Training Day Routine

Between races there are not too many exciting things happening in my day-to-day life. My normal routine is waking up, breakfast, training, lunch, schoolwork, stretching, gym/core, dinner, and bed! Some days are a bit different depending on what I am doing for training or if I have a recovery day, but most days look the same. But I thought it would be interesting to give a more in-depth look at what an “average” day looks like for me. From what I am eating, my exact training session, my schoolwork to what I am reading or watching on TV. With all that said, this blog will be dedicated to an in-depth look of what a day looks like training as a gravel cyclist. I hope you enjoy!

Picture from my ride :)

7:00 am Wake Up

         I try to keep a consistent sleeping schedule every day. I will always go to bed between 9:30-10pm to get 8.5-9 hours of sleep every night. Having at least 8 hours of sleep is important for me and important for all athletes. This is the time when your body can recover from the day and reset for the next day, sleep is one of the most important parts of my day! After I wake up, I will go make breakfast. I usually rotate between oatmeal and toast and eggs depending on the training I have for the day. The training I have today is a 5-hour endurance ride with two, 15 second sprints every hour. As it is a longer day out, I opted for oatmeal and, of course, coffee! I like to have oatmeal on longer less intense days as I find it keeps me full and I feel fuelled for my ride. If you are interested, here is my go-to oatmeal recipe!

·      ½ cup of dry oats

·      ½ cup almond milk (or milk of choice) + ½ cup water

·      1 tablespoon chia seeds + 1 tablespoon flax seeds

·      1 mashed banana

·      ½ teaspoon cinnamon

·      Handful of frozen or fresh berries (depending on time of year)

·      1 spoonful peanut butter or nuts

·      Method: you can either microwave or cook on the stovetop! If I am in a rush, I will cook the oats in a microwave or if I have more time, I will cook the oats on the stovetop.

·      Top with natural skyr yogurt

Getting Ready for my Ride

         After breakfast it is time to get ready for my ride. First, I will plan what I am taking for my ride food. My coach and I are trying to play around with my ride fuel and how many carbs is ideal per hour. Right now, I am aiming for 40-50 grams of carbs per hour. When deciding this number, we considered my size, gender, and weight. Depending on how this fueling strategy works we will either build up to more carbs per hour or keep it the same. Right now we are experimenting. For ride food, I will take a mix of bars, such as the NeverSecond C30 chocolate fuel bar, bananas, dried fruit, homemade baked goods, or the NeverSecond C30 energy gel if I am doing harder intervals. In my bottles, I stay consistent with the NeversSecond C30 sports drink, my favorite flavor is Forest Berry! After I get my ride food ready, I then get dressed for my ride (this can take a long time depending on the weather!) and then perform my pre-ride mobility exercises. I find when I take 10-15 minutes to get my body ready for my ride my mind and body feel better and more prepared for the ride. If you are interested, below is my pre-ride mobility, usually it will take me around 10-15 minutes:

·      Heel walks

·      Toe walks

·      Knee hugs (knees to chest walks)

·      Straight leg march

·      Inverted hamstring stretch

·      Rotational lunge

·      Lateral lunge

·      Spiderman lunge

·      Inchworm

·      Foam roll where needed

Time to Ride: 9:30-10 am

Now that I have had breakfast, my ride food ready, dressed, and completed my pre ride mobility, I am now ready to go! Normally, before I go, I check my tire pressure, if my chain needs any lube, and the night before, I make sure there are no issues with my bike and it is ready to go. On longer rides sometimes I will have a route, or I just make it up as I go, this depends on if I am somewhere new, or riding the road or gravel. Today, I road on my gravel bike and did a mix of gravel and road. This was a pretty average endurance ride where I stayed in a specific training zone and completed, two times 15 second sprints every hour. If you want to see my ride you can look at my Strava or below is a picture of my route!

Todays route, a mix of road and gravel in France!

Post Ride: 3-7 pm

Once I get home from my ride, I will have my recovery drink, my favourite is the NeverSecond P30 Recovery drink mix. After I have my recovery drink, I will shower and get lunch ready. Lunch varies depending on my ride. I will have leftovers from the night before or make something such as a bowl of a grain, veggies, a protein like beans, eggs, or fish, and cheese, preferably feta, or something simple like avocado toast and eggs. For lunch, I like to make something quick, easy, and filling. With my lunch, I will have more water and tea. After lunch, I will normally stretch, complete schoolwork, or get ready if I have a strength session in the afternoon. Today, I just had a ride, so I stretched, and then started working on schoolwork. Right now, I am in a marketing course, which is extremely helpful in learning how to market myself and working on my own personal brand!

Dinner + Night Routine: 7-10 pm

Normally, each night my boyfriend and I will aim to have dinner at 7 pm. Dinner again, will vary from the training my boyfriend and I did during the day and what we are doing for training the next day. Dinner is normally simple, but we do like to try new things. The base of our meals is a grain, protein, and vegetable. Our favorites are pesto pasta with salmon, fried veggie rice, or a lentil salad. I enjoy finding new recipes and different ways we can make dinner more exciting. I like the cookbooks Run Fast Eat Slow, as these cookbooks are made for athletes and all the recipes really focus on high energy meals that will fuel us appropriately. After dinner, we will relax, watch something on TV, have our evening tea or an evening snack such as yogurt, nuts, and berries. Usually, we will finish watching something around 9pm and at this time it is time to get ready for bed. My boyfriend has got me into a good habit of putting my phone and other electronics away in another room to charge and read for about 30 minutes before we go to sleep. I do find a big difference when I do this. I am able to fall asleep quicker as well as have more of a restful sleep and I also feel more relaxed before bed. Right now, I am reading Brad Stulberg, The Practice of Groundedness, which I am really enjoying right now and would recommend to anyone needing a new book to read! After I have read, it is now time for bed. This is a pretty typical day for me, some days may change a little depending on what I am doing for training, but this is what a normal day looks for me. I hope you enjoyed, stay tuned for my next blog coming soon!

Wearing my favourite POC Ventral Mips Helmet and Sunglasses, POC AIM