Our first home match was a smashing success. We beat Landaise in three straight sets (26-24, 25-21, 25-22). I was so nervous! The team did some really great things.
After the game both teams stayed and hung out in the team room. We drank and ate (I had been waiting all day to eat bread, so I went a little overboard on the baguette and brie). Ha! It was especially delicious after such sweet success!
Tough week of training ahead... That's all for now. More later!
Sunday, September 29, 2013
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
Pizza, Sauna, Practice
Wonderful lunch meeting with Maguy today. Today was NOT a double day, but we went to a pizzeria, so I just *had* to indulge my curiosity! Qu'est-ce que c'est la pizza française? It was so delicious... I ordered the vegetarian pizza topped with tomato sauce, cheese, onions, peppers, mushrooms, artichokes, eggplant, and olives. Soooo good! The thin crust was charred around the edges and soft in the middle. Mmmmm... An obvious fork and knife situation...
My Monday training sesh was a swim and a run. I went to the local pool and almost had my whole workout derailed because it turns out they have a sauna!!!! YES + exclamation points forever! If there hadn't been a 30 minute limit, I'd still be in there right now... Awww, so nice!
At practice tonight my serve-receive passing felt better! I'm getting into a rhythm of relaxing my arms and then refocusing on the ball to get my platform angle just right before contact.
First home game this Sunday! Until then? Work, work, work! :)
My Monday training sesh was a swim and a run. I went to the local pool and almost had my whole workout derailed because it turns out they have a sauna!!!! YES + exclamation points forever! If there hadn't been a 30 minute limit, I'd still be in there right now... Awww, so nice!
At practice tonight my serve-receive passing felt better! I'm getting into a rhythm of relaxing my arms and then refocusing on the ball to get my platform angle just right before contact.
First home game this Sunday! Until then? Work, work, work! :)
Monday, September 23, 2013
Nutrition: Everyday Eating
Back in the States, working for SweetWARE, I started getting a lot questions from people about what to eat and why. I'm no expert, but (because of my natural curiosity and the tools I had at my fingertips) I had the privilege of learning a lot about what food is made of and what works for me. Here are a few rules of thumb that I like to think can be applied to any diet for added energy and vitality!
1. Eat rainbows. Not Lucky Charms, people! I'm talking red tomatoes, orange carrots, yellow peppers, leafy greens... You get the picture! If you eat a bunch of grays and browns, that's how you're going to feel. PS - Condiments don't count... Sorry!
2. Fast food = once a year! For maybe five years now, Billy and I have been getting Taco Bell for Valentine's Day. This radical tradition started when we found ourselves wandering around Alameda on V-Day with no reservations and the realization that a nice dinner would require an hour wait and about a hundred bucks... Going to Taco Bell was the most counter-cultural thing we could think of at the time and it stuck! Now we look forward to it every year and fast food just feels wrong on any other day. Haha... Bottom line? 364 days a year, swap fast food for fresh food to feel (yep - pretty much instantly) better! PS - In-and-Out does not count as fast food after a long day of tournaments and that's just the way it is...
3. Whole Foods. Not the store. The food. Unless you have a deadly allergy, foods that do not require packaging are generally better for you. If it absolutely has to have a package, it also requires an ingredient list - so, read that shit! Ingredient lists are required to list ingredients in order of predominance by weight. If I'm debating between two products? Compare the first three words and then run the last three words through my difficult-to-sound-out filter. Red flags that get a product put immediately back on the shelf: hydrogenated, artificial, monosodium glutamate, high fructose corn syrup, flavor, and color. I rarely look at nutrition labels, but when I do it's normally to ensure that foods high in saturated fat, transfat, and sodium don't make it to my grocery cart.
4. Anti-oxidants: our bestest friends in the whole wide world. All we need to know is that, as a species, our favorite foods (in no particular order) are: any apple, any dark fruit, all berries, pecans, dark beans and pinto beans. Period. Okay, fine, fine! Go ahead and throw in artichokes and russet potatoes if you insist... Do it! :)
Last thing before I get off this soap box (which I'm totally unqualified for if you forgot or missed that part).
