the goodie tin

so I've been cleaning out my biking goodie tin.
you know, the container that collects all the treats you buy in anticipation of future rides or receive in pre-race bags, and everything left in your pockets at the end of those rides.

my goodie tin included:

• a honey stinger waffle, expiration date 08/2012
• a honey stinger waffle, expiration date 10/2012
• a honey stinger waffle, expiration date 04/2014
• 4 packs of cliff shot bloks: tropical punch, strawberry, citrus, black cherry
• 11 assorted Gu's,  citrus, vanilla, lemon sublime, raspberry, montana huckleberry, razz, chocolate outrage, and the only one I really like:  double expresso.  
• a baby ruth candy bar, best by 06/2011 ( just kidding, I can't find a date.  it's been in there forever.)
• a snickers bar almost as old as the baby ruth.

and by "cleaning out" the tin, I mean using items on my rides.

the old honey stinger waffles went first.  mm.  they get hard after a year or two.
the april 2014 waffle was excellent:  soft, yummy.

then the strawberry shot bloks:  strawberry is my least favorite flavor.  shot bloks are these chewy half-inch cubes packed with electrolytes and some calories.  think "dots" candy but softer.
they come 6 to a pack, and I worked my way through the other flavors, ending with the tropical punch, a flavor I like even less than strawberry ~ it comes in blue packaging, which is why I saved it for last, thinking it was something yummy like blue raspberry.  my bad.

I've had two Gu's.....  and will eventually force myself to have some vanillas and chocolate outrage (best by 11/12).  expiration dates here range from 09/12 to 11/14.

what's still in the tin:

• honey stinger fruit smoothie energy chews (2/14)
• two packs of 100% all natural new zealand whey protein powder, chocolate, exp. 4/15.  
• a pack of strawberry "heed" sports drink powder, exp. 4/14.  I will never use this.
• a pack of lifesavers.  don't know why this is in here.
• a pink lemonade "zip fizz" energy drink powder in a cute mini tube.  3/12.
• a pack of "endurolytes" electrolyte replenishment capsules.  made with natural ingredients!
• 4 packs of electrolyte stamina "power pak" powder:  2 acai berry, 2 raspberry

oh, and one packet of "bioZzz instant alpha-lactalbumin supplement," which I think is to help you go to sleep the night before a race.

wow.

by the time I work through all this stuff, my body will probably hate me.
2012? it will say.  what are you thinking?  throw it out!
2013? well, maybe.
2014?  getting closer.

the only 2015 item is something I can't imagine ever using: chocolate protein powder from new zealand.    geez.

well, after all this writing and detective work (finding those expiration dates is not an easy thing to do, as buried and as undecipherable as some are), I'm worn out and need something to pep me back up.
I could go for a low-cal energy drink powder in a tall glass of water . . .
or I could check out the snickers.

chocolate wins.
see you on the road!  I'll be the one pulled off to the side, probably vomiting.

food choices on Excellent Training Rides

I like to eat.
I'm afraid to list everything I've eaten today, for fear I will scare you. so I will only list what I ate during my Excellent Training Ride today:

half a banana
3 tablespoons trail mix
a slice of orange
a good sized oatmeal raisin cookie
another half a banana
4 red vines okay, maybe 5
another slice of orange
a margarita Shot Blok
a quarter cup trail mix
another half a banana
a small plate of pasta with spaghetti/meat sauce
a tortilla chip
half a cinnamon raisin bagel

and these are the things I passed up:

oreos
rice krispie treats
PB&J
more fruit
nutrition/protein bars
more really good looking cookies
salted pretzel/cracker mix
cream cheese for my bagel
breadstick to go with my spaghetti
and so many other things I couldn't believe it

it was the Ulcer ride today: Utah Lake Century Epic Ride, or, gosh, this thing gives me stomach pain. it's one of those "flat" rides full of wind and smelly places and "interesting" views and only 1300 feet of climbing spread out over 110 miles.
I must say that most of the time I had no idea where I was, but only part of the time did I wish I were somewhere else. it was an Excellent Training Ride, which is the name I give rides that are full of pain. in this case it was wind-induced pain, which was expected yet nonetheless Absolutely No Fun. except for those few miles when it was directly behind us, of course.
all in all, it gave me good practice enduring times of frustration, pulling others at a decent pace, and making nutrition choices at rest stops.
please note: I did not say "nutritious choices," I said nutrition choices.
time for a chocolate chip cookie.
catch you later!

bonking

I had to look up the official definition of bonking, so I could start there, today.
this is what I found from our web friend, wikipedia:

In endurance sports, particularly cycling and running, hitting the wall or the bonk describes a condition caused by the depletion of glycogen stores in the liver and muscles, which manifests itself by precipitous fatigue and loss of energy. Milder instances can be remedied by brief rest and the ingestion of food or drinks containing carbohydrates. The condition can usually be avoided by ensuring that glycogen levels are high when the exercise begins, maintaining glycogen levels during exercise by eating or drinking carbohydrate-rich substances, or by reducing exercise intensity . . . Such fatigue can become seriously debilitating; in cycling, exhaustion can reach the point where the cyclist is unable to stand without the support provided by the bicycle. Symptoms of depletion include general weakness, fatigue, and manifestations of hypoglycemia, such as dizziness and even hallucinations.

I'm sure you caught the key phrase in that description, the one that says this condition can usually be avoided by . . .
uh-huh, it sure can.

