An observation in Volumetrics...
Well, after the gym tonight I went to Wal-Mart to pick up some things. If anyone has been to the Madison West Wal-Mart they know that it is an old, crusty, dirty store that was probably built back in the late 80s. It has a very 'retro' Wal-Mart feel to it, and although many would despise the store for many or all obvious reasons, I feel somewhat drawn to its strikingly familiar and simple 'no-frills' approach. I like the weird people who shop there, I like the grumpy employees, the crazy old man cart greeter, and the 'new' subway that replaced the McDs so that Wal-Mart would not get sued for enabling people to take the classic approach of killing themselves with Big Macs- they can now choose to kill themselves with questionable processed meats and carcinogens. I digress... (I HATE cold cuts)
I got distracted by the expanded grocery section and made the impulse decision to get some cereal. I am not a 'regular' cereal eater, but on occasion, I like to buy a box, and eat it. Cereal is just one of those on occasion different foods to get. I was looking at the Kashi cereals, I think simply because I am a Kashi frozen waffle junkie. Those little hockey pucks of goodnes are heavenly, and at just 140 kcal for 2 waffles, my tummy won't be rumbling in patients ears until about 10:30am.
So, in my usual, nerdy fashion, I start perusing the labels for the kcal info and serving size. Then I get distracted: there it was, a box of Lucky Charms!!! Now, I haven't eaten this stuff since I think middle school. I LOVED lucky charms in middle school! I looked at the kcals: 110 kcal for 1c of Lucky Charms!!!!!!! This is almost HALF of what the Kashi stuff is thowing down for sometimes 3/4c!!!!!
So, I look at more of the cereals that would be 'frowned' upon from a micronutrient standpoint:
Hannah Montana cereal- 110 kcal/ 1c
High School Musical cereal- 120 kcal/ 1c
Cap'n Crunch 109 kcal/ 3/4 c
Fruit Loops 118 kcal/ 1 c
Now, lets compare:
Kashi Go Lean crunch 190 kcal/ 1 c
Kashi Autumn Wheat 190 kcal/ 1c
Weight Watchers Flakes and Fiber 180 kcal/ 1c
Kashi Oat flakes with Blueberry 200 kcal/1c
As far as i am concered, all cereals are just a big bowl of simple CHO. Grains aren't a source of much of anything- I don't care how 'whole grain' they are.
Bottom line:
I'll take the sugary cereals, and call them health food! They really ARE magically delicious!!!!
Just play. Have fun. Enjoy the game.
18 February 2009
05 February 2009
The n+1...
I know that I haven't been posting much lately. My life has been boring enough that I really didn't want to bore anyone with the mundane... blah... went to work... came home... I did xx% FTP for XX min and XX recov and blah blah T pace, M pace, R pace, yadda yadda, ate this ate that nutrition this blah stuff. You know. It is simply what I do. I haven't even had too many random ruminations to write about.
One thing that has been outstanding is my spending more time at the gym running on the treadmill. I know I have babbled about my once ex, now lover- the treadmill and how i have warmed up to its perfection of training in all forms. My laboratory-grade perfect workout. :)
Now, I have gotten used to the crowd at the gym, and I like the crowd at the gym. You have your usual cast of characters, all whom I give credit and appreciate their being there: Cardiac rehab man (mid 50s male pushing 300, with 200 of that being stored as visceral fat- I just look around, make sure I know where the AED is, and continue on, just making sure he is still alive breathing and sweating profusely in while walking), chemo runner guy (this guy is of undetermined age, 6'1", 125ish lbs in sweaty clothing, shaved head, and is usually wearing the essential singlet and split shorts, he appears as though he is undergoing chemo, but I believe is actually just determined to stay at his ideal marathon race weight year round), the I really like wearing a bike chamois to work out in and never bike man (ewwww), incline treadmill girl (walks at 2 mph at max incline while reading us weekly), Big dude who can haul a$$ on the treadmill (enough said), and a mix of other folk. A rare, but interesting species is the n+1... I got the pleasure or running today next to the n+1...
