SMART and not SMART

It was not SMART to think I could pull off 5 sub-13 minute miles with ~100 degree heat index last night. But the attempt was followed by food, fun, and frivolity as I joined a very SMART group of Striders after the run at Jax.

Tuesday's run may have been a bit too much of a confidence builder for me as I entertained visions of grandeur last night, setting out with the intention of going 1:05 for 5 miles. Hal describes Wednesdays as "hard days" so I figured I'd run hard, right? But instead of running hard, I hardly ran. :)

Oh, the first two miles were right on plan but then...WHAM!!! Mother nature sucked me dry as I struggled through the remaining 3 miles. Still, overall, when I look at my average pace for the entire run, it wasn't that bad considering the conditions.

Total distance - 4.91 miles
Mile 1 - 12:44
Mile 2 - 13:05
Mile 3 - 14:26 (included 2 water breaks but no walking to this point)
Mile 4 - 15:07 (stopped for a shower and water + a couple of short walk breaks)
.91 miles - 13:13 (14:32 pace)
Total time - 1:08:36
Average pace - 13:58

It was a struggle to finish to be quite honest, especially feeling like I did after 3 miles and being so close to the car. But if Sunday's long run was training smart, last night's run was training hard.

Speaking of training hard, I got to talk to SteveS for a bit last night. Man, Steve's giving us all a run for our money on the weight loss game. He wasn't kidding when he said that he was going to beat me AND Bill in our little shrinking competition. I'm sure glad 2nd place doesn't have to wear a dress too because Steve would be the only one in pants come July 31st. Given my recent "surge" though, I may pass him some time in the next week or two. Of course, I'm starting from a far more advantageous position than the already lean, mean, and speedy SteveS. Great to see you out there my butt-kickin' friend.

There were several new faces at the Strider outing last night. It's great to see the club continue to grow. The more the merrier. That reminds me of something funny from the HARRA banquet several weeks ago. When it came time to had out season awards, the Striders kicked butt. As all of the team awards were announced, it was...The Houston Striders...The Houston Striders...The Houston Striders...another club...The Houston Striders... Then, it came time to announce the individual runners of the season, both male and female, for open, masters, and veteran. It was announced that these awards were there to give the smaller clubs a chance (the club competition is participation based for the most part, I think). Roger said that the runner of the season awards were more about QUALITY and not QUANTITY. I thought, well, ok, whatever. What was funny was that when they started handing out the "quality" awards, it was the same song...so-and-so from the Houston Striders...so-and-so from the Houston Striders...and for the women veterans, so-and-so from the Houston Striders...on and on and on. Yes, there were quite a few individual awards for runners from other clubs and it was much more evenly distributed. All the clubs for the most part kicked butt so congratulations to the ENTIRE Houston running community and to HARRA for that. I just thought the "quality, not quantity" comment was a hoot. Looks like the Striders represent on both fronts.

Last night's fun didn't end after our sweltering scamper around Memorial Park. About 20+ SMART Striders met at Jax on Durham for food, fun, and frivolity, Strider-style. Besides the triple-f-play, the purpose of the meeting was to Q&A on the upcoming SMART training season. With the exception of 3 or 4 new faces, most in attendance were SMART veterans so the Q&A was brief. And there was SWAG!!! Bulk Gatorade, Carb-boom, singlets, and these peculiar little electrolyte replacement strips were handed out to all comers. Now where else are you going to get so much for so little ($20.00/individual $25.00/family)? Anyway, I must say I just had a blast last night, as always, where the Striders are gathered.

I'm off now for a zippy 3-miler before it gets too, too hot.

299!!!

That was what the scale said this morning as it did yesterday so it's official. For the 3rd and last time in my life I'm back below 300 lbs. Not to put too much of a damper on this news but my "true" weight is still 304.4 according to the funky formula on my weight tracking spreadsheet that doesn't "realize" more than about 10% of your daily weight loss from one day to the next. It's a good thing though. It keeps it real. However, the number don't lie. My total caloric deficit for the past week and a half has been -13700 calories. And I've lost about 5 lbs. So, again Bez's formula for weight loss holds true. Less input + more output = weight loss. Plain and simple. The question is are we honest with our input and our output. I think for much of the Spring, I wasn't honest. Thankfully, though, I didn't baloon over about 307-310 and remained pretty flat from March to June.

Pony, yes, I log everything I eat. I use the usaeatfit.com website to log everything that passes my lips. And then I work with Catherine the Great as I like to call her who monitors all my inputs and outputs. She works through usaeatfit.com and sees everything I log. Then she provides input via e-mail or phone as to what I need to work on. She keeps me challenged and provides AWESOME tips for weight loss and sports nutrition. Oh, and I had her test my resting and base metabolic rate so that I have the very best estimate of my how many calories I burn in a day. Then, I just target what deficit I want to be at for the day. She has me aiming for a 1000 calorie deficit every day which is about 2 lbs of fat loss per week. Of course, if I'm gaining muscle mass, the total weight loss won't quite be 2 lbs a week. I'm happy and feel I'm getting what I want out of this if I lose between 1.5 and 2 lbs. per week.

Old man in knots

Hal wanted today's training run to be very low key, a very easy, slow effort. Even though the Garmin doesn't show it, that's exactly what I did.

Now when I say the Garmin doesn't show it, I mean if you look at my splits, it looks more like a tempo run but I was conversational for the entire run. Maybe I slipped into MP effort the last little bit but it really was an easy run.

Total distance - 3 miler
Venue - Memorial Park (WOW!!! were there a lot of people there)
Mile 1 - 13:01
Mile 2 - 13:06
Mile 3 - 12:45
Average pace - 12:58

I had my worries going into tonight's run. It was a pleasant surprise that it turned out as good as it did. I woke up this morning in knots. My ankle hurt. My calves were tight. My butt hurt when I crossed my leg (probable piriformis soreness from the goat hills on Sunday). And my knee was a bit sore. I figured when I arrived that if I had any chance of having a good run and not tying myself up even tighter, I needed to stretch A LOT! So stretch I did. I bent myself every which way I knew how, and multiple times as well. I held most of the stretches a lot longer than usual. Once I was done I jogged over to take a quick potty break before taking off and I thought, "WOW!!! I feel pretty good!" I was not the man that walked from the car to the stretching area. I felt like a new man and had a great run.

So, I'm feeling pretty good right now, kind of in a groove. This past week and a half has been the first consistent, prolonged (longer than 2 or 3 days) period that I've eaten PERFECTLY, watched my calories and fat and maintained consistent 1000+ calorie deficits. And boy does it show on the scale. I'm so flirting with going back sub-300 right now. Maybe it will be tomorrow.

