The run to & back work experiment

A little while ago, I saw a video by ultra-runner Michael Arnstein (which is also a fruitarian)  in which we follow him during his daily commute in to work (15 miles) which he does running (so 30 miles in total) ... I immediately though "hey, why did I never thought of running to work?" ... at least occasionally since I commute 9 months of the year on my bicycle. I had the opportunity to try it out today using the same route that I ride back home, which is about 9km (so a total of 18k in the day).

Here are both runs on Strava:

It's not exactly the best run around since most of it is on the side-walks or directly on the road, but it was fun. I used one of my wife's small backpack to carry a few items and a bit of food to eat while at work (2 slices of raisin bread and one bagel). I don't know if that backpack (which is similar to this one) is meant for running, but when tightly secured it didn't move at all. I had my iPhone in one of the waistbelt pocket and listened to some podcasts both way.

My knees are a little sore, but overall I'm feeling fine (a little sleepy though). While my wife thinks I'm crazy, I may be doing it again ... but not everyday since I have to cycle. I'm pondering, however, if that may not be the way to commute once winter settled in from November to February.

Much better run today (with co-worker)! I guess I should snack a bit during the day .... or not since yesterday was a pretty unfrequent occurrence ...

Had a crappy run yesterday afternoon. I wasn't in any particular in pain but just low on energy ... I usually don't eat trough the day (unless I have done a long ride in the morning) so I'm not sure to why yesterday was so different from my usual days. Accumulated fatigue maybe?

Notes: "Sugar: the bitter truth"

I recently watched two speeches given by Dr Robert Lustig on the role fructose (may?) plays in the on-going obesity epidemic (link, link). IMHO, it's pretty conclusive and does seems to explains some of the paradoxes (see this Gary Taubes talk @ Google) seen with the calories balance dogma.

Here's are the notes I took from the videos:

