Fueling Up

Base miles season is here again, and with longer rides comes the need to focus on calorie replenishment while training.  A Ferrari will only go so far on a tank of gas, once the tank is empty even the fastest most high performance automobile will sputter to an untimely stop.  The human body is similar, but with a big difference: we have a huge reserve tank (fat stores) but that tank is attached to the engine with a tiny hose and fuel is administered in drips and drops.

Energy for the human body comes in three forms: carbohydrates, fats and proteins.  These are called the primary macronutrients.  In order to be usable these three energy sources need to be broken down (i.e. metabolized) into glucose.  Fats and proteins can be broken down into glucose, but it’s a slow energy consuming process, carbohydrates, on the other hand, can be quickly converted into precious glucose.  When it comes to fueling during exercise carbs are our friends.

The body doesn’t store glucose but instead banks extra glucose in the liver and muscles in the form of glycogen.  The typical human body stores enough glycogen in the liver and muscle tissues to fuel approximately ninety minutes of moderate to high intensity exercise.  Glycogen is the body’s go to energy source.  When the glycogen stores become depilated the body begins burning fat for energy, even the thinnest person has enough fat reserves to fuel days of low intensity exercise, but the key words here are low intensity.  Burning fat trickles the energy to the working muscles, in other words it’ll keep you going but at a much reduced pace.  When you begin to rely heavily on fat reserves for energy you’ve “hit the wall,” you’ve “bonked” (notice how bonking doesn’t leave you dead on the side of the road, but instead reduces your speed down to “I’m going nowhere” levels).

Bonking isn’t inevitable, you can avoid it by having a well thought-out nutrition plan designed to continually replenish your glycogen stores – kind of like continually stopping at gas stations on a long road trip.

Unfortunately developing a nutrition plan isn’t as simple as eating the calories that you burn.  A calorie is only useful if your body can break it down and absorb the energy via the digestive tract while maintaining a high level of physical exertion.  Here is the key problem: the harder you work the more you need the energy, but, conversely, the harder you work (i.e. the higher your heart rate) the slower energy is released via the digestive tract.  In other words, as your heart rate goes up the slower energy is released from your gut.  If you keep shoveling food into a slow digestive system you’ll end up with GI distress, a condition nearly every endurance athlete is all too familiar with.

The trick to developing an on the bike nutrition plan is to figure out what works best for you.  In the next series of posts I’ll throw out some ideas on what has worked for me and what hasn’t, but in the end every body is different and you’ll have to experiment to find out what works and what doesn’t.

Exercised Induced Cramping

I began experiencing thigh and calf cramping back in high school; over the past thirty years things haven't gotten any better.  My propensity to cramping has caused me to ponder the condition quite extensively, and to experiment with various treatment and prevention methodologies. 

This trainer/nutritionist/athlete out of Spokane named Ben Greenfield, is a source of some good fitness/nutrition information and this recent podcast on cramping is worth listening to if you have a propensity to cramp during exercise.

http://www.bengreenfieldfitness.com/2014/12/how-to-stop-cramps-during-exercise/

A few tidbits that I took away from the interview are:

·       There is no evidence that dehydration and low electrolytes contribute to cramping.  But as the researcher says “the absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.”  In my personal experience I’ve not seen a causal relationship between electrolyte depletion/dehydration and cramping.

·       Strength training may be an effective way to limit or avoid exercise induced muscle cramping.  In my experience this has proven true: people who don’t train with weights tend to cramp, while those who routinely strength train don’t.

·       There may be a mental aspect to cramping.  The stress of a big event or harsh conditions (i.e. excessively hot or cold) can increase the chance of a cramp.  This is news to me.  This may explain why drinking pickle juice seems to be a fairly effective way to deal with cramps.  On long mountain bike races (where I am susceptible to cramping) I bring a small container of pickle juice.  I actually used it at the Leadville 100 and it worked – the cramp released.  The tight muscle relaxed almost immediately so it couldn’t have a physiological effect, in other words the taste of the pickle juice must have sent some message to my brain which in turn released the cramp.  Maybe.

Anyway good stuff.  I would like to hear from folks who routinely train with weights as to whether they suffer from exercise induced muscle cramps.

