Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Lovely Weekend and Glycemic Load Musings



Goodness gracious, I've been meaning to write again for ages. Here are my excuses:

1. I have 19 jobs, but not yet a full-time gig. Please say a little prayer for me to get the Whole Foods regional marketing job. Thank you.
2. I interview, prepare to interview and stress about interviewing.
3. I ride my bike a lot when I am not at one of said 19 jobs or obsessing about interviews.
4. I (we) am (are) wedding planning?
5. I am looking for a place in which to co-
habitate with the new fee-ance.

So that about sums it up. Meanwhile, I do have a few things to report:

1. Page Valley weekend was a blast. We stayed at my parental units' mountain house in Sperryville and drove over Skyline to get to the races. Brian raced both days, I opted not to do the 8 am RR and just raced the crit on Sunday. I heard the women's 4 RR was much like a group ride, so I supposed I should have manned up. I enjoyed meeting some of the GamJams folks and talking about Whole Foods post-RR! Hope you cats had a safe ride home.

The crit was a total blast. Awesome, awesome course.
I am glad I do the Tuesday Conte's hill ride every week, or I would have been SOL. Even still, of the 9 who came out...there were three other women (including Monika from NCVC) who could seriously climb...they were top 3 at the RR as well. The other two were from some VA beach team I think, and their legs skeered me. When I saw each of them attack on a preme lap, I realized I would not be able to beat them in a sprint. Instead of planning accordingly, I came around the last turn 4th wheel and, as such, came in 4th. Meh. A learning experience, I suppose.

The course was SO MUCH FUN. I wish we had more crits like this one.




2. Have been doing some reading on Glycemic load implications. I've heard mixed reviews as to whether GI/GL is really all that important...and what I've gathered is that for athletes who work out a ton, it's less of an issue than for those who are inactive. In fact, focusing on glycemic load is pretty darned important for athletes in that initial 30-minute post-exercise window (reference any of the books I have quoted before...Paleo Diet for Athletes & Racing Weight, for example).

Here is the bottom line according to moi, so take it for what it's worth...(perhaps not much): you want to take in low alkaline/high glycemic foods in the 30 minute window after long or hard workouts. The low alkaline part is important because if you start filling your bod with acidic foods, you aren't helping repair the stresses and inflammation your muscles have just incurred. The glycemic load is important because you want to replace your lost glycogen stores as efficiently as possible, and the body does this MOST efficiently within that 30 minute window.

**When you feed your body glucose, your blood sugar rises and you release insulin. The insulin drives sugar into cells to use immediately for energy...any excess sugar gets stored in the liver and muscles as glycogen. After a long/hard workout, you most likely have ripped through any immediate energy stores as well as your glycogen stores. As such, you need to replace the stores so you don't have a shat workout the next day, when your body once again burns through immediate energy and looks for glycogen stores to use up. With me? Wondrous! [Side note: for inactive peeps, it is likely their glycogen stores are chock-full most of the time...and any excess glucose is converted to triglycerides and stored as body fat. Sucks for them.]**

Some good suggestions for 30-minute window foods:
  • The Paleo Diet for Athletes recovery drink (includes dextrose powder, fruit juice, fruit, some kind of protein - I use egg whites, I also add L-glutamine powder). I usually only make this after a race...it is pretty caloric, and I don't necessarily need it after every workout.
  • Raisins - so money and easy to have on hand in my jersey pocket so I don't have to eat chili after the Tuesday night ride. Really any dried fruit will do, but raisins are more alkaline than most. Look how happy they are:
  • Yams - you may have picked up on my love for yams. Not always practical, but a fabulous option if available.
  • Banana - particularly a nice, ripe one. My problem is that I need to eat like 9 of them to feel like I've eaten anything. But I do love a banana.
  • Pumpkin - although we're in the midst of a crazy pumpkin shortage, if you weren't aware.
  • Watermelon - just ask Keck. He ate two huge watermelons after both races this weekend. That, and a steak. Don't you want to be like Keck?
  • Cantaloupe. I like to eat whole cantaloupes in one sitting, just for kicks. LOVE. If they aren't ripe, however, it ruins my day.
So that's pretty much all to report, for now. I think road racing is coming to an end for the season for moi...Brian is doing the Chesapeake Crit this weekend, but 3.5 hours is way too far for me to go when I have the 7 am to humble me, right here in my backyard. Luckily, CROSS IS COMING!!!!! Holy cow, can't wait. First time on the CX bike will be this Friday. I hope I remember how to do it.