5. HYDRATE! Replace the liquids you currently drink (soda, iced tea, coffee, alcohol, etc.) with the liquid of life: water... or fruit and vegetable juices... or just fruits and vegetables! And this is where everything starts circling back to reinforce itself: The USDA recommends 8-9 servings of fruits and vegetables day. These foods (raw) are 75-90% water, so eat (or drink!) that ridiculously hydrating, nourishing, colorful stuff!
So, if you find yourself asking yourself "Do I dare eat a peach?" The answer is just yes.
Writing this has made me very hungry, so I'm going downstairs to get a snack... That's all for now. More later!
1. Eat rainbows. Not Lucky Charms, people! I'm talking red tomatoes, orange carrots, yellow peppers, leafy greens... You get the picture! If you eat a bunch of grays and browns, that's how you're going to feel. PS - Condiments don't count... Sorry!
2. Fast food = once a year! For maybe five years now, Billy and I have been getting Taco Bell for Valentine's Day. This radical tradition started when we found ourselves wandering around Alameda on V-Day with no reservations and the realization that a nice dinner would require an hour wait and about a hundred bucks... Going to Taco Bell was the most counter-cultural thing we could think of at the time and it stuck! Now we look forward to it every year and fast food just feels wrong on any other day. Haha... Bottom line? 364 days a year, swap fast food for fresh food to feel (yep - pretty much instantly) better! PS - In-and-Out does not count as fast food after a long day of tournaments and that's just the way it is...
3. Whole Foods. Not the store. The food. Unless you have a deadly allergy, foods that do not require packaging are generally better for you. If it absolutely has to have a package, it also requires an ingredient list - so, read that shit! Ingredient lists are required to list ingredients in order of predominance by weight. If I'm debating between two products? Compare the first three words and then run the last three words through my difficult-to-sound-out filter. Red flags that get a product put immediately back on the shelf: hydrogenated, artificial, monosodium glutamate, high fructose corn syrup, flavor, and color. I rarely look at nutrition labels, but when I do it's normally to ensure that foods high in saturated fat, transfat, and sodium don't make it to my grocery cart.
4. Anti-oxidants: our bestest friends in the whole wide world. All we need to know is that, as a species, our favorite foods (in no particular order) are: any apple, any dark fruit, all berries, pecans, dark beans and pinto beans. Period. Okay, fine, fine! Go ahead and throw in artichokes and russet potatoes if you insist... Do it! :)
Last thing before I get off this soap box (which I'm totally unqualified for if you forgot or missed that part).
5. HYDRATE! Replace the liquids you currently drink (soda, iced tea, coffee, alcohol, etc.) with the liquid of life: water... or fruit and vegetable juices... or just fruits and vegetables! And this is where everything starts circling back to reinforce itself: The USDA recommends 8-9 servings of fruits and vegetables day. These foods (raw) are 75-90% water, so eat (or drink!) that ridiculously hydrating, nourishing, colorful stuff!
So, if you find yourself asking yourself "Do I dare eat a peach?" The answer is just yes.
Writing this has made me very hungry, so I'm going downstairs to get a snack... That's all for now. More later!
Sunday, September 22, 2013
Nutrition: Eat Like the Athlete You Want to Be
Sunday was the 10k & 20k de Tours! A beautiful day... So, I wandered down to Tours Center to check out all the athletes and the cool booths and stuff. I stood in line (forever) to get Paella and got to the front of the line only to realize that not only is there meat in Paella, there is *every kind of meat* in Paella (sausage, chicken, and seafood) - and I became a vegetarian (kind of) on Mother's Day this year... Doy! Ahahah! I ate it anyway... Ooops! :)
Since I stopped eating meat (okay, fine, not entirely, but for the most part - haters...), I've been told more times than I can count that I'm probably not getting enough protein. This inspired me to analyze my diet and, believe it or not, it turns out I'm getting more than enough protein, but could stand to DOUBLE my carbohydrate intake. Insane!