So, wifey is keeping quiet but keeps hinting that she'd like me to defer my NY marathon to next year so that we will have enough money to take the whole family and make it a family vactaion of it. I haven't made a decision in that direction yet. As it stands now, I'm going, but I'll need to decide for sure in the next week or two.

And here is the most ridiculous item of the day.

Train Smart, Work Hard!!! or Truth in Recording

Well, this evening was just downright pleasant as I nailed my long run of 8 miles. I was reading an article in Runners World about mantras and self talk that runners use to get through a tough training session or race. Tonight, on the 4 miles out, I kept hearing Steeeve saying, "Train SMART!!!" The mantra kept me steady and patient for about 6 miles. I was feeling pretty good after 6 but much of the return trip back to Memorial Park is uphill and I was fighting the urge to start walk breaks. So, I started hearing SteveS and June in my ear saying, "Work hard!!!" I actually said it out loud several times on the way back. So, that pretty much describes this awesome workout for me. Train SMART!!! Work HARD!!!

My route took me out of the park from the tennis center and east on Memorial Drive. Then, to the goat trails until I hit 4 miles, then back. I stayed conversational and steady for the whole run and had plenty in the tank to pick it up a bit the last 1.5 miles. Here's what it looked like:

Total distance - 8 miles
Venue - Memorial Park to the Bayou and back
Splits - 14:30 / 14:39 / 14:55 / 14:54 / 15:11 / 15:28 / 15:10 / 14:03
Average pace - 14:52

Yes, those are some slow splits but those times are true. I would have included walk breaks but I didn't take one single walk break. I did however stop briefly for water just about every chance I got but kept the clock running through the water breaks. I believe in truth in recording on these long runs. When I looked at more granular splits like quarter mile splits (you can do that with SportTracks), I could see that for the most part, I kept a pretty consistent 14:25-14:40 pace.

So, tonight really came together for me and so did week one of marathon training. In case anyone misunderstood, I never said I was cutting back to 4 days. I said I was going to be get through the week and see how I felt, then possibly adjust to 4 days if I was too run down. Well, I did my 5 days. I was only short 1.7 miles from my Friday turned Saturday turned 3.3 mile 5-miler. Confused? I must say that after tonight's 8 miler and subsequent ice bath, I don't feel too bad. I'm feeling pretty good about the 5-day a week plan but remain flexible as I continue to listen to my body.

Rained out!!

Speaking of deferring, I'm deferring my long run to tomorrow as Cullen park was a wash this morning. I met the Striders at around 6:30 at Patterson and we set out. Of course the pod was out of sight real soon as I did my thing. I hit a couple of puddles early on and my shoes were soaked. It only got worse. At the first water fountain, I quit trying to tip-toe and just ran through the ankle deep water. Reminded me a lot of Space City last year. :) While I was getting a drink, I saw the pod emerge from the trees. "That was a quick 10 miles," I thought. They said the creek a little further down the trail was impassible and the command decision was to regroup tomorrow morning at Terry Hershey.

It really turned out well for me since my ankle was hurting yesterday and I missed my planned 5 miler. So, I ended up with 3.3 today and will still get in my 8-miler tomorrow. The ankle felt great and I did a good 1.5 of the 3.3 at MP effort. Just a little pickup of pace heading back to the barn.

Total distance - 3.3 miles
Venue - Cullen Park
Mile 1 - 14:54 (with a mosquito swarming potty break)
Mile 2 - 14:30
Mile 3 - 13:43
.3 - 3:56 (13:02 pace)
Average pace - 14:16

There was a cozy contingent of Striders that made it out. Steeeve, K, Jim, Andrew, and super new Strider, Katie. I was a little worried when the breakfast destination was announced as Southern Maid Donuts. Fortunately, my friends looked out for me and made sure I didn't wonder too far off. And, fortunately, there was fruit!!! Whoopee. I had a banana and a plain bagel so no harm done.

The question has come up of whether a runner (take me for instance) is slacking or taking the easy way out or somehow coasting by training 4 days per week instead of 5. Well, I guess I have one question. If 5 is better, why not 6 days a week? Why not just train every day? Guess that's two questions. Training IMHO is all about gaining fitness, obviously. At a macro-level, it's about getting faster, running further and for me, getting thinner. And a physiological level, it's about stressing your energy systems, sometimes aerobic, sometimes anaerobic, and then adapting to that stress by increasing mitochondria, capillary density, stroke volume, and enzyme efficiency. The same applies to the musculoskeletal system. You stress your bones, ligaments, tendons, an muscles and they adapt by growing back stronger than they were pre-exercise. These adaptations DO NOT take place when you are training. They take place when you recover and when you rest. From the perspective of gaining fitness, the actual run is only the stressor. Gains in fitness are made when you rest after the stress. And, if the stress is too great and you turn right around and introduce more stress before you have recovered, you end up just stressing and stressing and running yourself down and you don't optimize you fitness gains.

Bottom line...I currently weigh ~300 lbs. The amount of stress I put on my body when I run is exponentially greater than what a young, trim 115 lb woman puts on her body. There's training hard and then there's training hard and smart. 4 days or 5 days? It's not an issue of taking the easy way out or not wanting to nail NY. It's a matter of being smart and thoughtful in my training and training hard AND smart.

By the way, this post was by no means intended to shut anybody up. Quite the opposite. Please, please. All of your comments are welcome and this is a beneficial discussion, especially for this noob who is still in kindergarten when it comes to this running thing.

Well, I DON'T KNOW!!!

I struggling here a bit. Lately, I'm constantly on the NYC Marathon site looking at hotel prices and travel expenses wondering why in the world I would spend $2000 to go to New York, BY MYSELF, to run a marathon. Yes, yes, I know. It's THE NEW YORK CITY MARATHON!!! Well big whoopie! Will Rose be there? Will Bez be there to run me in the last half mile, running in his sandals, with Coach Steeeve talking trash, and Matt talking on the phone reporting in that "We've got him!"? Will Bessie be there to give me her medal in case I don't make the cutoff? Will my wife and kids be there, navigating the course like veterans, cheering me on all along? Will Christy be there parked at mile 23 to run with me for one of those last miles? Will the Striders' water station be set up at mile 21.5, a site for sore eyes and numb feet?

All the things that made Houston one of the most memorable experiences in my life just won't be there. Now don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that I have to have that every time I race but dang it if I'm going to pay $2000 JUST to run a marathon.

So, I'm seriously considering deferring my entry to next year when possibly more people I know will be there. However, I know Cassie will be there and a number of other Striders so I will know some people.

The real reason I'm having second thoughts is honestly the money. I really don't have it right now. My pattern would be to pay for what I want now and worry about the bills later but this would really set me back. DW wants me to do what I want to do but she just admitted to me that she would rather save some money and take the whole family for a family vacation next year.

I guess while I'm deciding, I'll just keep running.

