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Learn to Listen

Date: January 5, 2013

Author: astottler

Tomorrow is my last day of camp! Hard to believe, isn’t it? It seems as if I’ve been here forever! This morning I got to sleep in a little. We didn’t leave until 8 today to go row, so I ate breakfast at the hotel. While toasting my whole wheat bread I had a bite of cinnamon raisin bagel but decided it wasn’t what I wanted. Instead, I topped my toast with a hardboiled egg, plus some cream cheese to fill in the edges. On the side was a banana.
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I had bran cereal with chocolate Silk soymilk and peanut butter. I’m loving the chocolate peanut butter combo! I liked this with the bran cereal even better than whatever random cereal I used last time. The ceral this time really soaked up the chocolate, giving it more delicious chocolatey flavor!
After dinner, a couple of teammates and I had to rehearse for the team talent show. I am somewhat ashamed to admit that I performed an interpretive dance while singing Justin Beiber. But hey, I rocked it! (Not by myself of course, there were 6 of us!) We were a big hit!
After a fun talent show, a few teammates and I headed out to the gas station next to our hotel to get snacks. My teammates decided on ice cream bars but I wanted something a little healthier, so I bought a cherry almond chocolate Nature Valley bar the I wanted to try, and I ended up eating a Special K double chocolate protein bar that I stole from the cafeteria. By stole, I mean took home from the cafeteria. So it’s not technically stealing but I always feel so mischievous taking food back from a cafeteria or dining hall. So I may in the future refer to my actions as stealing, but I’m not doing anything illegal, don’t worry! The best bars at the cafeteria are the Special K bars, both peanut butter chocolate and double chocolate. These aren’t typically the granola bars I would buy for myself, as they are a bit higher in sugar that I usually like for a bar, but given the amount of sweet food and junk food lately, they make a tasty and healthier snack or dessert. Another dessert I’ve been having lately is cereal with chocolate milk and peanut butter. I’m trying slowly to wean myself away from so much sugar, just because I’ve eaten so much sugar lately. This goes back to listening to my body. Does my body really need that extra dessert? How will I feel if I eat that extra dessert? If the answer is fine, then I want to go for it. But if I know my body will complain, I’d rather pass it up.
I am a walk-on rower, so I’m starting the season behind everyone. I have a lot of work ahead of me to start closing the gap, and I want to do everything possible to do this. I know nutrition can play a huge role in improving my fitness, so that will be a major focus in the months to come. I also intend on putting in extra work where I can. I am being presented with an awesome opportunity to be a collegiate athlete at a Division 1 school, and I want to make the most of it!

How well do you listen to your body?

A New Year

Date: January 4, 2013

Author: astottler

Categories: Uncategorized

Ok, I am finally posting! These last few days I’ve been ~~reading a new book~~ busy and tired so I haven’t posted at all! However, I have been fairly good about documenting my eats so I’ll just show some of my meals from the last few days.

I hope everyone had a great New Year’s! To be honest my was kind of boring and disappointing. I basically sat in a hotel room with my teammates, and half of us were falling asleep. But hey, sacrifices for the sport, right? At least I stayed up until midnight! On New Year’s Eve, my team went on a 6 mile hike, which had awesome views.

Here’s the view from the top, just as the sun was setting. However, if one is at the peak of a 3 mile hike while the sun is setting, it means it will be dark before the bottom is reached. But we got to see an amazing sunset, and we mostly were off the difficult and steep part by the time it was dark. On the way down, we had a minor rattlesnake scare. One of the coaches was running ahead and he more or less ran back up screaming that there was a rattlesnake (he heard the sound). After we all carefully walked down that stretch, someone realized that the rattling sound was actually a bird….Either way, the hike was a fantastic way to finish off 2012!

How did I welcome 2013?

The Rose Bowl! My whole team got bused up to Pasadena to attend the Rose Bowl, which was so amazing.

Wonder who I was rooting for….

It was so cool to be at such a huge game, one that is so widely watched. There were skywriters for most of the game advertising for Geico and wishing everyone a happy New Year. As for the game? Couldn’t have gone better!

