I have been working out steadily since I became of legal age, and now that I have retired rather early, workouts are a great way to keep sane.
By workouts, I mean endurance workouts. Two hours of (relatively) high speed on a bike or inline skates. Mind you, according to my heart monitor and sports watch, an hour on skates is worth an hour and a half on a bike.
Just in case you are keeping score, and I do keep score. I have a Career Goal of skating the equivalent of once around the world at the equator. That's another 360 miles by my estimates.
So after all these years of "suiting up" and "getting to the park", I have a routine. It really is a collection of routines since it depends on which sport, what the weather is, and what I feel like doing that day.
Since I can easily burn more than 2000 calories in one go, I have to fuel up before I go. In the case of this particular morning, I am making oatmeal. It is (still) fairly cheap, and I can get bulk amounts of it delivered to the door.
The problem with oatmeal is that while there is protein per serving, it is low for my needs. 1g protein per Kg of ideal body weight - or in my case that's 88g per day. I have to pack more into that bowl, but I have to do so in a low fat way.
If you don't go low fat before an endurance workout, you had better make sure that you can get to the rest stop when you need it. The body will process the fat in your meal in an unfortunate way, and your guts will need that toilet and insist that you go NOW.
I'm trying to be gentle with the descriptions here for "All Audiences" but if you do get too much fat in your meal, you will have a "Blow-Out".
Nutrition is important in life. I'll just leave that here.
Anyway, so I go into the kitchen for my pre-athletics carbo-load right after the dog walk. If I time it right, I can get to the park, get the workout in, and get back to the house in time for lunch. Then I can have whatever I want and not worry about whether someone else is in the park's lavatory when I need it.
Reach for the bowl and the gram scale. Yes, I have a collection of electronic scales, why would you expect anything less? Placing the bowl on the scale, I spoon out 41g (1.4 oz) of oats. 14g (half tablespoon, half ounce) of Peanut Butter.
I'm chancing that peanut butter. It's higher fat than I should be having before 2 hours on the bike but I can do it, just.
Now 20g of homemade jelly. I'm at the end of last year's mango jelly so I will shift to the store bought until I can harvest and make more. Cherry Jelly is a nice change of pace, isn't it?
80g of milk on top, and microwave the lot.
At this time I have to reach into the refrigerator and that is when I hear Rack the McNab SuperDog (TM) Stand, Stretch, and Shake.
I get the yogurt out of the refrigerator and begin to spoon 100g of unsweetened yogurt on top. That gives me a total of about 25g of protein and with the two bananas I had earlier, I'm at my minimum of 600 calories for breakfast.
Don't want to be too full do I?
I turn around and notice I have two brown eyed lasers pointed at me. Rack wants his share of yogurt.
I have to ask, What is it about yogurt and peanut butter that dogs love? I mean chill, dog, chill!
He steps into the kitchen. "Hi Rack, I know what you want!".
I get wags. I get dog smiles.
I finish spooning my own yogurt, and get a tablespoon of the stuff for the dog. He's older and is on a protein restricted diet for his kidney health. He's almost 14 years old and he won't be around too many more years. I am at better than competent at making recipes and nutrition, so I am aggressively managing his diet as well as mine.
Walking over to his bowl he is crowding me out. I whack the spoon on the side of the bowl to give him some of the white sticky goo that he so wants, and he is already muzzle in to the bowl. He only does this for Yogurt! He doesn't even do this for his normal food.
Luckily he "isn't a Lab" so I can keep food on the counter.
Weirdly, at his age, he is having "Selective Hearing Problems". Some days he is deaf. Others he can hear a pin drop. Or more specifically, he can hear the click of pealing back the lid on the yogurt container. From the living room. Behind the cushions and the chairs. Over the clocks and fans in the house.
Get it? It's kind of loud in this place and his hearing is not the best.
So with an old dog, I am trying to rush my way out to the air park. I need to go do large lazy circles around a giant gas bag and avoid obstacles. It's where the Goodyear Blimp is headquartered here and there is a 4.5 mile course that calls my name.
As soon as I finish my "Peanut Butter and Jelly Oatmeal" I'll grab the mid workout snacks to try to defeat The Wall, and I'll be on my way.
Rack has gotten his fill of yogurt and walked to his station in front of the door so he can watch over the world.
Me? I'll get my fill of the oatmeal, and get on my way.
Oh and "On Yer Left!". Keep right, except to pass! Thankyouverymuch!
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