Thought Of The Day

Winning hurts

 

...at least that's what I've been told

 

 

WSBA Meeting/Calendar

Paul D. and I attended the WSBA (Washington State Bicycle Race Association) annual meeting on Saturday.  The most significant news that I have to report is that the 2015 racing calendar has been published and can be viewed at:

http://www.wsbaracing.org/calendar.html

Last year, with significant help from John K, I was able to sync the race dates with the calendar on my phone, now I have no excuse for not knowing about a race.

A few things to note on the calendar:

• The Icebreaker TT (a Cucina Fresca race) is scheduled for Feb 28, 2015.  Our race director Dan L. is already at work.  This is a team event and we definitely need all hands on deck (i.e. volunteers) so make sure that you mark your calendars.
• The Volunteer Park Criterium (a Cucina Fresca race) will happen April 4, 2015.  Paul D. is race director.  Once again this a team event and unless you have a serious excuse we need everyone to volunteer for at least one shift.
• Typically the Icebreaker TT kicks off the racing season, but in 2015 we've been preempted by the Andy Salmon Kermesse on Feb 21.  These kermesse races are challenging all out efforts and  the Andy Salmon will be a good early season fitness test.
• Road racing begins in earnest on Sat March 8 with Sequim RR #1 followed the next day by Mason Lake #1.  We need to see mega Cat 4 and Cat 5 turnout at these early season races.  Some folks refer to Sequim and Mason as "training" races; I see them as "points" races.  We need to go in early and hard and vacuum up max upgrade points.
• There are a few cool-out-of state races for which we should consider putting together a formidable team presence.  The Baker City Cycling Classic (June 26-28) in Baker City, OR and the Cascade Classic (July 22-26) in Bend, OR are two worthy events.
• Masters Nationals will be held in Ogden, UT this year.
• Nationals will be held in Chattanooga, TN.
• The UCI World Championships come to the US this year and will be held in Richmond, VA (Sept 19-27). 

The unspoken heroes of local bike racing are the officials.  No officials = no race.  The current group of race officials are overworked, and new blood is needed.  Our own Steve B. completed the certification course a few months ago and has already been out working races.  Each team is encouraged to have at least two officials.  In order to get your certification you need to complete an eight hour one day course and pass an open book exam.  If you officiate at two races you get your racing license fee reimbursed.  If you are interested or have any questions email either Steve or myself.

Each team member will be needing to pay their 2015 USAC and WSBA dues shortly, I'll keep you posted on that.

Starting Strength

Back in the old days - I'm talking about the eighties here - we used to head over to Sorrenson's Gym and Swim, a dank cinderblock building off of East 14th Street in Des Moines to move around some iron.  Back in them dark ages weight lifting equipment consisted of a straight York bar, a curling bar, plates, a rack, a bench and a preacher's bench.

I recently decided to get back to basics with respect to strength training and thus picked up Starting Strength - Basic Barbell Training by Mark Rippetoe.  The book is opinionated, sometimes funny and always long-winded.  Basically this book could be boiled down to a pamphlet.  If you're going to go into the free-weight section of the gym you should start light and learn proper technique.  Rippetoe goes to great lengths to describe proper technique, and I mean great lengths - over sixty pages on how to perform a squat.  He could have done it all with three paragraphs and half a dozen photos.

Rippetoe's description on how to build a program is very educational, but his discussion on nutrition is worthless to the cyclist.  Rippetoe isn't concerned with strength to weight ratio, he's only concern is strength, and in his world you put on strength by putting on body mass.  He recommends drinking a gallon of milk a day.

I'd recommend that cyclists interested in building a strength training program skim the text, study the photos and read the chapter on how to put together a comprehensive program.

No More Pins

Twice now I've broken new chains due to not sufficiently pushing in the fuse pin.  It's a fairly major breakdown, so in order to avoid future walk homes I'm giving these bad boys a try:

 It's probably a good idea to have one in your repair kit as well.

No More Flintstone

After breaking my chain during the Tuesday Night Ride, which resulted in me Fred Flintstoning my way back to the Island, I added a new tool to my kit.

That chain tool is from the eighties, I wonder if there's a cooler more modern one out there.

Training Vs Exercise

I recently finished reading Starting Strength - Basic Barbell Training by Mark Rippetoe.  It's longwinded (64 pages on how to do a squat) but it does contain some gems.  One good quote comes from Mr. Rippetoe's discussion on how training differs from exercise:

Exercise and training are two different things.  Exercise is physical activity for its own sake, a workout done for the effect it produces today, during the workout or right after you’re through.   Training is a physical activity done with a longer-term goal in mind, the constituent workout of which are specifically designed to achieve that goal.  If a program if physical activity is not designed to get you stronger or faster or better conditioned by producing s a specific stress to which s specific desirable adaption can occur, you don’t get to call it training.

