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A day of fuelling
I biked 62.5 km (39 miles) this afternoon! New distance record! :D
My fuelling started good and early with a new breakfast cookie at 5am.
I tried to go for a vanilla almond flavour.
- 2/3 scoop vanilla whey powder
- 1/2 cup rolled oats
- 1 tbsp almond butter
- 1 tbsp sliced almonds
- 1 tbsp slivered almonds
- couple splashes unsweetened vanilla almond milk
All mixed up and put in the fridge overnight. It needed a little cinnamon and perhaps a splash of vanilla extract, otherwise verrry good! I’ll be adding a recipe page for it once I get it perfect :)
I purposely packed a snack that would take me a while to munch on at my desk. Strawberry yogurt, grapes, blueberries and strawberries.
It was fun to eat :) And took me longer than five seconds to get down…
“Lunch” (at 10am) was like the opposite of egg white pillows.
Flat whole eggs? I boiled them last night. I also put a little whipped butter on the english muffin. Butter is your friend :)
I am a fruit fiend!
I totally think my sweet tooth attacks through eating fruit. If I didn’t pay attention, I could easily eat around 8 servings of fruit a day. Crazy!
Had another snack when I got home, hummus on wasa crackers.
Someone took a bite!!! Oh wait, that was me ;)
And a frozen deep chocolate vitamuffin with a slather of PB.
I already need to get a new box. This is turning into an expensive habit…
I didn’t head out for my ride right away. I like to decompress a little after work, so I hung around, watched swimming and read the Julie/Julia Project blog. Not sure when I’ll get the chance to see the movie (my small-city theatre sucks, big time), but I’m really enjoying the blog in the meantime!
Eventually, I got geared up and had some more snackies.
And made some snacks for the bike ride.
5 dates with a smear of PB. I’ve been putting them in a plastic bag and attaching it under my bike computer. Stays put and easily accessed while in motion.
Whooo-eee, it was a windy one out today!! I don’t mind a constant head wind so much, but it was really gusty in some parts. It kind of scares me because the wind pushes me around. I’m always nervous I’m going to get blown into traffic or on the gravel shoulder (gravel = not fun on a road bike).
In all I biked 62.5 km (39 miles) in 2:49 minutes. To be honest, I don’t care how long it took me or how fast I was going. That’s a long time to be in the saddle!
I actually got off halfway to pee at a gas station. I just didn’t think I could comfortably bike another 30k with a full bladder! So I took a few minutes after to eat my dates outside, and of course, take a couple pictures :)
I like to bike around the Lincoln/Oromocto area on the outskirts of town. No traffic lights!! This is the Nevers Road for those of you who know the area. It’s my favourite stretch on my route. Mostly flat and fast with a couple hills for a little challenge.
Even though I was on my bike for almost three hours, it didn’t feel like that long! Although, I was definitely glad to be home when I got there. Refuelled with a smoothie.
Okay, I know last time I said it was the best combo for the Vega stuff yet, but this time seriously was the best so far!
- 1 box pure coconut water
- 2 scoops Vega smoothie infusion
- handful frozen papaya chunks
- 1/3 frozen banana
- couple ice cubes
- two scoops plain yogurt
- two drops almond extract
The almond extract is what made it. I usually don’t add it to a lot of things because it’s so over-powering. But it was magnificent with the coconut water!
Oh yes, and there was a “refreshing” popsicle…
Another hot and sunny day out! Good thing I stocked up on some SPF 60 before today!
So that’s how I fuelled for my long bike day :) I like doing my long rides on Sundays because I eat more food, being up so early. I do not like being in a calorie deficit when I’m exercising. I find it really draining both during and after the activity. Part of the reason why, even if I work out first thing in the morning, I still cram back some calorie dense PB. I burned around 1130 calories, and consumed over that before going out there. So I didn’t feel like I was going to die at any point. I didn’t even have to use the granny gear to get over the last steep hill at the very end! :D
Now it’s time for me to get out of my dirty cycling clothes (except my bike shorts – those come off first, bacteria builds in there!) and get started on dinner. I’m going to attempt spring rolls with my Asian grocery finds. Be back in the a.m. friends!
Hope you had a stellar weekend!
Question: What’s your favourite way to fuel? (and yes, fuelling for long trips to the grocery store counts. Those can be gruelling!)
One stellar breakfast
Hey! Good news, I am “blah” free today :) I shut the movie off at 10:30 last night, and even though my body tried to get me out of bed at 5:30 this morning, I forced myself back to sleep to get a full 8 hours. After that, I felt much better. I probably average around 7 hours a night, but I’m finding that I need at least one night with 8+ a week.