I’ve always wanted to experience tons of Confetti raining over after a victory. It was every bit as cool as it looks on TV! The team played a great game, and had a great season. Can’t wait for next year!

Yesterday, after our 2 morning rows, my team’s afternoon workout was a 6 mile canyon run. It was a fun, scenic run. My coach handed out the most detailed directions so we wouldn’t get lost (although this didn’t work for everyone). My favorite step? “Duck under the fence. You may see a border patrol van. If so, just smile, wave, and run on by.” Yes folks, I ran to Mexico. No big deal.

I would have really enjoyed the run had our schedule not have forced us to eat lunch an hour before our run. Ugh. However, it gave me the entire run to rethink how I fuel myself for exercise….My mantra for the 6 miles was “I am never eating any junk again!” It was enough to motivate me to be better with pre workout food, timing, and amount of food. And in case anyone is wondering, a full lunch before running 6 miles is not the best timing or amount of food. But hey, it could have been worse. On the last mile or so, I rolled by ankle on a rock. It’s fine, I just need to keep an eye on it.

Want to hear more of my border stories? I went back to the outlet mall where the Nike outlet was the other day with a few teammates. That right there? Yep, that’s the border. (The giant fence in the background.)

We were one wrong turn away from ending up in Mexico. We had a bit of a scare when a border patrol van drove by us and shone a light into our car, but we soon realized it was simply to alert us that our lights weren’t on. Phew! We did conclude there we were several feet into Mexico at one point because we went over an overpass that was past the border.

Ok, enough catch up. Here’s what today held:

Breakfast before practice was a piece of whole wheat toast with cream cheese and hardboiled egg, plus a banana and an unpictured small bowl of raisin bran.

This plate looks a little like a smiley face. I definitely didn’t realize that. Breakfast number 2 was a whole wheat English muffin, one side with peanut butter, one side with cream cheese and hardboiled egg. Unpictured was a small pancake with syrup and half of a cinnamon raisin English muffin. Why is it that I only discovered this year how amazing anything cinnamon raisin is??

For lunch, I knew we were going to be eating fairly close to our afternoon workout, so I was determined to not make the same mistake as yesterday. I was originally only planning on the granola bar, but I figured I needed to sneak in some greens as well.

Plus a slice of banana bread and a couple of pretzels with a dab of peanut butter. This ended up working out perfectly for my afternoon workout, which was a body circuit on the beach. It included single leg squats and rows with the TRX, medicine ball slams, burpees, push ups with a twist, mountain climbers, and squats and single leg RDLs with a kettle bell. (3 times through, 10 each.) After the circuit, we did a few other exercises. The beach was absolutely beautiful, and we were able to watch the sun set.

Dinner later:

Salad with chicken (on the bone again, ugh…) and balsamic dressing, scalloped potatoes, and steamed veggies. Today I realized that the steamed veggies were once frozen, which is why the texture was a little off (or at least the carrots were). How did I discover it? My carrots were still rather icy today….I also had a bowl of cereal with chocolate milk and peanut butter, and a few bites of dried pineapple on the side.

I made myself a mug of peppermint tea and added French vanilla creamer, which was delicious, but after a large mug of it, I’m not sure if it is something I’d do again. It was simply too creamy by the end.

Later tonight, I may or may not have participated in a team ice cream party. Hee hee.

I’m definitely improving at this camp in terms of both rowing technique and fitness. Our workouts by themselves are not that bad, but by the end of the day I’m pretty tired, Most of the various aches and pains from the first few days are gone, and my body is adjusting to this new workload. My back is definitely still tight, but that comes with the territory of rowing! One other interesting thing I’ve noticed is that I don’t feel the need to eat as much as I did the first few days. I’m getting full faster, and not getting hungry as much. I guess this is my body adjusting.

Fun fact: we almost tipped our boat yesterday launching from the dock. Temperatures were in the 40s. It was the most terrifying experience of my life. (I’ve never tipped before).

On the plus side, the weather has been much nicer, and we’ve started a little bit later the past 2 days so it is way warmer, thank goodness!