• Observations
• Atkins and Japanese [Okinawa diet?] diets both eliminate fructose
• All countries which have adopted a USA style diet have the same obesity issue
• The First Law of Thermodynamics in nutrition is stated in an incorrect way: "if you eat it, you must use it or you are going to store it". It should be "if you store it and you expect to burn it, you going to have to eat it" 
• An epidemic of obese 6 months-old means that any attempt to explaining the overall issue, but also explain this. It's not all about diet and exercise
• We are all eating more than before, there is something wrong with our bio-chemical negative system which control our eating:
• +187 kcal/day for men
• +335 kcal/day for women
• +275 kcal/day for teens
• We are not eating more fat, we are eating more carbs as soft drinks and fruit drinks (1 soda can per day = 15.6 lbs per year of weight gain)
• How come leptin doesn't work to regulate our energy intake?
• What happened?
• Soft drinks consumption is demonstrably (studies) linked to obesity and diabetes (type 2)
• Soft drinks are loaded with High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) which is sweeter and cheaper than Sucrose (one molecule of Glucose for a molecule of Fructose).
• Fructose and Glucose are NOT the same, however Sucrose and HFCS are the "same": they are both poison. It's not about the calories.
• Excessive consumption of any sugar does lead to health problems
• Trend in fructose consumption (*2 for sucrose):
• pre-WWII (natural) consumption (fruits & veggies): 15 g/day
• 1977 consumption: 37 g/day
• 1994 consumption: 54.7 g/day
• Today teen consumption: 72.8 g/day
• Today consumption per person: 140 lbs/year
•  The "Perfect Storm"
• Drive to make food cheaper (1972)
• Invention of HFCS (1966) which is now in pretty much every processed food
• Call for dietary fat reduction (1982) to reduce heart disease: dietary fat raise LDL -> LDL correlate with cadio vascular disease (CVD) so dietary fat must lead to CVD
• 30 years of nutrition guidelines has been  based on a faulty study (The Seven country)
• To make low-fat food palatable, carbs (either HFC or sucrose) were substituted to fat. Fibre and trans fat were also removed (for a longer shelf life of the products)
• Sugar hides:
• salty (chew mix, honey roasted peanuts ...)
• sour (German wines, Lemonade ...)
• umami (sweet & sour pork ...)
• bitter (milk chocolate ...)
• What is the issue?
• Fructose is NOT Glucose
• Fructose (which is very sweet) is 7 times more likely than Glucose (which is not very sweet) to form Advanced Glycation end-products
• Fructose makes you eat more:
• doesn't suppress the hunger hormone (Ghrelin)
• acute usage doesn't stimulate insulin or leptin
• Hepatic fructose metabolism is different from glucose's
• Chronic fructose exposure promotes the Metabolic Syndrome
• How the liver deal with:
• 120 kcal of glucose (2 slices of white bread, 1/4 cup of white rice)
• 80% of it will be used by the body as all cells use glucose as glycogen
• 20% of it will be metabolised, resulting in 1 kcal of VLDL and insulin release which will stop the eating 
• 120 kcal of ethanol (which is fermented sugar)
• 20% of it is absorbed by the intestine
• 80% is metabolized resulting in VLDL (no glycogen)
• 120 kcal of sucrose (1 glass of Orange Juice)
• 30% of the fructose end-up as fat (no glycogen)
• metabolising will lead to:
• habituation, if not addiction
• fetus insulin resistance
• hypertension
• myocardial infarction
• dyslipidemia
• pancreatitis
• obsesity
• hepatic dysfunction
• What can be done?
• Lifestyle intervention
• get ride of all sugared liquids
• eat your carbs with fibre
• wait 20 minutes for second portion
• increased physical activities
• Why is exercise important to obesity (since exercising doesn't burn enough calories)?
• improve skeletal muscle insulin sensitivity
• reduce stress and resultant cortisol release
• makes TCA cycle run faster and detoxifies fructose, improving hepatic insulin sensitivity
• Why is fibre important in obesity?
• where-ever there is fructose in nature, there is more fibre (fruits are okay to eat; only grapes have more sugar than fibre)
• reduces rate of intestinal carbs absorption, reducing insulin response
• increases speed of intestinal transit (or contents to ileum)
• induces satiety
• inhibits absorption of some free fatty acids to the colon; which suppress insulin
• Why is the government not doing anything?
• FDA only deal with acute toxin (e.g. tobacco, alcohol ...), so it won't regulate
• USDA doesn't want to hear about it for economical/political raisons (food exports)
• Summary
• Fructose (in sucrose or HFCS) consumption has increased over the past 30 years, coinciding with obesity epidemic
• A calorie is not a calorie and fructose is not glucose
• You are not what you eat; you are what you do with what you eat
• hepatic fructose metabolism leads to all the manifestation of the metabolic syndrome
• fructose ingestion interferes with obesity intervention
• fructose is a chronic hepatotoxin ("alcohol without the buzz")

The saddest part of the whole Lance Armstrong vs. USADA thing, is that it cheapen (maybe discredit is a more accurate term here ...) his most of the pro-cyclists achievements of that time. Did they cheat? Most likely, but that only allowed them to take their performances a little beyond what they were already capable off (that 2% Jonathan Vaughters talked about a couple of weeks ago) ... They still had to bust their ass off on a bicycle (on and off season) to get to the top of a race like the Tour de France.

Busy Monday #2

I went to my now usual Monday long ride this morning (on my way to work). The weather forecast was a little worrisome, but it was actually rather nice (14C, mostly sunny). Since some rain is (or was) forecasted for later during the week, I really wanted to get that ride done before my next long ride this coming Sunday:

So, instead of making my now standard energy drink, I went with a lighter version of it:

• 2 bags of Jasmin Green Tea brewed in 800 ml of filtered water
• 2 tablespoons of Agave Syrup
• 1.5 scoop of Maltodextrin (so about 120 kcal of Carbs)

Since I had (over)eat enough Sunday (it was a day off), I didn't feel like I really needed the extra calories punch in my drink not the electrolytes (since it wasn't going to be too hot). For nutrition, I packed some leftover home-made Larabar from our Saturday run. My hydration/nutrition plan was the following:

• Couple of sips of drink every 20 km
• One Larabar every hour

Worked pretty good as far as I can tell, except for the fact that the bars are kind of hard to chew and swallow while in aero position (in which I was for most of the ride, without much pain). I probably should cut them smaller so that I can chew and breath with more ease ;-)

To finish-off the day, I did an easy 8k run (with da wife). Felt pretty good doing it. Which I guess is a good thing ...