The n+1 is a rare but proud species. He prowls the gym until he finds his prey and gets on the treadmill beside. The attire is usually a cotton Hanes that has likely been used before and taken out of the gym bag without laundering, and some basketbal shorts with equal sanitation. He will immediately look over, and based upon your speed, will automatically set his treadmill at your speed +1 (or I should say, .1, but you get my drift). The n+1 does not believe in a warmup or cool down, it is simply hop on and hop off the rails. His workout will likely start at a nice gait, but then he realizes the critical error in his original assumption. He grabs onto the heart rate rails, then hunches over, his gait then starts to resemble the floppy running style of a large bird. (This is the point where I like to start my intervals and crank up the speed another 2 mph) He then grabs onto the side hand rails, and proceeds to lock his elbows to hold his torso stable while the feet are pounding the deck. The last step of desperation is the bear hug of the display. At this point, he will step onto the rails, and 'take a drink' for a while, just to hop back on to start again. Each 'interval' is a few min long. I have not figured out the n+1, nor do I know his (ill) logic; however, I do appreciate his company and entertainment.
I know that I haven't been posting much lately. My life has been boring enough that I really didn't want to bore anyone with the mundane... blah... went to work... came home... I did xx% FTP for XX min and XX recov and blah blah T pace, M pace, R pace, yadda yadda, ate this ate that nutrition this blah stuff. You know. It is simply what I do. I haven't even had too many random ruminations to write about.
One thing that has been outstanding is my spending more time at the gym running on the treadmill. I know I have babbled about my once ex, now lover- the treadmill and how i have warmed up to its perfection of training in all forms. My laboratory-grade perfect workout. :)
Now, I have gotten used to the crowd at the gym, and I like the crowd at the gym. You have your usual cast of characters, all whom I give credit and appreciate their being there: Cardiac rehab man (mid 50s male pushing 300, with 200 of that being stored as visceral fat- I just look around, make sure I know where the AED is, and continue on, just making sure he is still alive breathing and sweating profusely in while walking), chemo runner guy (this guy is of undetermined age, 6'1", 125ish lbs in sweaty clothing, shaved head, and is usually wearing the essential singlet and split shorts, he appears as though he is undergoing chemo, but I believe is actually just determined to stay at his ideal marathon race weight year round), the I really like wearing a bike chamois to work out in and never bike man (ewwww), incline treadmill girl (walks at 2 mph at max incline while reading us weekly), Big dude who can haul a$$ on the treadmill (enough said), and a mix of other folk. A rare, but interesting species is the n+1... I got the pleasure or running today next to the n+1...
The n+1 is a rare but proud species. He prowls the gym until he finds his prey and gets on the treadmill beside. The attire is usually a cotton Hanes that has likely been used before and taken out of the gym bag without laundering, and some basketbal shorts with equal sanitation. He will immediately look over, and based upon your speed, will automatically set his treadmill at your speed +1 (or I should say, .1, but you get my drift). The n+1 does not believe in a warmup or cool down, it is simply hop on and hop off the rails. His workout will likely start at a nice gait, but then he realizes the critical error in his original assumption. He grabs onto the heart rate rails, then hunches over, his gait then starts to resemble the floppy running style of a large bird. (This is the point where I like to start my intervals and crank up the speed another 2 mph) He then grabs onto the side hand rails, and proceeds to lock his elbows to hold his torso stable while the feet are pounding the deck. The last step of desperation is the bear hug of the display. At this point, he will step onto the rails, and 'take a drink' for a while, just to hop back on to start again. Each 'interval' is a few min long. I have not figured out the n+1, nor do I know his (ill) logic; however, I do appreciate his company and entertainment.
24 January 2009
Some thoughts on the fitness test...
One of the things that I have incorporated into my training over the last several years has been the fitness test. With time, my protocols have evolved, and attitudes have changed, but one thing has remained the same- it is somewhat of a 'final exam' of all of my training prior. A somewhat simple, eloquent answer achieved in a matter of a few painful minutes to the question 'have I done the right thing over X months/ years, or have I wasted my time?' That is a pretty heavy weight to carry (think: world's strongest man keg press weight to carry). I have always had a love/hate relationship with fitness tests. I have gotten to the point that I get the same 'swarms of butterflies' before a fitness test by myself as when I am about to race.
