Training in the Dining Hall

I was training for a century at lunch today. Didn't change clothes, increase my heart rate, or pedal a stroke. But as I am ever-so-gradually learning, health, wellness, and fitness have at least as much to do with what you put on your fork as what you do on the bike.

If you're willing to drop a little north of $13k on a bike, you can get one that weighs only a few pounds.  I'm sure Bianchi's Oltre XR.2 with top-end Campy components would be a sweet ride. It weighs-in just above the UCI regulation minimum weight of 14.96 pounds. A fairly light all-steel bike today might weigh 20 pounds or so. So buying a $2000, 20-pound bike means you need to schlep an extra five pounds more than the pro's racing machine. But it leaves $11,000 in your pocket. So the incremental cost is ($11,000/5 pounds) = $2,200 per pound between the top-of-the line and what you're riding today.

If I have a salad for lunch and don't over-indulge at dinner, I'll probably drop about 0.2 pounds of personal pudge before stepping on the bathroom scale tomorrow. I won't have to schlep that useless flab up and down hills or stairs or while walking around the house. I won't see it in the mirror, either. So the value of eating a single salad for lunch equates to about 0.2 pounds x $2200/pound = $440!

Conversely, pigging-out on potato chips and "free" sandwiches yesterday cost me a temporary set-back in bike-weight-value of $1,760!







By choosing low calorie high nutrient foods whenever possible, my body will find it's own ideal weight. I leave the dining hall with a full belly having enjoyed a tasty meal.

By choosing a low glycemic index lunch, my mood will be more stable and I'll be wide-awake and fully alert all afternoon instead of experiencing the blood sugar crash that comes following meals based on simple carbohydrates like white rice, potatoes, or pastas. I eat all those things, but balance and timing is as important on the plate as it is on the bike!