Sold!

I meant to get this post up on Monday, post the weekend's training. Somehow, writing it 5 days later takes away much of the authenticity but I don't have much else in the way of creative blog posts right now. But what I wanted to write is that I'm definitely sold on four things after my training this past weekend.

1. WEIGHTS: I've been averaging less than 100 miles per week on the bike this season, and this past Saturday, I decided to do a week's worth of riding in one day. The weather was absolutely perfect here in SF, more specifically it was perfect weather to do the Marshall Ride (not too hot, not too cold, and most importantly not too windy). As I was hitting the 70 mile mark of the ride, I started to compose a blog entry in my head of how much better I feel on long rides this year versus last year when I was doing all of that ironman volume. The difference is the weight training. When I'm mashing on the pedals, it just feels like a weight session. But not long after I composed this entry about feeling stronger, I bonked on the last climb of the ride at mile 80. But I have to say, even my bonk feels better this season. Weights, I'm sold!

2. TIME TRIAL BIKE: The TT bike is much faster than the road bike...if you are racing against the clock. I've only ridden the TT bike twice in the past 3 months and the above pic are the results of those two rides: PR's for both rides. It is fast and my riding partner will attest to the change in speed when I'm on the TT bike. If you are a non-drafting triathlete, you should be racing on a TT bike.

3. INTENSITY/RECOVERY: Though I've done less volume, I've upped both the intensity and the recovery, and this precious balance seems to be yielding good results. In fact, this is the way I used to train from my late 20's to late 30's where I set most of my PR's. Somehow, I moved away from this mode of training and started training for training sake. I don't have regrets about training to do more training because when it came down to it, I had fun training to train. But who wouldn't when you're traveling to Kona and the Gold Coat of Australia to train.

4. PALEO DIET: I have no gluten allergies, but food, specifically carbs have always had a very strong effect on me. One summer when I was coaching a swim clinic at Stanford, I realized just how sensitive my body can be to carbs. I had a very big, carbohydrate-loaded lunch, and I had to coach immediately after. While standing on the pool deck, I was extremely lethargic and worst, I couldn't fight off this powerful sleep that made my eyes so heavy, I was struggling to keep them open. My head kept bobbing as I was fighting off sleep during the coaching session. Next thing I knew I was in the water. My blood sugar was so out of whack that it caused me to fall asleep and I passed out into the pool. I scared a lot of coaches and swimmers that day. Though my diet does not restrict carbohydrate consumption, all I know is that I feel so much more energetic, and less bloated when dinner consists of a salad and a steak. And the next day, my poop does not float, and I learned long ago while taking a wellness class during college, one of the indicators of a poor diet is consistent floating stool.