This is my Sunday so far:
- Woke up. Drank water. Drank coffee. Ate a banana.
- 2500 meter swim workout. (Saw a girl swimming with headphones and an iPod strapped to her arm somehow. NEED THIS WATER-PROOF CONTRAPTION IMMEDIATELY.)
- Ate half of a Clif Bar. Ate another banana. Drank Nuun.
- One hour outdoor bike ride.
- Ate chicken. Okay, chicken wings. FINE, fried buffalo wings! Ugh. They were leftovers and I thought about them while I was riding. I ADMIT IT, I USED BUFFALO WINGS TO MOTIVATE MYSELF. They were soooo good though.
- 10 minutes core work – planks, pushups, squats, calf raises, blah blah. (That’s right, I couldn’t even wait until I finished my core workout to eat the buffalo wings. Sue me – you won’t get any money though, I’m broke.)
- Shower. Basketball watching. (To be honest, it was the other way around.)
- Protein shake.
- Couch. Basketball watching. Thinking about what I want for dinner.
Are you sensing a trend here? Seeing the series of food and exercise related activities? When people say triathlon training is expensive, it’s because you eat a freakin’ lot. And often. I’m hungry all the time. I really need to find a balance between getting enough calories and nutrients to support my Ironman training and just overeating. (Read: overeating crap.) As my training steps up, I’m definitely noticing that when I eat better, I feel better.
Groundbreaking.
I want to give my body the proper nutrients and enough calories, but I also don’t want to go crazy and just eat all the things. So, what do I do? Do I count calories? Start tracking what I eat? First off, I need to eat better throughout the day. I’m a strong believer in the “6 small meals” theory.
I was trying to find a picture to illustrate my point because, well, everyone loves pictures. This is what I found. A picture indeed says 1,000 words.
I also need to have better nutrition while I’m actually working out – that way, I don’t get to the “I’m famished” phase and in turn feel ravenous. I know how to fuel on a long run, but I need to learn what works for me on long bike rides. Plus, I need to get my stomach “used” to digesting food while exercising so I don’t have stomach issues on raceday when I will absolutely have to be eating (or again, on long training rides).
After reading Lora’s posts about seeing a nutritionist and getting her metabolic rate tested, I totally want to do that. Now, I must find the time. And the money.
Totally unrelated – check out the hill at mile 7.5 of my ride yesterday:
Does this justify buffalo wings?
Doesn’t it look like I just hopped on an elevator? I swear I didn’t. Although the hill felt way better than I remember it being the first time I did it last summer. Probably because this time around I knew it was never-ending and just accepted it. I love this ride though…it’s tough but beautiful (along the Hudson river) and I always feel really accomplished after finishing it. Plus you can ride for hours and hours out into New York/New Jersey so it’s perfect for long rides!
Same path. Better time of year.
Yesterday ended up being kind of a stop-and-go ride because I was riding with the “beginner” group. We had a girl that hadn’t been to practice yet, so our coach kept stopping us to review and give advice. It was helpful of course, but I was itching to take off and ride. However, I did get good news! A) My coach said I was the most advanced in the beginner group (taking that with a grain of salt) and B) he said I can officially “graduate from remedial riding”! Woohoo. No more beginner group for me – a little scary but I’m so pumped. It really boosts my confidence!
To close it out – I’ve been reading Page and Leslie‘s blogs and I love how they recap their training each week, so I’m going to be a copy cat and start doing the same. For week 10, I completed 8 hours and 55 minutes of training:
4,900 meters of swimming
5 hours and 15 minutes of cycling (not totally sure on the mileage – was a mix of indoor and outdoor rides)
45 minutes deep water running
40 minutes strength + core work
0 miles running 
Tell me: how do you “balance” your hunger when you’re exercising a lot? Do you generally eat whatever you want (within reason or not), or do you follow a specific plan? Have you ever taken a metabolic test to determine how many calories you need?
Thanks for the shout out!!
It would be interesting to see though!
Tough question!!! When I am training a lot…I eat alot. You have to re-plenish or you are not going to have energy for other work outs!! I would let yourself eat more on big days or double days. I think sometimes your body thinks you are hungry when you really are not. I always feel like I eat more on my rest day. Just cause I am not as busy. Once you get into really long days, you will not have time to eat…more naps…bed early!! You have to make sure you are eating enough on the bike. If you are ravenous after a work out…that probably means you did not eat enough on the ride or run!
I have not had a metabolic test!
Thanks for the very helpful advice
I need to get better about fueling on the bike! Do you just take Gu or something else?
I do a mix of solids and liquids. Right now…I do EFS liquid and gatorade. Clif bars and uncrustables. Depends on the duration of the bike and how hard it is going to be!! I take in 250-300 cals an hour! It is a lot I know!! You have to take in more than you think and you have to practice..practice…practice!! You will feel better on the bike I promise and then you will be able to run!!!
Talk to your coach about how much they think you should be taking in. I only do Gu on the run!!
I think that’s so hard to do!! And I only have experience from running!! I always get just raging hunger. Haha.
I do too after long runs! But now it’s multiplied x 10, haha. So ridiculous.
I bet it’s crazy tough with hunger when you’re doing two workouts a day for triathlon training. But, you’re on the right track with eating around your workouts, I find if I eat right after mine or drink a shake or at least consume something, I’m less likely to just “munch” for the rest of the day. That sounds neat that there’s a contraption that lets you listen to an ipod when swimming too!
Definitely – I always try to eat something within 30 minutes. I remember learning that in high school track and it stuck with me!
Ooh I like the new way of recapping your workouts! You definitely should see my nutritionist, so very helpful! Some tips that I learned — make sure you eat before workouts, even if its just a handful of granola (all workouts that is!); eat every 3-4 hours; when you are snacking, pair a carb with a protein (like grapes with low-fat cheese; or Greek yogurt with berries). These have helped me a TON. I was failing at all of them before I saw her so really stuck with me.
You’re the best!! Thank you!!