Run to Stanley Park (28k)

So this morning we ran to Stanley Park (again) but this time pushed to 28km. Since I followed loosely the nutrition plan I had described yesterday I felt pretty energized for most of it, even-though I totally forgot to drink the espresso two hours before, doh ... Physically, I didn't feel any pain to my calf (I was wearing compressing band on both) and only my knees were somewhat sore at times.

Here's the run details on Strava:

During the run, I made a couple of adjustment to the nutrition plan just so it'll be easier to keep track of when I should be drinking or eating:

• Every 5 km, I drank (probably 100ml each time)
• Every 45 minutes, I had one of the Larabar
• One kilometre before the end, I had a handful of dates

While my energy level was never low, I could definitely feel a slight boost starting 10 (or so) minutes after ingesting the energy bars. The dates didn't seems to do much of anything that late in the run, however I did felt some stomach discomfort later on.

My GPS watch contraption didn't cause much trouble during the long run. It did felt a little heavy on the wrist though ... I'm not sure this is the best solution, obviously. 

Green energy!

Energy packed breakfast

(pre) long run nutrition plan

In preparation for this October Marathon, I have started collecting tips and info on pre-race and race nutrition. Since we have a few long (> 20 km) runs left in our training schedule, it's a good time to specify a plan, and test it out so that it can be adjusted.

So, at the moment, here's the pre-race nutrition/hydration plan:

• 3 hours before the start: one (toasted) bagel + peanut butter (spread) + banana (sliced) + chia seeds (2 tea spoon)
• 2 hours before the start: one espresso (with one cube of brown sugar)
• drink water regularly (not over doing it)

As for the run, the plan is:

• After 5 km: starts drinking regularly 200 ml every 5 km (or whenever thirsty)
• Every 45 minutes: ingest a small Larabar (da wife's recipe)

For hydration, I'll be repeating the home-made energy drink I did for my ride last Sunday, but this time with a little less chia seeds. I'll also carry a smaller bottle of water to drink with each of the Larabar.

I'm not totally convinced that I need to eat regularly during this particular run since it will be only an extra 2 km from the previous time and that I didn't bonk then. However, it'll be good to see if I do feel fresher by the end and also if my stomach can take the food during a stressing time.

Healthy fat loading!

Old school jersey

Garmin GPS watch, DIY style

To track my rides and runs, I have been using a Garmin Edge 200 and the Strava's app on my iPhone. I had some pretty good results using my iPhone for tracking the run, however for longer runs it's not very practical (not to mention checking pace and distance is a bit of a PITA) as the battery depletes quickly (I usually loose +30% per hour of GPS tracking) and that it's rather bulky carrying it in my short pockets. Therefore, I have been entertaining the idea of using my Garmin device for running (on top of the biking). At first, I didn't have much of a good experience with that as the device bounced too much in the pocket (causing many false pause/resume events and some lost GPS signals events). I'll probably should just get something like the Garmin Forerunner 110, but I'm kind of a cheap ass ... 

Yesterday morning, I had a bit of an Eureka moment and grabbed some cheap watch which was given to my kid a while back (I wonder if he will remember it ...) and gutted it in order to attach my device to it ... GPS watch style:

Clearly, it's bulky (and feel a little bit heavy on the wrist) but after running 8k with it last night, I can said that it does work. It's not uncomfortable but will it hold-up for long runs (e.g. Marathon) ... I guess I'll have to test that rig during our up-coming long training runs.

...

Blackberries + Banana + Chia Seeds + Soy milk

Free snacks!

About Energy Drinks (part #2)

I was at a nearby Running Room store Saturday and grabbed some energy drink supplements which I had heard about from listening to Coach Brett's podcast:

• eLoad FLY (carbohydrate fuel)
• Nuun Active Hydration (electrolytes)
• Chia Seeds (proteins & fat)

While I'm still trying to formulate (I got the Chia at another store BTW) the most appropriate drinks for my running and cycling (see previous post on the subject), I though I'll give these a try during my Sunday's ride and assembled the drink as follow:

• Russian Earl Grey brewed overnight in 800 ml of filtered water
• 3 tablespoon of Agave Syrup
• 1 Nuun tab (orange flavoured)
• 1.5 scoop of carbohydrate powder (so 120 kcal of carbs)
• 2 tablespoon of grounded chia seeds (which may have been too much according to a twitter exchange I had with Coach Brett)

The Orange flavour of the Nuun tab was very pronounced, and I probably should have used a tea that marry better with it; but overall the drink didn't taste bad and I didn't get any stomach issue as the result of consuming it (yay!). As the weather was on the cool side, by the time we were done our 2:47:00 ride I had only consumed about half of it and finished the bottle on my drive back home.

