Going Paleo?

Sort of.  Not really.  Not yet.  Actually, we just try to eat really well.  But maybe?

I have a fairly solid understanding of nutrition.  Certainly more than the average bear or perhaps even the average nutritional professional.  The science nerd inside me gets excited when you talk about health and nutrition especially related to biochemistry, athletics, longevity and disease.  And if I weren't such a slacker that is uber focused on my hobby of turning the pedals faster, it's one of the subjects that I would want to pursue a Ph.D in (with exercise physiology second and ethology third).

There have been a lot of individuals that have contributed to my nutritional self-education over the years - Lyle McDonald, Robb Wolf, Joe Friel, Chris Kresser, Ben Greenfield, Sally Fallon, Martin Berkhan, Leigh Peele, Chris Masterjohn, Stephan Guyenet, Mat Lalonde, Nora Gedgaudas, Cassandra Forsythe, Matt Fitzgerald and Jon Fass to name a small few.  Many of these professionals fall into different nutritional camps, but I definitely enjoy their viewpoints, dissections and disagreements on nutritional research and their opinions on the cause, effect and the mechanisms involved.

If I were absolutely forced to label my nutritional habits, I would say that Weston A Price Foundation and I are on similar pages.  I eat real food, minimize processed food (just don't take away my occasional Culver's trip) and the grains in my house mostly gluten-free and/or soaked/spouted.  Perfection isn't the goal, but health and wellness are definitely in play most of the time.

Our grocery bill does get out of control more often than not, but we are pretty ok with that.  If I had to put our nutritional purchases in the framework of "Paleo", this is what you would find:

Some of our typical, very-Paleo purchases:

 

Ok, some less-Paleo, but very tasty purchases:

I'm not going to lie, I like my wine and dark chocolate.  And I'll be one angry chick if you ask me to give it up.

Some of our Paleo-friendly cookware:

 

Some of our less Paleo-friendly cookware:

I'm a pharmaceutical chemist, but I did work in nutritional labeling for a number of years.  The Bachnessmonster is a semi-retired executive chef who traded his busy chef career in for a slightly less busy role as a corporate chef.  One way or another, food is has had a substantial impact on our lives and is very important to us.

The Bachnessmonster loves his sugar, bread and pasta.  Take those things away from him and I'm not sure what will happen.  After much investigation and soul searching, the Bachness has finally come to terms with fact that not only does he have a dairy sensitivity, he most likely has a gluten sensitivity too.  I finally have some buy-in to reduce the gluten in his diet.....but he is not ready to pull the rug out yet.  So yesterday I did this:

 1st baby step = gluten free grains and alternatives.
 
Gluten tests are highly inaccurate.  Some of the more advanced testing procedures are less inaccurate but extremely pricey.  What is the best way to figure this out?  Elimination diet.  What is the best way to execute this?  Paleo diet.  There is a variety of science behind this diet (some strong, some weak, some grey and some not yet tackled).  The bottom line being, if you have an autoimmune condition you would be very unwise to not to at least TRY a strict Paleo diet for a few weeks - grain, legume and dairy free and additionally removing the nightshades, nuts, seeds and eggs.

I offered to do a strict Paleo diet with the Bachnessmonster during my off season.  The question is, will he take me up on it? 

Back in Business

The business of blogging, that is.  There is really nothing like having your computer and back up system die at the same time.  I've been trying to put my computer life back together since June.   Lessons learned?  Have everything backed up in no less than two places.

It's hard to believe that mountain bike season will be over in a few short weeks and Cross is almost in the air.  I've had a pretty fun summer of racing.  And, as usual, I'm not doing as well as I would have liked.  But I can say without hesitation, the competition has been phenomenal this year.

There were lots of mediocre races finishes in June and July, but I was finally able to get a bit of a decent result at CamRock.  Home court advantage coupled with some training tapering being the primary factors for my solid result.

 

Every dog has their day....and I hope to have one or two more before the season ends.  

The Big Ring 2011

There were some good moments and not so good moments.  Considering that I just finished up base training at the end of May, I'd say that my race day performance was par for the course.

Some good moments include eating at the Great Dane, camping with a blazing fire and consuming a few adults beverages.  Oh, and ripping some of Wausau's singletrack almost flawlessly during the race.

Photo By Gary

Some not so good moments include getting dropped on the flats, losing a game of cat and mouse and getting got on the last lap.  And of course my usual beginning of the season, slow starts.  I figure why blow yourself up in the first 10 minutes when you have a whole race to repeatedly blow yourself up in.

Photo By Amy

Yes...there I am... watching the race take place ahead of me.

Photo By Amy

If you can manage a smile at the finish, life is not so bad.

Photo By Amy

WORS cash is not a terrible thing to line your pocket with.  Don't confuse that look on my face with disappointment.  I'd like to call it anticipation.  The train is scheduled to arrive at the station at the beginning of August. I just need to find the patience to make it there.

Crystal Lake.

Three hard laps, two tired legs and one orange sports bra.

 

The level of unzip must be proportional to ones lack of fitness and rate of overheating...that's my theory anyway.  Note to self: Keep the jersey zipped up for all future photo opportunities.  

I wasn't really ready to race, but I made the long drive to Rhinelander, WI.  The lead out was faster than anything that I had ever experienced at any race.  I won't lie.  It broke me.  I blame Adventure 212.  They are even faster this year.  Is that possible?  Apparently it is....