I started off with a little yoga for runners. It’s been a while since I’ve done this one, I forgot how great it is! After making friends with my legs again, I got to work on one stellar breakfast.
French toast waffles!!! I microwaved two Nature’s path maple cinnamon waffles, drenched them in egg whites and cinnamon, then pan fried them. SO good! I dipped them in an almond butter-fake syrup mix. I love waffles :)
I spent my morning in bed, reading and internetting. I wanted to wait for the morning traffic to subside before I went out for my hill bike workout. But I also wanted to beat the heat again. So happy I went out before noon!
Duration: 1:02
Distance: 23 km (14 miles)
Avg speed: 23 km/hr (duh)
Max speed: 44 km/hr (27 mph)
Avg HR: 138
Max HR: 167
I only did the hill o’ death once this time. My legs were screaming this whole bike ride. I’ve put them through four straight days of vigorous torture now. I’m so happy tomorrow is a rest day!! I’ve been walking around like this these past couple days…
I’m also happy to report that my new bra worked! I tested it out before I left. I just wet the sensors on the bra, clipped my Polar transmitter to it, and it worked! I didn’t wear it for the bike ride though, because I was scared it wouldn’t work for the whole ride :P I’ll have to test it out for a whole workout next time. Bytheway, it’s a Running Room brand bra. Running Room is a Canadian chain and carry a lot of their own products. Most of them are pretty good, I recommend their socks ;)
Lunch was a “kitchen sink” of sorts.
It was a mix of:
- 1/3 cup Mediterranean cottage cheese
- 1 can tuna
- 1/3 cup garbanzo beans
- whack of heirloom tomatoes
- green onion
- green pepper
- a mushroom (using up all my veggies!)
- 1 tsp sundried tomato dressing
This was verrrry good. A nice summery lunch. Surprisingly not that filling though. Protein alone just doesn’t do it for me!
I then proceeded to go to the grocery store and spend waaaay too much money. Funny thing is, I made a list and bought only things on it! I think I actually spend less when I go in without a list…
It was so freakin hot by the time I carted my groceries up to my sweltering fourth-floor apartment, all I could muster was a pita for dinner. And oooohhhh what a pita it was…
- hummus
- swiss cheese
- turkey slices
- tomato
- onion
- mushrooms
- zucchini
- green pepper
- broccoli sprouts
- spinach
I have a confession to make. I used store bought hummus. I discovered it back when I bought some to bring to the cottage. It’s President’s Choice organic hummus. Usually I can’t stand the store bought stuff because it’s runny and salty, but this stuff is neither. Still not as cheap as the homemade variety though. Might have taken a couple bucks off my crazy grocery bill!!
Then began an evening’s worth of desserts…
Popsicle.
Caramel.
I also just had a chocolate vitamuffin, fresh berries and am now sucking on another popsicle! They’re quite good at cooling me off actually. This time of night is the worst, because it’s hotter in our apartment than it is outside. I sat on the balcony for a little bit and could feel the waves of heat from inside coming through the screen door.
Thank you for all your movie ideas! Everyone has such diverse tastes, I love it! I never answered the questions myself though. The one movie I really want to see is Julie & Julia and the one movie I think everyone should see is High Fidelity. Nick Hornby + John Cusack + music snobbery = love :)
Now for today’s question: what’s your idea of a stellar breakfast?
A-ing a few Q’s
Hello folks!! First, I want to say y’all made me feel better about my messiness :) Unfortunately, you tidy people have not inspired me. I still have tons of cleaning to do and I’m putting it off till the morning! The person is coming at 3pm to look at my apartment. So hopefully I can squeeze in a run, a quick trip to work, and removing the contents of my closet from my floor before then.
I’ve gotten a few good Q’s in the comments lately that I figured I should probably just answer in a post. I always try to be as brief as possible (I swear!) in my posts as not to drone on too much. As a result, I also have a tendency to leave out a few key things from time to time!
Both Lori and Janetha asked about when I’m moving . My lease at my current place is up Aug. 31, and the one at my new place starts Sept. 1. So some time around there! It all depends on when the current tenant in the new place moves out. I’m thinking one of those last days in August.
I’ve lived in my current apartment just over two years now with the awesomest roommie ever. We’ve been besties since the age of 6, so it’s really been like living with family. We both graduated from university this spring and are doing our own thing. She’s moving away for more schooling, and I’m staying put to work at my job. She’s actually been gone since the start of the summer working a summer job in our hometown. So I’m essentially already living by myself. I really like it and can’t wait to be in a spot to call my own!