I love the fitness test primarily because It is nice to have numerical standards of your work, and I can properly structure training from the given baseline. It can be self assuring to have proof that you are an athlete and are progressing- you are able to achieve what was previously impossible by measurable scientific standards. Cool. The thing that I hate about the fitness test is first and foremost- they hurt A LOT. I will admit right here that I will almost always whimper in pain, possibly taste a little vomit, and grimace to the point of full body distortion. For some reason, the previous feeling of searing lungs and burning legs is tattooed into my brain and is only associated with my brain saying 'wtf- why are you doing this again?'
Secondly is the fear of the unknown. Sometimes fitness tests go well- good. That is cool. Sometimes they go mediocre. Sometimes they go horribly wrong. That really really sucks. Believe me, I have had my fair share of these complete implosion fitness tests.
Well, the latest battery of tests has been completed, and the results are in. Short and long tests have been completed in both cycling and swimming. Running fitness tests will be put off until a) the ITB stuff is for sure gone (looking good so far...) and b) there is a flat 5 or 10 k on a route that will be free of ice enough that I can run normally and not in Yaks. I am hoping that these two occurrences coincide in their timing soon.
I am not much of a 'let's post all of my numbers on my blog' type of person. If you want to know numbers, just let me know- I really don't care- I'll post them.
Short swim and long swim test: PRd in both. I'll take it!
Short bike and long bike test: I was on par with my best tests of last season- and I had purposely let myself loose quite a bit of fitness this winter and this set of tests was intended to be more of a 'baseline' after some solid weeks of training to allow for enough adaptation that I am not doing a test on 'cold turkey,' but not to be too far from baseline. The good is that I have never had a good fitness test on the trainer and I finally had some good ones that are completely in line with what I know I could do on the road at my peak last year. Not only that, but these were in the aero position- ok, squirmy painful aero position, but nonetheless, aero.
The best part is that I can wait a little bit before I need to do that again...
One of the things that I have incorporated into my training over the last several years has been the fitness test. With time, my protocols have evolved, and attitudes have changed, but one thing has remained the same- it is somewhat of a 'final exam' of all of my training prior. A somewhat simple, eloquent answer achieved in a matter of a few painful minutes to the question 'have I done the right thing over X months/ years, or have I wasted my time?' That is a pretty heavy weight to carry (think: world's strongest man keg press weight to carry). I have always had a love/hate relationship with fitness tests. I have gotten to the point that I get the same 'swarms of butterflies' before a fitness test by myself as when I am about to race.
I love the fitness test primarily because It is nice to have numerical standards of your work, and I can properly structure training from the given baseline. It can be self assuring to have proof that you are an athlete and are progressing- you are able to achieve what was previously impossible by measurable scientific standards. Cool. The thing that I hate about the fitness test is first and foremost- they hurt A LOT. I will admit right here that I will almost always whimper in pain, possibly taste a little vomit, and grimace to the point of full body distortion. For some reason, the previous feeling of searing lungs and burning legs is tattooed into my brain and is only associated with my brain saying 'wtf- why are you doing this again?'
Secondly is the fear of the unknown. Sometimes fitness tests go well- good. That is cool. Sometimes they go mediocre. Sometimes they go horribly wrong. That really really sucks. Believe me, I have had my fair share of these complete implosion fitness tests.
Well, the latest battery of tests has been completed, and the results are in. Short and long tests have been completed in both cycling and swimming. Running fitness tests will be put off until a) the ITB stuff is for sure gone (looking good so far...) and b) there is a flat 5 or 10 k on a route that will be free of ice enough that I can run normally and not in Yaks. I am hoping that these two occurrences coincide in their timing soon.
I am not much of a 'let's post all of my numbers on my blog' type of person. If you want to know numbers, just let me know- I really don't care- I'll post them.
Short swim and long swim test: PRd in both. I'll take it!