So, did it help? ... Maybe. My legs felt a little less sore and I didn't feel hungry for a while after the ride (I skipped breakfast when I came home and instead had a late small lunch before an early dinner couple of hours after) ... but that could have been coincidental. This week long run (+28 km) may serve as a better test platform for that drink ...

to be continued ...

Sunday ride with Allan

Yesterday (early) morning I headed to Surrey for a ride with Allan (@IcemanYVR on twitter). It was my second ride in this area of the south coast which I have never really explored before. Since it's kind of the boonies, there is not much traffic and a lot of rural like roads to ride on, with some nice climbs and steep downhills to go around (link to to the ride on Strava):

The ride included 7km (or so) on Avenue 0 which runs along the international border between Canada and the USA. 8k or so before finishing the ride, I noticed that I had a flat on my rear wheel :( Since it looked like a slow leak, Allan suggested we pumped the tire back-up and keep on going. We had to do that one more time before reaching the end of the ride. I was a little bummed to get a flat on my fifth ride (I think) on my new Kuota ... Oh well, such is the life of a cyclist.

...

Back-seat luv ... 

Energy drink supplements!

Got these bad boys: Electrolytes tabs and Maltodextrin powder ...

Easy 10k today since I'm scheduled for a long ride tomorrow morning, also it's our wedding anniversary ...

...

Adjusting dérailleur ... #duathlete

Snacking ...

Yummy freshly picked plums (which turns out to have a GI of 39, on average) brought into the office by a co-worker (I suppose from a tree in his/her garden)

About Energy Drinks (part #1)

According to my wife, I have been obsessing a lot about energy drinks lately ... From all that I have seen and heard (in articles and podcasts) what you drink during a workout (or a race) is very important for anything longer than one hour so it's definitely an interesting subject for an inspiring endurance athlete, therefore my OCD.

So what's the deal with energy drinks? What is their purpose? 

• combat dehydratation
• replenish electrolytes (necessary for muscles)
• metabolic stimulation
• refuel the body (for continuing efforts)

While there is a LOT of various sport energy drinks on the market that will fills this list of requirements, I found that it is more interesting to come-up with your own recipe. It will also be better suited to your particular needs (e.g some energy drinks pack a lot of sugar) and tastes and probably cheaper overall. Such an home-made drink should be based on the following contents:

• water (filtered, e.g. with a Brita filter)
• calcium/sodium/potassium additive
• caffeine (from coffee or tea)
• fast and slow acting carbohydrates as well as some proteins

Depending on the type of workout and the duration, the amount of water, electrolytes and fuel to be mixed will, obviously, vary.

to be continued ...

Racing a commuter

On my commute to work earlier today, I passed some guy on a commuter bike. Since it's pretty common in summer to see a lot of people cycling around it's a rather frequent occurrence that isn't much worth blogging about ... That guy was riding a bike with two visibly non-empty panniers so, on paper, considering he was also a lot "bulkier" than me, there should be no match in case of a race ... Now, I don't often engage in impromptu race with fellow commuters, but since I do have a bit of competitiveness in me it does happens every now and then.

As I don't exactly follow the bike route but kind of interleave with it, I caught up with that guy at a red light 15 or so minutes after initially passing him, which wasn't really odd considering I had rode a longer distance than him. I arrived behind him just as the light turned green so passed him for the second time quickly, but I could feel that I wasn't dropping him so I pushed harder on my pedals until the next red lights where he arrived a couple of seconds after me. Now, I'm no Lance Armstrong, but the fact that he could keep up with me was a little odd. As the light turned green, the same thing happened again as we rode to the next light. As the light went green, I could, this time, see him in the corner of my field of vision as I pushed and pulled hard on my pedals ... so hard in fact that my left foot unclipped and that guy passed me on the slight up-hill we were on.

