Bike situation and sodium freak out

So much for hanging onto my road bike for another season...had someone make me a full price offer on it...so I sold it. Good news is that I'm in no rush to pick up a new one. I'm just going to continue rolling through craigslist in hopes of finding a great tri bike someone is ready to part with. Most of these triathlon folks regularly upgraded their bikes...so I'm hopefully I'll find something by next Spring.

Until then, I'll just have to put my spinners to good use.

I read an article about how sodium levels should actually be almost double what the RDA projects them at. I'm not sure I buy it, but it does have me thinking...is my sodium too low? This article went on to say that most people need to hit between 2800 mg-4000 mg daily or else you suffer side effects both from being below 2800 mg or above 4000 mg.

I'm going to start tracking my sodium intake in order to see if that might be a problem. I've been having problems with muscle spasms and extreme dry eyes, so I'm curious as to whether or not there is a correlation.

Workout Plan

Sunday-7.5 mile run w/ John

Monday-Off

Tuesday-Weights Lower Body and Core

Wednesday-4.5 mile speed work run

Thursday (today)-Upper Body Weights

Friday-35 min non-stop swim (free style/breast stroke only)

Saturday-Off

Almost bought a new bike

I almost bought a new bike last week...but decided not to. Cervelo triathlon bike...really sweet. Still too afraid to go down that slippery slope I guess...that or dropping that much coin on a bike seems silly at this stage of the game.

Think I'll stick with the one I have for a little while longer. There is a lot of pride in passing people in races on an inferior cycle.

Weekend Highlights

• ate at Bodega Coast and had some tasty Tilapia Corn Tortilla tacos. Nice choice right around $10.
• ran 7 miles with John at an 8:33 overall pace
• had a client pool party Saturday (pictures coming soon to our Facebook page)
• went shoe shopping with Hayden for his first pair of running shoes. He went with the kid version of the Nike Free. His first day of school was today and his teacher commented on how she liked his shoes. His reply..."they make me really fast."

New Food from Facebook

I've noticed over the years that I feel best when I rotate the foods I eat every week or so. I, like most, tend to fall into a routine for snacks, breakfast, etc and stray away from trying new foods. If I'm eating the same thing for breakfast and snacks day in and day out, I'm not going to be able to operate at my optimum.

I started a contest on our Facebook page for our clients and friends to exchange healthy recipes. Kara and I are going to try a few recipes this week and I'm really excited because they all look really good. http://www.facebook.com/pages/BCS-Fitness/121349967880087?ref=ts

Here is my current meal/snack rotation...

Breakfast (variety needed)

-Wheaties Fuel w/ Cookies and Cream Muscle Milk Light, 1% milk

-Eggs, turkey sausage, grapes

-whole wheat sandwich round, almond butter, banana

Snacks

-raw cashews and orange

-Fage 0% w/ dried cranberries

-apple and boar's head turkey

-gluten free crackers and almond butter

-carrots and almond butter

-Premier Nutrition High Protein Bar and Blueberries

-Kefir Cherry Yogurt Smoothie

Meals

-Eating for Life Sloppy Joes and whole wheat sandwich rounds, green beans

-Buffalo Burger (no bun) with sliced and baked sweet potatoes, green beans

-Taco Salad w/ romaine lettuce, ground lean turkey, salsa, fage as sour cream, 4-5 crunched soy chips

-Lime Chicken Fajitas w/ corn tortillas, salsa, romaine lettuce, tomatoes

-whole wheat sandwich round w/ boar's head lean ham, 1/2 slice of reduced fat colby jack, cheese, romaine lettuce, frank red hot wing sauce and grapes

I ran Saturday morning for 8.5 miles at an average pace of 8:48...which is kinda slow. My favorite Nike running shoes are really starting to be uncomfortable to run in...so I ran in my other shoes that are about 3 oz heavier. It is amazing how big a difference 3 oz makes when you are tired.

I need to fit in two more runs (one short and one long) between now and Sunday as well as one swim. I'll lift Tuesday and Thursday as usual with John.

Music this week

I've been in a Deftones mood this past week, so here are two songs if you like drastic tempo changes and a decent amount of screaming...

Deftones-"Pink Maggot" from album White Pony

Deftones-"Pins and Needles" from album Deftones

I Wonder What's Next

So, after 5 months of training...I competed in my first (sprint) triathlon. I raced smart and hard and finished just one minute shy of my goal of 1:30 on the 300m swim, 16.1 mile bike, and 3.3 mile run. Despite coming in a tad short of my goal, I had a blast and would rank it as one of my favorite races of all time.