I've been trying some different things with my shoes. I purchased a new pair of Nimbus a couple of weeks ago. Asics really changed the way the new model (Nimbus 9) fits. I hate it when they do that. Anyway, for the first time, the Nimbus rubbed massive blisters on my arches. I've worn the Nimbus V, VI, VII, and VIII and none of them have fit like this. So, the folks at Luke's sold me some really nice inserts. They feel good on the arches but because my arches are so high, and the top of my foot is raised, the shoe feels too tight over the top of my foot. When I loosen the laces too much, I feel like my heel is coming out of the back of the shoe.

So, I've laced the shoes every other hole and done a runner's knot at the top. It seemed to be working well this week but yesterday I woke with a really bad dull pain in my right ankle. I think it's just my feet getting used to the arches. It still hurt this morning so I skipped this morning's 5 miler, not wanting to spoil my long run tomorrow. It's feeling pretty good tonight. I'm feeling good and ready for the morning. Better get to sleep.

Blow it up

Of course it's July 4th. And what does that mean for just about every red-blooded American man on the night of Independence Day? FIREWORKS!!! We paid a visit this afternoon to the Black Cat Warehouse and pretty much blew a fortune on what was the biggest show on the block.

I know I'll hate myself in the morning when I go to balance the checkbook but man was that fun? And the kids faces made it all worth it. Of course it's 10:30 now and the rest of Fairfield is still going strong.

I did end up getting my 3 miles in. It wasn't pretty but I got 'er done. I definitely found myself going into mile 3 with a severe fuel problem. I crashed like I've never crashed before on a 3 miler. Prior to the run, I was at only about 800 calories for the day and that was after being over 1500 calories in the hole on Tuesday. Good for weight loss. Bad for marathon training. Like coach says, maximum weight loss and maximum marathon training do not go together. Oh well, if I can all but crawl across the finish of New York at a lean, mean 270, I'll be very, very happy.

Total distance - 3 miles
Venue - Fairfield 3 mile loop
Mile 1 - 13:53
Mile 2 - 14:36
Mile 3 - 15:09 (numerous walk breaks)
Average pace - 14:37
Total time - 43:40

Not the best choices tonight for dinner. Unfortunately, I was blindsided when I came in the door from my run, famished, thirsty, and on the prowl for sustenance. Well, dinner was served before I had a chance to be strong and come up with another plan. Three pieces of fried chicken later, I exclaim, "That was gross!!!" It really was. No harm done though. I still hit a 1300 calorie deficit today so all is well.

Nite all!! Peace out!

What's with all the negative thoughts?

I woke up this morning feeling G-R-E-A-T!!! I logged on and read what I posted last night. What a downer. Not inspirational at all.

I'm done with that kind of talk. It's time as txrunnergirl says to GET MY MOJO ON!!!

There have been a couple of minor victories lately on the diet front. I came home last night after a tough workout to find that DW had made one of my favorite, most fattening dishes. I don't know what it's called but it's basically a big round croissant ring stuffed with a cheesy, creamy chicken stuffing. No doubt, 90%+ of the calories from the dish are from fat. Anywhooo, I walked right past it and made me the best turkey sandwich I've had in a long time. I had quite a few calories left for the day so I spared no ingredient. I had about 5 slices of turkey, 3 slices of tomato, 2 romaine lettuce leaves and a couple tablespoons of guacamole. Then for dessert, I cut a scrumptious watermelon that a co-worker brought me from the valley. It was by far the best watermelon I've had this season. I was stuffed!!! When I added up the calories and logged everything, it was right around 460 calories. I was more than pleased to feel so satisfied for such a moderate price.

Then, this morning, the fam wanted kolaches. So, they sent dad who's training for a marathon and trying to lose weight to Southern Maid to pick up the scrumptious "fat rolls." I got enough for everyone and returned home, opting for a bowl of crunchy GoLean cereal with skim milk and a few pieces of watermelon.

I'm feeling focused today and motivated. Catherine the Great e-mailed me this morning to see if I needed help planning for today's festivities. Guess she knew after Sunday night's double helping of sausage on a stick that I'm most susceptible to bad decisions during parties, celebrations, and holidays. Especially EATING holidays like July 4th. Fortunately, we don't have a lot of plans for today. I'm on call and DW is working for a few hours. I think my mom and some friends are coming over tonight and they'll probably bring some fried chicken. I can deal with that if I plan ahead. I'm afraid the watermelon that still remains doesn't have a chance past tonight.

I'll be back later to report on my 3 miles. I'll probably get that done when DW returns from work. The rain and clouds have kept things relatively cool so and afternoon run may not be too unbearable. Amazingly, it's only 75 degrees right now here in Fairfield. Can't beat that.

You think you're safe?

I saw the wildest thing when I was leaving the park today driving west on Memorial Drive. First, I saw a car parked on the side of the road and I was thinking, ok, maybe someone's picking someone up or chatting with someone they know. But the closer I got, I saw that there were 2 other cars sitting ON THE TRAIL. Well, not just sitting on the trail. The two cars crashed into the trees that line the trail. Can you imagine running along and all of a sudden two cars come flying across the trail and crash into the trees in front of you? It didn't look like at first glance that any runners were injured but the cars looked pretty badly beat up. I hope no one was injured.

T minus 17 weeks and 5 days left after today. Today's workout went off without a hitch. I actually ran pretty well, all things considered. Hal called for 5 easy miles with an optional "punch the accelerator" if I'm feeling good, especially at the end of the run. I was feeling pretty good so I punched it a bit. I stayed pretty conversational the last mile and about a quarter of mile 5. Then for the last half mile or so, I cranked it up just a half a notch and went tempo the last few hundred yards.

Total distance - 5 miles
Venue - Memorial Park
Mile 1 - 14:22
Mile 2 - 14:29
MIle 3 - 14:39
Mile 4 - 13:50
Mile 5 - 13:13
Average pace - 14:07
Total time - 1:10:35

I must confess, I've got some bad thoughts creeping in. I'm wondering if I can do this again. Doubts. I'm afraid to train hard for fear I injur myself. Fear. I'm uncertain about my training program. Uncertainty.

Now, last fall, after a good hard run like tonight's, I would have taken a day's rest. But this program calls for 3 miles tomorrow. I must admit, I'm feeling it a little tonght. Not a bad thing but I feel like I worked tonight. I'm going with the 3 tomorrow and see how I feel after this week. This program has me running 5 days per week but I want to say right now that I reserve the right to go to 4 days if I start feeling too run down. For now, though, we'll see how it goes.

Week 18, day 7 and counting down

Today starts the first day of marathon training for New York. This morning, I woke up to thunder and lightning. Fortunately, this evening was beautiful as the rain kept temperatures moderate.

