Snow! A weekend of indoor training and lots of yummy food

In case you didn't hear......

It snowed in Greenville, SC!
It was so pretty to wake up to a white backyard. 

However, Campy was NOT happy when he woke up Saturday morning and discovered all the white, cold stuff outside.

Clearly, he is not impressed with the snow. 

Campy was not interested in walking anywhere that had snow on the ground so it made for an interesting morning for him to find the perfect spot to do his morning business. 

As for the rest of the day, Campy made himself comfortable in the warmest spot in the house. 

Since Campy stuck to his routine of resting all morning, we stuck to our routine of training. 

Karel stationed himself in the fit studio where he was entertained with multiple screens and his Cyclops virtual training and Bkool Pro Smart Trainer app for a little bike trainer fun.

I had our at-home-gym all to myself to suffer and sweat with nothing but me and some jamming music.

Karel wrote a great bike trainer workout for me, which looked more innocent on the white board than it really was when I got to the middle of the main set. Sneaky sneaky.

WU: 40 minutes (first 10 minutes EZ, then build each 10 minute to upper Z2)

Pre set:

6 x 1 minutes at Z2 - increase the cadence to very fast, no breaks between.

5 min EZ spin

6 x 2 minutes at Z2/Z3 - increase the cadence to very fast, no breaks between.

5 min EZ spin

BREAK:

Jumped on to the treadmill for a 30 minute form focused run.

MS: (Back on the trainer)

Big gear work - 55-65 rpm

4 x 2 minutes - increase resistance on each segment. No breaks between.

5 min EZ spin

4 x 3 minutes - same

5 min EZ spin

4 x 4 minutes - same

5 min EZ spin

4 x 3 minutes - same

5 min EZ spin

4 x 2 minutes - same

5 min EZ spin

Cool down

On to the treadmill (again) for 20 minutes form focused running.

Total brick workout (Marni): 2:25 bike + 50 minute run.

Total bike workout (Karel): 2:45

After my workout, I made myself a yummy pancake and smoothie breakfast. We relaxed for an hour on the couch and then it was time for work (small business - always working).

Eventually, I made myself useful in the kitchen for some baking. 

I adapted my recipe from Cooking Light.

Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins

Makes 12

Ingredients:

1 2/3 oats

2/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup spelt flour (you can use whole-wheat flour or your choice of flour)

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 cup 1% milk

1/4 cup canola oil

1 tbsp lemon juice

2 large eggs

2 cups frozen mixed berries

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 
2. Place oats in a food processor and pulse a few times until oats are coarse. 
3. Combine oats, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a large bowl. Stir well with a whisk. 
4. In a small bowl, combine the milk, oil, lemon juice and eggs. Stir well with a whisk. 
5. Make a well in the center of the dry mixture. 
6. Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture and stir until moist and evenly combined. 
7. Fold in berries. 
8. Spray muffin dish with cooking spray. 
9. Spoon batter into muffin tin. Fill to the top. 
10. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. 
11. Remove from the oven and let cool on wire rack. 

For dinner, I made semi-home soup. The key to a good semi-homemade soup is roasting veggies ahead of time, before adding to a can/box of soup. It gives the soup great flavor. I sauteed mushrooms, eggplant, red peppers and tofu in a skillet before adding to a box of tomato basil soup. 

So good!

After a good night of sleep (no alarm to wake us up), we started Sunday morning with a pre-workout snack (and coffee and water) and then it was time to train again. 

I performed my long run on the treadmill and Karel went outside (Brrr). 

I love running on the treadmill so it was no trouble for me to get my 1:45 hr run accomplished at home, inside, in my controlled environment (especially when it is 18 degrees outside!). I incorporated some short 30 sec intense efforts throughout the run for neuromuscular firing.

Karel warmed up on the trainer and then went outside for his 90-minute long run. He said it was super cold. 

After my workout, I refueled with a delicious whey protein, milk, strawberry and banana smoothie and a warm homemade blueberry and oat muffin smeared with Irish butter on top. So good!

