Sunday Redemption

After sitting in a car for 4.5 hrs yesterday and then sitting on my butt watching the Olympics for 2 hrs last night (I'm totally hooked), I felt the need to exercise this morning. Nevermind the fact that all of my clothes are fitting a little too snug lately but that's another story.

Anyway, with 3 inches of fresh snow on the ground and more coming down, I decided not to run. Instead, I would ride my trainer. And btw, this is one of the advantages of being a multi-sport athlete: you have at least 3 different ways to get your training fix.

I was feeling pretty fiesty so I popped in Coach Troy Jacobson's Ride and Stride 10.0, one of my favorites. Its rated as extremely difficult which was perfect for how I was feeling.

But first I will a mention mistake I made in my nutrition this morning. I don't normally make nutrition mistakes because, well, I am a sports dietitian after all. I have a PhD in nutrition, for cryin' out loud. But even we "experts" screw up once in awhile.

And it wasn't really a nutrition mistake. It was a planning mistake. I ate my usual bowl of oatmeal (mixed with flax cereal, grape nuts, and reduced-fat granola) and thought I'd sit down with my son to listen to him read a book while I let my breakfast settle. My thought was that it would take awhile to digest so I might as well sit and read with him while my tummy does it's thing.

But the book was longer and harder than I thought, meaning that we sat for a very....long...time on the couch and I was itchin' to ride. I didn't want to say "sorry, Evan, mommy can't read with you, she has to ride her bike" so I pretended to be a good parent and patiently sat there while he read.

Then I hear a strange sound...it's my stomach growling. I'm hungry already which means I won't have a good ride. I always time my meals so that I ride or run when the food is digested and on it's merry way to the small intestine for absorption (you can actually feel that happening if you pay attention).

But food travels at different rates depending on what else is going on in the body. Suffice it to say that i should've rode much earlier - I was now going past the point of having plenty of fuel in my bloodstream for fast-moving muscles.  ARRRGGGHH!

No big deal, right? Just ride later, right?  No, I want to ride RIGHT NOW.  So I did what any self-respecting Ironman trainee would do: I told my son that we would take a break so he could play the computer and I could, um, ride my bike.

It was a total win-win situation. He flew off the couch and raced to his room, promptly plopping himself in front of his computer to play a totally brainless video game. I raced off to get my bike gear on (envisioning his brain turning to total mush and his college scholarships going down the drain). But I had to do it now while I had the energy or else the day would be shot.

Long story short, I did the entire Ride and Stride workout and felt great.  And lest you feel the need to chastise me for not finishing the book with my son, we DID finish it after lunch and he is now happily snowboarding over at the UNC hill. So there! It really was a win-win situation!

I share this story because I have a lot of women ask me how I train and be a mom at the same time. Well, it doesn't always work out the way I want it to, but most of the time I'm able to pull off both tasks fairly well. It comes down to planning ahead and simplifying your life so that you do have time for training (more on simplifying later).  And to be honest, you have to "just do it" or it will never get done.

In other words, you have to prioritize your training (or exercise) fairly high. This may sound selfish but everyday I first think about when I will run/ride/swim/lift and then I plan my day around that time. I may not get all my housework done or all the phone calls made that I need to make, but those things have a way of working themselves out anyway. Just get the exercise done first and everything else will work out fine (most of the time). Really, it will!