By now, I was rather puzzled by the whole thing ... Could I suck this bad on the bicycle that some overweight guy on a heavier bike could just keep up with me and even drop me? As I was clipping my foot back, I took a good glance at him while he pedalled with ease by me ... he was riding an electrically assisted bicycle ... 9_9

Busy busy Monday

A few weeks ago I started trying to do one long ride (+80km) per week. Since we're in priority training for a Marathon in October, I used to have to alternate between a long run on the week-end or a long ride. But then one day I realized that on the week that follows a long run, I could just do my long ride on my way to work ... Sure I get to work a little bit late that day, but that's no biggie ;-) No sure why I didn't think about doing that earlier in the season (or in the previous years).

Here's this morning commute:

It's a pretty flat route, perfect for working and improving my speed and spending as much time as possible in aero position (ouch!). The Iona part (which is on the side of the Vancouver's Airport and appears to be a pretty nice park BTW) is a pretty popular segment on Strava among the local cyclists. The leader of the leader-board has a an average speed of 50kph ... Gasp! 

At the end of the work day, I had to go home (which is a usual 9k) and then we went running. We were planning on doing a 10k today, but the wife wasn't up to it, so we only did a 8k:

Considering I had already depleted by glycogen stores earlier that day (I did consume a little bit of food during the day), I felt pretty good until the last kilometre or so even with a bee sting on my right hand. Seems I should try to stay clear of bushes at that time of the year ...

...

Fruits + Cereals + Almond milk #vegan #duathlete

Brewing energy drink ...

Run to Stanley Park (26k)

Since we had timed our run to minimize the chance of (literately) running into the Lululemond organized half-marathon down-town, by the time we got to where we may meet the event, they had already cleared the trail. It's only as we got closer and closer to Stanley Park that we started to notice here and there on the floor spent energy gels :) Anyhow, our run went well. I was afraid I'll get that mysterious calf pain I have been experiencing for a few weeks, but it wasn't really the case (I did feel it on my left calf for a bit around the 9k mark). I was wearing compression bands on both legs, just in case ...

As I couldn't find Honey at home when preparing my energy drink this morning, I used Maple Syrup instead. It doesn't have a glycemic index as high as Honey, but definitely higher than Agave Syrup. I was a little worry the drink (which is a cold tea) may taste a little weird, but it wasn't the case and it was actually a lot less sweeter than with Agave Syrup.

After the run, we took the little guy to the outdoor swimming pool at Second Beach. Cooling the legs in the pool was kinda nice, however, since the pool is right on the seawall, it's windy and kinda cold so we didn't stay too long.

Carbo-loading & Energy bars!

So we just carbo-loaded some with a pretty yummy Kale/Lentils/Pasta soup (with Tofurkey sausage) made by da wife. I think she's planning to post the recipe online so I'll link to it when she's done so. She also made some "Larabars" for tomorrow run. It's a different recipe than the one from last week. I'll see to get the recipe as well ;)

Speaking of carbo-loading ...

The wife and I (and the kid in his running stroller) are doing another long run tomorrow (part of our Marathon training). I'm pretty excited about it since it will be the first time in 9 years than I will have gone above the distance of 21k (the last time was at the Paris Marathon back in 2003). To prepare for that run (25k), we only ran twice this past week (11k each time) and I have been taking it a little bit easier on my commuting rides.

Following my post from last night, I realized that my homemade energy drink wasn't actually what I needed during a long run (or ride) since I have to reload some glycogen as fast as possible and that Agave Syrup has a low Glycemic Index (bummer). I may have to switch back to Honey until I can get some Maltodextrin which seems to be a favorite of many endurance athletes.

<3 Castelli

Notes: Pre & Post Workout Nutrition (and a bit on Carbs)

Here's a couple of the things I noted down a few days ago while listening to episode #73 of the Tri Talk Triathlon podcast on the subject of nutrition needs around a workout.