To conclude, today I was reflecting on how important my health and body are to me. If you don’t have your health, you don’t have anything. Take care of yourself!

Do you have any New Year’s resolutions?

Cold and Wet…Again

Date: December 31, 2012

Author: astottler

Categories: Uncategorized

Today was day 2 of our 3 workouts a day. We left the hotel at 6 am, and on the way out I grabbed a piece of whole wheat bread with peanut butter and an apple (same as yesterday). It was soo cold, just like yesterday, and although it wasn’t raining when we first got out there, it started pouring while we were in the boat. I had my rain jacket on so I didn’t get too wet, but my shoes sitting on the dock did. Once we were off the water, I changed out of my wet pants, but there was nothing I could do about my wet shoes.

Breakfast was at the training center. This time however, I had a plan. One of my favorite ways to make oatmeal is by cooking a banana into the oatmeal in the microwave, with vanilla unsweetened almond milk, and then topping it with peanut butter. At the cafeteria, the oatmeal is already made, so I couldn’t exactly cook a banana into it. My solution was to microwave a banana in a bowl for 1 minute, mash it up, and then mix it into the already prepared oatmeal. It was pretty good, but I didn’t enjoy it as much as the real thing. Partly, I think my peanut butter from home works better with it. The peanut butter here is sugary and doesn’t have as much peanut-y flavor.

Also pictured is vanilla yogurt with berries mixed in and a hard boiled egg white for protein. Just a note, I don’t avoid egg yolks because I am afraid they are going to negatively impact my health, I simply don’t like them. Whenever I ate hardboiled eggs when I was younger, I always gave the yolks to my dog, Billy.

For breakfast, I also had a mystery muffin. Some of my teammates claimed they were corn muffins, but they tasted more citrusy to me, though not that sweet. I enjoyed it with a dab of butter.

After breakfast we were back on the water for another row, and the weather was much nicer, thankfully. We wrapped up around 11:30 and were back to the cafeteria for lunch. Literally all I am doing is eating, sleeping, and rowing.

For lunch I had a bowl of salad with olives, tomatoes, and baby corn (which I LOVE), topped with Greek dressing and a piece of BBQ chicken.

I hate how some of the time the chicken here has bones. It is so much more difficult to deal with. On the side, I ate a buttered whole wheat English muffin with fresh and dried fruit.

After lunch, I had just enough time for a quick nap before our afternoon workout. Naps have seriously saved me on this trip! I never truly appreciated naps until I began morning workouts. They are possibly the best thing ever!

I woke up hungry again, and finished my granola bar from yesterday, as well as a small chocolate cookie my teammate was passing around.

For our workout, we drove to the beach. It was pretty cold, and didn’t rain on us until the very end, so we didn’t get too wet. We removed our shoes for the workout, and the sand was cold! Our workout consisted of 15 reps of different exercises on the TRX. After each set, we sprinted across the beach to some kettle bells were we completed 15 lower body exercises, and then sprinted back. We did this 6 times. The TRX cable was attached to a lifeguard building, and we were a little worried that we would pull down the whole thing!

After our circuits, we played a game of leap frog, which is actually a pretty decent workout! By the time we finished our workout, I was damp and sandy.

The highlight of my day came after our workout.

Nike outlet store! The outlet mall were went to was basically on the Mexican border. As in, we could see the border from the mall, and were one exit away from a trip to Mexico.

I absolutely love Nike, and loved the sale items even more! Here’s what I walked away with:

I got a new pair of running shoes, similar to the running shoes I have now which I really like. They were half off! And the striped shorts I got for only $3. How crazy is that?

After our little Nike expedition, we returned to the cafeteria (again…3 meals a day for the whole trip…) for dinner. I helped myself to a chicken breast, black beans, steamed veggies, a coupled of roasted potatoes, and some mac and cheese. Basically a little bit of everything! I had originally planned on a salad, but the veggies looked good, and I was still a little cold so I went with it.

Dessert was chocolate and vanilla fro-yo (who am I kidding, it was mostly chocolate) with a dollop of peanut butter. I also snacked on a few bites of granola, and dried fruit and pretzels with peanut butter. And then my arm was twisted into trying some vanilla pudding, because we weren’t sure what it was.

