rest and nutrition

Took a nice easy rest day yesterday. Did a lot of reading on the couch. Even drove a car to pick up a pizza for dinner even though it was only a total of about three miles. Sometimes a lazy day is nice. But, I do want to rig up some sort of good pizza carrying rack for my bike. Maybe just a big flat board with a couple of bungee cords that I can attach to my rear rack with a couple of quick wing nuts.

After the rest day, the run this morning felt great. I went out on my usual bridge run. I felt really strong and comfortable. I decided not to push the distance though because it was getting hot and I hadn’t eaten anything for breakfast except two mugs of black coffee and a mug of water - I thought I was out of food in the kitchen – forgetting about the leftover pizza in the fridge… which was just fine, because it felt good to devour it upon my return.

I know Lance Armstrong is quickly becoming old news in the cycling world, but his wristband hasn’t broken off yet so I figure I can keep taking about him for a bit. One of the things that amazed me most about all his performances was his nutritional intake. I read that book by Carmichael, his nutrition coach, and it’s pretty amazing. I can’t remember the exact numbers anymore, but Lance consumed several thousand calories a day during Le Tour for, what, like, 21 days in a row or so. That seems as incredible as riding so many miles so quickly. I think nutrition may have played a bigger factor than any alleged doping. And hydration/cooling, too, which clearly was a factor in Floyd’s big ride last year. Was that only a year ago? Seems longer. Anyway, I was thinking about that on my run this morning.

Can’t wait for this year’s tour – less than two weeks away…