Nutrition Part 1 – Osmo Review

As you may recall, I had nutrition troubles at IRONMAN Wisconsin 2011.  These troubles have lead me to practice a variety of different nutrition options.

I am thankful that Erin has referred me to Osmo Nutrition.  I decided to try Osmo for Women after doing some research, reading some reviews from other athletes and asking a friend/nutritionist his valued opinion.

The longest workout I’ve had so far this year was Saturday’s 4 hour brick…20 min run, 3:10 bike, 30 min run.  Osmo nutrition has been my go to for hydration during my bike and run workouts since late February.  When I have long or taxing workouts, I use the preload before my workout (both the night before and the morning of) and the active hydration during the workout.  I have not used the recovery formula due to the caffeine…my body is SUPER sensitive to caffeine and doesn’t respond well to it.

During Saturday’s 4 hour brick workout, I noticed the following:

• It was 84F and humid during the last run portion.
• It was mostly sunny for the duration of the workout.
• There were strong winds from the SSW at 20+ mph.
• While on the bike, I consumed 4 bottles of water, 1 bottle of Osmo Active Hydration (3 scoops), 2 Kind granola bars, 2 packages of Honey Stinger Chews.
• On the 2nd run, I got very hungry.  Next time I need to take in calories closer to the run while on the bike.
• I sweat out a LOT of salt…my blue Coeur tri kit was covered in white salt when I was done working out.
• I was not dehydrated or hyponatremic at any point during the workout or post workout. 🙂

So far, I am a HUGE fan of Osmo Nutrition and I am definitely looking forward to testing it during races and longer workouts as this summer progresses…the heat and humidity in central Iowa will be the true test 😉

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Week #14 Totals:

Swim:  4500 yards

Bike:  79.1 miles

Run:  34.5 miles

Strength Training:  2 hours & 15 minutes

Hot Yoga:  1 hour

Week #14 in the green 😉

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Grace and Gratitude

This last week of training was challenging, but I finally made it to recovery week.  I LOVE my time on the mat and every time I go to hot yoga, I am reminded to show myself grace and gratitude.  I am grateful for the ability to push my body to new limits on a daily basis…now it is time to show my body grace and allow my hard work to sink in with focus on recovery this week.

1. I am thankful that my mind is strong and focused.
2. I am thankful that I am happy and healthy.
3. I credit my body for pushing hard through some challenging workouts and pushing to new limits.
4. I respect my body’s physical and mental strength.
5. I am grateful for the confidence I have in my abilities.
6. I am grateful for my determination to be a better person and athlete.
7. I credit my mental focus for my perseverance and fortitude, even during challenging times.
8. I show my body grace by giving it what it wants and needs…good nutrition, good sleep, good people.

What are you thankful for?  How do you show your body grace and gratitude?

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Week #7 (Base Training) Totals:

Swim:  5000 yards

Bike:  60.8 miles

Run:  20.8 miles

Strength Training:  2 hours & 15 minutes

Hot Yoga:  2 hours & 30 minutes

Week #7 in the green 😉

Learning from my Mistakes

As many of you know, I am again training for IRONMAN Wisconsin.  I participated in IRONMAN Wisconsin 2011 and crossed the finish line, but in a less than desirable state.  As a result, I feel it is important to look back on my experiences from my IMWI race day in 2011 so I don’t make the same mistakes again.  What was my biggest mistake???  Hyponatremia…a condition when the sodium in your blood is abnormally low.  While anything can happen on race day, I don’t ever want to relive hyponatremia.

So…What happened?

On race day, it was sunny, 84 degrees with wind speeds as high as 16 mph from the SW.  While this isn’t ridiculous midwest summer weather, it was warmer than I had planned for.  I drank plenty of water…a little too much actually.  I didn’t take in enough salt tablets or salty foods while on the bike.  I finished the race, but I don’t remember the last 90 minutes on the bike or the entire marathon (which I mostly walked…6 1/2 hours).  As a matter of fact, I don’t remember much until about 1 pm the next day and what I do remember is foggy…imagine getting completely intoxicated, waking up the next morning and having spotty memories from the night before wondering if “that really happened” or if you are imagining it.

What did I learn?

1. Too much water can be a very bad thing.
2. Many of the symptoms of hyponatremia and dehydration are the same, which can make proper diagnosis difficult.
3. I did not have enough sodium in my nutrition plan on race day at IMWI 2011.
4. I need to develop a different nutritional plan for IMWI 2014.
5. I need to practice with a variety of fuel sources.

What will I do differently in 2014?

