I ate some pumpkin last night.

I paid my local farmer's market a visit this past weekend...and guess what they had?! Pumpkin! First time I've seen it this year. Whole Foods still doesn't have any canned versions for me to purchase. At least that means I'm saving like $5 per visit (so I only end up spending approximately $23423413). I am a glass half full kind of gal.

Anywho. Here is what I concocted last night:

A little mini pumpkin, stuffed with spicy chicken sausage! I sauteed some kale, added chili peppers, mushrooms & tomatoes, then finished it all off with some Cholula. The balance of the pumpkin (which I baked split open, face down in about an inch of water at 450 degrees for 20 minutes or so) with the spiciness of the sausage and peppers was quite enjoyable. I am really into spicy foods these days. Perhaps my trip to Santa Fe encouraged such behavior.

In other news, I took a week off the bike while on said trip. I passed the time in an arsenic bath, a soda bath, a mud bath, on a massage table and so on and so forth. It was a very difficult week.

I rode on Saturday, just for kicks. And since then, I've managed to avoid riding entirely. Sigh. I suppose tonight will have to be the night...and then CX practice starts tomorrow, which is motivation enough for me. Does anyone else feel like time off just leads to more time off?

A few good reads...

If you're looking to fill your brain with information this fine afternoon, consider these two blog posts from Choosing Raw. I am a big fan of this gal's blog - from which my banana softserv habit evolved - and she definitely appears to know her stuff when it comes to stomach and gut issues. Enjoy!

• Eating for IBS - this post is definitely relevant for those of you without IBS, too - she does a good job of explaining soluble vs. insoluble fiber, and the list of soluble veggies/grains are perfect pre & post ride nutrition.

• Food Combining, Simplified - this may be the first time you've ever heard about food combining...but for many vegans and raw foodists, it's a way of life. I find it intriguing simply because of my stomach's reaction to fruit if I eat it after a meal (watermelon, in particular). Something to ponder, at the very least.

Orange Hands

After a brilliant 10 am ride this morning, I had a lunch date planned with mom. We finally made it over to Cafe Green (new vegan joint next door to Komi, same owners at Java Green on 19th St.). It was quite enjoyable. I got my kimchi on and had the eggplant "parm" sans bread. Amazing what one can do with an eggplant.

Anywho, onto the real point of this blog entry. So moms says to me, "let me see your hands." I was skeptical of this demand, but conceded. She takes one look at my palms and says "your hands are orange. ORANGE!" In fact, we compared palms shortly thereafter...and they are, indeed, orange as can be. I kind of sort of knew this before, when I was eating bags of carrots like they were going out of style. But I quit that habit a few weeks ago, and thought the orange hue was a bit less noticeable. Apparently not the case.

I could eat most of these in about 2-3 sittings.

As it turns out, I am getting way too much beta carotene and, potentially, ODing on vitamin A. Too many carrots, copious amounts of cantaloupe and, of course, my precious yam habit. CRIMINY! What's a girl to do? Not quite sure yet. I suppose I need to eat regular taters for a bit and see how things go from there. Too much beta carotene is, luckily, benign. Too much vitamin A is toxic and can make you feel like total crap. I failed to mention this before when I was blogging about iron deficiency, but after testing came back negative for anemia, the doc took one look at my palms and told me that iron wasn't my issue, it was too many friggin carrots!

Live and learn. Too much of a good thing is still too much, isn't it. Drat!

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.

Twisted Brass Studio

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.