The Importance of Eating before Riding
Yesterday I did the typical hill ride with John and Gary, with one important difference.
I had forgotten to anything after breakfast that day.
The difference made itself felt immediately as we started going up Lida. I just couldn't hold my usual pace - What was going on? At the top of Lida the flash struck me - I'd forgotten to eat lunch or an afternoon snack before the ride. I was riding on breakfast only.
By the time that I made it up St. Katherine for the first lap, I had decided that I was bonking (using the last bit of energy in my muscles) because I couldn't keep up with Gary and John. Not at all. I had to stay out of the saddle the entire time to keep pace with their standard conversational speed. The second round up I was so tired that I just wanted to get off my bike and nap. Seriously. I kept yawning, and couldn't concentrate at all. The third round yawning gave way to lightheadedness.
Gary and John must have realized that I was in a bad way while cruising over to Figueroa. Was it that I couldn't keep both of my eyes open at the same time that gave me away, or that was too tired to be paranoid and super-slow on the descents? True to form, they kept me going by talking about all the food that I would have at home. If I said I had a bit of spaghetti, pretty soon they had talked it into Fettuccine Alfredo with Garlic bread and a glass of wine. Of course, each item was described in minute and aching detail.
I ground through the Figueroa climbs chasing the visions of Spaghetti dinners, Ice Cream sundaes, and In-N-Out burgers. To be honest, I barely remember the climbs, but the imagery of the food is stamped on my memory in Technicolor. On the final descent down Salvia Canyon back to the parking lot, I realized that I had a Trader Joe's frozen pizza in the freezer.
That was the best frozen pizza of my life.
I had forgotten to anything after breakfast that day.
The difference made itself felt immediately as we started going up Lida. I just couldn't hold my usual pace - What was going on? At the top of Lida the flash struck me - I'd forgotten to eat lunch or an afternoon snack before the ride. I was riding on breakfast only.
By the time that I made it up St. Katherine for the first lap, I had decided that I was bonking (using the last bit of energy in my muscles) because I couldn't keep up with Gary and John. Not at all. I had to stay out of the saddle the entire time to keep pace with their standard conversational speed. The second round up I was so tired that I just wanted to get off my bike and nap. Seriously. I kept yawning, and couldn't concentrate at all. The third round yawning gave way to lightheadedness.
Gary and John must have realized that I was in a bad way while cruising over to Figueroa. Was it that I couldn't keep both of my eyes open at the same time that gave me away, or that was too tired to be paranoid and super-slow on the descents? True to form, they kept me going by talking about all the food that I would have at home. If I said I had a bit of spaghetti, pretty soon they had talked it into Fettuccine Alfredo with Garlic bread and a glass of wine. Of course, each item was described in minute and aching detail.
I ground through the Figueroa climbs chasing the visions of Spaghetti dinners, Ice Cream sundaes, and In-N-Out burgers. To be honest, I barely remember the climbs, but the imagery of the food is stamped on my memory in Technicolor. On the final descent down Salvia Canyon back to the parking lot, I realized that I had a Trader Joe's frozen pizza in the freezer.
That was the best frozen pizza of my life.
posted by Me at 10:16 AM
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