Snot and Liquid Shot

Failed attempt to capture my goopy gel flask.

After two months of successfully completing pretty much every scheduled mountain bike ride on my training plan, I finally had to miss a semi-major ride due to mud and a trail running race at BCSP. So I was stuck on the road bike both days this weekend, which is kind of weird and boring this time of year. Luckily, Saturday's scheduled workout was 3 hours with 2 x 20 minutes Sweet Spot, so at least I had some structure to pass the time.

It went pretty well, despite nasty wind and nasty allergies. I normally don't even have allergies, but I guess the combo of wind and rain lately has things growing and blowing in such a way that even someone less sensitive can be bothered. All I know is that my mountain bike ride at BCSP last Thursday, as well as my Saturday ride, were both filled with lots of coughing, a sore throat, and lots of nose wiping. Mix that with sun screen and a goopy flask of EFS Liquid Shot in the pocket, and I had one nasty jersey by the time I was done. Not as bad as the people riding the Dirt, Sweat, and Gears that day, but not clean.

Speaking of goopy gel, I'm going to be spending the next few weeks honing my nutrition plan for the Lumberjack 100, and I just realized how much of the stuff I'm going to be consuming. I've got an almost new bottle in the refrigerator, but I put in an order for two more this morning. One is to get me through the last month of training before the race, and is one to be consumed the day of, along with some cookies and bananas to supplement.

Getting used to eating more food on the bike has been hard for me, but I'm getting there. The problem began a few years ago when I learned that on average, a trained athlete can store about 2000 calories of glycogen in their muscles. So I figured, why eat anything on a ride where you're going to burn less than 2000 calories? However, Jason keeps emphasizing the fact that I need to eat while riding and racing, and I have to admit, I feel better when I do.

It's kind of funny, because my latest training schedule has the entry:"BBQ Ride: 2.5 Hours" on May 25. At first, I was very confused, but then I realized that it was Memorial Day the "BBQ" was just a little joke. However, with all the emphasis on eating, I imagined other possible implications: The actual BBQ ride where I was forced to consume ribs while maintaining Zone 2 or higher, so that eating gel and cookies on the bike wouldn't seem so bad. Luckily, I'm pretty sure that's not what he had in mind.

Finally, I've been wondering if I should work in some sort of extra "energy" type supplement of the caffeine/taurine/quercetin variety for the last half of the race. I'm not sure where I got this idea, and I've pretty much come to the conclusion that it's not worth it, unless I go with something simple like de-fizzed Coke. Or I could use my personal favorite source of neuro-stimulant:

Yes, a big bottle TeaSource Chai at mile 75 should do it (along with the ribs, of course). I have a secret dream of being sponsored by TeaSource and wearing a jersey with graphic pictured above. I doubt that will happen, though.

The blurry text in the picture says: "Delicious, vitalizing - economical, too - costs less than 1/2 cent a cup," says Mr. T. Pott.