Early Morning Workouts: My job at the hospital starts fairly early, and because I would rather do my longest workout of the day in the morning (things always seem to come up in the afternoon, and even when they don't, my body's circadian rhythm best lends itself to quality in the morning), I have been getting up between 4:15 and 4:30. At face value this seems a little outrageous, but I've been going to bed between 8:15 and 8:30, so I'm actually sleeping quite a bit! Basically, I've stayed on Michigan time. I do most of my midweek riding on the trainer -- both as a way to really dial-in these highly specific workouts (for more on this see a great article on trainer benefits: http://triathlon.competitor.com/2011/06/training/the-endangered-outdoor-ride_31264-outdoor-ride_31264) and to eliminate the risk of flat tires and other mechanicals that could easily cause me to be late for work. In addition, trainer rides help out with the light factor since it is still dark during the first half of most of these workouts, which would be OK for running, but not so much for relatively fast cycling. As for running, the streets in Utah are extremely athlete friendly, so even when it is darker, I have a pretty large shoulder to work with, and decent lighting as well. In terms of the workouts themselves, nothing too exciting or heroic to report here. I have started working in weekly double bricks (bike/run/bike/run) which are mentally pretty easy (you I have 4 shorter workouts vs. 1 real long one) but physically pretty challenging (they definitely stress your body)...which is a nice transition to my next topic, recovery...
Recovery: I have been bouncing back from intense workouts (and even some shorter races that I have worked into my training) better than ever. This may be attributable to a whole manner of things, not to mention the fact that I haven't done any high-intensity speed work, and not even that much training at threshold yet. That said, if my legs feel good 20-hours after a 15 mile climb (more on that in the next section), it makes me confident that something is at work for me. Here are the four things that I am excited about. 1) I recently partnered with Extreme Endurance (http://xendurance.com/) which makes a supplement that helps your body process and remove lactic acid and other waste product. As you all know, I am absolutely anal about what I put in my body, so I have researched this product extensively, and tested it in the medical community. It's safe, totally legal (obviously) and I have found it highly effective. Rather than go on about the science here, if you are interested, you can learn a ton on their website. It's a great investment in your training, and I would highly recommend it. 2) I have been eating a ton of cherries, and more specifically, using them to fuel my early morning workouts. Research shows that a variety of compounds in cherries help with inflammation (on par with Ibueprofen) and the fruit has a high anti-oxidant content which is also great for fighting all the crap we create in our body from the stress of training. In addition to their more medicinal benefits, cherries are a great and all-natural source of simple sugars, perfect for pre-workout fueling. 3) Whey Protein has been shown to both help prevent the breakdown of muscle and to jump-start the re-building and recovery process. I've been adding a scoop to my post-workout chocolate milk and/or oatmeal. It's cheap, you can get it anywhere, and the science here is pretty indisputable. 4) I have written about compression socks before, and now so have all the leading multisport publications. Long story short here is they don't just work for me, but they also seem to work for just about everyone. I don't use them during training, but after harder sessions, I put them on for at least three hours, and have noticed a huge difference from those few rare times where I don't throw them on. Another great investment.
Riding in the Canyons: Climbing back home in Ann Arbor, Michigan means half-mile to mile rollers. I've learned that the true meaning of "climbing" means 10-15 mile ascents up 4-10% graded roads. It's quite the difference! Going from 90 and sunny to snow-crested roads is just awesome!! I have loved these gritty hill-climb rides, and have no doubt that I will be faster on the flats and rollers when I get back home as a result. The bike lanes are wide, drivers courteous, and views spectacular. Pretty much heaven for a cyclist! I'll stop there and let the pictures tell the rest of the story.
Stay tuned for my next post, which I am quite excited about: a "crowd-sourced" review of how many near-elites (that are still "pro" at something other than multisport) are able to maintain their level of competition...as well as all the other things in life...
Until then, train hard, live hard!!