 Starting Strength Basic Barbell Training by Mark Rippetoe

Waves for Water CX Weekend

A hearty congratulations to Trevor "Hall'n Ass" Hall for his top 'o the podium finish at Saturdays Waves for Water Cyclocross Race.

Photo by Dan Liberator

Here's a rundown of how we did:
Terence S     Sat/Sun
Dan L.          Sat
Darryl S.       Sat/Sun
Trevor H.      Sat (1st)/Sun
Dave S.         Sun
Erik O.          Sun (4th)
Paul C.          Sun
Peter E.         Sun
Jenny E.        Sun

Keep Your Mojo

We cyclists are lucky enough to live in a part of the country where, if you were so-inclined, you can find a bike race, or some other organized ride, nearly fifty two weeks a year.  If you race road, track, mountain and cross you could race nearly non-stop year round.  If you love to race, like I do, this is a door wide open for burn-out.

For years I was of the HTFU school – race hard, race often and treat every training ride as though it’s your last.  Luckily with age comes temperance, and with the passage of time I’ve learned that a body, as well as a mind, needs a rest.

A bike racer’s schedule includes training, racing and recuperation.  Recuperation (i.e. rest) is the stepchild – easily overlooked and underrated.  It’s easy to think that the most effective way to improve is to train more, train harder and to race more and to race harder.  Rest doesn’t factor into the equation. A young body can absorb a huge amount of work, but as we age rest plays a bigger and bigger role in peak performance.  Simply put we need to allow our bodies (and our minds) the time to recover from the stress of training, go too far and you risk overtraining.

Overtraining is physiological, basically you’ve broken your body down below its ability to readily recover.  Burn-out is psychological equivalent of overtraining.  In short you lose your mojo.

An effective way to avoid burnout is to define a set date/race that marks the end of your season, and stick to it.  Once the season is done take it easy for a few months.  Some people advise “hanging up the bike” for a while.  I’m not a big fan of this approach as I love riding my bike, it’s a part of my everyday routine, and thus I’m not going to hang it up, but I will avoid the temptation to make every ride a hard training ride.

I decided that my 2014 season would end at the MFG Cyclocross finale at Woodland Park.  The last minute announcement of a sanctioned UCI race here in the Seattle area this weekend tempted me to come out of retirement, but I’m going to stick to my guns – no racing until March.

Caffeine

I love my morning cup of coffee, well actually I love my morning five cups of coffee as I drink at

least one pot a day.    When the kids were little I started mixing caffeinated and decaf 50-50, as the stress of dealing with toddlers mixed with a pot of high octane was inching me towards a nervous breakdown.  Lately I've been having trouble sleeping through the night and I can't help but blame my hot dark friend.

Yesterday I brewed a first in the morning cup of 50-50 using my handy Motofish Coffee Aeropress, but from then on it was strictly decaf.  I had no noticeable withdrawal symptoms (i.e. headache) and I slept like a rock.  I figure that I'll try this for the remainder of the year and see what happens.

Caffeine is a performance enhancer and I've known athletes who have cut it out of their daily routine, and only take a hit of coffee or a Red Bull before a race.  The theory being that caffeine gives you a bigger jolt if your not sensitized to it.  Seems reasonable, I think I'll try it.

Send back some caffeine thoughts.

C-O-L-D

We're in the middle of a deep freeze here in the Northwest but that didn't deter five intrepid souls from venturing out into the frigid and dark night.

As you can see Paul D finally found a use for those Marmot 8000m mittens.

By Midwestern standards it was probably balmy - mid twenties - but it was plenty cold for us thin-blooded types.  I wore leg warmers under my old and holy Swobo wool tights.  On top I had a synthetic tee shirt, a thermal jersey and the heavy Voler Thermal jacket.  The last time I wore that was twelve months ago while Matt B, Paul C and myself were braving the minus seven temps at Bend UCI Cyclocross race.  I wasn't a conservative as Paul on my handwear and seemed to fare perfectly fine in mid-weight gloves.  I did, however, find the limit of the Sidi winter training shoes; despite wearing toe warmers I rolled into the house with a numb right foot.  It took a heating pad and ten minutes in wincing to get it to come back to life.

It's cold so if you get out there layer up and look out for the ice.