Oh what a Saturday...

Okay so now that I'm back from injury and can run again, this Saturday - this week for that matter - was a mixed day full of intense cycling and hard running. I have to say that getting back to running hard feels odd because I haven't run hard in like 2 weeks or so so this week was punishing. My legs and everything around me is letting me know this. Here's a great recovery tip for those of you doing intense runs:

1) Eat something immediately after your run. You have a 15-30 minute 'glycogen window' that your body is able to to re-fuel itself again. To stock glycogen you need easily digestible sugars but not the artificial kind [i.e. no colas, etc]. What you need is fruit and lots of it. Today after my run, I downed 4 bananas followed by a raw vegan protein shake. Protein to rebuild torn muscles and sugars for glycogen. Nice.

2) Ice. If you can, sit in an ice bath. Fortunately for me, my gym has a nice ice bath which I soak in soon after showering. I mean like 5 minutes after showering...this is very important. Inflammation subsides faster with ice and NOT heat. A common mistake is to take a hot shower. Wrong. Take a cool one and you'll feel much better about it.

Today's log looks a little like that with some additions. Oddly, I only got through half of Halekoa Drive..the worst half of course [the one with the 19%ers]. I felt really, really tired and dehydrated. I figured, no point in pushing into the red zone with dehydration so I turned back. When I got back home, I was so friggin thirsty and hungry it was a joke.

Here's what you all want to see, today's stupid hard log.

Exercise Log -

AM: 75 mile bike ride, of which 18 miles were grueling hill climbs. But I was certainly trucking and did a few reps of a popular hill overgeared [i.e. harder gear] and a few undergeared [spinning away]. 4 reps of this hill at those paces and trust me, your legs will feel like jello..no doubt. Only got though half of Halekoa Drive. Shit. Eh...I'll get em soon.

PM: 16 mile run at 130 bpm. Well, I was supposed to go 130 bpm but it feels ridiculously slow. So I ended up averging 140 bpm which is roughly a 7 minute mile pace for me.

Diet: Stupid Alex didn't have a sufficient enough breakfast and not enough water. 2 bananas and one glass of water before hard day.

Lunch: 2 bowls oatmeal with bananas, peaches and raw vegan protein drink. Clif Builders bar and then more water.

Dinner: 2 slices of gluten, cheese-free pizza, 1 hummus wrap on whole-wheat pita, pasta and soy 'chikin strips' with 'chikin salad'. A shit load of food but I think I'll come in weighing 135 lbs tomorrow.

Thank god I've got a 'rest' day from running and I'm doing about 75-80 miles of Zone 3 riding. Not too much and not too little. The right amount I say. No running either...my body will thank me.