Nothing super new, but when I run out of my endurance mix powder, I’ll make a batch of watered down iced tea (any unsweetened black tea, but favorites include Assam and English Breakfast), lemon juice, and maple syrup and add a pinch of table salt to each bottle. Gives a touch of caffeine, electrolytes, carbs, and flavor. I don’t get too crazy being precise with proportions, so the recipe is all to taste.
Plain water is great for hydrating too, if you’re not in crazy hot conditions or riding crazy long. The hotter/longer your ride, the more you really need electrolytes. I’ve also frequently just added a pinch of table salt to plain water. You can barely taste the salt, but it will make a difference in your hydration status!
Through clenched teeth that entire segment I kept saying to myself, “SHUT UP @chad! Stop the badmouthing of my espresso now @chad.”
Sidebar, I was doing a crit when I was a collegiate racer in North Carolina. I ran into Jonas Carney in a coffee shop. I had raced already and he was getting ready to race the Pro/1. I think he was with Saturn at the time. I want to say this was 1994? anyway, as I’m getting my ‘recovery latte’…Jonas rolls up to the counter and orders around 8 double espressos and proceeds to hammer them in quick succession. Then clops out to to his bike clips in and rolls out for this call-up.
@ambermalika thanks for all the great info, including the info to help me understand sports performance and my daughters! They are home for the weekend and last night we had an interesting conversation based on the podcast
This is such a huge topic! The original question posed asked us what our personal routines were for applying sunscreen for training, and I think@chad plans to address a lot of this on his deep dive about Vitamin D. I went back and listened to the segment again, and I realize I didn’t make my own perspective on this very clear.
I’ve got friends in toxicology research, and that’s a scary rabbit hole. That said, what is probably most surprising is that many of the more complicated-sounding chemical ingredients in skin-care products are harmless, while innocuous sounding things like “parfum” can be more sinister. The other thing to keep in mind is that our environments are FILLED with toxins, both natural and manmade, and that our bodies have highly adaptive and specialized systems to efficiently rid our body of unwanted toxins. Our bodies are actually really good at this, and we need to remember to give them due credit. When things go awry, it’s more often due to overwhelming the body with such huge doses that it can’t keep up, or due to pathology in the body’s natural defense system.
When it comes to sunscreen specifically, I’ve had teammates who were diagnosed very young with melanoma. In my own personal risk analysis as regards use of sunscreen, I put skin cancer at the top of my list of outcomes I want to avoid. I used 30 SPF or higher sunblocks (usually 30 or 50) that include both physical (e.g. titanium dioxide) and chemical (e.g. avo- or oxybenzone) sunscreens. I’m not sponsored by any brands, but I do like Neutrogena Sport Face: it has both physical and chemical sunscreens and absorbs well if you apply it 20 or so minutes before starting your workout. I think allowing enough time for the sunscreen to absorb before getting your sweat on makes a big difference in the efficacy of whatever you use. This is all my own personal opinion.
I am NOT an expert in this: I advocate speaking with your dermatologist for advice. (Many people have skin sensitivities that may preclude certain kinds of sunscreens.) On that note, if you spend a lot of time outdoors in the sun (and if your insurance allows), it’s a great idea to make a habit of seeing your dermatologist on an annual basis for a skin check.
When you really get into the literature on toxins and all the common substances can potentially cause harm, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. Most folks on this forum are likely very conscientious about what they consume, and that’s really the best thing you can do (and the most anyone really CAN do). Educate yourself with information from credible sources, make a decision based on your own risk tolerance, and then read labels and buy/consume accordingly.
My personal decision for myself is to use both physical and chemical sunscreens, as I worry more about skin cancer than about the effects of any of the ingredients in my sunscreens.
That’s awesome! Please let them know they can reach out to me anytime with questions. If I can offer good perspective, I will, and if not, chances are I can connect them with someone who can!
I’m not one to advocate for caffeine per se, but I do love my coffee and have found a good balance with a moderate intake (~2 cups per day before noon). I think I’m as attached to the ritual of coffee as much as to the drink itself! Naturally, then, I tend of have “selective hearing” when it comes to negative research findings about my favorite beverage. And, yes, I do love a good shot (or two) of spro before a race… especially an afternoon crit.
Agreed on sunscreen and the rabbit hole that it is (and if anyone has read the aspartame thread)-what a third rail toxicology / chemicals and perceptions of what are safe can be. PS-nobody should be anti-vaccination.
As a very pasty skinned surfer I have a war chest of sunscreens. They have come in handy as I have been getting back out on the bike and trying to revive my cycling ‘career’.
The most effective in my experience and long lasting are physical blocking sunscreens. But something not widely known (or maybe it is?) outside the surf/ocean world is that there is micronized TiO2 and non micronized. Micronized can clog your pores and even (supposedly) be absorbed my the blood stream (again, supposedly).
I still use my all day in the water pastes (Manda paste, normally) for the back of my hands (if i’m not riding with gloves) and my nose, cheeks and back of my neck. And then I use ThinkSport for arms and legs if I know its going to be a long one and super sunny.
After diving deep into sleep research and how I ‘should’ be sleeping I am much more cognizant about how much coffee I have in total and have a hard cutoff time for coffee in the afternoon of 4 at the latest unless I’m about to ride.
I can’t believe I never considered the idea of adding salt to water. So simple yet effective. I’ve been struggling with my legs cramping and I don’t think I’ve found the balance between electrolytes and straight water. During my time trial, everything I drank (and gel) had some kind of electrolytes in it. My legs still wanted to cramp.
So for the majority of your training you just rocked straight h2o?
Maybe it’s because I’m in Australia and we’ve been made hyper aware of skin cancer from an early age. Maybe it’s because for the last 18 months I’ve been doing machine learning research to recognise dangerous skin lesions using mobile devices. Or maybe it’s because I’ve had a number of lesions removed, but I’m super conscious of ensuring that I’m sun safe.
I moved to California for a couple of years in the late 90s. Two things initially stood out to me. There was no cigarette smoke in bars/pubs and no one wore sunscreen. I’d go running with friends and they’d all be shirtless and thought I was odd always wearing a tee shirt and sunscreen.
I can’t image that the chemicals in sunscreen are responsible for 2000 deaths a year in Australia, which is the approximate number of people lost to skin cancer. The sad part is that 99% of those deaths could have been avoided with sun protection and/or early detection.
Stay safe people, you might not look quiet as cool in a uv shirt, smothered in sunscreen, but you’ll certainly be reducing your risks of preventable death.
@ambermalika I was cringing all through that topic…especially when I was on my 3rd coffee. What was interesting was the period (nope not that topic) between vitamins and when you should have a coffee. I usually took all my supplements with a glass of water first thing, then start my coffee. Now I will wait the hour! Ohhh what a long hour that will be!!
so we can trade places and I can finally understand what it’s like…