore from my crash, I decided to let them do their thing while I did an easy 5K on the treadmill. It was my first run since my crash and I just sorta jogged along and watched the news. It felt really good.
After completing the 63 miles on my bike at the Daffodil Classic on Sunday, I figure I better keep my cycling endurance up and try to start following the STP training schedule more closely. So on Wednesday nights, when my husband takes our son to boy scouts, I have an hour after putting my daughter to bed until they get home. So I'm going to start Wednesday night trainer sessions in my basement. I did 45 minutes and it was the most boring 45 minutes ever. Brutal. I hate the trainer. I hate it worse than my treadmill. Here's a photo of me in my messy basement with cycling gear all over the floor....
I sweat buckets, my legs burned, but I was so bored staring at my husband's tools on the wall listening to my music and texting VK Sista'. Next week I'll make sure I get the Apple TV down there all ready to go so I can at least watch a show or two.
Let's see... what else is new...
I got my Vanderkitten VIP Tri Top! BUT... it's too small. Cry, cry, cry. See! I must not be a medium after all! I mean, I know they're supposed to be tight, but this was just too tight. I took some pics. It looks sorta okay if I yank it down when I first put it on, but when I start to move (and that's kinda what I'll be doing in a tri top!) it starts to ride up, get too short, and Ophelia looks more like Shamu than a cat....
I chatted with them today and they threw a size large in the mail for me this morning and I hope to have it by Saturday so I can wear it to my duathlon on Sunday! YAY! VK rocks!
Speaking of the duathlon... I have no idea what to wear. I have bike capris, and running capris. I don't have triathlon capris. I'm kind of thinking about this too late and I don't really have time to go out and find tri capris. They're hard to find (I don't wear shorts. 3/4 length it is for me.) So for those that don't know, tri shorts have padding, but not as much as bike shorts, that way you can run comfortably in them too. For the sprint triathlon I did, I just wore my running capris. It was only a 14 mile bike so that's not a big deal without padding. 28.8 miles on a bike would be a bit more brutal. So today I put my bike capris and my compression sleeves on and tried going for a run in them. They work kind of okay. I only did 2 miles but I kind of got used to them. I hope 9 miles in them will work. (Eek.) They started to fall down at first but the sweatier I got, the more they stayed put. Sweat is like glue apparently. So maybe they'll work. And then I jumped on my bike for a few minutes to make sure it was comfortable to wear my compression sleeves on my bike.
The biggest problem was that my leg really hurt where my biggest bruise is from my bike crash. It didn't bother me on the treadmill on Tuesday so I'm not sure if it's the compression sleeves putting too much pressure on it, or if hitting the pavement is too jarring. Here's the healing progress there so far...
Looking better! Hopefully by Sunday it'll be okay. Oh I'm so nervous about this race. Why do I do this to myself? Why'd I pick the long distance? You could say my racing "weight" is more on my shoulders than anything else right now.
This blog post is so scattered. Too much random stuff to say. But here's a pic of my running buddy this morning. She did amazing today...
You know what I realized? I never really concluded my cycling vs running comparison. I wasn't trying to say I like one more than the other, or that you should take up a new sport or something. They're both just very different and I love and hate them equally. This duathlon will be a love/hate race. :)