So now what?

I told myself (and my wife) that I wasn't going to spend a lot of money on triathlon until I knew if it was something I wanted to continue doing after this summer. My mind now starts to think of all the crap I can buy to gain a little speed. : ) So, now I start my wish list...

-Aerobars for my bike

-Faster cogs/crank for bike (already bought off Cowboy Jeff's bike)

-Wet suit (so I can keep swimming through the winter/fall)

-Triathlon seat post (for more aerodynamic positioning)

-new running shoes (mine are just about at their max mileage)

-Tri suit

I'm not sure if any of this stuff will actually make me faster. I'll have to start my research I guess.

So what's my next move? I'm not sure. I think I'm going to put about 40% of my energy into weight training, 40% of my energy into running, and 20% into swimming and biking. I'll likely not sign up for another triathlon until the Spring and will focus on preparing for running events for the Fall. Ken and I are thinking about signing up for a half-marathon in October. Ken and John are running their first full marathon in December/January...so I'm really tempted to join them. I'm just not sure I have the time to put in the weekly mileage I would need to safely run 26.2 miles.

I'm afraid if I stop swimming I will loss ground technically...so I'll likely continue one swim per week. I'd say I'm most proud of how far I've come in my swimming this summer...albeit at the expense of my running.

There is a part of me that thinks I'm not going to progress much more on the bike until I upgrade my bike. That part of me is probably wrong...so I'll likely keep pounding away over the Fall/Winter and re-evaluate in the Spring. I will say this, the only folks that were passing me at the race on Sunday where those with sweeter bikes. ; )

Rookie Mistakes

I learned many valuable lessons this past weekend about biking. Hopefully, my foolishness will serve to benefit others. After completing roughly 34 miles of a 36 mile ride, I had a blowout on the HWY 6 feeder road. I spent 30 minutes walking down the feeder (in cycling cleats) before getting picked up by Cowboy Jeff who finished ahead of me.

Lesson #1: Bring extra CO2 cartridges

I had one and wasted it trying to make a secure connection. Had I had another, I may have been able to put enough air in to make it another 2 miles at a slow speed.

Lesson #2: Always carry a cell phone with you.

Why I did not carry my phone with me I do not know. I don't have room on my bike, right now, for a phone...but I will certainly be investing in some sort of bike pouch to hold one.

Lesson #3: Learn how to change a bike tire

I had an extra tube...but had no clue what to do with it. By week's end...I will learn how to change a bike tire.

Meal Rotations

Here is what my meal rotation has been looking like...

-egg omelet with turkey bacon, avocado. and pinch of shredded cheese and Frank's Red Hot

-spinach and ground turkey enchiladas on low calorie tortillas, onions, enchilada sauce, shredded cheese (thanks Shelly!)

-Taco Salad (romaine lettuce, ground turkey, light Catalina dressing, crushed soy chips, avocado, fage 0% as sour cream

-Jason's Deli Salad bar (organic spinach leaves, tomatoes, alfalfa sprouts, carrots, kidney beans, chick peas, pinch of feta cheese, romaine lettuce, broccoli, splash of low calorie French dressing)

-Chicken Parmesan from Eating for Life and side salad

-Kashi Go Lean Berry Crunch Protein Cereal with 1 scoop of Cookies and Cream Muscle Milk, 1% organic milk, V8 Splash Pomegranate punch

-Broccoli Pizza (light on cheese topped with steamed broccoli and black olives.)

Snacks

-Boar's Head Turkey slices, gluten free Crunchmaster crackers, frank's red hot

-Fage 0% greek yogurt, wife's homemade granola mixed in

-Fat Free Cottage Cheese, dried cranberries, pinch of Kashi cereal

-Organic Apple and Almond Butter

-Grapes and raw cashews

-Banana, Agave Necter, and Almond Butter Sandwich on whole wheat bread

-Cookies and Cream Muscle Milk w/ 1% organic milk

Tunes to Try

The Killers-"This River is Wild"-upbeat song with lots of running references. (Alternative Rock)

Greg Laswell-"What a Day"-It's not my usual ear bleeding rock music...I know. Sometimes I like my music to relax me. This song is one of my favorites when I need to relax and focus during a workout. Laswell makes beautiful music and this song is one of his best. (Indie Rock)

EPMD-"You Gots to Chill"...for those moments when you..."gots to chill." (Old School Rap.)

Here's the video...it's awesome...