Here's what a day looks like for me right now (a double day is when I workout for more than 4 hours total):
Breakfast - plain yogurt with honey and cinnamon, muesli (double days add eggs and toast)
Snack - fruit
Lunch - spinach salad (double days I get to eat whatever I want for lunch)
Dessert - plain yogurt with honey and cinnamon
Snack - fruit
Snack - peanut butter rice cakes with honey and cinnamon
Snack - bread with olive oil and vinegar
Dinner - vegetables + grains + beans or tofu (double days add pasta)
Dessert - plain yogurt with honey and cinnamon
This gets me to exactly 100g protein, 360g carbohydrates, and 100g fat (around 2600 kCal) on single days... and on double days I get to eat carbs like it's my job (like just throw in a whole baguette there somewhere, double the grains for dinner, and maybe even a pastry and coffee) to bring me to 800g of glorious, golden, crusty, delicious carbohydrates.
When I'm training, I also like to follow a few general rules:
1. Low alcohol and low caffeine. That's right. Except for occasions, if I'm training right, alcohol becomes a distant memory and caffeine stays out of the picture as much as possible.
2. High-protein post-workout snack: nuts, hard boiled eggs, or apple with peanut butter... My go-to post workout snack right now? Rice cake with peanut butter, honey, cinnamon and banana - YUM!
3. Hydrate! I drink about 2 liters a day of water (at least). When I'm back in the States, I'm drinking electrolytes like a coconut water, or gatorade diluted by 50% to keep that post-bikram head ache away. Here, I've been drinking lemon water and diluted apple/pear juice with a little pinch of salt after workouts.
This link is an amazing article written by US Anti-Doping Agency about the best diet for athletes:
http://www.usantidoping.org/files/active/what/dietary_intake.pdf
My targets are based off of this and this fitness calculator from active.com.
On that note, if you have anything to add - please leave a comment for me! I love hearing about new recipes and things that work for others!! Thanks!
Since I stopped eating meat (okay, fine, not entirely, but for the most part - haters...), I've been told more times than I can count that I'm probably not getting enough protein. This inspired me to analyze my diet and, believe it or not, it turns out I'm getting more than enough protein, but could stand to DOUBLE my carbohydrate intake. Insane!
Here's what a day looks like for me right now (a double day is when I workout for more than 4 hours total):
Breakfast - plain yogurt with honey and cinnamon, muesli (double days add eggs and toast)
Snack - fruit
Lunch - spinach salad (double days I get to eat whatever I want for lunch)
Dessert - plain yogurt with honey and cinnamon
Snack - fruit
Snack - peanut butter rice cakes with honey and cinnamon
Snack - bread with olive oil and vinegar
Dinner - vegetables + grains + beans or tofu (double days add pasta)
Dessert - plain yogurt with honey and cinnamon
This gets me to exactly 100g protein, 360g carbohydrates, and 100g fat (around 2600 kCal) on single days... and on double days I get to eat carbs like it's my job (like just throw in a whole baguette there somewhere, double the grains for dinner, and maybe even a pastry and coffee) to bring me to 800g of glorious, golden, crusty, delicious carbohydrates.
When I'm training, I also like to follow a few general rules:
1. Low alcohol and low caffeine. That's right. Except for occasions, if I'm training right, alcohol becomes a distant memory and caffeine stays out of the picture as much as possible.
2. High-protein post-workout snack: nuts, hard boiled eggs, or apple with peanut butter... My go-to post workout snack right now? Rice cake with peanut butter, honey, cinnamon and banana - YUM!
3. Hydrate! I drink about 2 liters a day of water (at least). When I'm back in the States, I'm drinking electrolytes like a coconut water, or gatorade diluted by 50% to keep that post-bikram head ache away. Here, I've been drinking lemon water and diluted apple/pear juice with a little pinch of salt after workouts.
This link is an amazing article written by US Anti-Doping Agency about the best diet for athletes:
http://www.usantidoping.org/files/active/what/dietary_intake.pdf
My targets are based off of this and this fitness calculator from active.com.
On that note, if you have anything to add - please leave a comment for me! I love hearing about new recipes and things that work for others!! Thanks!
Friday, September 20, 2013
Roundabouts
Today,I rode my bike for an hour and a half to Hopital Trousseau and back. For some reason, I couldn't get this song out of my head!
Haha - YES!!!!!!!!!