Hal called for 3 easy miles today. Most self-talk was about taking this first 3 miles of the program easy and keeping it comfortable. As I posted last fall, marathon training is like a marathon itself. I've got ~380 miles to get to the starting line of New York so day one's not the time to start hammering out 12:30 tempo miles. This was hard to do tonight as I really felt good. But mission accomplished. I kept it slow and steady with just an ever so slight back to the barn push the last .25 miles. Here are the stats.

Total distance - 3 miles
Venue - Memorial Park
Mile 1 - 13:55
Mile 2 - 14:20
Mile 3 - 13:56
Total time - 42:11
Average pace - 14:04

By the way, I spent some time re-reading my too-long marathon post from January and all the incredible comments. It really inspired remembering what an awesome time that was and how so many of my friends encouraged me and hung in there with me. I really will never forget that day and the months leading up to my first marathon. No way it'll ever be like that first one. But here's to making more great memories nonetheless.

2-a-days

I did make it out for another 3-miler tonight. Tonight's 3 went a lot better than this morning's. This morning was hot, hot, hot and I went out too fast. The air tonight was heavy but without the sun not beating down on me, I managed a good effort through the whole 3 miles.

This run was just what I wanted with a good negative split from picking up the pace the last .75 miles.

Total distance - 3.0 miles
Venue - Fairfield greenbelts
Mile 1 - 14:01
Mile 2 - 14:05
Mile 3 - 13:39
Average pace - 13:56

If work allows, I'm going to try to get a little swimming in tomorrow for my cross-training day.

Back to Normal!!!

First the good news. Some of you may know that my brother-in-law was murdered last year in his home. This past year has been very difficult for our family and especially for DW. Thank God that this past week we all got a bit of closure as the murderer was found guilty of 2nd degree murder with a mandatory life sentence without parole. This is such a burden lifted from DW and the rest of the family as we have been seeking justice for what seems like so long. I know the verdict won't bring Jason back but it's brought a sense to all of us that the ordeal is over and we can get on in some way with our lives.

Speaking of getting back to our lives, DW is back in town and life is good. It's good having the family back together. This past week has been tough on the blogging front. I'm sorry for not at least posting a quick update or two. I've been up early a lot this week, trying to get some running in during the wee hours before the kids woke up. I was able to get in three 3-milers this week. Unfortunately, I'm on call this weekend so a long run is not in the cards. I did manage to get in 3 miles this morning around the neighborhood. I hate having to carry both my beeper and my phone with me but I did. I'm surprised my phone still works as it was soaked in sweat.

It's been pretty quiet with the beeper and I may be able to get in another 3 in tonight. I guess two short runs in a day is better than not running at all. Way better. The only bad thing is that I've got t-bones on the grill right now and I know after one of those, I'm not going to feel like doing anything but veg on the couch and surf the internet. Maybe I'll put the steak aside for after the run. I hate not eating with the family but a guy's gotta do what a guy's gotta do.

So, I was looking at the month's miles and IMO, I'm looking pretty good going into marathon training which, by the way, starts Monday for me. Here's my monthly totals for the year.

Well, that's basically an average ~15-16 miles per week for June. Not quite the 20-25 mpw I'd like to be at but June's been a pretty consistent month nonetheless. Monday starts my week one of Hal's 18-week marathon training program. I'm a bit anxious about jumping into 20+ mpw but I think I'll be ok. Here's what the week holds for me.

The red is on call and blue of course is my long run.

I'm off for an evening 3 miles. Let's get it on.

Training, finally

The past few weeks I haven't really felt like I was "in training" mode. Going out too fast, biting off more than I can chew on long runs, trying to run in the heat of the day. Don't get me wrong, I've been really enjoying myself and I feel like I'm sitting pretty good two weeks out from starting my marathon training program. But, to be honest, yes, I've been working out, getting strong, running hard, but I haven't been in that "training groove" where every workout is purposed, where I'm patient but tough, riding that edge between training hard and overuse.

During tonight's 5-miler, I finally felt like I executed a training run. I kept my pace pretty even. The workout was purposed and well-executed. In other words, it was all business tonight and man did I need some of that. It was a good confidence booster.

I completed the 5 miles at ~13:50 pace, stopping for water briefly every time I passed a fountain. I kept conversational the entire run and felt "right" at the end of the workout.

Like June, I've completed my training plan through the Houston marathon. I'm very excited about training for NYC but I won't be able to achieve one of the goals I set for myself this year, to PR at every previous race distance. HARRA XC Relay is out. I have an important long run that day. Space City is out. That's my 20-miler on Saturday, the day before the race. And I won't get to run the Houston Half Marathon. But I will get to volunteer so that's VERY good, right, Barb? I won't be doing the 25K the week after NY but the 30K fits quite nicely into my reset schedule for Houston. I won't be doing the full Tour de Memorial, only 1-2 hours of it but count me in for the full 21 mile Longest Long Run. What an event the Striders put on there.

So that's a brief review of the rest of the year, the good and the bad. Not much bad there. :) It's almost ALL good!!! I'll post my full schedule soon for public scrutiny. I want to commit to the plan but must stay disciplined and conservative to avoid injury while still working hard.

More Rookie mistakes

I don't know what's up with me but I seem to have forgotten all the things I've supposed to have learned already.

After some good stretching and shaking outany remaining kinks from Saturday's run, I set out for 3 easy miles. It took me two tries to get out of the corral as I ran into SteveS first and then George. Of couse, I had to stop both times to talk trash so I ended up "starting" this run 3 times. All 3 times, I was chomping at the bit. Once I really got going, I felt great. I was loosey goosey and pain-free through the first half mile. I looked down at my watch and I was at ~12:00 pace. I thought to myself, "Self, well, just hold it. You're conversational and feeling good. Let's just finish this 3 in 36:00!" Of course, I was making the rookie mistake of going out too fast. That may be ok in a 5K but not a training run. I shoot for at least an even pace if not a negative split for most of my easy runs.

Needless to say, I kind of crashed by about mile 1.75. Correction, I didn't crash but I definitely felt myself going into tempo effort and that was not my intention for this workout. I was just going to slow down but when I came to one of my Strider friends that was walking, I walked and talked for about a quarter mile, briskly mind you. When I picked back up on the running, I did a little closer to 13 minute pace and finished hot and sweaty but invigorated.

By the way, the knee pain from Saturdays too-long long run seems to have been what I suspected, just a little overuse soreness from overdoing it and not a full-blow injury. The three days rest seem to have gotten everything back to good working condition and all is well. Tonight's 3 miles were asymptomatic.

SMART training

NOT!!!

Saturday's run was a lot of things but SMART was not one of them. I've been training pretty well the last few weeks, regaining some of my base, mixing in some short intervals, trail running, and tempo runs, gaining fitness and easing back into longer runs of 8 or 9 miles. In my opinion, I was right where I needed to be going into the weekend.

