LEJOG 2014

So...I have just joined a group of women from across the UK who are going to cycle Lands End John O'Groats next summer, and we are hoping to raise £50K for Breast Cancer Care.  So, Sports Nutrition is now more important to me than ever as I want to build up a really good base of fitness.  I have wanted to do this for some time, and as the kids get older this seems a good time to do it!

It has been a tough week - the snow has stopped most of my outdoor training, and caused the 210km Audax I was due to do last week to be postponed. It has been rescheduled for this Saturday - fingers crossed - because I want to put the advice Tim and James from SiS have given me into practice! More on that in a mo.  I have done some spinning bike sessions and have even been for a run (yep - me running!) which was fine whilst I was doing it but ouch...my muscles are not used to it and although I only did 5 km I haven't been able to walk since!  Going downstairs 2 days later is a nightmare!

Anyway, I digress!  I wanted some more advice on what to eat before, during and after my long ride so I asked Tim by email, and spoke to Dr James Morton last week.  This is what I am to do...

Day before - ( I am looking forward to this one!)

Have 500g of carbohydrate between lunch and dinner. and another meal late in the day or add some carbohydrate to my REGO night. 

On the day - 

In the morning (its an early start) a combination of GO Bar and a protein bar with several cups of coffee

During the ride  2 bottles of GO Energy with a GO hydro tab for some electrolytes and some GO Gels - 1 per hour with caffeine gels for the last 2-3.  Aim for a total of 60-80g of carbohydrate per hour of carbohydrate from everything.

After take REGO Rapid Recovery. Have some GO electrolyte or GO Hydro for the drive home and then REGO night.

So, thats what I will be doing if the ride goes ahead on Saturday  - I may substitute some gels for Go Energy bars or REGO protein bars (which SiS are discontinuing which I think is a huge shame because I love them) which was some advice Dr James gave.  I will let you know how it goes...

Everything else is going OK - the Omega 3 has become easier to take now I am used to it, and I bought some CLA to try - this is supposed to help with fat burning, so its worth a try!

Is it working?

I have been following Tim's advice and have been using the SiS products religiously for the past month, so are they working?

Not only am I trying to follow the nutrition advice, but I have also got a basic training plan from a coach at the cycling club - which includes scary things like intervals, endurance rides and recovery rides so I have started to follow that as much as possible as well.

OMEGA 3 shots  - I have nearly finished my first pot of omega 3 shots - I have taken them every day now for a month.  I now take them in either orange juice or lemon squash (as they have lemon flavouring in them that seems to work quite well) - my skin is softer, whether they are contributing to my cardiac fitness I can't say but I am certainly going to keep taking them.

PROTEIN - I have eaten alot of eggs and taken alot of REGO recovery and SiS Protein shakes.  I love the strawberry REGO recovery - it tastes great and is just what I need after a ride.  When I have done a ride during the day I then have SiS REGO night, which I have bought more of in the past couple of weeks.  I prefer the chocolate to the Vanilla, and it certainly seems to help me to be ready for another ride the next day.  I have eaten a few biscuits over Xmas - but generally my biscuit consumption has gone right down!  I was hoping to see my weight go down, which is hasn't  - yet!  All the protein makes me a bit......how do I put this politely?... windy.....which my family is not too keen on, but no pain no gain!

SiS Hydro - I like these little tablets - really easy to use and I can carry extras if I need to refill my water bottle.  At the moment I am using these for rides less than 90 mins, and using GO Electrolyte for rides longer than this.  I tried a long ride on just the Hydro and bonked - ending up having to take gels and energy bars, so I wont do that again!

So is all this working....you know what, I think it is!  Last weekend on the club run someone said - 'wow Sarah you are back on form', and I feel like I am.  I went out and did 100km yesterday and found it quite easy (it was as flat as a pancake but even so).   The weight is not coming down, but I will keep working on that.  I have a chat with Dr James Morton from SiS next week and have a few questions - I particularly want some advice on how to get through the Willy Warmer, which is a 210 km Audax that I am riding a week on Saturday....I will let you know how that goes!