triathlon tuesday

I’ve never been one to pay too much attention to my diet, but training for this triathlon has forced me to learn some important lessons about fueling your body.  Now that I’m just a few weeks out from my tri, most of my cardio workouts are lasting about an hour.  While this isn’t that long compared to some, I still can burn between 500 – 800 calories a day.  I’ve discovered that unless my body has the proper fuel, this will not be a good thing.  So here’s a few things I’ve learned:

1.  Get your calories EARLY – I NEVER used to eat breakfast, now I attempt to get at least 400-600 calories by 10am.  This gets your metabolism working early and provides the necessary energy you need for the longer workouts.

2.  Combination matters – There are some diets that say carbs are bad, but not if you’re training for an endurance event.  You definitely need those carbs for energy, but try and eat them with a protein.  The protein will help break down any excess carbs not burned by your workouts.

3.  Eat often – I’ve never been much of a snacker, but I’ve learned the value of eating 200-300 calories in between meals.

Here are a few things I’ve added to the diet:

-Special K cereal (with fruit)

-Whole wheat english muffins or bagels

-Protein shakes (whey protein powder, milk, peanut butter, banana) – these taste AWESOME

-meal replacement bars (believe it or not, I like the Target brand best)

-sunflower seeds

-chocolate milk (one of the better recovery drinks after a workout)

All this to say, I’m not hardcore when it comes to my eating.  I’ve tried to make some improvements, but I still get my cheeseburgers every now and then!

triathlon tuesday

I’m about 4 weeks out from my triathlon and I’m still seeing improvements in my times and training, but it’s obviously coming a little slower now.  From the onset of my training (about 12 weeks ago) I decided to chart my times.  Being a little discouraged by the slowing improvement, I decided to look back at my earlier times – and now I’m encouraged.  Here were my initial training times compared to my most recent:

400m swim – 9:43         now – 8:03    

10mile bike – 16.4mph    now – 19.3mph

3.1mile run – 30:54       now – 25:33

I still have a long way to go to reach my long term goals (please note my only short-term goal is to cross the finish line) but was pleased to see how far I’d come.

I have a tendency to do the same thing in my spiritual life.  We all go through times when we get a little frustrated with our progress, and yes, we want to always be moving forward, but sometimes we need to take a few minutes to remember how far God’s grace has brought us.

triathlon tuesday

OK – here’s the primary reason my blog had been so sporadic over the last 3-4 weeks.  After my wife decided to enter a triathlon, I also got the bug to compete in one.  I’ve always stayed in pretty decent shape, but I was getting bored with my workout routine, which consisted mainly of strength training and running when I felt like it (which wasn’t that often.)  I knew training for a tri would bring much more variety to my workouts and also offer some much needed motivation to take my body to the next level.

I’m now about 8 weeks into my training and I’ve been blown away at the improvement I’ve seen in each of the disciplines (swim, bike, and run.)  So, on Tuesdays, I’ll be focusing the posts on my adventures in training, and maybe a few things I’ve learned along the way. 

Today I’m going to give a shout-out to swimming.  If you’ve never made swimming part of your workout and you have access to a lane pool, I would strongly encourage it.  Here are a few reasons:

• virtually no strain on your bones and joints (If you struggle with knee, hip, ankle problems – the pool is a great way to still get a good workout.)
• It’s a great combination of technique, strength, and cardio.  I don’t believe there is a better full body workout.
• All those benefits, and you don’t sweat like a pig.

Please share the love and comment about your favorite (or most dreaded) workouts.