Back in the Saddle

Yesterday was the first semi-big day back in the saddle on the open road and things felt pretty good. At the moment, I'm still teaching my back, neck, ass, and legs to remember the pain and sensation of being on the bike for longer periods of time and to get back in that flow...always a good time. As much fun as I've had on the stationary bike this spring, it's certainly about time to get back to the real thing...

I'm making a more concerted effort to educate myself about proper training and nutrition this year, and will attempt to pass along any insightful information when I come across it. As anything in my life, I always try to remember that there are people out there who know a hell of a lot more about things than I do, and make it my job to learn from as many sources as I can and decide for myself where the truth lies. I had a college professor that liked to say that he always looked so good because he was smart enough to surround himself with highly intelligent people and then put them to work...

A few great links for the week:

-Some very enlightening running philosophy from Danny at Chi training. Using a metronome to pace your run cadence just like most of us try to do with cycling. This fits well with my musical background and I've used it of late and am still adjusting, but I think it will prove to be very beneficial. I've found that two Allman Brothers songs, "Stormy Monday" and "Get on With Your Life" fit the prescribed cadence very well.

Believe it or not, you usually remember a familiar song at the same tempo every time, so if you can find a song that fits your desired cadence, you can sing it in your head and help to keep proper technique. That certainly beats running with the "BEEP BEEP BEEP" of the metronome in your ear or listening to endless repetitions of the same ipod song. I find that I had to stop listening to music while running because I would invariably slip back into my marching band ways and fall into step, changing my cadence and pace...

-A couple nice early season tips from Active.com: something we can all probably take to heart...ways to optimize recovery. Naturally, nutrition and sleep are foremost, but something I've started really paying attention to is post-workout nutrition, so this especially is interesting,

"Refueling within 30 minutes of the end of an exercise bout enables you to take advantage of the Glut-4s while they are still ramped-up. This will quickly replenish your muscle glycogen. If you miss this window it can take up to 48 hours to fully replenish your muscle glycogen fuel stores. Also, immediately consuming protein may reduce post-exercise muscle breakdown."


-Finally, a really excellent breakdown of the various exercise zones. It points backs to something else I have been trying to work into my bike workouts specifically, which is to spend more time at lower intensities (ie, gears) and let your body take care of itself.

I often think about this when I see people on the trail, road, at the gym, etc. who are obviously working to get back into shape or take up a new lifestyle and are absolutely KILLING THEMSELVES. I guess we need to realize that there is a time and place for that, but the vast majority of cardio/aerobic work can actually be accomplished at much lower effort levels which also allows for longer workouts.

I'm gonna come back with another post later this week and revamp the way I'll be sharing with you my MOTD (masochism of the day), or my training regimen. I have recently been logging all of my training with mapmyride.com (username milehightriguy) and I am working to find the most efficient way to share that on the blog. This way you can follow along with more detail if you so choose and without me having to waste time on the actual blog talking about my training details...

'Til next time,
BJ