I've Made It in Life

I named her Sheena, and yes, she is a punk rocker.

One of the many lists in my head contains criteria for having "arrived" at some great place in life.  It's full of normal desirable things, like "home ownership," "feel good about myself," "petting zoo," and other stuff, both thing- and relationship-related.  Realistically, I figured the achievement of any one criterion would be good enough to count as "living the dream."  And since 2012 is all about making definitive and unsupported claims, I'll just come out and say it: I've made it. I got a time trial bike. 

I went to Elite yesterday to discuss the distant possibility of getting one.  You know, so we could figure out the ideal dimensions, in abstract preparation for riding off into the sunset on my aero machine, next to my life partner, a pink magenta unicorn.  So when I got to the shop, David and Max had mocked up a bike.  It was sparkly.  I got on it and pedaled, and they intermittently switched things out- saddles, aerobars, spacers, etc.  Since the mockup had no shifters, I was at Max's mercy to put the chain into a reasonable cog...ouch!  The whole time people were coming in and out of the shop...my buddy Alfonso, my dear friend Ashdizzle.  Elite is like Cheers, except instead of being like, "Heyyyyy buddy," you're choking out some meager greeting as Max puts you into a harder gear or David makes you do some difficult therapeutic exercises.  Anyway, I had no expectation of getting a TT bike right away, but the fit was perfect.  But since 2012 is all about doing whatever I want, when I want, I'm not actually sure that the achievement of this "monumental goal" is really that important.  Maybe the more remarkable part is the amazing and knowledgeable friends who helped make this happen.  Or maybe it's just the sparkly paint...

Recovery Eats: Green Eggs & Yam

I recently posted about an ongoing recovery crisis, and how the timing of athletic training could affect muscle repair.  With more careful adherence to the "recovery clock,"...well ok, and adding a week of unplanned recovery to my schedule, things are getting better.  After some improvement from these schedule tweaks, but still unprecedented soreness, yep, and the workouts I'm doing are NOT unprecedented so I still attribute this to getting old, I thought I'd take a more rigorous look at recovery nutrition:

This study showed a decrease in perceived soreness and an increase in power for athletes who took in protein and carbs directly after a workout, and 24 hours later.  So it sounds like the timing of short-term recovery nutrition is similar to the timing of rest that was suggested in the last post.  I also wanted to know if all proteins and carbs are created equal.  And to prevent wasting your time, I'll let you know that I didn't find a definitive study on the single "best" protein and carb for recovery.  So stop reading now.  Anyway, now that no one is reading, note to self, here are the recipes for those yummy but oddly colored treats you recently made:

I would did like them
in a house with a mouse

Green Egg Tacos: 23g protein/240 calories
Mix this up and cook it like scrambled eggs:

• 4 egg whites (high  PDCAAS )
• 1.5 tbsp algae powder, like spirulina or chlorella (these are also "complete proteins" and contain essential fatty acids)
• 2 tbsp water
• Salt & pepper
• Serve with 2 sprouted corn tortillas (sprouting promotes enzymatic activity, makes amino acids more available, and promotes alkalinity)
• Hot sauce (delicious on food, and decent as embrocation on your legs)

Not recommended for
embrocation or topical
application in general...
unless you're John Boehner
and have run out of spray tan

Orange Yamsicle Shake: 20g protein/277 calories
Put this all in a blender:

• 1 scoop plain whey protein (high PDCAAS, and faster amino breakdown than casein, the other protein in milk)
• 1c baked yam, skin removed and saved for a salad or something (yam promotes alkalinity and contains potassium)
• 1/2 tsp ginger paste or 1/4 tsp dried ginger
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• Some stevia (or sweetener of choice)
• Some water and ice cubes

Linking to: Food Renegade Fight Back Friday