1. I will try to incorporate solid food while on the bike.  In 2011, I only used liquid calories (Carbo-Pro), which did not contain much salt and I did not do a good job on race day of supplementing with salt tablets.  I am starting to practice with these now while on the trainer to see how my stomach responds to them.  This will give me about 7 months to practice and adjust as needed.
2. I will try a variety of fuel sources during training and smaller races throughout the year…I am not going to stick with only one fuel source this year.
3. I will develop a different nutritional plan for race day in 2014 that has multiple levels to it.  My nutritional plan will have possible strategies for different weather, different moods (what I feel like consuming), etc…if plan A doesn’t work, go to plan B or C and so on.  If it is hot, try this…if it is cold, try that.  You get the idea 🙂

What I DO know…

1. I do know that I am lactose intolerant and anything with whey protein upsets my stomach, so I will need to avoid fuel sources that use whey protein.
2. I do know that I need more sodium than what I used in 2011.  If I continue to use Carbo-Pro, I will need to supplement it with salt tablets or additional fuel sources containing sodium as Carbo-Pro does not have sodium in it.
3. I do know that my body does not respond well to caffeine (accelerated heart rate, excessive sweating, twitchy muscles, etc.), so I will need to find fuel sources that do not have caffeine in them.
4. I do know that I have struggled with solid foods on the bike in the past.  For some reason, my body struggles to digest the food and it feels as though someone has put jagged rocks in my gut.  I am willing and not afraid to try solid foods again and hopefully find a solution or two that will work.
5. I do know that I did have some success in 2013 incorporating Oreo cookies into my nutritional plan for my 1/2 IRONMAN races, so that is a starting place for 2014…

Finding a nutritional plan (with back-up options) will be an ongoing experiment for me this year…good thing I am a science teacher and enjoy a good experiment!!

What struggles have you encountered while racing and how have you overcome them?

How do you eat your grapefruit???

The Iron Hippie and I eat our grapefruit VERY differently, but we aren’t the only ones.  We actually had a conversation with 3 of our closest friends to see how they eat their grapefruit…lo and behold…we all eat our grapefruit differently.

• The Iron Hippie peels the whole grapefruit and eats each segment separately.
• M peels the whole grapefruit and eats it in quarter sections.
• A buys the grapefruit already peeled, segmented and stored in grapefruit juice.
• K cuts the grapefruit in half and uses a grapefruit spoon to segment each piece out.
• I cut the grapefruit in half, use a knife to cut around the inside of each segment and scoop each piece out with a spoon.  I then squeeze all the juice out of each half of the grapefruit into my bowl and drink the juice.  YUMMY!!

So, what’s my point???  That’s easy…how you eat your grapefruit is symbolic of training and racing and here are my reasons why:

1. The variety of gear (wetsuits, goggles, bikes, helmets, bike shoes, apparel, running shoes, etc.) available to athletes allow them to be comfortable (or as comfortable as possible) while training and racing.
2. There are many different training plans and coaches that individuals use to help them arrive at the start line happy and healthy.
3. Everyone has their own unique journey.
4. All athletes are at different fitness levels, so a workout that pushes one person may be very easy for another or vice versa.
5. Individuals have different mental capacities…some THINK they CAN’T, some THINK they CAN and others KNOW they CAN.
6. Methods of recovery can vary from person to person…ice baths, foam rollers, massages, stretching, yoga, naps, amino recovery tablets, protein shakes, etc.
7. People have different plans for race day execution…different pre-race routines, different nutrition plans, different race strategies, different mental focus, etc.
8. Race day goals are different for everyone…some just want to finish and others have time goals.

Since we are all unique individuals, we may eat grapefruit our grapefruit very differently, and have many different ways to cross the finish line of whatever race we choose to take part in.  The ultimate outcome is hopefully the same for everyone…eat grapefruit and cross the finish line.

So…How do you eat your grapefruit???

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Week #4 (Base Training) Totals:

Swim:  4400 yards

Bike:  41 miles (only two rides this week 😦 )

Run:  13.2 miles

Strength Training:  2 hours & 15 minutes

Hot Yoga:  2 hours & 30 minutes

Week #4 in the green 😉

Just Believe

With the Holidays upon us and Christmas just around the corner, many parents are hopeful that their young ones will believe in Santa Claus, Elf on the Shelf, the true meaning of Christmas and paying it forward to those around them.  While these are all very important, I would like to add another very important thing for us to believe in…ourselves.

As endurance athletes, it is critical to our success that we believe in our own abilities, our training, our coach, our nutrition plan, our race day plan…ourselves.  When you truly believe in yourself, success is yours!!