Snowfall + Stairs = Pain!

I missed a workout last Friday. I was supposed to go biking, but when I woke up my joints were acting up. I don't know if it's the result of my (almost) falling down a flight of stairs (yes, I can be very clumsy), or if it was because of the very changing weather we have down here. Either way, let's say it was the snow's fault.

I was leaving work on Thursday night, and it was snowing. The first snowfall of the season. There was no snow accumulated on the ground and it was not slippery. I was looking at the snow falling, with my hands in my pockets, while taking the first step down a flight of stairs. My shoe heel got stuck in my pant's cuff...Imagine the rest. I have no idea how I did that, but I ended up at the bottom of the stairs on my two feet. I'm pretty sure that impact didn't help my ankles and knees, as they were quite painful on the next morning and I decided to stay in bed for a longer time and skip that morning's workout.

The temperature is also varying a lot lately, and I always feel it more around this time of the year. Last weekend we've had 20C (68F), and on Friday morning it was 0C (32F)!
Anyway, I recovered pretty quickly, and I'm fine now. I've had a great training during the week-end, doing a 1500M straight swim on Saturday, at a pace of 2:09/100M. I'm happy with that, especially that I had a lot of energy left afterwards, so I know I can push it more. On Sunday, I biked 65km (40Mi) in 2 hours, which is amazing for me. But, it was on a stationnary bike. There's no way I could do that on the road. I'm satisfied nonetheless, I was still able to stay in Zone 1 for 92% of the duration.

I also experimented with Power gels during my "ride". What a difference! And I love the chocolate flavor! :o)

Today is my off day, no training scheduled, and I will actually go to an Arthritis seminar. I'm curious to see what type of people will be participating. I plan to volunteer to host these seminars in the future, the goal being to get people to live better with Arthritis by helping them understand the disease and putting an action plan together.

Still have to figure out about nutrition!

Today I got up, ate a mini banana, drank a yop (liquid yogurt) and went for a 1500m swim. Got out of the water, took a shower, took my time and then got back home (which is upstairs, I live in a condo). By the time I got in the door, I had become a zombie! My energy level was so low I had to drink my juice and eat nuts, sitting and hoping that my sugar level would get back to normal...I usually have a juice drink and am able to wait until I get to work to have a snack there. On my way to work, I bought an energy bar (powerbar) to make sure I would be fine. 3.75$ (CAD) in a convenience store, ouch! and Yuk!!! I remember trying one that tasted much better, but can't remember the brand...I basically had to chew for a minute before being able to swallow, even though I had coffee to help gulp it down. Oh well, it helped and I'm (almost) back to normal.

Note to myself:
1-Bring an energy drink to refuel right after getting out of the water.
2-Think about eating a bit more before working out. (I usually have a huge banana and juice or yop and it seems ok, but today I only had a teeny tiny banana)
3-Try to find out with a nutritionist what I should be doing better.
4-Try to find protein bars or gels I like and that are not too expensive.
5-Do not buy energy stuff in convenience stores!

I guess the nutritionist thing would be the best idea, as I know I eat good stuff, but I don't know if the quantities are right for the amount of energy I spend. I eat much more than before, for sure, I'm always munching on something. But maybe my timing is bad...I'll have to check that out. Let me know if you have any tricks or suggestions.