I’m sorry that my posts are fairly boring and cut and dry. I really don’t have a lot going on right now besides rowing, and all my meals are coming from the same place, which seems to have mostly the same stuff. So I guess this means I have 10 days to optimize my meals based on the options available to me. Hopefully I can create something interesting tomorrow.

This seems like as good a time as any to discuss how to make it through multiple workouts a day. Food and sleep are key. Anytime I have multiple workouts, it is infinitely better to get a full meal between workouts. If this is not possible, it is important to at least eat a snack of protein and carbohydrate, and at minimum carbohydrate, because that will provide energy for the second workout. Some great options are milk and banana bread, or an egg sandwich. Milk is a great option, simply because liquids digest more rapidly.

If you have an opportunity for a nap between the workouts, take it! As I said before, naps are saving me this week! My body feels so refreshed after my naps, and I don’t feel very tired from the morning workouts at all. Another tip: if you have the option, put as much time between your workouts as possible. The more time your body has to rest, the better. You may notice that in your evening workout, you won’t feel an early morning workout from the same day at all.

Despite what you can manage to do between your workouts, always be sure to replenish your body at the end of the day, and get plenty of rest that night.

Do you ever have multiple workouts a day?

Goals

Date: December 30, 2012

Author: astottler

Categories: Uncategorized

Today was my first day of 3-a-days. The morning started out early. We left our hotel at 6 after a quick breakfast/snack of a piece of whole wheat toast with peanut butter and an apple. It was so cold this morning! I couldn’t feel my hands for probably the first hour. After our row at about 9, I went for breakfast number 2 at the training center.

I had a slice of banana bread, 2 whole grain pancakes, 1 with syrup and one with smart balance (not pictured), a veggie egg scramble, fruit, and a hardboiled egg white. And a small mug of hot cocoa on the side.

After breakfast and a short break for a team meeting, we were back on the water for our second row of the morning. I hadn’t rowed in a month before yesterday so after 4 hours of rowing this morning, I was feeling pretty tight. Tomorrow morning should be interesting…

Just a side note, I promise this won’t turn into a rowing blog, it’s just all that I am doing right now at training camp. I just eat, row, and sleep, and considering I’m already documenting my eating, and my unconscious self is not too interesting, that leaves rowing.

After our row was lunch at the training center. I started with a salad with Greek dressing and a bit of chicken salad. I also had a chicken breast, which I put on the salad, steamed veggies, and a taste of scalloped potatoes.

For dessert, I had chocolate fro-yo with chocolate chips and peanut butter.

After lunch we returned to the hotel for a much needed nap. When I woke up, I was sooo hungry, but I didn’t really want to eat anything because I had to leave for a run in an hour, but the thought that dinner would be several hours away convinced me I needed something. I ate half a granola bar, which managed to hold me over.

Our run was 40 minutes in the rain and dark. It felt good but I finished completely drenched. By the time we arrived at dinner, I was ready for something hot. I grabbed a big mug of hot cocoa, and then filled my plate with chicken, steamed veggies, and tortellini (plus ketchup).

I ended up going back for seconds on the chicken because I had difficulty getting the meat off the bone, and added a little brown rice to my plate as well. For dessert I had a cinnamon raisin english muffin with butter, a few pieces of dried fruit, and a little bit of chocolate fro-yo with coconut and marshmallows. I also had a Kashi dipped cinnamon raisin granola bar. I was underwhelmed. The bar was very dry and a little too sweet for my taste.

I wish I hadn’t eaten quite so much at dinner. I returned to the hotel very full and also very thirsty. I was too full to drink as much as I probably should have.

Today, I was talking to some of my teammates. We’ve been asked to set goals for ourselves, and one of my teammates said that she wanted to give up dessert. This made me uncomfortable. I have dabbled with giving up sugar with some success. I always feel way better, but eventually go back to eating sugar. This is truly a personal topic for me, as I have struggled with sugar for a long time. I realized that I felt uncomfortable because I felt someone was going to be eating better than me, and my competitive instinct kicked in. Obviously this is not healthy. I want to have a better attitude so that I can help myself and others improve our health.