Short bike and long bike test: I was on par with my best tests of last season- and I had purposely let myself loose quite a bit of fitness this winter and this set of tests was intended to be more of a 'baseline' after some solid weeks of training to allow for enough adaptation that I am not doing a test on 'cold turkey,' but not to be too far from baseline. The good is that I have never had a good fitness test on the trainer and I finally had some good ones that are completely in line with what I know I could do on the road at my peak last year. Not only that, but these were in the aero position- ok, squirmy painful aero position, but nonetheless, aero.
The best part is that I can wait a little bit before I need to do that again...
05 January 2009
To another year!!!
Another awesome birthday... nothing too eventful, but had enough fun and laziness to be complete...
Here is how I spent my birthday...
Sat on the couch and drank coffee. I am currently 'dog sitting' for my parents, so I have some good, cozy, company (a 13 year old Maltese who is now embracing his life as a little old man- aka- he loves to sleep)
I purchased a little birthday present for myself. A little odd, but I have a secret love for salted, cured meats. For real. (on the same note, I am a snob about it- I hate 'cold cuts' or 'deli meats' (eww), but give me a good italian style thin slice and I love it!) So, not even remembering when I last enjoyed some of these Italian delights, I got some good prosciutto and genoa salami, and will enjoy them in some of the coming days!
Went for a nice run...I was going to go trail running in a state park, but it started freezing rain on my way out of town- decided to go do the next best thing in the neighborhood- running and out and back by lake Wingra and the through the arboretum. That route is so pretty and doesn't get old- the scenery changes every day. It was still really icy here, but manageable with the Yaks.
Rocked to some good tunes on my run--I am in love with Girl Talk (aka Gregg Gillis). Although I do not like to admit it (similar to the salted, cured meat thing...), I love pop rock, and I also love mixed music (ok, I really love mixed music). This guy is awesome- it is like an entire iPod worth of songs mixed together, but somehow he makes is sound good! I guess you have to respect anyone who can put on a concert with only a laptop and a microphone.
Got some good food with some good people at Fresco, on the rooftop of the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art. A wonderful, relaxing dinner. Chocolate filled beignets were enjoyed for my 'birthday cake' mmmmmm!!
Finally ended the evening with some drinks at 'The Nitty Gritty.' Home of the bottomless birthday mug'o'beer- I am not kidding. (Not to mention the free balloon!)
Another awesome birthday... nothing too eventful, but had enough fun and laziness to be complete...
Here is how I spent my birthday...
Sat on the couch and drank coffee. I am currently 'dog sitting' for my parents, so I have some good, cozy, company (a 13 year old Maltese who is now embracing his life as a little old man- aka- he loves to sleep)
I purchased a little birthday present for myself. A little odd, but I have a secret love for salted, cured meats. For real. (on the same note, I am a snob about it- I hate 'cold cuts' or 'deli meats' (eww), but give me a good italian style thin slice and I love it!) So, not even remembering when I last enjoyed some of these Italian delights, I got some good prosciutto and genoa salami, and will enjoy them in some of the coming days!
Went for a nice run...I was going to go trail running in a state park, but it started freezing rain on my way out of town- decided to go do the next best thing in the neighborhood- running and out and back by lake Wingra and the through the arboretum. That route is so pretty and doesn't get old- the scenery changes every day. It was still really icy here, but manageable with the Yaks.
Rocked to some good tunes on my run--I am in love with Girl Talk (aka Gregg Gillis). Although I do not like to admit it (similar to the salted, cured meat thing...), I love pop rock, and I also love mixed music (ok, I really love mixed music). This guy is awesome- it is like an entire iPod worth of songs mixed together, but somehow he makes is sound good! I guess you have to respect anyone who can put on a concert with only a laptop and a microphone.
Got some good food with some good people at Fresco, on the rooftop of the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art. A wonderful, relaxing dinner. Chocolate filled beignets were enjoyed for my 'birthday cake' mmmmmm!!
Finally ended the evening with some drinks at 'The Nitty Gritty.' Home of the bottomless birthday mug'o'beer- I am not kidding. (Not to mention the free balloon!)
Happy 2009!
