Recovery and return to normal.

Thanks for all the comments on my 100 mile day!  I definitely am still recovering.  Yesterday I walked for 2 miles and that felt fine.  I noticed some wrist soreness still and then when John and I went out on the scooter yesterday, I had soreness in my saddle area!  That is pretty unusual for me, but really not unexpected.  Even breaking the ride into chunks, it is still a lot of miles.  It took me a day to get fully hydrated again, too.

I woke up this morning contemplating a short ride to test the waters, but then decided not to.  I certainly could use another day off from the bike. I made up some breakfast after being productive with vacuuming and scrubbing the back porch to prep for painting.  Not sure where all that energy came from, but whatever.

1-minute muffin (applesauce version)

Had a nice work morning today.  It feels relaxed.  I think just having my ride over makes me relaxed.  Even though it was not a formal event, I still put some pressure on myself for training as if it were.

Our temps are starting to warm up around here, but certainly not as hot as the south!  I made up a nice cool lunch to eat on the porch.

Greek yogurt, berries, and Newman’s Own Honey Flax flakes.

I had some questions on the ride that I thought I might answer here today.

1. Flat tire issues. I did not get a chance to get the super puncture resistant tire as they did not have my size at the bike shop (who says size problems only happen with clothes??).  Almost all of our flats can be traced to a foreign object in the tire, so we just seem to have a string of incredibly bad luck going on.  I’ll take a flat tire over a crash any day, though.

2. The stops at home. The original plan for the 100 mile day a few months ago was basically for both of us to bike 50 miles away and back.  There were several reasons I did loops closer to home.  One was being by myself. For safety reasons, I wanted to be on known roads and accessible to a family member if need be.  The other was the tire issue.  I didn’t want to get stranded really far from home if I had something disastrous happen.  The side benefit to coming home was being able to restock my water and fuel and not have to carry tons of stuff with me. Leaving the house the first time was not a problem.  I had trouble before the last 15 miles and did not stay inside longer than to grab water and try to use the bathroom.

3.  What do I carry all of said snacks in? I have a bike rack on the back of my bike with a removable bag.  I cannot stand to wear a backpack when I bike.  I get too sweaty and it tires out my shoulders.  We have the Topeak system, which I adore.  Lots of interchangeable components to it.

The cool thing about this bag is that it has a detachable shoulder strap so I can slide it out of the rack and take it with me when off the bike like a purse.

4. How do I know what snacks to bring? This has been trial and error of the last couple of years.  We always plan our rides around some sort of food, whether that is lunch, dinner, cupcakes, coffee, whatever.  So we always know where we will be stopping for that snack.  What I bring with to eat depends on how long it takes to get there.  I like to have about 100 – 200 calories every 15 miles or so.  The best way to get that is in the form of dried fruit (or regular fruit) or bars.  I don’t do gels or stuff like that.  Can’t stomach them.  I do love coconut water, though.  I have a large insulated water bottle that I fill up at most every stop we make, too.  I drink a good amount when riding, but could probably do better.

5. What’s next? Really, nothing is next. LOL!  That was my big fitness goal for the year since running is out for now.  This ride was easier than last year’s 100 miles.  For one, because I actually knew this was the day I was to do that ride, and I was very well trained for it.  We do have a group ride this weekend which will be fun.  It’s about 35 miles.  Other than that, I am going to enjoy my summer rides and not worry about having to get in X number of miles for training.  Not to mention all the other things that need to get done around here that I have put off (cleaning, painting, weeding, going to the library, that stuff). I can also get back to eating more normally instead of having this constant hunger (or I hope that goes away at any rate).

Speaking of eating, I had a refreshing iced latte for a snack today.  (Note I still have not done my caffeine free week yet.  Must roast my decaf).

Plus some blueberries.

John cooked up extra chicken on the grill last night, so you know what I had to have for dinner tonight!

Are you getting tired of seeing this salad on my blog?  I have to get more experimental again.

I have noticed that I am less hungry today.  Yesterday I was still fairly hungry and let myself eat when I was really wanting something.  I was really craving salt, likely from sweating so much the day before.

I have a snack of some fresh pineapple and a side of peanuts for tonight.

This pineapple is soooo good!  I just can’t ever go back to canned unless I am cooking with it.

Feels good to be back to normal eating.  I am taking Shelley’s example of doing the right thing this week and working on my next goal of moving the scale.

Question:  Do you like pineapple?

23 thoughts on “Recovery and return to normal.

  1. Jan

    Thanks for answering those questions. I was thinking about some of them this morning when I was doing my piddly 13km ride 🙂

    Love love love pineapple. My dh doesn’t so when I get some it’s alllll for me!

