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August 29, 2005
Eleven Hours of Sleep Isn't Always a Good Thing...
...because that means that the night after it, you hardly sleep at all! My body was all out of sorts last night. I got in bed, tossed and turned, finally fell asleep, only to have to get up and pee. Repeat cycle two times and then it is time to just give up and get out of bed.
During the day I searched at home for some job postings, but there is no way that I could apply or post a resume with the world's slowest dial-up internet connection. Seriously, it has taken me ten minutes to even get to the inbox of my e-mail here. There really weren't any postings where I was looking, but I went on over to my dad's office to post my resume online with the high speed DSL line. If I tried to do that at home, it would just time out on me.
Tonight was track night. The humidity is definitely creeping back in as Katrina inches her way inland. Compared to what it had been like just a few weeks ago, tonight probably would not have been that bad, but it was not good running conditions by any means. My primary goal with tonight's workout was for it to be better than last Monday. Something about having to puke the entire time made that a pretty easy goal to achieve. This week, the agenda was to do 7 x 800 with a 400 jog. They were better than last week, the jogs were still a little slower than I would have liked them to be, but I really was trying to maintain the proper pace for these 800s. They are supposed to be at about half-marathon race pace, which they were. The other thing that I have to keep reminding myself is that every other time I have done this kind of workout, it has been on the longer interval day as a sharpening workout-not the short interval day as base building. I think that I would be in some serious trouble if I were hitting these at a faster pace right now, my intended peak would be way sooner than planned. I did a little bit of extra warm-down to get to talk (gossip and serious) with J. The main question was if I could have done 5 of them at under 6:00 pace since I was running around 3:06 for the 800s. My answer was that if I knew that I was only doing 5, I probably could have, but that it was not realistic for 7. Knowing you have to do so many does affect your plan of attack on the workout.
On a completely random note, I have a pimple. My complexion has always been on the clear side and when I have a pimple it is always a big sucker somewhere that just stands out on my face. So right now I have a glaring pimple. At least I don't have a job interview to go on in the next few days. Imagine that, I look young enough as it is and they would just think that I'm going through puberty!
So, on a semi-running related topic...does anyone have any advice on protein powders? Unlike most Americans, my diet is seriously lacking in protein. No meat and no beans (the latter are too much for my seriously tender tummy). I know that there are benefits to both soy and whey proteins, but I don't know which is better. The canister that I just finished was soy protein, but I think that I read somewhere, don't remember where, that whey was more beneficial. Any help?
Posted by Blondie at August 29, 2005 08:34 PM
Comments
In my move, I got rid of (I think) some whey protein powder, called Whey to Go. Mixing it with water is pretty nasty, but if you mix it with food, it's not bad. You don't really notice it's there. I don't have any advice regarding whey vs. soy, but the whey protein was recommended to me by a nutritionist who is a runner.
Posted by: Alison at August 30, 2005 07:07 AM
Soy is fine in moderation, but contains high amounts of iodine, isoflavones and phytic acid. Individuals who consume large amounts of soy over a long period of time have developed thyroid problems because the thyroid readily absorbs iodine. Phytic acid (found in the husk of all beans) is particularly high in soy and can reduce absorbtion of other nutrients like magnesium, calcium, and zinc and of course isoflavones have been shown to mimic estrogen in the human body with unknown long term effects. In other words, it shouldn't be your only source of protein.
Whey protein comes from cow milk and whey protein isolate contains little to no fat, lactose or cholesterol but is an animal product and therefore not suitable for some vegetarian diets.
Beans, nuts (lots of protein), rice, leafy greens and wheat together are an excellent sources of protein, minerals and aminos for vegetarians (or anyone). It is surprising that you can't stomach other beans but can eat soy...as soy is like a regular bean on steroids and in fact involves a tremendous amount of chemical processing to be edible to people.
If you have difficulty digesting or tolerating food with proteins you should see your doctor because you are probably missing out on the other necessary nutrients that come with those foods that supplements cannot adequately provide, especially for an athlete. Ironically, not eating proteins can cause difficulty digesting proteins and the development of food allergies over time, a weird catch 22. Protein, mineral and amino acid deficiency (particularly in athletes) can lead to VERY serious short and long term medical problems including: impaired immune function, digestive difficulties(food allergies, diarrhea, constipation), stress fractures in athletes, weight fluctuations (body fat increase, fluid retention, muscle atrophy, "puffy cheeks"), osteoarthritis, metabolic disorders, hair loss or thinning on the head, thin clear hair growth on the face and body, cessation of menstrual periods, cold intolerance, muscle atrophy and spasms, anemia, fatigue, and impaired cell repair. In the US protein deficiencies in adults are rare and usually only found in situations of poverty or in people with certain eating disorders like anorexia nervosa, or extreme diets like fruitarians.
Probably way more than you asked for.
Posted by: Rob at August 30, 2005 11:23 AM
I'm not a vegan so I do eat lots of protein but in trying to include some with every meal I add protein powder to my oatmeal at breakfast or add it to yogurt to make smoothies. I buy the Whole Foods one, usually vanilla flavored. Tofu is also a good choice.
Posted by: Nanda at August 30, 2005 12:17 PM
I am usually never completely caught up on sleep so I almost always have that tired "edge" that puts me right to sleep. I HATE when I am not tired and don't have that edge to knock me out. Ciao ciao.
Posted by: Audrey at August 30, 2005 02:53 PM