At the same time, I realized that this means that I am not happy with my eating. If I was satisfied with my eating, that discomfort would go away. I’m most concerned with the sources of sugar in my meals, rather than dessert. Most of the sugar I have been eating I have not been in the mood for, or even necessarily enjoyed. For example, I am very picky with maple syrup, and I didn’t like the kind at the cafeteria, so my pancake (which I think was whole grain) wasn’t as enjoyable as it could have been. Part of this is a learning process. I need to seek out less sugary sources in the cafeteria, but now I know what to expect. Tomorrow I want to avoid added sugar and optimize my nutrition.

How do you feel when others talk about nutrition?

Training Center!

Date: December 29, 2012

Author: astottler

Categories: Uncategorized

Today was my first day of training camp for rowing and it was awesome! The facilities are so amazing!

Just look at that water!

How cool is this? I’m meeting tons of new people on my team as well. Ok, I’m going to blow through dinner last night. We ate at Souplantation. I had a plate of salad to start.

Chinese Chicken, Casear, and Spinach with apples and dried cranberries.

On the side I had a bit of turkey soup, and half a slice of wheat bread with butter. For dessert I had a couple of muffins and a bowl of chocolate lava cake with frozen yogurt on top. My large dessert probably wasn’t the healthiest decision, especially since back at the hotel one of my teammates had homemade cookies and sweet chex mix, which I naturally had to take part in (team bonding, right?).

This morning we ate a quick breakfast at the hotel, which I didn’t get a chance to photograph. I had raisin bran, and I started to eat it with blueberry yogurt but the yogurt was too sweet for my taste so I gave up on it, and a banana.

We headed over to the training center at 7:30 to rig the boats and unload the trailer. For those of you unfamiliar with crew, rigging the boats basically means putting on the part of the boat that holds the oar in place. Since the boats can’t travel with the riggers on, anytime we take them anywhere we have to rerig them. This ended up taking a very long time, and we didn’t hit the water until probably 11. It was so nice to be in the water again! I was worried that after a month off I would be rusty, but it felt completely natural.

We ate lunch at the training center cafeteria, which is fairly small but seems to have healthy options.

I had an open faced turkey and swiss sandwich with a salad, both topped with Italian dressing. It was pretty good but nothing to write home about. That was ok though, because I wanted something fairly normal given my afternoon workout. I also had some dried fruit and fresh fruit, and half a slice of cinnamon bread with a little peanut butter. For dessert I had some type of carrot bread/cake (pictured farther below), which was delicious.

Dessert for lunch probably wasn’t the smartest idea considering I had my 6k in the evening. It ended up being ok, but it might have been a problem.

Ok, now for the 6k test. A 6k test is pretty much the worst thing ever for a rower. It is 6000m on a rowing machine at all out effort. I’ve been dreading this ever since I found out about it, because it is super painful.

Well, I made it through it! I wasn’t really happy with my time, I was slower than my last one. I feel like I could have done better and pushed myself more. 6ks are definitely a mental game, and I definitely wasn’t there mentally. I kept losing focus, and my pace would slow way down for a few strokes. However, I felt strong. This is exactly what I needed to get my butt in gear, and to get excited for my next 6k test. And to take better care of my body. I’ve eaten really badly over the holidays, and I think if I clean up my eating my performance should improve significantly. Ok, enough about rowing, onto food!

Dinner was baked salmon, assorted veggies, and a salad with olive oil and vinegar.

And roasted potatoes with ketchup!

The food here is healthy if a bit boring. But that is fine with me, I am here to improve my fitness, body, and rowing, not to enjoy gourmet dining. And considering we’re eating here 3 meals a day…

Dessert was another slice of the carrot thing.

I was tempted to go back for another dessert, but the thought that I’d have to report it here stopped me! Yay for blogging!

Now, I’m back at the hotel to just hang out for the night and watch “trash TV” with my teammates. Honey Boo Boo anyone?

How do you spice up boring food?