A prudent long run for this weekend would have been 8-10 miles. Instead, I got greedy and I'm still paying for it on Monday. You've heard the expression, "biting off more than he can chew?" Well, that kind of describes the BIG BITE I decided to take off when I signed up for a 13 miler with Bill on Saturday. The good news is that Bill introduced me to the Kingwood running scene. Except for the over-abundance of concrete, Kingwood is quite a runner's paradise. Miles and miles of greenbelts along lakes, rivers, golf courses, and through thick woods made for an enjoyable run, at least for the first 8 or so miles.

Like I said, a good, safe progression for me would have been a solid 9 or 10 miles, maybe 11 if I'm really pushing it. And sure enough, by 9 miles, I was done. So, one more mile would have been just fine. But, we were doing one of those out and back commitment runs. There were no shortcuts. Once we ran out ~7, we had not choice but to run back 7. The first 8 miles or so went very well. We ran strong and steady despite the heat and humidity and managed to avoid any walk breaks whatsoever. Miles 8-9 were starting to get real tough. By mile 10-11, it was all I could do to run a mile and then walk for good quarter or more. Miles 12-13.8 were mostly walking with an occasional "ok, when we get up to that tree, we're going try and run for a little while" thrown in for good measure.

The bad news is I can still feel it in my right knee. The pain I've felt since the run is not like the "good" pains I've had before. Still, I'm not convinced it's an injury. I think I just overdid it a bit and my weakest link is feeling it. There's been marked improvement from Sunday to today and I am hoping Tuesday morning finds me completely mended. Lesson learned!!!

Thanks Bill for the good run!!! Let's just be SMARTer next time. :)

Hmmm, let's see...

...I've averaged about 8 hours per week training over the last couple of weeks. And it took me 5 minutes to post my question on the blog yesterday. So, let's see...16 hours...5 minutes...well, it looks like I did spend more time training than trying to find the answer to my question. Oh, and I almost forgot. I already knew the answer to the question before I asked it. So, really it took no time away from training at all. So, I guess I'm in good company. Still, keep the ass-kicks coming, friend. They're always welcome. :) Oh, and who's looking for shortcuts in training? We should talk.

The subject from yesterday's post came up first for me last year during Katy Fit. As you know, USA Fit divides up into Red, Yellow, Green, and Blue based on your training pace or "ability." Of course, last year, I fit into the Red group, and rightly so, being not only a slowbee but a complete marathon noob. The USA Fit schedule includes hill work, interval training, and tempo runs. It was recommended, though, to the Red group that we not do ANY of the speedwork sessions because we would risk injury. I remember thinking that was odd. It was good advice for ME but what if there were Red group runners that had been running for a long time? And what about the "speedy" runners in the Yellow group who had been running for a very short time? Is it ok for them to do speedwork and risk injury? Didn't make any sense to me.

To me, the question of doing harder, more advanced workouts, increasing mileage, increasing the number of days per week you run is really a matter of ability. And that's what prompted me to ask the question. What is meant by ability? I'm of the thought that beginners (with some exceptions, of course), should concentrate on building up gradually, building both an aerobic base as well as strengthen their muscles, ligaments, and tendons. And I agree with most of the comments in the previous post that it has nothing to do with pace.

Dividing up into long run groups by pace is logistically necessary and frankly the best way to go. But to preclude a runner from doing a hill workout or pounding out some 800's, or to say that a runner should not participate in a more advanced training program, just because he or she is a 5:00+ marathoner makes no sense to me.

Pleae don't read into anything I've posted here. I'm not talking about any particular person or training program or Olympian. I'm just putting some ideas out there for discussion. Oh, and by the way, I waited until AFTER my 5 mile treadmill run this evening to post this. And this post took 10 minutes to nut out. My 5 miler took a little over an hour so I'm still safe. :)

Yesterday's topic was cross-posted to the RW forum if anyone wants to read the responses.

Let me ask a question...

...Take a poll if you will

Who thinks this statement is true? Beginner, intermediate, and advanced runner means slow, moderate, and fast respecively. In other words is ability as a runner based on pace?

If you're having trouble with that question, how about this one. When Lance Armstrong arrived at the starting line of the New York marathon last year, did you consider him a beginner, intermediate, or advanced runner?

Here's another one. If you were the director of a new marathon training program, and you had to divide participants up by ability, how would you do it?

I'll answer after some feedback.

NY

Well, against all odds, this lucky little devil was chosen in the lottery to run the ING New York City Marathon.

When I registered, I had no intention of running the race. Like many, I'm sure, I just wanted to get my first ticket punched in case I wanted to do it 4 years from now since after being refused 3 years in a row, you're automatically in. But you know, that's all fine and good until you're actually chosen and then you just get excited and then you just decide, I'M GONNA DO IT!!!

Funny thing, the actual e-mail must have just gone to my trash because I had no idea. It really hasn't been on my mind. I was chatting with Bill over Yahoo and he said, "Congratulatons!" I was like, what? He told me I was chosen. I think at first, he was more excited than I was but that didn't last long. Once I entertained the thought even slightly, it was a done deal. What clinched it for me was the prospect of making it a family vacation. So, if we can afford it, I think that's what we're going to do.

So, let me go work on my training plan. Later!

Just a thought about training

I've been thinking about a possible different approach to training, given my current pace and how many acutal hours I spend running.

Now if you look at any basic training program, you'll likely see something like "5 miles easy." Whatever you want to call this workout, junk miles, recovery run, whatever, the intention is for an easy day to run from anywhere from 30-60 minutes at an easy, conversational pace. Now for your average 10 minute miler, you're talking 50 minutes to do this workout. Just about right, huh? But for me, I'm well over an hour on this workout. I think this is way too long for an easy recovery run.

So, what's the answer? How can I normalize a published training program to fit my slower pace? What if transform the program from distance to time? Then, instead of doing the 1 hour plus run, I just run easy for 50 minutes. And since my effort at 14:00 pace should be the same as the 10 minute miler, we're in effect getting the exact same workout.

So, a sample workout week with targeted distances would be:

The same workout by time would be:

Of course, if you're training for a marathon, your long run would need to stay the same. After all, you're still going to have to get used to being on your feet for the duration of the race, even at your slower pace.

Anyway, I've been thinking that this approach is sort of an equalizer for folks like me who see training programs with weekly mileage int the 30's, 40's, and even 50's. Even at my pace, this makes even an intermediate program manageable for us speed challenged.

Hot! Hot! Hot!

Tonight's attempt at a 5 miler (and I use the term "attempt" loosely) was thwarted by severe heat, humidity, and a total lack of energy. I've experienced a run like this before where you're not really breathing hard. Your not tired in that respect but your body just won't go. You think you can walk a bit but as soon as you recover and start running again, you just can't hold it. Every happened to you?

