Keeping Pace

Keeping Pace

Time Will Tell

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At 9 am I took a short break for my run. I was the only one in the fitness center at this time of day and it was nice. With my music playing my chosen “running tunes,” I began my run on the ‘mill at a modest pace and a 2.0% incline. I quickly advanced the speed until I reached my targeted marathon race pace.

Limited on time, with a long teleconference beginning at lunch and ending at 4 pm, I ran a short 3 mile run. I have a long run planned for tomorrow as well, so it seemed a reasonable distance. By the completion of my 3 miles the elapsed time read 26:13 with a “yummy” 341 calories burned. Hurray!

I didn’t get a run in yesterday and the difference in the caloric balance is staggering. So I had some issues that prolonged my day. It began with me working through lunch, followed by a few extra errands and, the final kicker, car issues – my yesterday didn’t set me up for dieting success. With YaYa complaining that he was hot, and thirsty, and hungry, I left the car that wouldn’t start for Starbucks. We shared a package of cheese, crackers, and fruit. YaYa was quick to grab the fruit. By the time I got home, I was tired and off the planned menu already. So after cooking the chicken and corn on the cob – I ate it. And it was tasty. The calories burned was still more than the calories in, but it was barely. The scale this morning was forgiving though. I can’t make that a habit.

In the gym, since I was the only one there, I could get a nice view of both my running form and my side profile. I wondered how my future “improved” profile would be different. Only time will tell.

Dieting 101: Day # 2

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We sat together for dinner last night; they ate pizza while I ate JC Turkey Chili and steamed broccoli. I eyed the crumbs on Tom and YaYa’s plate and longed for a piece of pizza. Could I put this “diet” thing off another day? My 1st day of dieting had gone fair, but I don’t like the un-satisfied, always hungry feeling that fills my waking hours.

Today, I tried to spread the food out a little better. It seems that my hunger is at bay until after my mid-day run. That’s no surprise. It was no surprise yesterday, when I reviewed the “free foods” list and then ate nearly a whole bunch of celery stalks. I am sure that it will get better; I’ll get used to the calorie change and the pounds lost will fuel me to continue. Until then, I am obsessive. I’ve logged my miles into my Palm based Diet & Exercise Assistant. JC gave me a menu to follow and log my activity. I know that I write BIG, but there just isn’t enough room to track everything so I started my own spreadsheet. Now, don’t you think that the JC staff will be surprised to see that? It not only adds up the calories, but also has built in formulas. It calculates caloric intake minus the sum of 1555 calories expended (BMR based upon my sitting job) + the calories burned per my garmin. I want to show them why I am concerned that their caloric intake will not work when I’ve really gotten going in my marathon training. My “Intake minus burned calories” showed – 890 yesterday, and IF I stick to the plan for today will be – 1281. No wonder I am hungry. I think the better target would negative 480-500 calories/day.

Perhaps I am being difficult.
You think?
Humm.

On a running note, today’s 6-mile run was nice. The weather has cooled down a bit. It’s now only 90 degrees outside. The pace was slow, but the plan was to just do it. As we ran past people we greeted them “with a smile” but there was no return response. I think the heat must be affecting people’s hearing or, more likely, their mood. Go figure.

Goal Setting

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Staying motivated can be difficult to maintain. For some, “getting” motivated may be a difficult task. I like to set goals, and then set out on the attack. Pacing my attack is my challenge. I have to be careful not to set the hurdles too high for myself. I don’t want to set unrealistic, unachievable goals for myself.

I *have* asked the question of whether I am capable of qualifying to run in the Boston Marathon. For those of you who have attempted this task, you know that it is not easy. It is not something that everyone can easily achieve. I have run 10 marathons so far and my best is 3:55 – that is 5 minutes slow of my current BQ time. Although, I have asked the question, I still answer that I can do it.

Hence the plan:
· Hal Higdon’s Intermediate I program
· Run the sorta-long runs at Tempo pace, Yasso 800s, or Mile repeats.
· Lose weight

[Read more…]

Failure to Thrive

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Eek! The 31st of July is creeping up on me. The return of official “training” has long been anticipated. With the “plan” I have been failing to thrive; I have been apathetic. I’ve long been craving the return of regimented training. At the same time, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of panic hit upon realizing that my training schedule will begin in 1 week.

I’m excited and nervous at the same time. With a single week left of doing whatever I want, many questions run through my mind.
Have I run enough?
Just how much fitness have I lost?
When will the weather be cooling down?

Just after 11 am today, I began to feel the pull to go running. I ate my yogurt – enough fuel to satisfy my hunger for a bit longer – and made my way to the fitness center. I would not brave an outside run today. Yesterday was far too miserably hot to venture outdoors when I can just run on the treadmill.

I hoped on the 1st treadmill and began my warm-up mile (9:33). Post warm-up, my pace hovered from 8:39 – 8:27 minutes/mile for the next 5 miles. After hitting mile 6, I cooled down at 9:34 for 1 final mile.

I feel better about missing yesterday’s workout. I know that I have lost a considerable amount of fitness since running Grandma’s Marathon, but I am confident that I can gain it back. I am ready to be back on a training plan again. I thrive in the regimented structure.

Heat induced cross-training

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I didn’t run, but I did manage some cross training. It was really by survival, or by accident. It seems that the increased heat caused too many people, myself included, to turn on the rarely-used air-conditioning system. The power was pushed beyond the maximum capacity and finally just quit. For hours on end, there was no electricity. I came home with bags of groceries only to find out that our refrigerator wasn’t running. The ice in all of the stores for all of our surrounding cities was gone by the time we hunted it down. We retreated to my old neighborhood pool.

At the pool, the water was warm but still offered some relief. Feeling guilty from no form of exercise for my Sunday, I started to swim some laps. The pool was crowded. For 10 minutes, at the top of each hour, however all kids must exit the pool. This allows the grown-ups a kid free pool for 10 full minutes. Normally, it is heaven…but there were so many adults in the pool that I had to swim around them to get across the pool. When I lifted my head for a breath, I often saw the people looking at me with that look of “you *must* be crazy!” Whatever. As a runner, I’m used to that look; I get it often. I may not have run, but at least I did *something*.

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