Last week I got a newsletter from the USAT, and there was an article singing the praises of Paleo, and an endurance athlete doesn't have to carbload with starches and get addicted to powerbars to succeed. This was, of course, utterly heartbreaking. Why run races, if not for the giant bowl of pasta? Sweet potatoes are grand, but penne they are not. Yet lately-- especially after the holiday sugar overload-- I've been thinking a lot about what dietary choices I can make that will help me out, and considering some new sort of regimine. If you tell me what to do, with specific instructions, I'm pretty great at following through. I'm the eternal student. I did, after all, get through all my past races simply by copying down a training schedule from a xerox my friend gave me.
So with this in mind, my roommate's excitement over Tim Ferriss' Four Hour Body and the Slow Carb diet made a lot of sense. I'm not so sure if I'm ready to commit to a life of Paleo, but a restricted diet for six days and a cheat day a week is something I jive with. Otherwise you just cheat in little ways randomly, and feel bad about it. But this? You get to glutton out and it's "required". Yeah!! I've been giving it a shot, if only to slim down and have less weight to lug around, and because, after all, this is Hollywood. Can't be too thin or too rich.
I figure it was best to do this during my yoga time, because from what I can tell, it's not so conducive to an intense training schedule. No fruit, no carbs, no dairy, just veggies, loads of legumes, and a handful of nuts. And so I'm considering, as it was endorsed by Mr. USAT, to go Paleo once I get heavy into the training, if it proves impossible otherwise. (Though I did just find a sweet recipe for a Slow Carb protein bar!) I'm pretty interested in the regimen Tim's figured out, and even if it's not totally my thing, it at least is inspiring me to see if I can train for my super long race with less time. Because time's something I don't have a lot of...
So yeah! Inspired by the idea of smallest possible work for greatest gains, I'm switching it up. More track workouts, more spinning, more drills in the pool, but less time eaten up over all. So harder work, but lesser time. Also can help prevent injury! Sure, a long bike/run on the weekend, to gauge improvements and such. But wouldn't it be neat to apply that whole idea to a full triathlon? And someone on a time and money budget like me seems like an ideal Guinea pig.
I'll keep track of it as I go...
Friday, January 28, 2011
Game on. Dog downward.
It was not without some drama, but I'm now officially all signed up for my races this year, so at least my bank account can recover from that over the next few months. I'm gonna be a lame-o and only do two, because I am, after all, a budget triathlete, so I've chosen carefully: for the first time, I'll be doing the long course at Wildflower (eee!) and then of course, Vineman! A lot of people purport the long course is actually harder than Vineman, and I might agree... it's so challenging with all those crazy hills, and Vineman is so gentle and lovely. You know, for an Ironman length race.
I got two friends, Larry and Ismael, to get in on the three-for-two Vineman signup, where the third person pays back two-thirds so everyone gets a sweet deal (Wildflower wound up costing the same amount, once you figured in the discount!) Ismael and I met up on December 30th, just before the deadline for the cheapest price, so we'd get the best deal, and did the online sign up on my laptop in a coffee shop. I had Larry's info and was hoping it would be smooth sailing (Ismael was, afterall, on his break from fighting crime: he's in the LAPD), but of course, my apprehensions were fulfilled and the third registration didn't show a balance of $0. I was anxious we'd get stuck with the bill, but heard back from the Vineman folks in no time, who were super cool about our technical difficulties. Larry filled out his registration separately and emailed it in the New Year, and by the next week we were all three proud Vineman contenders.
The real drama, of course, ensued when Larry went to send his check of a third of the entrance price to Ismael, and some ass stole it from the outgoing mail, cashed it, and drained his bank account via some elaborate money laundering scheme based out of Beverly Hills. That of course caused a huge amount of stress, with police and FBI getting involved, but hopefully Larry's gonna be back in good financial standing in no time. I just find it ironic that the check they wrote was due to a police officer in the first place! They've got it coming.
Groupon (and Living Social) are of course big budget wonders if you manage to resist the temptation to buy every deal you see. (I do not always resist. I'm on a coupon-fast now.) That being said, I got one month of unlimited yoga at the so-beautiful YogaWorks sudio on Larchmont. I swore I would try and do a class everyday, within my ability (I know I'll HAVE to miss next Friday because I'll be at Big Bear on a mini vacation, which I paid for with a Living Social voucher... told you, totally addicted.) So far I've achieved this despite my most insane schedule ever-- between tutoring and work, there's not many hours in the day. But how nice to set aside some time and try to get those hammys stretched before I embark on the insane regimine of tri training. Larry's already getting his base built, and Ismael wants to go for some long rides, as he's doing an Ironman in May. So I'm enjoying the zen of this moment while I can, and when I can find it (last night, I did a 9-10PM class, and this morning I did 6:30AM-8. Let me just say, the muscles are not so limber in the AM. Couldn't pull off plow.) I did sign up, at a discount (but of course!) for a 20 class package, so I can cross train my my happy yoga place. The budget-ier choice would have been to stick with the free outdoor yoga in the park, but with the way my schedule's working, there's not a single time they practice that I can join, so this seems a sound investment. If only for my sanity.
I got two friends, Larry and Ismael, to get in on the three-for-two Vineman signup, where the third person pays back two-thirds so everyone gets a sweet deal (Wildflower wound up costing the same amount, once you figured in the discount!) Ismael and I met up on December 30th, just before the deadline for the cheapest price, so we'd get the best deal, and did the online sign up on my laptop in a coffee shop. I had Larry's info and was hoping it would be smooth sailing (Ismael was, afterall, on his break from fighting crime: he's in the LAPD), but of course, my apprehensions were fulfilled and the third registration didn't show a balance of $0. I was anxious we'd get stuck with the bill, but heard back from the Vineman folks in no time, who were super cool about our technical difficulties. Larry filled out his registration separately and emailed it in the New Year, and by the next week we were all three proud Vineman contenders.
The real drama, of course, ensued when Larry went to send his check of a third of the entrance price to Ismael, and some ass stole it from the outgoing mail, cashed it, and drained his bank account via some elaborate money laundering scheme based out of Beverly Hills. That of course caused a huge amount of stress, with police and FBI getting involved, but hopefully Larry's gonna be back in good financial standing in no time. I just find it ironic that the check they wrote was due to a police officer in the first place! They've got it coming.
Groupon (and Living Social) are of course big budget wonders if you manage to resist the temptation to buy every deal you see. (I do not always resist. I'm on a coupon-fast now.) That being said, I got one month of unlimited yoga at the so-beautiful YogaWorks sudio on Larchmont. I swore I would try and do a class everyday, within my ability (I know I'll HAVE to miss next Friday because I'll be at Big Bear on a mini vacation, which I paid for with a Living Social voucher... told you, totally addicted.) So far I've achieved this despite my most insane schedule ever-- between tutoring and work, there's not many hours in the day. But how nice to set aside some time and try to get those hammys stretched before I embark on the insane regimine of tri training. Larry's already getting his base built, and Ismael wants to go for some long rides, as he's doing an Ironman in May. So I'm enjoying the zen of this moment while I can, and when I can find it (last night, I did a 9-10PM class, and this morning I did 6:30AM-8. Let me just say, the muscles are not so limber in the AM. Couldn't pull off plow.) I did sign up, at a discount (but of course!) for a 20 class package, so I can cross train my my happy yoga place. The budget-ier choice would have been to stick with the free outdoor yoga in the park, but with the way my schedule's working, there's not a single time they practice that I can join, so this seems a sound investment. If only for my sanity.
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