I think the week got a little disconbobulated with what turned out to be two consecutive tough workouts in a row on Tuesday and Wednesday. Tuesday was speedwork and Wednesday's easy 3 turned into 4 hard trail miles as Matt introduced me to the Ho Chi Minh trails south of Memorial Dr. There was a pretty good turnout of Striders for the run and much fun was had muddin' through the woods and sultry air.

I think my average pace for the trail run did not reflect my effort. Of course, the trails are like that. I heard somewhere that trails basically add a minute to a minute and a half to your easy run pace. Anyway, we weren't racing but I'll tell you what, those trails gave me a pretty tough workout. And after emerging from the forest and crossing back over to the Memorial Loop, I felt pretty frisky and cooled down the last mile or so at around 13 minute pace.

So, I think tonight my body was just telling me to shut it down. Now, a few weeks ago, I would have shut it totally down and just strolled back to the car. But tonight, to show a little bit of guts, I did the run/walk thing, walking mostly, but keeping my walk very brisk. I brought it in with a run for the last quarter mile and finished with 3 total. Tomorrow is a rest day while I get ready for 10 on Saturday.

The weight loss is going well. 6.8 lbs. lost since the competition started. I'm closing back in on sub-300 again. That will sure feel good. I know SteveB says it's hard to concentrate on improving your running and losing weight at the same time, but for me personally, the running really, really helps me focus on the weight loss. I think it's that if I spend a lot of time running, I'm not spending a lot of time wondering what to eat and what not to eat. And after a good workout, I don't want to spoil it by a trip to McDonalds or Shipleys. So, for now, I'm going to just see how it goes. I feel in a good grove this week and intend to keep it going.

A First

Well, running continues to be fresh and new for me as this morning I did my first ever short-interval workout. After a 1 mile warmup, I did 8x30/30, then a 1 mile cooldown. Here are the stats.

Total distance - 2.7 miles
Venue - Memorial Park
Warmup (1 mile) - 13:21
8x30/30 - 10:35 / 10:56 / 10:49 / 11:23 / 10:34 / 10:41 / 10:38 / 10:43 (Average - 10:47)
Cooldown (1 mile) - 13:17

For the most part, I feel like I kept it pretty consistent. The one repeat of 11:23 was on a slight incline. I was shooting for around 1 mile race effort but probably ended up a little above that but definitely shy of 5K effort. I really concentrated on staying relaxed. It was a different feeling stretching out my stride like that. It reminded me that I need to work on my flexibility.

The real plan

I know I've posted a couple of plans the last few weeks as I was trying to find my way "back" from wherever it was that I went to. I took some time this afternoon to plan out the next 8 weeks, trying to make quality workouts, long runs, rest days, and steady weekly mileage fit into my work and on-call schedule. The following is what I came up with. Click on the image for a better view:

The blue denotes long runs. The yellow is quality work. Red are the days I'm on call. The on call stuff is what forces me to juggle stuff around and precludes me from doing the same thing every week like I'd like to do.

Any close scrutiny of this schedule is certainly welcome. It's pretty ambitious but I think if it all works out and I can do this schedule, I will be in a position come the end of July to have some options for marathon training. The only thing I may change is I may try to throw in some trail running in place of a couple of those Tuesday quality workouts. Variety is a good thing IMO.

Now I'm just mad!!!

The weight loss contest that Bill and I have going on has been good. The competition gives me some motivation. Having to wear a dress to Terry Hershey park for the first SMARTie workout...well, let's just say I'd rather avoid that embarassment. But truth is that I want Bill to succeed as much as I want to win. As far as the competition goes, I'm fine either way.

So, if competition isn't as strong a motivator as I need, then maybe getting downright MAD will have some effect on me. And people, I am PO'd!!!

Here's what happened. I took the family to Kemah Saturday night for some food and fun. We ate and then headed over to the rides. The kids were so excited. They wanted to ride some of the "scarier" rides but not without Dad. So, I bought tickets for us for everything. We got over to the Aviator and watched the ride before ours. The anticipation was mounting. DD wanted me to be in the swing behind her. I gave the guy my ticket and got in the seat. Well, wouldn't you know, the dang bar would not go down far enough. Then the guy came over and pushed it down trying to make the light come on, signifying I was locked in. Then, they moved me over to another swing. Same story. I COULDN'T FIT IN THE FREAKIN' RIDE!!! (I hope my kids don't read this. I don't let them say "freakin'") So, I got to watch my kids ride the ride without me.

Well, fine. I'll ride the Inverter, right? We stood in line again. To the kids this was a REALLY scary ride and DD and DS wouldn't even ride it if I didn't ride it with them. We got on and they brought the bar down. I felt like I was in and that it locked but again, the stupid little light wouldn't come on and I had to exit the ride and watch. By this time, I wasn't smiling to say the least. I was embarassed, angry, and sad that I couldn't live my life because of my weight. I missed it. I missed this one opportunity to do this one thing with my kids. That was a memory I'll never get to remember. If I were to die today, God forbid, one of the last memories my kids would have wouldn't be the fun we all had riding those rides. They'd remember how Dad didn't get to ride with them because he was so fat. (Oh, crap, I'm tearing up right here in my office.)

So, yes, I'm mad! I'm pissed. I'm embarassed. I don't want to miss any more moments like that. And, Bill, I'm afraid the contest is over. You may as well pack it in buddy 'cause THE GAME IS ON! If I were you, I'd eat nothing but lettuce for the next 8 weeks because that's what it's going to take to beat me. :)

Isn't this fun?

Peak Performance Nutrition Seminar

I highly recommend that every runner in the world attends this seminar:

Peak Performance Nutrition Seminar

Speaker: Catherine Kruppa

Are you an athlete or fitness enthusiast?

Would you like to eat to fuel your active lifestyle and improve your performance?

This Seminar will:

• Help you to estimate your energy needs based on your activity level.
• Develop an eating plan to maximize your workout.
• Discuss the effects of nutrition on muscle strength, endurance and performance.
• Provide recommendations for fluid replacement.
• Advise you on the latest research on supplements.

Date: Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Time: 6 pm

Location: The Houstonian Club Library

Cost - $20

RSVP 713-316-2707

Catherine Kruppa, MS, RD, LD

ckruppa@houstonian.com

Lost in the City!!!

When planning my Saturday run this week, I was faced with a difficult choice. On the one hand, I really needed to get about a 9-10 miler in and the Striders' Big Bear run seemed like the perfect recipe. On the other hand, I've been pumped all week about June's upcoming attempt at a sub-30 5K at the Houston Heights run Saturday morning.