I have bonked twice so far in my cycling career, and both times have been extremely unnerving. the first was over 2 years ago when I was about 75 miles into a 100-mile ride in southern utah. I started feeling weak and strange and had no idea what was going on. I remember thinking I had to get off the bike, but didn't think I had the energy to do so. I slowed down and after a few miles, my mind settled enough for me to realize what was going on. I had a GU with me (those sugary energy goop-in-a-teeny-packet things) and quickly sucked it down, and soon some energy returned. I limped through the last miles, and thought I had learned a big lesson.

until yesterday, when I realized I'd done it again.

yesterday I rode with brad and bob and patty ~ well, I rode behind brad and bob and patty ~ from home to henefer and back. I left home at 7 am to ride up to the northern rim of our city, to brad's house, for pre-ride latte's from his killer espresso machine. now, I don't usually do pre-ride latte's, so I just had a small one.
we left brad's about 8, and headed east.
in henefer we stopped at grumpy's, which is basically the only place in town to buy anything. and they're closed on sundays, so we never ride to henefer on a sunday.
I had a salted nut roll (yum) which had 9 outstanding grams of protein, and only half a gram of trans-fat, which biking bob, MD, oh-so-kindly pointed out to me. I also had a small packet of trail mix, and filled up my water bottles.
the next leg of my ride, from henefer to east canyon resort, was not my best. if I wouldn't have been so embarrassed I would have called for a ride.
maybe.
I blamed it on the trans-fat, and swore off salted nut rolls.

we stopped next at east canyon resort store where the owners have a tolerate-hate relationship with all of us cyclists. the actual clerks behind the register are usually friendly and nice, but the feeling hanging over the place is "keep your bikes off our property and don't mess up our bathrooms and ice is 25 cents and hurry up and leave." I bought a diet mountain dew, and drank it down while we waited out the brief rainstorm that started right after we arrived. and then we started up the mountain.

50 minutes later I reached the top, where we all said our goodbyes, letting everybody go from there home at their own pace. which meant brad and bob streaking off, and susan and patty trailing behind.

I did fairly well until I reached the top of little mountain, 10 miles left to go and all the significant climbing behind me. I crested the top and shifted gears to head downhill, and it hit me.
I bonked.
the world changed colors and my head was suddenly swallowed by an ocean and every muscle in my body started complaining. I lowered into my drop bars, and coasted and spun lightly down the hill, and after a mile or so had to lift myself back up to my handlebars before the ache in my upper arms moved to a cramp. I had nothing to give, nothing to pull from, and yet I had to keep going. I was the spinning wounded, knowing that I was running well below empty but knowing there was little I could do about it besides just get home. my head felt separate from my body, and neither of them wanted to be where they were. I had my last sip of water and started praying.
a couple miles from Ruth's I thought about the possibility of stopping there for sustenance. I had a few dollars left in my pack: perhaps they would fill up my water bottle and give me a teaspoon of their incredible raspberry jam . . .
but I so desperately wanted to be home, I couldn't bear the thought of stopping.

I wobbled through the last few miles, and dragged myself to my door, thinking that I'd never felt so intensely awful ever before. my arms shook as I lifted my bike to its rack, and biking paraphernalia scattered itself as I walked to the kitchen, my helmet here, glasses there, gloves wherever they fell.
I opened the refrigerator and with shaking hands pulled out a bowl of potato-and-veggie salad and scooped a large bowlful. I leaned my sweaty body against a chair and shoveled food into my mouth. after 10 or 15 shovels-full, I drank a glass of water, then went back for more salad.
the room wasn't spinning, but it certainly wasn't standing still.

I was too exhausted to shower, but too sweaty and dirty to rest on any of the furniture, so I stretched out on my tile floor until the world became somewhat navigable.
I thought that eating and drinking would immediately take me from bonking-land to the land of the living, but apparently it doesn't work quite that way.

so to end this drawn-out tale of misjudgement, I will say that a shower and a nap, 10 nilla wafers and a chocolate chip cookie helped immensely in returning me to me. rather, to a newly improved version of me who will never again ride without enough food in her belly and in her back shirt pocket and in her bike pack.

or who will, next time, bite the bullet and stop at Ruth's for a teaspoon (or two) of raspberry jam.

best yet

possible reasons for my best-of-the-season-so-far ride today:

the 70+ degree weather and clear blue skies
my yoga class this morning
the fact that I had yesterday off the bike
the ibuprofen I took right before I left
all the food I ate yesterday
the great tailwind most of the way up
that kale

unlikely reason:

the chocolate bridge mix I ate at 9 pm last night

whichever of these events are responsible, I am exceedingly grateful to them. today's ride was great. I felt good the entire time, my heartrate stayed below the crazy zone, and I felt strong and capable.
I am mentally crossing my fingers that this is a sign of things to come, not just a fluke.

most gratifying was the heartrate: my average heartrate was a good 5-7 points below what it has been on other rides. I still pushed it to the top a time or two, but it easily sank back down and stayed at a better place. and my recoveries were strong as well: quickly dropping down 30 points or so.
how do I keep this going?
do I have to duplicate everything I did yesterday??
I know better.
but wouldn't it be nice if you could always connect your performance with what led up to it? what if you always knew the circumstances that result in your best outcome? what if, say, I knew that it was last night's chicken dinner plus this morning's yoga that worked together to foster my great ride? I'd replicate those activities, wouldn't I? how much simpler would life be if there were always direct correlations between our actions and the outcome?

I think it's likely that the day off the bike helped, as did the kale. and the tailwind, and the warm and thrilling weather. and probably the chicken and the tortillas.
but probably most of all, it was the
chocolate.