Eat Like an Athlete: Part 1

This weekend I have been spending my time at a two day running clinic put on by Nebraska Orthopedic Hospital. The main focus is nutrition which is information that you all know I desperately need. The name of the program is Eat Like an Athlete.

It was a super interesting day. One of the things that is really nice is to have the nutrition information targeted at athletes. We just have different needs than the average Joe who is next door sitting on the couch, eating Doritos, watching the Huskers get creamed on TV. I actually learned that I am not eating enough. Yay. That is a good problem to have. I need to try and revamp some things in my diet.

Anyway, the speaker is Dr. Deborah Shulman from Colorado. More info on her website so check it out if you have time to spare. Anyway, she is an endurance athlete having competed in many mountain endurance races and, I believe, a HIM in 2002. It is interesting to hear the perspective of a distance athlete who is incredibly knowledgeable about nutrition, physiology, and the psychology of these kind of events.

Today we talked about BMI, glycemic index, the food groups, and what and when to eat daily and for recovery. Tomorrow is more about what to eat while competing. At the end of the day we did a 1 hour group run. There were 65 participants in the class but only about 10 of us stuck around for the run. I hung back with a gal that was two years behind me in physical therapy school. She was not feeling so hot so we didn't try to keep up with the group. Another guy fell back who was also not feeling so hot and at that point the others were too far ahead for me to catch up with. We ended up turning around a little early and made it into a 40 minute run. I am not sure I could have hung with the other group anyway. I really want to be faster.

On that note, I talked to a buddy tonight about being faster and he said that he would be willing to help me out. He is super, rock star fast, like Dash in the Incredibles. So that will be cool and super nice of him.

Anyway, more about the running clinic after tomorrow's lecture.