Donald’s Daily Draft

Welcome to Carb Load Central.  This is a great way to build will power… or a great way to work on being the next contestant on the Biggest Loser.  If you’ve never been in a newsroom this is what you will see… especially on Fridays.  I only had three cookies and one donut hole… ok maybe two.  I plan on a long ride this weekend… really.    

Three pockets and lots of goodies.  Of course, there’s the cell phone… ID and maybe a few dollars just in case you have to hit the convenience store to refill on a long ride.

But what about eats?

I’ve been partial to Clif Bloks (Black Cherry is my favorite) and the Chocolate Brownie Clif Bar.  But I’m always open to new things… if it sits right in the belly.

So, I guess I’m taking a little informal survey.
What do you eat on the bike? 

It’s time for the question of the week.  I have so many good ones just sitting there on my headset but I’ve feathered the brakes on my excitement and finally settled on this:

If you had to be part of a bike… what part would you be and why?

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I’m sure most of you have heard about the ASO’s decision to ban Team Astana from the Tour.  It came after the Giro banned the team from racing in their event as well.  Many cycling news sites talk about the French decision being, no surprise, a popular one in France but everywhere else most believe it is an unfair decision.  It’s a different team with many different riders.  Other teams tarnished the Tour’s image last year with doping, yet they’re allowed in this year’s race.  Levi Leipheimer is hoping to change their minds.  He has started Let Levi Ride, a website to get signatures backing his effort.  What do you think about the ASO decision and will you sign Levi’s petition?

Unfortunately, with winter weather still hitting a lot of us, we have to resort to indoor training.
So, in another installment from Dr. Chris Eschbach…  I asked him:

Do those intense one hour spin classes at the gym really benefit you if you can’t hit the road for a long ride?
 
Chris Eschbach, Ph.D., HFI
Director of the Human Performance Laboratory:

Absolutely, if we are talking about an intense workout, there is not much that will benefit you more.  Although, not everyone is ready for the intense workouts.  Before intense workouts become a key to your training, you need to have a good base fitness. Determining where you are as it relates to your stage of training is something we work on with our clients in the lab during every session.  Once you get your base fitness where it needs to be… adding intense sessions, either on the road or in spin class, will really help.
I am always preaching specificity so it is probably better done on the road but if for some reason you cannot get the same session on the road, the classes are great.  I would not necessarily classify a spin class in the same group as a long ride on the road.  There isn’t much better training than hitting the road for a long ride, especially when you can really work the second half of the ride and get some quality threshold in.

The other day I thought I would start a weekly post asking you a question.
It could be about anything… whatever sparks my interest… maybe something I think up while on a ride. 
So, sure enough, I was on a great ride Sunday… mashing the pedals, sprinting, doing hill repeats (go with the embellishment here).  I was all by myself and I realized how many things I think about.  Our minds spin about as much as our pedals do… especially if we’re riding alone.  Some things we think about are normal… others are just plain out there. 
And I thought… that’s my first question of the week.   
So, here’s your chance to spill… or at least I hope you will when you answer this:
What’s the strangest thing you’ve thought about while on your bike?

We continue today with more tips on nutrition and training.  It just so happened that Jeff of “Cycling through Life” asked yesterday about what Dr. Chris Eschbach’s suggestion would be for his favorite pre-race food? 
Well, here it is:

Chris Eschbach, Ph.D., HFI
Director of the Human Performance Laboratory: 

My favorite pre-race food would be a big ham egg and cheese biscuit but that would not work very well.   So instead of actually eating what my favorite would be, I stick with what research supports and that is relatively simple: a small meal of carbohydrates.
My pre-race meal usually consists of 500-1000 ml of a sports drink and something solid like a sports/breakfast bar, bagel, or cereal.  I will consume all of this about 2-4 hours prior to the start of a race.   If I am going into a long and hot race then I actually add some glycerol to help with hydration prior to the event (although without the right guidance this can potentially be dangerous).  In the days leading up to a race I don’t change anything other than increasing the percent of carbohydrates (not calories) if the race is going to last more than 1.5 hours.

We all have our favorite foods… some good for training… some not.  
So, in another installment from Dr. Chris Eschbach…  I aked him:
 
What’s your favorite training meal and how does it help?
Chris Eschbach, Ph.D., HFI
Director of the Human Performance Laboratory:
My favorite training dinner would be one that incorporates a large variety of food.  I always try to eat a lot of everything during the main part of the training season with the main focus on nutritious carbohydrates (usually lower glycemic index carbs).  I do continue eating, in what some would view as unhealthy, high glycemic foods like sherbet, sugary snacks, and fruit juices in the time immediately after exercise lasting for a few hours.  This all helps to replenish and maintain your carbohydrate stores (glycogen) in order to train and recover efficiently.   I do not go overboard on proteins.  Proteins are needed especially when you are trying to go to a new level of fitness but unless you are a vegetarian your most likely getting enough in your diet, especially if you are eating enough total calories to support training.