Endurance Sports Nutrition Book Giveaway Time!

I woke up at the worst possible time today. I was dreaming about eating a mucho delicioso piece of cake. It was right in front of me, I had the fork in my hand, and I had just cut off a piece. Right as I was about to take a bite of delicious heavenliness, "BEEEEEP! BEEEEP! BEEEEP!" and I was shaken awake by that god-awful sound. My cake.....!!!!!!! Oh well. Maybe I'll get to actually take a bite tonight in my dream, lol.

Thank you for all the good luck wishes yesterday. Unfortunately, I don't have the good news I was hoping to have. It was pretty clear to me that this postition was not the right match for me. I was actually very proud of how I handled the questions, and I can't really think of anything that I would have said or done better. It just did not seem like the right fit for me at this moment in time. Not gonna lie, I am super disappointed. I saw it going down differently in my head, and yeah, I may have shed a tear or two. But I know the right opportunity will come across at the right place at the right time. It was a great learning experience for me.
Deep breath in, sigh. Deep breath in, sigh.
You live and you learn, right? Today is a new day with new potential.

And speaking of potential, let's move onto the fun portion of this post; the potential to boost your endurance power with proper nutrition!

I am so lucky to have won a few blog giveaways in the last month. To keep the good blog karma going, I am very excited to have my very first giveaway! One lucky winner will receive, courtesy of moi, a book that I have found very helpful:

Sports Nutrition for Endurance Athletes by Monique Ryan (Velo Press)

As you know, performance and nutrition go hand in hand. And as you also know, I have been struggling with my nutrition (oh cookies... I miss you! xoxo, Julia) I picked up this book on Amazon.com, because it had great reviews.

I have found this book to be very informative and very helpful. There is minimal "fluff" information, and is packed with directly useful tips and charts. The author does a fantastic job of providing enough scientific information to back up her claims, which is important to me.

She breaks down exactly how many grams of carbs, fats, protein, and water you need for varying intensities/durations of workouts. For example, your nutritional needs are different for a 60 min intense workout day, a 90 min moderate intensity day, a couple hours low intensity day, etc. This helped me realize that I was not eating nearly enough protein, and WAAAAY too much fat, and too many calories in general. I actually made an excel spreadsheet using her information, and planned out meals and snacks that would provide the right nutrients at the right time. This information has been invaluable.

Her chapter on hydration was also very illuminating to me, as I always forget to drink enough water! She does a good job explaining how much liquid you need at different points throughout the workout and throughout the day. She also breaks down what kinds of electrolytes you need. Very useful information, esp since it's summer and I'm sure we're all running in the heat.

She also has chapters specific to running, cycling, swimming, rowing, triathlons, and adventure racing. So no matter which sport or sports you participate in, I am sure you will find some useful information in here.

I found the charts comparing carb contents of foods, different gus/gels/sports drinks, sample meal plans, and meal timing to be extremely helpful.

I have used this book, and though my diet has made leaps and bounds of improvement. Though it's not super great by any means, I definitely have noticed a difference in performance by adding in more protein, and cutting back on fat/sugar. I know the more closely I follow her guidelines, the better I could perform, though right now, I am NOT ready to give up my daily sugar fix :)

I think you will find this book a great addition to your training!

So this is how you can enter to win:

1) Leave a comment on this post telling me what nutrition changes helped you perform better
2) Follow my blog
3) List my blog on your blogroll
4) Mention this giveaway on your blog and link back to my post, and then let me know that you did.

That's FOUR chances to win! Please leave a separate comment for each entry. If you already follow my blog and/or list me on your blogroll, please leave a separate comment telling me you already do.

This giveaway will end at midnight Pacific Time on Sunday August 9th, and I will announce the winner on Monday.

Happy training!