trainer rides, and being a fatty-fatty-fat-fat.

I've been riding the trainer about four hours a week, lately. It will ramp up once the coach and I can meet to discuss specific plans, but for now I'm playing video games and cleaning the bike fleet.

As the off-season has hit, I've tried to make it more of a transition season, but this has proven difficult. I've never raced a year as seriously as this past one, though I'm used to taking an entire month completely off of the bike. Also, in winter, my diet usually goes to hell, and I lose quite a bit of the fitness I'd gained as I pack on a few kilos. While I still eat way too much for the small training volume I'm doing, I've found a few keys to keeping semi-fit; They mostly involve trying new things.

This year I've managed to keep riding occasionally by getting a cyclocross bike and mixing up the training. In terms of motivation to ride, this new type of riding has been the biggest key to my success. Rail trails might not be the most exciting riding, but I've only ever ridden them a few times in the past, so it's something new. Cross bikes are a great way to explore south-central Wisco, and we've gotten some awesome group rides going as a result.

Now I'm transitioning to the trainer due to the mercury drop in the last few weeks. I've some frostbite damage in my fingertips from riding all winter in Mpls, so I can't ride outside much past freezing. G&C have a nice trainer studio setup, complete with projection movies and obese felines. I've also managed to improve my trainer setup by using my CX bike and buying a new television.

The greatest challenge I have in training (not just in the transition seaosn, but always) is my diet. My upbringing didn't include much nutritional education, so I've had to teach myself how to eat healthily. The three areas I've been working on are content, volume, and timing.

I know not to eat fast food, and have gotten better this eyar about packing lunches when I go to work to avoid grabbing Taco Bell (my dietary Achilles' heel). A healthy lunch is easy to make, in part because one can plan and choose ahead of time. Going out and making dinner at home when one is tired from a day at work are where it gets tricky. I've been known to eat a large bowl of salsa with chips and have a tall glass of chococlate soymilk for dinner because I didn't feel motivated to make a healthy meal.

Packing a lunch for work also lets once control the volume of the meal. The bigger challenge comes when going out with friends or making dinner myself. Most portions for hommade meals are made to be split into two or three meals, but it's easy to eat an entire container of Macaroni and cheese in one sitting. Listening to how hungry my body is before I start eating, as well as planning meals ahead of time (even if it just involves thinking about dinner o the way home) help greatly.

Lastly, I'm a nighttime snacker. The calories I eat just before bed are the most wasteful, and avoiding that last snack is a strictly disciplinary measure. I also need to make sure I eat filling food for dinner. Not a high-volume dinner, but one that will make me feel full enough for a few more hours. And if I need a snack, I shouldn't drive to Taco Bell for a Crunchwrap Supreme.

With those three ideas in mind, I'm developing a diet plan that should help me maintain my goal weight for next year's racing season: 150 lbs. I raced this year at 155, and between September and now have put on four more. I need to safely cut almost 10 lbs before May, and I'm going to set my Spring training trip (in May) as a halfway goal.


More on eating like a bike racer coming soon.