Thursday, February 3, 2011

Jell-O Legs

My legs are tired, not sore, tired.  Something has got to give.  I have been doing boot camp 2-3 times a week, swimming 1x week and riding 2-3 x week.  I swim on Thursdays and ride on Saturday and Sunday.  By the time the weekend rolls around, my legs are just tired.  I always take a day off to rest, but now I am forced to take a second day off just to be able to preform on the other 5 days.  The fact that I am taking 2 days off a week is giving me great anxiety.  Swimming is relatively new to me so I know that it is more tolling on my legs due to the unfamiliar movement.  Boot camp is very hard on my legs, but it is such a great work out!

So my new paired down training schedule is:
Monday - Rest or Boot Camp (hopefully)
Tuesday - Boot Camp
Wednesday - Upper body weight training (if my legs are tired) or Boot Camp
Thursday - Swim
Friday - Rest
Saturday - Long Ride
Sunday - Short Ride

I would love to throw a run in there somewhere but I just can't put anything else on my legs.  The rest of my body can handle it, my legs can't keep up.  I have always dismissed "recovery" drinks and bars.  I have been a firm believer of eating real food, not engeniered stuff, but maybe there is something to this recovery segment.

A little background on my diet, I am a vegetarian.  I eat whole real food, no (or very little) processed food.  A lot of fruit, veggies, greek yogurt, whole grains and my fav Temphe!  During a ride I will eat a package of stingers, but that is about it 160 calories and only water.  I am thinking that I need to consume more on rides over 3 hours.

Any thoughts on recovery foods?  I know a lot of triathletes work out twice a day and right now there is no way my body can take it.  I am at a loss, and ideas?

3 comments:

  1. 1. YAY for being a vegetarian!!!!
    2. What are stingers?
    3. Do you have a bento box for your bike you can pack food in? Maybe a little pb & j sandwich. I like pretzel sticks for long runs and rides, but not sure about 3+ hr. riding. And no electrolyte drink?
    4. Post-recovery fuel for me: Chocolate milk...within the first hour and some protein.

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  2. Honey stingers are like shot blocks, organic carb chews, that work for me during a ride. I have a very sensitive stomach while I am working out and if I eat too much it is bad news! I do need to incorporate a electrolyte drink, what do you like? I have tried so many and most I don't like.

    I have heard a lot of good things about chocolate milk, I am going to try that on Saturday after my ride!

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  3. Oh, nice! Thanks for the info about Stingers! For electrolyte drink I prefer Ultima (grape flavor's the best). But a nutritionist has told me that Cytomax is the best one out there. I'm trying to find something, like yourself, that is the most natural and clean. So far, Ultima does the job but I need more salt since I sweat a lot on long runs and rides.

    Other foods to think about: almonds or nuts, string cheese sticks (like Polly-O), fruit leather and maybe even a small flask of vegetable broth. You can put the broth in a small bottle (like 3 oz) and tuck it in your jersey.

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