I'm not sure why, but in general - and for some unknown reason - I really do feel safer on my bike here. In terms of circulation, there are lots of differences between here and the States... Here's ten off the top of my head:
1. Widespread use of roundabouts in lieu of stop signs (keeps traffic moving albeit a little chaotically) :)
2. Pretty much everyone drives stick shift
3. Traffic signals appear BEFORE the intersection at eye level on the right
4. Corners and intersections are yields because there's maybe like two stop signs in this whole country
5. Roads are narrow and curvy for the most part
6. Street names mostly appear on sides of buildings if they appear at all
7. Signs are results based, so destinations are more prominent than street names
8. Parking on the sidewalk, or halfway on the sidewalk is not only totally acceptable, it's encouraged
9. Bike routes are super well marked (and cyclists observe red lights and traffic laws)
10. There is no turn on red lights. So, if you have a green, it's a sure fire thing you will not be run over!
Today, I had an amazing visit with a cardiologist! I got an EKG (cool) and we talked a little about my diet. I told him I've been crunching some numbers (nutrition post on the way) and it looks like I'm getting more than enough protein, but not nearly enough carbohydrates... He said I should be eating more complex carbs (like pasta and rice) and then specifically recommended (wait for it...) CHOCOLATE! That's right! Not a piece of fruit, not a power bar, or a hard boiled egg, or a bagel! Chocolate. I thanked him and told him that shouldn't be a problem... Haha!
Come to France to play volleyball and get prescribed chocolate and carbohydrates... Life's not too shabby right now! Seriously though, if you know me well, you know that there's no way I'm going to take any recommendation from any one (even a fancy French cardiologist) at face value, so I'm doing some research about diet and nutrition that I'll be sure to post about as soon as I've finalized my findings - wink wink! :)
That's all for now. More later!
Haha - YES!!!!!!!!!
I'm not sure why, but in general - and for some unknown reason - I really do feel safer on my bike here. In terms of circulation, there are lots of differences between here and the States... Here's ten off the top of my head:
1. Widespread use of roundabouts in lieu of stop signs (keeps traffic moving albeit a little chaotically) :)
2. Pretty much everyone drives stick shift
3. Traffic signals appear BEFORE the intersection at eye level on the right
4. Corners and intersections are yields because there's maybe like two stop signs in this whole country
5. Roads are narrow and curvy for the most part
6. Street names mostly appear on sides of buildings if they appear at all
7. Signs are results based, so destinations are more prominent than street names
8. Parking on the sidewalk, or halfway on the sidewalk is not only totally acceptable, it's encouraged
9. Bike routes are super well marked (and cyclists observe red lights and traffic laws)
10. There is no turn on red lights. So, if you have a green, it's a sure fire thing you will not be run over!
Today, I had an amazing visit with a cardiologist! I got an EKG (cool) and we talked a little about my diet. I told him I've been crunching some numbers (nutrition post on the way) and it looks like I'm getting more than enough protein, but not nearly enough carbohydrates... He said I should be eating more complex carbs (like pasta and rice) and then specifically recommended (wait for it...) CHOCOLATE! That's right! Not a piece of fruit, not a power bar, or a hard boiled egg, or a bagel! Chocolate. I thanked him and told him that shouldn't be a problem... Haha!
Come to France to play volleyball and get prescribed chocolate and carbohydrates... Life's not too shabby right now! Seriously though, if you know me well, you know that there's no way I'm going to take any recommendation from any one (even a fancy French cardiologist) at face value, so I'm doing some research about diet and nutrition that I'll be sure to post about as soon as I've finalized my findings - wink wink! :)
That's all for now. More later!
Thursday, September 19, 2013
Living Simply!
I don't know if I've mentioned this yet, but the President of Saint Cyr sur Loire Volley Ball is also the head honcho at Simply. I went to Simply in Tours for the first time on Monday to shop. This was the closest thing to an American grocery store I've seen yet! The prices were all really low and the organic section was HUGE. They have tofu, coconut milk, soy sauce, pesto, fresh and dried pasta, sliced and bakery style bread (mmmm... I got a whole grain loaf with walnuts), a whole range of cheeses (Yes, of course I splurged and bought goat cheese), fresh and canned fruits and vegetables (canned beets has been the best find yet in that department), ready-made soups, salads, sandwiches, Q-tips, band aids, deodorant (yay!)...
Anyways, Simply is the best (and I'm not just saying that because they are our biggest sponsor)! :)
Anyways, Simply is the best (and I'm not just saying that because they are our biggest sponsor)! :)
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