But those types of experiences are good for the soul.  You can waive the white flag, make excuses and DNF or you can suck it up and finish the race.  So I gutted it out for just over two hours.  One pedal ejector crash in the first lap reigned in my ego.  I spend the next few laps perfectly carving singletrack and racing within my fitness ability.  In the process I got acquainted with my new friend.

A carbon frame given to me by a teammate, a few new parts and a few old ones too.  Total weight is 24 lbs.  There is room to bring the weight down but I'll work on that later in the summer.  Right now the focus is on the engine.  My old bike was in the 29 pound range so this new set-up feels like I'm dancing on air.  And hopefully, by mid-summer, I will be.

Spring is Usually Not a Time For Rest.

April is always the busiest month in my calendar.  Lots of training, projects at work, getting bikes dialed, managing sponsorship for the Chain Smokers MTB Team, topped off with lots more riding.  Not this past April.  I've spent the whole month (and then some) not riding my bike or even exercising.  This is a very strange place to be.

My new nightly routine.

Prior to this bump in the road, base training was movin' right along.  Instead of upgrading the bike, I spent most of my efforts upgrading the rider.  There were tons of focused trainer workouts for which I utilized the new toy to the best of my intellectual ability.

Putting out 3.7 watts/kg on a 30 minute test early on seemed like a pretty good start to the spring training season.  But realizing that I have no clue as to what good power numbers would be for a female Cat 1 WORS racer, I thought I'd figure it out when the rubber met the road.  I'm still waiting for that to happen.....stupid knee.

Body recomposition has been a priority in the off season.  After all, your best racing weight is both a weight and body composition that you perform best at.  The goal had been to bring the body fat down to 15-16% while keeping the power to weight ratio in mind.

Measuring body fat is mostly an inaccurate science, but there are a few methods that are considered to be the gold standard.  One is the DXA scan.  It has a high degree of accuracy but is very expensive.  Instead of paying for one, I jumped into a UW study for female cyclists and got one for free.


Participating in this study brought me to a few important realizations:

1.  I've achieved my body fat goal and then some.  Region (%Fat) is the soft tissue + bone while Tissue (%Fat) is just the soft tissue.

At 13.1% body fat, I have returned to my regularly scheduled program of consuming dark chocolate and red wine daily.


2.  I have normal bone density.  Which is always a good thing.  Osteoporosis is nothing to fuck with.

3.  I now understand why I have problems with sciatica and my right knee.

Mmmm pelvis tilt.  Fighting genetics is an uphill battle that you probably won't win.

While my knee feels like a major set back, the season is long.  May will be the month of recuperating, resetting, re-strategizing, rebuilding (the engine), repeating (base training) and hopefully racing.  Crystal Lake?  Most likely...

Living a Holistic Lifestyle: The Year Of The Bike

Chef Jeff (aka the Bachnessmonster) and I are always trying to life a healthier, simpler life.  Thus I have decided to label the summer of 2011 as the Year Of The Bike.  Well, how is that different from any other year, you ask?  We have decided to set aside our cars as much as we can.  And ride our bikes to work as much as the weather and our schedules will allow.

While I have a substantial number of bikes for every occasion, Jeff does not.  A recent trip down to Willy Bike's Mega Sale increased his bike stable 100%, from one bike to two.

A large sized Cannondale Quick 5.

I will be commuting on my winter bike. Rolling some pretty meaty tires isn't optimal but never know when you might want to ride your commuter bike on some sweet singletrack.

I ordered Shimano two sided road pedals to put on this beast.  One side for clipless and the other for tennis shoes.  Having options is a good thing.

Roughly totaling up all the money that I've spent on bike parts, components, cycling clothing and gadgets in 2011, I'm up over 3000 bucks.  Yikes!  And that doesn't include the new, shiny, spectacular, titanium, custom race bike that I won't be purchasing.  But I did make a very important purchase that will make the Year Of The Bike a success.

Meet our new grocery/errand running wagon.  It can be pulled behind a bike or used as a hand cart.  Non-race weekends will be spent pedaling down to Willy Co-op and the Farmers Market, attaining all of our food needs for the week.  Don't be jealous.  You too can own your very Croozer Cargo Trailer for $149.99 from bike Nashbar.

The decision to purchase lots of extras for commuting, parts for Jeff's race bike and parts that I've needed for all my other bikes has most likely delayed the purchase of my glorious titanium racing stallion.  Although, don't count me out.  There will be a few upgrades in store for the good ol' 2006 Trek Fuel Ex TANK that I've raced on for the last few years (as in a new frame and wheel set).  More importantly there have been a few significant upgrades for the rider as well.  But that is a different blog post.

Overwhelmed but Making Progress.

 I've been a pretty lazy chick for the last few weeks.

 This whole knee situation has been a major irritation.

After a month off, I started riding again this week.....like a grandma.  That's O.K.  You have to take each moment as it comes.  I did get to rip my first singletrack of the season today.  I'm happy to report that CamRock is in fine shape.

As usual the projects have been piling up round me.


I'm no bike mechanic, but I play one every spring.  As the stable of bikes in the Bach household grows, so does my stress level.  Too much to do, too much to fix, too much to upgrade.

Some fairly substantial tasks were undertaken this weekend.

Out with the old.

In with the new.

Who knew that wheel bags were multi-purpose?