  2. cammy@tippytoediet

    I have *got* to get a rack bag! I either use a backpack for short recreational/exercise rides or lash my tote bag to the rack if I need to haul stuff. It works but lacks style. 🙂

    Love pineapple! Have you tried it on the bbq chicken salad? Di-VINE! I prefer fresh pineapple (especially for snacking or salads), but if it’s too pricey or if I’m mixing it into something like a smoothie I just go with the canned stuff.

  3. debby

    Yes, I love fresh pineapple. This time of year there is so much fruit that I love that Pineapple kind of gets shoved aside. I’ll have to rotate it through again. I love it in salad too. Usually with chicken or salmon and asian sesame salad dressing. BBQ would be excellent too.

    That yogurt bowl looks fantastic. I’m going to take a little break from my homemade yogurt and get some Fage next.

  4. Lisa

    A few things: I think it’s amazing you did 100 miles on your own. I couldn’t do it.

    Second, do you find that you are hungrier after the ride or the next day? I find that the next day I have insane hunger issues after heavy fitness days.

    Lastly, when we ride I like to use GU or protein bars. Have you triedthe liquid brews like GU or other stuff? I find that the liquid works well for me.

    1. Lori Post author

      I am usually a bottomless pit the next day, although I did eat a lot later in the day after this ride, more than usual, which seemed to stave off some of the eating on Sunday.

      I am not sure why I don’t like the GU stuff. I think the taste is just too strong for me. Same thing with Gatorade, it makes me gag. Coconut water does me pretty good. It’s just missing the sodium.

  5. Fran

    Definitely love fresh pineapple. At the market here you can buy a pineapple which they already sliced for you. All you have to do is peal it off, perfect! This reminds me I want to buy one next weekend.

    First time I tried a gel during a long run I was worried if my body could handle it but for me they work fine. But I know there are more people who can’t stand them.

    And after this huge milestone you are so right to just enjoy Summer and shorter rides (however a shorter ride in your book is still very far for me LOL )

  6. Jody - Fit at 53

    I LOVE pineapple, especially if I am in Hawaii! 😉 I know, it always comes back to Hawaii! I so want to get back there for some R&R!

    Glad you are going to just take it the summer as is & see what the bod wants. Congrats on that ride! I am still in awe!

  7. Helen

    That group ride this weekend is going to feel like a piece of cake after your 100. I think your body and psyche will thank you for just going along as you feel. I often do that after running races as well. I’m just not the type of person who needs to be in training all the time!

  8. Ali

    I love pineapple too! I’ve been blending it with various other fruits and making different kinds of breakfast smoothies. Even put a bunch in carrot cake and none of my picky non-pineapple loving relatives noticed. Sneaky me… Anyway, fruit season is awesome!

  9. Katy

    I love pineapple and I love BBQ chicken salads!! Will have to try putting them together!… My problem is that after I eat one for dinner and even though I can never finish it because I’m full; I’m always hungry about an hr later. Where as if I eat a carb with dinner I’m not hungry… On another food note, I love your Banana Bread breakfast pudding; made it this morning and put a chocolate peanut butter sauce on top and it was soooo good!! (I used 1 tbsp peanut butter, 1 tbsp dark cocoa powder and then almond milk to thin it out to the consistency I wanted)I’m sure your peanut flour would work good!
    I love your bike posts, they inspire me to get out there… so far my longest is 10 miles!

    1. Lori Post author

      I need to try that banana bread with the peanut flour. Yum!

      I need to eat fat with my salads or they don’t last me at all. That’s where the cheese comes in 😀

      10 miles is a good ride – great job!

  10. Shelley B

    Is your pineapple in a ramekin-sized dish? If so…dang. I eat a lot of pineapple!

    I could imagine that you were a bit sore after that ride, but your fitness level is impressive in that you were not completely laid out on Sunday!

  11. kalli

    so glad you took time to recover lori! so smart to not head out on another ride……..yes i LOVE pineapple. so refreshing and sweet.
    enjoy your day!

  12. Joanne

    That’s such a great fitness accomplishment = 100 miles in the bike saddle. Wow! But you worked your way up there and did it right. Great job. In NYS, riding 100 miles is a lot harder than people can imagine. There’s nothing flat about it and you really do have to plan smart, nutrition wise.
    As for pineapple – I can’t leave fresh pineapple alone. Love it!

  13. Roz

    Doesn’t get better than fresh pineapple, does it? I’m like you, I can only cook with canned now….and if that means not having pineapple for a month or two, so be it. Have a great day, glad you are recovery well from the mega ride!

Comments are closed.