Time to pump air in the tires.

The Cycling Gonzos are in business!  It appears that my application was accepted, which means that Karen and I will be riding together again in our first bike tour in nearly two years come May 6.  As a backup, I was threatening to do the New Jersey or Long Island Marathons, but I really am happy about this. The idea of riding your bike along the FDR with no vehicles, for example, is nearly worth the admission, which was $75 for each of us, blech!

Of course, this means that I will need to get my bike into shape and get a few rides in between now and that first Sunday in May...

My friend, Nat, from work told me good news about his progress
withi his running.  He mentioned that he was able to maintain a consistent pace of 5.8 MPH on the treadmill for an hour.  I mentioned to him that he's ready for a 10k run, and we both looked in the calendar for a race for him to run out here in Long Island. 

He also asked me about training guidelines for which I had all but too many advices to give him.  Springtime (which oddly today is gonna be 60 degrees) is the time of the year, where runners get overzealous with their training, only to injur themselves right as the weather starts to get great.  It's important to be enthused, but even more important to use some prudence when working out.  Last night my wife met me at the gym, and we were playing around on our side-by-side treadmills (how cute).  She wanted to show me that she had good speed, and pumped up the mill to 8.5mph.  I was just as bad and pumped mine up to 12.3mph (which by the way, is like a 4 something per minute mile).  Of course, I only did that for about 20 seconds, but she kept on going.  Result?  Last night she complained more about her hip. 

The best way to train is to take it slow.  Getting injured is something that's gonna happen to everybody sooner or later.  That's human nature.  We tend to run too much, or too fast.  I know I should stretch more.
Muscles and joints need time to adapt from training changes which include jumps in mileage or intensity.  I tend to get injured almost always during training and not racing, because the adrenaline helps me counteract the intensity during a run.  However to prevent breaking down, I would suggest to build your weekly training mileage by no more than 10 percent per week.  And if you're injury-prone then a 5 or even 3-percent increase is more appropriate.

This week I've been focusing on proteins and not as much with carbs.  I'm doing this to starve my body of it's usual carbo intake.  For sure, I'm still probably getting enough carbs (probably even more than most people), but the difference between this and my normal carb intake will help my body to more efficiently use carbs.
For my Al Gordon race this Saturday, I do plan to eat carbs tonight and all-day tomorrow.  This way, my body will have a ton of carbs, but at the right moment.  I don't want to just run well on Saturday.  I want to explode from the starting line, especially because I need to overcome that hill on Mile 1.  To do that I will need the right kind and amount of fuel beforehand.

As for fuel, it's important to eat protein and carbs to repair muscles after a long or hard run.  Runner's world suggested I try whole-grain pancakes with Greek yogurt and blueberries.  Pancakes provides energy (carbs), while Greek yogurt is high in protein.  Blueberries fight inflammation, and speaking of blueberries, I haven't eaten breakfast yet, and I have two packages of Instant Oatmeal with blueberries waiting for me, so...ta-ta for now..