In my line of work, I'm surrounded by scientist from all areas of expertise, from biochemists to biologists.   Yesterday I talked with a colleague about the importance of rest and recovery and my strategy for going to bed earlier over the next few weeks and preparing for an early race. My goal is to be ready for a race that will take place at 3:30 AM on my circadian rhythm  (actual race start is 8:30 for my age group which would be 5 hours earlier in the States.   

I only arrive two days before the race, which is little time for my body to adapt, therefore, my plan while here for the next few weeks is to head off to bed once my kids are asleep and get used to being up early. Last night I hit the pillow at 9:15 PM and I awoke naturally at ~4 AM.  Of course more sleep is good for me at this point so I fell back to sleep for another 90 minutes.  

Eight hours of sleep is a rare night for me so I take it when I can.  After a week of this I'll start to add more frequent early workouts which may require using my bike light.   This colleague suggested that I of include plenty of foods which contain Tryptophan, an essential amino acid which helps our body produce precursors  necessary for Melatonin production.  Melatonin is hormone that will help you fall asleep.  After a hard race or training session try including foods such as turkey, chicken, dried egg whites,  yogurt or vegetables such as soy bean or legumes like peanut butter.    

Workout of the day; easy 90 min spin this morning on my TT bike, no hard efforts.  I was a bit tired from yesterdays track and swim workouts so I made this morning an active recovery session.   I followed this workout with a shake consisting of 2 scoops of whey protein powder, 1/2 cup frozen mixed berries, one scoop of Trader Joe's Super Red, 1 banana and two cups milk.   Then I had an egg and cheese croissant about two hours later.   Butter = tasty.
 


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