Good afternoon world! Today is going to be a productive day. Already did 2 loads of laundry, made breakfast, consumed 1 1/2 cups of coffee and thought about making my bed. Later I'll be heading over to the Sherriff's office followed by the macomb county circuit court...again. Seriously, this whole process is quite daunting. But whatever, sometimes legal documents are better than mace.
So, yesterday (tuesday) I felt the effects of my Sunday workouts. I really like to point this out to everyone because I feel like this unanticiapated binge moment sneaks up on many endurance athletes and maybe, just maybe if I start talking about it, people can feel less guilty when it's happening. Here's what went down- yesterday I woke up and decided that it was an egg white/spinach/feta kinda day. I had a light breakfast and a light lunch. I didn't think I was that hungry because I was snacking all day. In the evening I headed out for a bike ride. I was only gone for about an hour but (not gonna lie) I was going unnecessarily hard. It was almost tacky because I was riding my time trial bike 25mph on the bike path. I would probably make a snotty remark if I saw ME but it had to be done, Igor (my bike) needed to get out and play. When I got home I decided it was dinner time. I made veggie burritos (jam-packed but low calorie) and scarfed them down. After eating them, my stomach was full but I NEEDED sugar. Where's cookie when you need it? It was a scary moment because I hadn't prepared for this. I didn't have any snacks in the house and all I could find was lite cool whip and sugary cereal. I ended up snacking, and snacking and while I did hault my binge before letting it get out of hand, there was a great deal of guilt associated with the fact that I was STILL eating and I knew that I had only done about an hour workout. This is when I began to reflect- On Sunday I worked out for 4 hours. 2 hours and 15 minutes of easy fat burning aerobic exercise on my bike ride followed by a 1:45 run that totally depleted my carb stores and dehydrated me. I didn't eat much on Sunday. And I didn't eat much on Monday. But TUESDAY, my oh my, just as soon as I decide it's time to call on the stored energy that I didn't have because I didn't replenish it, my body freaked. I just keep wondering...really pamela, really? A salad after a long run? (just lettuce and dressing). YOU KNOW BETTER!. Why do I do this to myself? It was irritating to say the least. Nobody enjoys the binge moments. Most people just blame themselves for having no self-control. I can understand that we needed to exercise self-control when faced with a plate of cookies but when we are HUNTING down anything with sugar, then there's a problem. Many people who I train with have discussed their "binge routes" i.e Cereal cupboard, freezer, snack shelf, candy jar. It's entertaining to talk with other athletes about it because most of us try so hard to eat healthy and pure but when we fall of the deep end, we fall hard! Especially now that we've entered the build phase of our season, (when the higher intensity makes it more difficult to lose weight) I've noticed more conversations about muffins, cupcakes and cookies (I'm usually the conversation-starter :D). So what am I going to do to fix this? I am going to properly fuel my workouts. What does this mean? I will start a workout fueled, consume calories while working out, and refuel immediately after. This plan is better than my "burn 5000 calories, eat 2000 and binge 2 days later" plan that I find myself slipping into each year when we transition from base season to build. Gotta be honest though- it's nice looking in the mirror at my dehydrated body and seeing myself 5 lbs thinner because of my inproper nutrition. It doesn't last, but hey, it's good to know that I can always sweat out a few lbs in a run if I need to fit into a hot dress...might be too dizzy to stand, but lookin' good ain't easy. (I'm kidding...i joke, i joke).
Okay, time to get moving. I'm meeting up later with a friend (and my cycling idol!) for a group ride with a group of people I don't know. Ah! I hope I'm good enough for the A group. If not, I will settle in as a B and just talk about how I'm just tired from my other workouts, how my TT bike is better than my road bike, how I just don't feel like going hard today, or discuss my race results from years past. You know- the triathlete's "I am better than you, even if I don't appear to be right now" list of excuses. C'mon guys, you know we all do it!
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