Pre-workout (only if +60 minutes long):

• 2 to 4 hours before: 500 kcals of healthy carbs
• 60 minutes before: 1 gr per kg of body mass (4 kcals/kg)

Post-workout (only for intensive workout; e.g. +3hrs bike ride):

• if less than 6 to 8 hours to recover (to top-up glycogen level before another workout)
• carbs: 1.2g per kg of body mass per hour (+60 glycemic index, up to 5hrs post workout)
• proteins: 0.6g per kg of body mass per hour
• if more than 6 to 8 hours to recover
• eat when convenient (no need for high glycemic index)
• top off glycogen level like above, but no need to do it every hours

If you are a n00b when it comes to nutrition, like myself, this beg for some background explanations (disclaimer: I'm no nutritionist, I'm just an idiot trying to make sense of what I read! Please correct me when I'm wrong): 

Carbs refers to any food that is rich in complex carbohydrates (e.g cereals, bread, pasta ...) or in simple carbohydrates (e.g. fruits, sweets). A carbohydrate is basically sugar (glucose & fructose) used by the body as stored energy. The Glycemic index indicates how quickly a particular carbohydrate is absorbed. Therefore, consuming a high glycemic index carbs allows for the body to re-load glycogen in the muscles (and liver) faster. 

Glycogen is synthesised by the body from the sugar present in the blood and stored in the liver (for use by the body) and in the muscles (for their sole usage). It is only when the liver and muscles are at their maximum capacity than the body will turn glycogen into fat. Carbs with low glycemic index (e.g. fruits, vegetables, whole wheat pasta, grains) consumed 12 to 18 hours before an event will be stored as glycogen instead of fat (see carbo-loading). However, as Fructose is ineffective at raising muscle glycogen levels, a meal high in glucose should be preferred (e.g pasta, bread, rice, potatoes).

The University of Sydney has a web site dedicated to Glycemic Index, with an handy way to find carbs with high (or low) glycemic index.

Sleeping beauty

The Perfect Tire Pressure for Racing?

Bicycling.com posted a video they did during this year Tour de France, where they talk about tire pressure with a mechanic from the Garmin-Sharp-Barracuda team. Here's the gist of it (as I understood it):

• pressure in front is always 10 PSI lower than in the back
• road bike : 123 PSI (back) in good weather, 100 to 105 PSI (back) when raining
• tt bike: 137 to 145 PSI (back) in good weather

Obviously the limits for the (clincher) wheel/tire/tube needs to be respected, otherwise you'll kaboom! ... like I did a couple of weeks ago (woops!). 

Compression FTW!

The Curious Case of the Peal Izumi Jersey ...

Back in 1999, I brought a Pearl Izumi sleeve-less jersey which had that time (and location, I was in Hawai'i afterall ...) didn't strike me at particulary girly. It was hot and I was looking for a tight sleeve-less cycling shirt. It's only after a while that I started to question weither it was a girl jersey, a unisex or a male one. It does after-all have a certain floral theme, and the colors don't exactly scream male hormones ...

Over the years, I have worn it on occasions, feeling a little bit self conscious about it. Now, I'm not opposed to wearing some woman clothing, when the gender is not obvious, since I'm petite so they do fit better. But that jersey have always puzzled me ...

One thing I noticed yesterday, is that the name "Pearl Izumi" writting on the tab (located in the neck) is in pink color. That should indicate that this piece of clothing is for ladies, no? But then, why is the front zipper capable of going all the way down (like on a man jersey)? Should that be not limited to man jersey? Or maybe not ...

What do you think?

PS: I have searched Google for any trace of that jersey, but no luck

What to expect ...

So, what to expect from this blog? Well, the main subjects of this blog are the following:

• running
• cycling
• dualthlon training
• sport nutrition & gear
• veganism (and related subjects like Animal Intelligence)

For all subjects, I'll post on this blog:

• links (to web pages or videos)
• notes/tips (from podcast I listen to)
• pictures
• rides/runs/races reports

Overall, I hope to make this blog interesting, but my main focus is to use it as a stream of things I'm trying to learn and/or remember.

Fashion victim?

Training schedule reality check ...

Wade Wallace, over at Cycling Tips wrote a post on a training schedule which had me somewhat flabbergasted ... The total volume per week is over 18 hours! Granted, that's a cycling only training. Still, it's way more than what I'm doing currently. At best, I'm putting 7 hours per week on the bike (including commuting to worm 5 days a week) ...

Obvsiouly, I'm doing it wrong.

