Technical Post

This post is all about how I am taking car of my bike and myself during this ride.  Every day is a little different as I learn more and more about what is best for me and how I can make my riding that much more efficient.

I have taken zero supplements so far.  This includes electrolyte tablets and protein powder as well.  This may be an unintelligent decision on my part, but my body has not asked for anything at all.  My muscles have been mildly sore, mostly in the hips and quads, as well as my traps and scaps a little (just from resting weight on the upper body); but nothing that has made me hobble out of bed in the morning.  So far, the only negative I need to address is my lack of sleep.  I stay awake later than I should, then wake up super early, and when you are riding every single day for 7-10 hours, you really need to sleep more!

In the morning I've been having oatmeal, fruit and eggs (when I can, and when there is more, I usually have some juice and a pastry of some sorts as well.  Almost every morning I have made myself a hot chocolate packet with coffee and water, it just tastes good, and I know that caffeine is helping me out.  I try to consume a good deal in the morning, without weighing myself down with too mush protein and processed sugars.  The main thing, is to store p a great deal of balanced calories for what I'm about to do to myself each day.  I then get on the bike and always start off a little slow, just to get things warmed up.

I try to eat something about every hour.  I have been taking in builders bara, clif bars and roks, almond butter, fruit, cookies and nuts as my quick fuel stops.  And when I am on the road and want a bit more, I turn to Paleo Kits and add some of the before mentioned items.  I've actually ditched about 80% of the food I initially brought, on account that the route I am on hits so many locations with fuel.  I have been able to grab wonderful meals all along, and feel as though I may still have a bit of food left in my bag when I am done with this thing.

I try to eat a pretty big dinner as well.  The goal here is to initiate recovery as quickly as possible.  This is where I just take in pretty much anything; tons of calories, lots of protein and good fat.  I have not been eating as cleanly as I am used to.  In fact, I have had two hamburgers (it's been years), hoards of cheese its (my go-to snack on endurance adventures!), cookies (still addicted) and a few other not-so-healthy choices (pringles, chex mix, a couple sodas, some candy here and there).  I have just been trying to eat what I can, and to be honest, I think I am still UNDER-fueling.

I stay aware of how I feel.  If I am hungry, I eat.  If my body is stiffening up, I pull over and walk around a bit and so on.  And so far I have not found anything I have been doing cause any major change in how I feel during the day.  I may start to experiment a little here and there.  Perhaps more fruit one day, more non-water liquid another; just to see how it effects me.  But then again, I may choose to not screw around and just stick to what has been working.  The past couple days I feel were the toughest on my body, the climbs, the altitude and the loneliness.

Besides sleeping more, I also need to remember to stretch a little more, I will be doing that the second I finish this post and take a shower.  And lastly (this is weighing on my mind like crazy), I need to get some strength work in here and there.  After all, I do have Regionals a week afte this thing is done.  And while I do not have any expectations to actually finish in the top 3 after this, I would like to at least come across as a decent CrossFitter when the WODs begin.  So, a few pull ups and push ups here and there may be in order...

I'll talk about bike stuff next technical post!