I missed a couple days of blogging this week. There's no sense in crying about it though...just move on...right?
Just so you know, I didn't only miss blogging...yesterday I missed my ride, which means that my recovery day just turned into a ride day. Flexibility...I guess that's the key to most everything in life...a lesson I am still trying to learn!
I had a great time yesterday though. I got to play golf with my brother-in-law, and two great friends...it was great! It was however, one of the longest rounds of golf I have ever played! We teed off at 1:37 and didn't get back in until 6:49...it was almost dark. I was a little worried about how my back and elbow would hold up, and I am happy to say that neither gave me any problems.
I was also a little concerned about eating healthy food while I was out there. Those of you who golf know how easy it is to eat the crap that the drink-cart-girl peddles, and before you know it, you are experiencing a sugar crash, and have consumed a couple thousand empty calories. So yeah, I was a little concerned about that. How do we prevent that from happening...a little planning and preparation.
I loaded myself up with a little goody-bag, chock full of healthy, calorie-dense stuff to keep me energized throughout the golf marathon that lay ahead. What did I pack you ask? Before we get into what I packed, we should look back a few hours prior...breakfast! Let's see a raise-of-hands (so to speak)...how many of you choose not to eat breakfast? Shame on you! Knowing that I would be golfing in the afternoon, I chose to eat a good breakfast, full of carbohydrates...the good kind, the type that help to provide sustained energy, rather than a simple blood sugar spike. I also began to hydrate, drinking plenty of water so that my brain would be functioning properly and I would not fatigue due to dehydration. It was in the high 80's here yesterday, so dehydration was a strong possibility. Did you know that dehydration of just 2% of your body weight can decrease performance?...well, now you do.
Shortly after getting home from work yesterday morning, I ate more good food. I prepared a couple small breakfast burritos from four egg whites, and two yolks. I added green onions, broccoli, kale, and some garlic. I also had some strawberries on the side, along with a couple teaspoons of yummy fish oil. Mmm, mmm, good! Our tee time was at 1:37, so I knew I had better consume some more calories before teeing off. On the way to the course I drank a bottle of Cytomax that I had mixed up earlier. Cytomax contains 140 kcal per serving, and electrolytes to buffer lactic acid production, thereby providing sustained energy during activity. I know, I know, some of you don't believe that golf is a sport, and certainly doesn't require any supplementation to support performance. Guess what? You're WRONG! The golf swing is all about generating total body power. The production of power generates varying amounts of lactic acid. The ability to buffer the lactic acid will help to decrease soreness in your back (often caused by dehydration and cumulative lactic acid buildup) and increase your ability to produce maximal power for each shot, throughout 18-holes.
So just what did I pack with me? I took a bottle of EAS Myoplex, two packets of Cytomax, two carrot cake flavored Clif Bars, and two apples. We already know that each Cytomax contains 140 kcal. The Myoplex shake contains 210 kcal, 23 grams of carbohydrate and 25 grams of protein. The Clif bars are 240 kcal each, and contain 46 grams of carbohydrate and 10 grams of protein. The apples are roughly 80 kcal each. I consumed everything throughout our marathon of golf except one apple. Oh yeah...I also had two Coors Light beers at roughly 100 kcal each (empty calories). The grand total of calories consumed during my round of golf yesterday is...1250 kcal ( I think I did my math correctly).
How many calories did I burn during that round, you ask? Well, its truly just an estimate, but (on average) you burn 6.1 kcal per minute (for a 200 pound person), per round of golf, when using a powered cart...which of course we were...who walks anymore anyway? :) It looks like we need to do some more math, huh? Our round lasted just over five hours so we need to figure out how many minutes are in five hours. By my calculations (remember, I'm not that good at math) there are 300 minutes in five hours. If a 200 lb person burns roughly 6 kcal per minute, then the estimated total caloric expenditure for five hours of golf is...about 1,830 kcal. So it appears that I created (roughly) a 580 kcal deficit yesterday during my round of golf, while still providing myself with plenty of nutrition and hydration to sustain optimal levels of energy. I am sure however, that the 140 kcal of Cytomax nutrition that I consumed on my way to the golf course played a role too, so maybe my total consumption should be 1390 kcal. Not too shabby!
Now that my fingers are fatigued, its off to ride. A real ride today...yes!
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