**Got this info from "Glycemic Control for Health" from the fabulous Dr. Safayan.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm a guy - translation - I can't cook ANYTHING. How would one prepare either yams or pumpkin? I'm a bit burned out on bananas at this point in the season. Thanks for any reply!

margit said...

For the record, my fiance is def a better cook than I am! And he is a dude. :) I am slowly but surely getting more confident in the kitchen. The good news is if you're just cooking for you, there is no one to impress, ya?

Yams - me thinks best if wrapped in aluminum foil and put in a 450 degree oven for about 45 minutes...sooo delish and tender and perfect. But I never have that much time. So I put it in the microwave for 4 minutes and actually mix it with two eggs...stick it back in the micro and eat it like a yam souffle. Love it! Little bit of hot sauce and maybe some avocado or turkey bacon. I am weird though.

Pumpkin - if you get canned pumpkin, you can apparently eat it straight out of the can! Or mix it in smoothies. If you buy a whole pumpkin, cook it like squash... brush with some olive oil, salt, pepper and bake for 45 minutes or so (cut in half, sit on a tray face down). You can also microwave, depending on size maybe 7-8 minutes, checking a few times. Make sure to poke some holes in it with a fork or knife first. Good luck and let me know how it goes!

margit said...

ooho if you have a grill you can grill 'em up, too. wrap in aluminum foil or place above the main grill part so you don't burn the outside. wish i had one - i would use it all the time.

Nick Jordan said...

margit!!! are you seriously this much of a baller? reading your blog is a blast! and congrats on being engaged! holla at me!

Anonymous said...

Howdy, I tried cooking the yams as you suggested, SCORE! I skipped the eggs (too complicated), hot sauce (I find ketchup spicy), avocado (like those plain), and turkey bacon (got a bit of vomit in my mouth just reading that!). The pumpkin is still scaring me, but will try. Raisins do rule post-race though. THANKS for writing your blog, I like the (mostly) straight forward nutritional info! Sorry I'm "Anonymous" I don't have a Google ID. I will try the pumpkin...maybe. I live two time zones away, so random posting times aren't that random.
Thanks again nutrition woman!!
Be well...

margit said...

@nick - good to hear from you buddy! no, i am definitely not any sort of baller, do not be fooled :) and what about your new endeavor?? very cool

@anon - yay for the yam! glad it worked out. and glad you are reading from 2 time zones away! how did you find the blog? just curious. thanks for reading!

margit said...

another idea for pumpkin! http://www.choosingraw.com/best-soup-ever/

also - another yam trick. you can put it in the microwave to get the cooking started, and turn on your oven broiler at the same time. after a few minutes in the micro, cut up into either "fry" shape or rounds and place on a baking sheet (spray with olive oil cooking spray or quickly toss your yams with some olive oil to avoid sticking to pan). flip when you see the tops begin to brown. this will give you a crunchier texture on the outside, soft in the middle! make sure to check on them frequently, usually need about 5-10 minutes or so on each side.

Anonymous said...

Hi, I'll do my best to describe how I found my way to your blog. It's a bit "6 Degrees of Separation", but here goes...last year I flew in to Richmond to visit a friend, saw Working Man's Classic on the calendar so raced that - met some of the Battley boys. Can not forget the day as I was chatting to Russ L at the start and he told me Michael Jackson passed, but I was more focused on Farrah F's passing. Hey I had THE poster as a kid. Met Chuck H, Dave F, Keck, etc...BUT, I think I found Chuck H's blog through Nate Wilson's blog. Nate goes to CU, saw him on the Carter Lake/Gateway rides all winter, at the front with the big boys. So that's the roundabout way of how I found you!

margit said...

eggcellent recount. thanks for sharing...and for reading! keep me posted on your cooking successes :)