Failed Monday ride

My plan for yesterday (Monday was an holiday in British Columbia) ride was to head to North Vancouver and do the Cypress Mountain climb which is about 706m of ascent over 14km. Unfortunatly, when I woke up, I just didn't feel all that energetic nor motivated. Still, I forced myself to get ready and head out with the idea that after I warmed up I may found my mojo. Alas, it wasn't the case as my right knee started to hurt by the time I got to North Van (about 18km in the ride). My backup plan was to push to West Vancouver all the way to Wycliffe Park, which is located not to far from Horseshoe Bay, so that's what I did (see ride info on Strava bellow):

I'm still a little unsure to what exactly happened that early morning, but I think it has to do with getting only 5 hours of sleep that night. I usually sleep about 6.5hrs on week day and I did oversleep a little that Sunday (by around 2 hours). This caused me to not fall asleep until after 00:30 on the Sunday-Monday night ... So, the take away is that I need to stick to the usual sleep routine the day before a ride.

tl;dr: get more sleep

Impromptu "Hawt Dawg"

For dinner we fired up the BBQ (since it's BC day and all) and cooked among, other things, one of the staple of the vegan diet: Portobello mushrooms. Since we had "hot dog" style buns, I thought I should try making a "hawt dawg" out of the mushroom ... and it was yummy! Here's what I put in it:

• 1 portobello mushroom (BBQed, sliced in two)
• 2 slices of Tofu (BBQed also)
• half of a small bell pepper (BBQed)
• mustard, relish, ketchup

Assemble and enjoy!

Prepping energy drink (for tomorrow morning ride)

• 3 tablespoon of Agave syrup
• 2 heaping teaspoon of tea leaves (I used Earl Grey)
• 800ml of filtered water
• brew over night

Banana Blueberry pancakes!!

Page 76 of the famous "Veganomicon" is the bet recipe of vegan pancake that I have fond so far. Even the kid likes it and he's kind of picky ... I used whole wheat flour and banana instead of white flour and just blueberries

Tofu Bánh mì @ Bale Sandwich Shop

After our run (and the veg fest), we took the Skytrain (then walked a bit) to Chinatown to grab a bite. I had the Tofu Bánh mì at Bale Sandwich Shop which is a pretty popular spot in Chinatown (not to mention relatively cheap). It's the first time I have ever noticed they had a Tofu version of their signature sandwich. I don't know if it's a recent addition, but it's pretty good (likely more vegetarian than truly vegan). The tofu could use some marinating/flavoring thought ... but for $3 you can really expect too much. 

Vancouver Veg Fest (report)

So the run went fine, I could easily have gone further but the wife was insisting we stopped at Granville since that's the street where the Veg Fest was. Here's the details of the run on Strava:

The Fest was a bit disapointing. While there was quite a few (vegan information) booths, there was only one vegan food vendor (e.g "chicken" burger and such). The other booths were occupied by various shops and eatery trying to raise awareness to their existence.

Maybe I was expecting too much, I dunno ... Anyway, here's a few pics from it:

Vancouver Veg Fest (pre)

Tomorrow, Saturday 4th, is the 2nd Vancouver Veg Fest downtown. We're running to it as part of our on-going Marathon training (we're doing the Victoria Marathon this coming October). It's about 17km or so to downtown from where we live. We already did that run (actually all the way to Stanley park) a couple of weeks ago pushing our kid in the running stroller. It should be fun (we'll have some "Larabar" to fuel outselves), althought it is supposed to be rather hot ... At least, there's be vegan treats at the end of it ;-)

Raw Vegan "Larabar"

Da wife made some "Larabar" ... I have been talking about making some for a few days, but she didn't want me to mess up the kitchen, so ... She kinda winged but here's the approximate recipe:

• 1 cup of dry figs
• 1/2 cup of dry cranberries
• 1/2 cup of blanched almonds
• 1 to 1.5 cup of walnuts
• 1/4 cup sesame seeds
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup of almond butter

Soak the figs and cranberries for a bit in hot water (cover). Use a food processor to process all the nuts then add all the other ingredients until well mixed and crushed. Press in a pan then store in the fridge for a bit before cutting into bar.

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I wish cycling cap were more popular ...

Hello World!

Well, here we go! A new blog for my musing into the art of Duathlon (as a flexitarian)! In case, you are wondering, I've had that cycling bottle since 1999 (and it's from HP Bike Works in Kona, Hi).