I decided I couldn't pass up seeing June's face after breaking the 30 minute barrier so to have my cake and eat it too (no, Bill, I'm not eating cake. It's a figure of speech.), I figured I'd run from Memorial Park over to the finish of the Heights run via the popular Heights run route. It's a simple route. Leave from anywhere in Memorial Park, jump over to Blossom, up Jackson Hill to Washington, skip over to Heights Blvd and then you're home free. Just run up Heights as far as you want which in this case was the start of the race at 18th street, giving me 4.5 out. Then the return trip, according to my best calculations, would put me at a bit over 9 miles.

Now, the plan was to rendezvouz with June just after the race started, a little after 7:30, and then wait for her at the finish. I really didn't want to get there too soon as I'd be standing around too long and with the 2nd half of my long run staring me in the face, I didn't want to be completely cooled down. But, I wanted to surprise June early in the race and maybe spur her on a bit knowing that I had run all the way over to see her finish at 29:59 or better. This would take perfect planning. I calculated that at between 14:00 and 14:30 pace, it would take me 1:03-1:05 to cover the 4.5 miles to 18th and Heights. So, to reach my waypoint precisely, I knew I must depart the swimming pool parking lot at precisely 6:25 AM.

Guess what. I left late. Who'd of thunk it, huh? I ended up departing 9 minutes later than planned. Oh, well, that just meant I'd see June a little later in the race, probably just after mile 1. Leaving the parking lot out the back, I thought I'd save a little time and try to stay north of Washington. It's not as nice an area as running down Blossom but it might save me 5 minutes or so, I thought. There was only one problem with that plan. There are basically only 2 bridges that cross White Oak Bayou, the Heights Blvd. Bridge and the Shepard/Durham bridge. Of course, I didn't think of that at the time and made the mistake of thinking that as long as I stay between Washington and I-10, I'll make my way over to Heights Blvd. and shave some time off. WRONG!!!

I basically ended up running through the worst part of town and dead ended right into White Oak Bayou and the base of the I-10 overpass. I basically just stood there surveying the situation. To backtrack would have put me even later and that wasn't an option. I would have loved to just billy goat it under the I-10 overpass or run down the side of the bayou but, ugh, that was even too adventuresome for me. Besides, a 12 foot fence was blocking my way. Then I did the unthinkable. I ventured up a driveway in the worst part of town, along the fence that blocked my way, trying to find an opening. The further I walked along the fence, I noticed there was an overgrown sidewalk that paralleled it. I'm in business. The sidewalk opened up and I saw that it took me under I-10. Woo-hoo!! Or so I thought. This was no yellow-brick road. It was truly scary. I thought to myself, I'm sure glad I didn't drag anyone else into this mess but then I thought how it it sure would have been nice to have a running partner on a day like this. The goal at that point was to just not step on any syringes or needles and hope that I didn't run into the middle of a gang fight.

I hopped a couple of poo-poo diapers and finally emerged on some street this native Houstonian never knew existed before today. I still had my bearings and I knew that I was headed in the wrong direction. I had to backtrack all the way to Sheperd, then over White Oak Bayou. When I got to the overpass that goes over the old railroad tracks, I finally made a good choice. I decided to stay on the low road, under the overpass, through the industrial park and to see if I could possibly make my way East from there. BINGO!!! Under the bridge, I was able to hop onto 7th street which was just a hop and a skip over to 8th which goes all the way through to Heights Blvd.

At that point, I just wanted to get to Heights to catch June before the turnaround. I got to Heights and headed north. It was exactly 7:30 when I turned onto Heights so I figured the race was starting. Racers were heading South while I was heading North. It's such a straight shot up Heights Blvd that I could see the flashing lights of the lead escort waaaaaay in the distance. It wasn't 3 or 4 minutes when the lead runners came streaking by and very close to the front of the pack early in the race was butt-kicker Steve Schroeder. Now, Steve is a fast runner but he was looking particularly speedy at that point, early in the race..

In just another 2 or 3 minutes I saw June and Sarah. June looked real relaxed. Sarah did too for that matter. I waved and told June that I had run all the way over here to see her break 30 minutes so she'd better not hold back. They smiled and off they went. I was close at this time to 18th so I put the hammer down a bit to finish off this first leg of my run.

I waited at the finish, cheering on the runners. I watched Schroeder come in FAST with what ended up being a ~30 second 5K PR. Huge congrats, Steve!!! Steve got some water and then came back to where I was standing. He said he was going to go back out and run June in the last bit so off he went. I'm watching the clock and it's 28:00, 29:00, 29:10, 29:15... THERE'S SARAH!!! What? Sarah had intended to just hang with June as long as she could and then let June go on to her sub-30 but here was Sarah, nailing a sub-30 of her own. I figured June would be right behind but unless my eyes were mistaken, no June. My eyes weren't mistaken. Sarah came to meet me. Then, I see Steve walking back towards us. "Did I miss her?" he asked. It's 32, then 33, then 34, and still no June. Something was wrong. I tried not to think the worst but knew that she must have gotten hurt. Then we see June walking towards us, all pink and in tears. It turns out she majorly pulled a hamstring after about mile 2, I think.

After we got June some medical attention and some food, I headed out for my return leg. This time, though, I chose to go back the way I had originally planned. The run felt pretty good. Even though it was basically split up into 2 runs, I still count it as a long run. Here are the stats:

Total distance: 9.2 miles
Total time: 2:10:23
Mile 1 - 14:11
Mile 2 - 14:17
Mile 3 - 14:19
Mile 4 - 14:04
Mile 5 - 13:36
Mile 6 - 14:13
Mile 7 - 14:10
Mile 8 - 14:50 (including a brief walk break across Durham/Sheperd)
Mile 9 - 14:03
.2 miles - 2:37 (13:41 pace)
Average pace - 14:11

It was nice to do a long run again. I feel fine. Sufficiently sore but not incapacitated. Know what I mean?

Dang Right!!!

Barbara and Joe, you know me all too well. Dang right I registered today.

PUMP UP THE VOLUME!!! PUMP UP THE VOLUME!!!

226

Well, it's 226 days to the Houston Marathon. I know. I know. It's a bit early to start getting too excited but I can't help it. I'm really looking forward to the coming season. I asked Amalia yesterday excitedly, "So, you ready to start marathon training?!?" She looked at me like I had 4 eyes and I didn't even have my glasses on. :) So, I know it's not at the front of everyone's mind but I'm starting to think about it a lot and really getting excited about the coming training season.

Along those lines, I had some good advice from Coach Bill via e-mail the other day and it makes a lot of sense. Of couse I'm hearing the same stuff from Coach Steeve so that just seals the deal. What Coach Bill said is a propos too because his advice addresses not only marathon training but also post-race recovery and even gearing back up for 2009. Hopefully he won't mind my posting what he said here.

What happened after Houston happens to everyone. You just did 6 months of training building and building and toughing it out week after week. You needed a break and you’re body just forced it on you in terms of your motivation.