Off to Chi-town once again to stir up some trouble on NYE! Got into town after sitting in some classic Chicago traffic and driving over some of the worlds biggest potholes (thank you Illinois DOT...), ate some good Thai, partied at the Wyn downtown Chi-town, embraced the collective hangover of the entire town the next morning, got some good pizza, and most of all, had fun being with some really awesome people and wonderful friends!
I realized that I no longer have any tolerance for booze. The good thing is that as my fitness and training goes up, my tolerance for booze goes down- kind of like a fitness test, but not. An interesting observation...
So, for Christmas, I was on call the whole weekend- partly by choice. My brother, sister in law, and their kids decided on a last minute trip to Orlando doing the Disney thing, and so I told my mom that I would cook her dinner for her birthday, she just needs to come here and get it. :) So, my parents came down for a few days around Christmas and it was great to spend some time with them and have the extra help around to get some things done that you just can't really get done on your own.
My mom wanted one thing for her birthday breakfast... BACON! Now I know where I get it from. Here is our feast of bacon and basil potatoes (it was supposed to be a large potato pancake, but got destroyed when attepting to flip it. Oh well, it turned into 'hash browns' and tasted the same.
Good times were had by all...
My mom wanted one thing for her birthday breakfast... BACON! Now I know where I get it from. Here is our feast of bacon and basil potatoes (it was supposed to be a large potato pancake, but got destroyed when attepting to flip it. Oh well, it turned into 'hash browns' and tasted the same.
Good times were had by all...
28 December 2008
First of all- Merry Christmas!
Right now, I am finally very, very excited for Oceanside Half Ironman in April. I am so happy that I signed up for this early race, as there would be no way that I would have the same motivation that I have now without this looming on the horizon. I keep thinking of how fun it will be to have a little get away just when the winter will be driving me crazy!
I am in the process of figuring out my races for next season, and getting some goals lined up and methodology on how to attain these things, which makes me excited. The whole process of learning from past seasons, making changes, and seeing where they go. For some reason, I love this part of training- the planning, the methodology, the experimentation.
One gripe session:
So today, I go to finish up my long training day (about 5 hrs of exercise) with a good swim. I am warmed up, plugging away on the main set and feeling really good. All of a sudden I get kicked out of the pool!! WTF. I am informed that the pool shuts down early today! I never thought I would say this, but there is one thing that I miss about Omaha- that 24 hour fitness! That place was like an industrial workout factory, complete stainless steel everything, mirrors everywhere, protein 'mass gainer' powder store, and a pool that was rarely used due to the, er, 'clientele' that frequented the place (more of the sauna/steam room type if you know what I mean). Although it was only two lanes, had some issues with chemical regulation (think on/off cloudy water and itchy skin), and overlooked the McDonalds on 81st and Dodge-- this pool was always open! None of this 'club hours' crap. And yes, there were times that I went to swim very late at night- it was great!
Right now, I am finally very, very excited for Oceanside Half Ironman in April. I am so happy that I signed up for this early race, as there would be no way that I would have the same motivation that I have now without this looming on the horizon. I keep thinking of how fun it will be to have a little get away just when the winter will be driving me crazy!
I am in the process of figuring out my races for next season, and getting some goals lined up and methodology on how to attain these things, which makes me excited. The whole process of learning from past seasons, making changes, and seeing where they go. For some reason, I love this part of training- the planning, the methodology, the experimentation.
One gripe session:
So today, I go to finish up my long training day (about 5 hrs of exercise) with a good swim. I am warmed up, plugging away on the main set and feeling really good. All of a sudden I get kicked out of the pool!! WTF. I am informed that the pool shuts down early today! I never thought I would say this, but there is one thing that I miss about Omaha- that 24 hour fitness! That place was like an industrial workout factory, complete stainless steel everything, mirrors everywhere, protein 'mass gainer' powder store, and a pool that was rarely used due to the, er, 'clientele' that frequented the place (more of the sauna/steam room type if you know what I mean). Although it was only two lanes, had some issues with chemical regulation (think on/off cloudy water and itchy skin), and overlooked the McDonalds on 81st and Dodge-- this pool was always open! None of this 'club hours' crap. And yes, there were times that I went to swim very late at night- it was great!
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