After a few hours of working, Karel and I gathered motivation for our afternoon 3200 yard swim workout, which actually wasn't that bad. Like usual, we always enjoy our Sunday swims after they are finished but it's often hard to get the energy to get out for workout #2 on Sunday after a long week of tough training. We swim every Sunday, which means we swim at least 4 times per week.

For dinner, Karel made fish and had leftover soup and I was in the mood for pizza. I improvised with warm Naan bread smeared with marinara sauce and cheese and a nice salad.

It was a great weekend of training with lots of yummy food consumed to keep our bodies well fueled and nourished. 

Tips to get the most out of your indoor workout

                               


At some point in the season, almost every athlete will find him/herself training indoors. For many athletes, indoor workouts are the norm for several months of the year due to winter storms/temps.

Are you the type of athlete who loves training indoors?

Training indoors provides a safe, controlled environment with few to no distractions. Due to time constraints, many athletes prefer indoor training as the only/best way to get in workouts early in the morning or late at night or to stick to a schedule.

Are you the type of athlete who views indoor training as the last resort training environment?

Training indoors may feel boring and isolating, making you feel less motivated to start or finish a workout trapped inside walls.

Reasons for working out indoors

• Unsafe weather conditions (ex. storm, ice, snow, extreme wind, etc.)
• Impractical weather conditions to safely exercise or execute a workout
• Personal preference - safety, accountability
• Specific workout requiring constant monitoring of effort or metrics
• Skill specific workout requiring controlled environment
• Practicality - location, time

Although training outdoors is fun and necessary, especially as it relates to putting yourself in a similar race day environment and practicing pacing, skills and nutrition, indoor training provides a safe, controlled environment to challenge you physically and mentally.

Tips to get the most out of your indoor workout 

-Create a positive training environment so that you can get and stay excited to train. While a gym membership may work for some athletes, investing in a home gym may work for others.

-Select the best entertainment to keep your mind stimulated based on the workout (ex. podcast, TV, movie, music, silence).

-Eliminate distractions so that you can stay focused and present.

-Write down your workout on a piece of paper or white board so that you are constantly reminded of what you expect your body to do throughout the entire workout. This will also foster a smoother workout flow of your workout.

-Treat your workout like a class. You have your start time to "show up" and then your finish time. In a class environment, a great excuse to leave a class early is when you are crunched for time or you have another commitment. It's not the best excuse to leave a class because you feel bored or you don't have motivation that day. Sometimes you have to hang in there and finish what you started.

-Understand that your mind will wander during an indoor workout and you will have waves of enjoying the workout and not enjoying the workout. This is normal (and not unlike race day!). Break down your workout into segments so that you can focus on one part of the workout at a time (don't think about how much longer you still have to work out, stay present and the time will pass).

-Mix up the training. You will find yourself enjoying indoor workouts if you have a mix of very specific workouts with intervals and then loose freedom workouts.

-Stay well hydrated and fuel appropriately. Treat your indoor workout like an outdoor workout, based on volume and intensity. Many athletes don't fuel properly for indoor workouts, assuming that the indoor workout is less taxing. Although an indoor workout eliminates dealing with gravity and environmental conditions like hills and wind, there are many specific indoor workouts that require proper fueling and hydration as training stress is still training stress, even indoors.

-Work on your mental toughness. As an athlete, you are going to race in all types of environmental conditions and on different courses. Racing will not be comfortable. You will want to quit. Use every indoor workout as a great opportunity to explore your thoughts as it relates to being uncomfortable and wanting to give up/in. Regardless of the intensity and/or volume of the workout, indoor training provides one of the best opportunities to train your mind. Use your indoor workout to develop strategies or mantras that keep you going and make note of them so that on race day, you can pull them out of your mental tool box.

-Don't neglect mobility before and after your indoor session as well as strength training. Being in a fixed position (ex. cycling on a bike trainer) or on controlled terrain (ex. treadmill belt) may cause bad habits in form and posture because you don't have to deal with environmental stress or changes in terrain. Spend some time warming up your body before a workout with dynamic stretching and stay mobile after your workout to prevent your body from getting stiff and tight. Strength training will also help you address any weakness in your form, posture or balance so that you can prevent a possible injury from happening later on in your season.