This week started off with a long ride (well, it was saturday…but whatever). a looooooonnnng ride. like a 4 hour ride. i wasn’t nervous per se. i was slightly overwhelmed by the time, but i was pretty confident in my ability to be able to complete it. i ate well friday night and fueled fantastically before the ride. i also had a food plan for AFTER my ride – i had made the batter to peanut butter banana waffles – which was enough of a carrot to get me to do this ride. i was in the mindset to focus on the ride as a true training ride – to ride it straight, hoping for a smooth ride (no flat tires, no serious falls, no picture taking, no sightseeing), focused on fueling and noticing when i fueled and what i used when and seeing how far i could get. i had a secret goal of going 50 miles, but i didn’t want to focus on that part. i wanted to ride smart. i also had plans later in the day so i knew i needed to be “on” my game in terms of fueling in order to do the rest of my day. so off i went. i did my, now, go-to long ride route. i was hydrating about every 15 and fueling every 30 with dates and every 45 with oatmeal balls. at the 2 hour point, i was well into the barre falls dam and saw there was a bathroom so i took that time to use it – i figured that was well within my “rules” i had set for this ride. at the 3 hour point, i got hungry, not horribly hungry, but my mind always goes to this image of a wendy’s bacon cheeseburger (totally gross, i know) at about the 3 hour mark. i ate some almonds and an oatmeal ball and some dates. i wasn’t belly hungry – but mind hungry. my mind knew it was lunch time or close to. so then i started brainstorming what i could bring with me to eat on the bike. peanut butter and jelly had been giving me heartburn and i hate heartburn when i run. and the bike is all about the fueling the run. i was craving sweet potatoes, but how could i eat sweet potatoes. oh! the baby food packs i had bought for marathon training! but sweet potatoes aren’t a complete meal – how can i add protein to that? peanut butter? gross. hmmm…. my mind just keep turning and turning. i was excited that i had sort of come up with a solution. i would need to do some more research. and then…i turned onto my street. the odometer said 49.7 – i rode to my house and it turned to 50 miles. i had actually rode 50 miles. and i felt good. i got off my bike and went inside to refuel. and then there was this….
so i took a short nap and then kerin came over. we were headed to grocery shop. i was excited because i love to grocery shop. we went to wegmans (my favorite place) and for whatever reason we went down the diaper aisle. which also happens to be the baby food aisle. and then…i saw this!
and i had it! i could use these as inspiration and figure out what tastes best for me on the bike! i could have an actual meal which my body could process quickly and wouldn’t be peanut butter and jelly! i was soooo excited! solution had been found.
then i had recovery week. where i literally only had 3 workouts…that’s a huge huge difference. but it was definitely needed. my body was tired. a lot more tired than i had thought. i slept well. i ate well. i cooked a lot. it was wonderful. and when i swam, i felt amazing. when i ran, i felt quick and happy.
when i biked, i felt AMAZING. like incredible. for my 2:15 ride i rode 30 miles! now that’s just crazy.
and this weekend is the calm before the insanity. after sunday, i have something happening every day until june. including a trip to the west coast. yup. life is about to get busy. so i decided to be proactive. when my life is crazy i either retreat and cancel everything or get caught up in the craziness and normally don’t eat enough. so. today i prepared. i prepared for all the workouts and fueling i would need. i thought about meals. and i cooked. and i’m feeling wonderful about the week ahead and the workouts ahead. i’m actually wrapping my crazy brain around this race and it’s feeling very real.
lizzie fortin 