The Two Week Test

It has been two full weeks since the Leadville emails arrived, announcing our participation in the 2012 Leadville Trail 100.  This traumatic and shocking event was followed by days and days of obsessive behaviour.  Bruce spent hours on his computer, reading every detail he could find about which bike to ride, what food to pack, how to acclimatize to the elevation, and everything else.

I, on the other hand, sought information from a more reliable source: the Library.

I've never taken part in a race before.  I've never biked 100 miles in a single day or done anything even remotely resembling an endurance event.  So, understandably, I've been a bit worried.  My research has centered around how to prepare for such an long athletic endeavour, including how to train and nutritional strategies.  I checked out all the books I could find about "nutrition for endurance sports".

I've picked up some useful information from these books.  One important thing I learned is that increasing dietary iron and vitamin E can help to build red blood cells before racing at high elevation (the town of Leadville is at 10,200 feet above sea level and the race tops out at 12, 400 or something stupid like that).  I'm also trying to figure out nutritional strategies to help me build muscle and strength during training.

In that interest, I was browsing through The Big Book of Endurance Training and Racing by Phil Maffetone when I came across the Two Week Test.  Basically, Maffetone's claim is that lots of us endurance athletes are suffering from Carbohydrate Intolerance, which causes us to be tired and cranky and slow and oh-by-the-way it also causes every disease known to man.  My quack alert should have gone off when I read that last bit.  Unfortunately, in desperation for something to help me train better and because I hadn't read the dietary restrictions closely enough, Bruce and I decided to leap in and take the two week test.  In two weeks, we would know if we were carbohydrate intolerant and we would have the keys to being stronger, fitter, and healthier!

We started first thing on Monday morning.  I went shopping and bought a whole cart full of lean meat and vegetables.  It was really expensive. 

I didn't start freaking out until after supper (dry ribs and salad).  The two week test doesn't allow any condiments with sugar, so we had no sauce and no salad dressing.  It also doesn't allow rice or potatoes or bread, so we had no starch.  It doesn't allow milk or fruit juice, so we drank water. 
I was craving potato chips by 7:00.  And it didn't stop there.  I made Bruce go out and by peanuts so I would have something to snack on, but I've never liked peanuts so they weren't very satisfying.  Today, I couldn't stop thinking about cookies.  Mmmmm, cookies...

I've made it through almost three whole days of the test now.  And I'm seriously considering throwing in the towel TONIGHT.  Further research indicates that real doctors don't seem to regard Maffetone's "carbohydrate intolerance" as a real condition.  For example, all of the best medical dictionaries list carbohydrate intolerance as related to lactate intolerance, testable by breath test (and they don't mention that it causes diabetes, cancer, heart disease, lupus, and crankiness).  And Maffetone's website has a music section... what kind of doctor is this guy?

The past three days has been helpful in one way.  I've realized that I do eat too much junk food.  Moving forward, my nutritional strategy is to eat less candy and potato chips in the hopes of dropping a few pounds and being better fueled for training.

In sum... I think I'll go help myself to some bread.  And rice.  And maybe some french fries for desert.

Bruce is a Weight Weenie

Bruce is thrilled now that his Schwalbe Racing Ralphs have arrived. He thinks they're a bit heavy though...

It's Still Winter in Alberta

A lot of snow has been falling in the past 24 hours.  And, although it may be nice to look at, snow is not condusive to the sport of bicycling. 

...unless you're Bruce, in which case cold weather and impassable trails are merely laughable obstacles.  Bruce owns a Surly Pugsley, which means that he can bike in even the most adverse conditions.

Bruce was even overheard bragging yesterday that this bike allowed him to reach his maximum heart rate while only moving at 12 kilometres per hour!  Having ridden this bike myself on one memorable occasion, I can easily believe it.  The bike weighs, like, 900 lbs or something ridiculous like that.  It also has no front shock, so riding it feels like being in a blender.  Nonetheless, Bruce loves it.  The Pugsley can go places that other bikes just can't, given that the rider has the strength to propel it there (and Bruce does).

Personally, I think I'll just wait for the blizzard to pass before trying to get out on a real bicycle again.  To the gym!

Muscular Weaness?

So, weird story.  At exactly 5:00 this morning, my left calf muscle suddenly cramped very painfully.  I sat right up in bed, woke Bruce up with some sleepy shrieks and grunts, and lamely attempted to rub my leg back into a more relaxed state.  Luckily, the cramp slowly abated and I was back to sleep in about half an hour.

Momby tells me this means I am deficient in some important mineral or nutrient.  I looked it up, and turns out she could be right.  Muscle cramping and weakness can be a symptom of Hypokalemia (Potassium deficiency).  I wouldn't presume to diagnose myself with Hypokalemia based on one cramping incident, but I've also started to wonder why I'm so weak overall.

Last summer, I biked to work about 3 times a week (a 12 km round trip with no significant climbs).  I felt really strong and my legs were quite firm.  Now, I realize that in winter it can be harder to stay fit.  But I've been taking part in a fairly rigorous fitness class for the past 2 months now, as well as spinning at the gym and taking the mountain bike out when the weather permits.  However, I still find that my muscles burn from a single flight of stairs, I don't feel any stronger on the bike, and I don't detect any reduction in my resting heart rate.  What's the deal?  Am I a mutant?

Well, maybe it's Hypokalemia.  Maybe it's not.  But my strategy for the time being is to eat more potassium-rich foods and see what happens.  If there's still a problem, maybe I'll go get a blood test.

A Welcome Post

Hi.  Welcome to The Frumious Cyclist (I'm Fat Cyclist's more frumious cousin...two or three times removed*).

My purpose is to document the fantastic year of bicyling-related fun that lies ahead of me.  There are three major events that I'm gearing up for in 2012:

• The first is the Alberta Ride to Conquer Cancer in late June.  Bruce participated in the ride last year, and assures me that it is super easy when undertaken on a proper ro-ad bike.  More on Bruce's delusions later.
• Chronologically second is the Leadville 100.  After driving through Leadville last fall, Bruce decided to enter us in the Leadville lottery on a whim.  Though the odds were stacked against us, we were chosen to race this year.  I have all sorts of mixed emotions about Leadville (trepidation currently tops the list), but, regardless, Bruce and I will be driving to Colorado for the race on August 11.
• Finally, I'm very excited to be going to Trek Dirt Series in Canmore on August 18-19.  Dirt Series is a mountain bike camp specifically for gnarly chicks who want to improve their skills.

So, all in all, it looks like an excellent year of cycling.  Once the snow melts and the temperature decides to stay above freezing, that is.

* I don't actually know Fat Cyclist, but I do think he's cool.