Sophia asked, “Do you prefer biking to running?” Can I say I like both? :P There are things I both love and dislike about each. Biking is much easier on the muscles and joints. It’s also faster and a lot more fun sometimes. Running however is easier in the sense that it requires less equipment. It’s more simple to throw on my running shoes and head out the door than it is to get all my bike crap together. I also have to carry my bike up and down four flights of stairs, which consequently may be the cause of the chain marks on my legs.
Anywho, as for which is physically harder – running. But biking up a hill or in the wind is way harder than doing either on foot. So both can be equally challenging!
Janetha asked, “Do you miss swimming?” I haven’t swum since my triathlon three weeks ago. At first, I didn’t miss it at all. I was sick of having to adhere to the lap swim schedule, as it’s pretty hard to fit into my own schedule. There’s also only 5 student parking spaces at the pool, which was a GIANT pain in the butt. But now I’m kind of missing it! I’ve been doing such intense activity lately, I kind of miss my low intensity pool sessions.
My free pool use is up when my student ID expires in September, so I’m going to try harder to get in more pool time before that happens. It’s going to be hard though, because I already have myself on a “schedule.”
After finishing the triathlon, I made three goals for myself. Increase my bike mileage to 100k by the end of the season, run a 10k in September and start heavy weight lifting more regularly to regain my lost strength. Right now I’m trying, and almost failing, to get in two bike rides, two runs, and two weight sessions in a week. So that leaves little pool time!
Okay, okay. That was a lot of text. Hope that answers your questions! If there’s something I’m leaving out just let me know! I usually try to answer questions in the comments or through e-mail. But if they’re relevant, I’ll start including them in my posts :)
Now, the real question is, did I really eat a jar of nut butter for breakfast?
Almost! But I put some oatbran in there for good measure ;)
I’ve been eating a lot of nut butter lately. My body must be needing the fat or something. At this rate, I should be having another one of these next week. My only beef about the oats-in-a-jar is that it’s really hot to the touch!
I forgot to make iced coffee last night, so I broke out into a sweat drinking a hot coffee after this. So much for skipping a morning workout :P
I tried out another braeburn apple while hanging out in the news cruiser.
This one was much better! Perfect amount of crunch and sweetness. I really like round apples for some reason. The core was also quite soft, I actually ate some of it!
I was running suuuuuper late this morning and had 6 minutes to pack a lunch. Hence, my half-assed smoked salmon wrap.
Just some sliced cucumber and laughing cow in there. It was missing my usual plethora of veggies. Luckily, I packed some on the side.
Carrots and heirloom tomatoes, dipped in tzatziki of course.
I had a Luna bar in the afternoon, but still had half a PB & honey sandwich before leaving work and heading to the gym.
It was pretty dinky, but helped keep my tummy from wanting dinner while I worked out.
The gym was the busiest I’ve seen it all summer. The weight room was full of basketball players who think they’re mega tuff. Made me kind of miss the goofy hockey players that are usually there…
Duration: 1 hour and 4 minutes
Warm-up:
15 minutes on rowing machine
A1 – Front squat/push press:
3 sets @ 35 lbs x 8
B1 – Static lunge w/ rear foot elevated:
3 sets @ 10 lbs ea x 8 ea
B2 – Incline push-up:
3 sets @ 30 degrees x 8
C1 – Plank:
3 sets @ 60 sec
C2 – Prone cobra:
3 sets @ 90 sec
D1 – Side plank:
3 sets @ 30 sec ea
HIIT:
15 minutes on elliptical. 1 minute sprints on level 8, 2 minutes recovery on level 3.
Phew!! Not going to bother posting my heart rate or calorie burn for this session, as I’m trying to not get hung up on the calorie burns for my lifting sessions. The heart rate is good to know for resting in between sets, and knowing when I need to push myself harder during HIIT, but I don’t want it influencing what I do too much! Who cares if it was 115 doing planks? My whole body was shaking!
Had a protein cocktail when I came home.
Ever notice that my shakes are always in booze glasses? They’re the only big ones I have! This is a PVL peach whey cooler in a hurricane glass.
Supper was a repeat from yesterday. I wasn’t even going to photograph it, but I’m pretty sure it gets the award for least photogenic.
Burrito stuffing: 1/2 cup Eden Organic Caribbean rice & beans, 1 scrambled egg, onions, mushrooms, 1 laughing cow cheese wedge.
It at least looked a little nicer on the plate.
Trust me, it was delicious!! As far as food goes, the ugliest is always the tastiest ;)
Okee, I’m completely wiped again. I’m on another “weekend,” but I want to be up early to go for a quick 3 mile run, run some work errands and clean my cluttered apartment!!
Sticking with yesterday’s cleaning theme: What’s your favourite room to clean? Least favourite?
Surprisingly, my favourite is the bathroom. Least favourite is my bedroom. I loathe putting things on hangers :P
See ya tomorrow!