You are getting back in the cycle to begin again and this year will be better than last…you have experience now.

What we do with our runners is build the break into the training. I cut some of the runners buy as much as 50% in their training and some are Boston Qualifiers.

This year…2007/2008 do your training for Houston the same as you did last year. You have a very good support system in place. Plan to take an active break after the race….two week recovery to the end of January then spend the winter and spring months concentrating on the shorter distance races. Keep your longest run to an hour max. In June start thinking about new fall goals and begin the build up again. This is a healthy cycle that will help keep you motivated and fresh year after year. Fall – long races….Spring short and a possible 5K PR. Stay in this cycle a couple years and watch what happens.

So, here's the plan. I'm going to be joining Houston Fit. I'm not going to go into all the reasons I'm not going to repeat my experience with Katy Fit but suffice it to say, I was not impressed with their program last year. I love the venues on the west side but...well, that's all I'm going to say about that. Of course I'm hanging pre and post race with the Striders for all the warmup races and don't be surprised to find me toughing out one of Miriam's core workouts every now and then. I'll definintely work the SMARTie Hop workouts into my schedule and wouldn't miss the Tour de Memorial and the Longest Long run for anything. So, basically, the plan is the same as last year. Sticking with the Fit'ers, ramping up through the week of the Half at the end of October, running on my own during the week and then playing it by ear through the warmup series and through January, running with the Striders/SMARTies as time and my body allow.

This morning's run was another thriller. The plan was to meet the co-workers at Memorial Park again. We had one no-show so Wendy and I did one loop. She runs 11 minute pace or so and eased out ahead of me after about a quarter mile. I kept her in site through a mile and a half, just because she had to stop 3 or 4 times to tie her shoe. I ran well again today. 3 easy miles at average 12:54 pace. I pushed some bit harder than long run effort but kept conversational nonetheless. Not the kind of conversational where you can recite the pledge of allegiance without pausing for a breath but the kind of conversational where you can speak in short phrases in between breaths. I guess what I'm saying is I was somewhere between long run, easy effort and tempo effort, probably closer to easy effort. Ok, none of that makes sense.

Regardless, I was happy to get in 3 sub-13 miles with moderate effort. Feels like I'm getting a lot of the cobwebs worked out. I'm definitely ahead of where I started last year. I looked at my logs for June 1, 2006. My weight was 334 lbs. I did 3x5R/1W intervals for a total distance of 1.5 miles. My pace was 15:46 average. OK, I feel a lot better now.

Not a perfect execution but working hard

Today called for a 25 minute tempo run or a 2 mile tempo run, whichever came last. A tempo run should include a warmup and cooldown. So, cooldown, check. 25 minutes at tempo effort, check. Warmup...what's that?

I met a couple of people from work at Memorial Park at 5:30. One was a co-worker and regular MP runner. The other was a consultant visiting from out of town. We got to talking about running and I wanted to give her a taste of the Houston running scene. After chatting, stretching and enjoying the beautiful morning air for a few minutes, we set out. I knew the two of them ran 10-12 minute miles so I told them to feel free to go ahead. Still, not having run with them before, I thought I may be able to hang for a while. It didn't take long to realize they were closer to 11 minute pace or better so I lagged behind, keeping them in view for the first mile.

About 3 minutes into my "warmup", I looked down at the Garmin and saw that I was keeping about 12:40 pace. It felt good so I went with it. Mile 1 was 12:37. Then mile 2 was 12:21 which also put me right at 25 minutes. So, my warmup kind of got skipped altogether. I fought the urge to stop and walk at 2 miles and completed my cooldown in 13:22 pace. 2.9 miles total in a 37 minute workout. I'd say mission accomplished.

I saw lots of peeps out there that I haven't seen in a long time. It was great to see Amalia who almost got a big wet, sweaty hug. Jenny and Heather were bookin' it. And it was good to see my friend Karl who's flirting with joining the Striders.

All in all, a great morning of running. Man, I needed that!

Great comments!!!

Thanks for the thought Holden. Depending on how things go, I may be considering a trail race like Sunmart or something in the Fall. Besides that, my ultimate goal race is the Houston marathon '08. Of course, there are plenty little goals along the way but they are all secondary to Houston.

Thanks for the good words Matt and David. I understand what you are saying. Like I said, my goal race is the Houston marathon 2008. I know from last year that I have time to do that so I'm not worried about the past couple of months and the time I've taken off. I think the thing that I need to come to grips with is that SMART may or may not be the training program for me. No doubt, given continued weight loss from January through present and a proper recovery from the marathon, I would be in good shape to jump right into SMART. But, I'm afraid that my brief lapse may have precluded me from being ready for SMART full time. Coach tells me that I need to be to 25 mpw with a 10 mile long run and one quality workout per week (I guess besides the long run), then I should be dandy for SMART. To be clear, coach never told me I COULDN'T do SMART but I think he's looking out for me and doesn't want me to get into something where I would risk injury. But to be honest, SMART may not be the best program for me right now. For sure, SMART IS THE BEST PROGRAM IN TOWN!!! but I'm not sure my body can take it and stay injury-free.

All this is worry about SMART or not SMART is really a moot point. The goal is to run the marathon, not to participate in any particular training program. There's really no reason to fret. The fact of the matter is that I love running with the Striders and I can do that no matter what program I'm in. The good thing about a program like Houston Fit is that I'm likely to find some runners at about my pace that I can do long runs with. Anyway, I'll see how the next 8 or so weeks go. I've a tempo run planned for tomorrow, an easy 4 miler on Thursday and on Saturday, if I don't get paged, I'm going to do 10, a slow 10 but 10 nonetheless. That should be 20-22 miles for the week. I'll try to get through this week healthy and after that, I should feel better about things.

Another 3 today

There was a pretty decent crowd at the park this morning. Sadly, I was a bit sore from my short 3 miler last night but that didn't stop me. I got in another 3 miler at about 14:13 pace. By the end of the run I was feeling good and loose.

One of my problems now is not having a plan. There are certainly times in my running where I'd rather just run and not be tied to a training plan but now is not that time. I'm kind of wondering what to do. I know there's the Saturday long run and I'll be at 8 miles come next Saturday. But what to do during the week. I think I'll make Monday an easy run, 3-5 miles. Then on Wednesday, I'm going to do some quality work, alternating tempo one week, and 30x30's the next. I'll follow up on Thursday with another 3-5 mile easy run. With Sunday as a rest day, that leaves Tuesday and Friday to get in some weights or some light XT. Any other suggestions?

I got sunshine!!!

The sun finally peeked out from behind the clouds this evening and I decided to go out for a run. I'm sure come July, I'm gonna be beggin' for rain.

Nothing much to report. 3 miles in ~14:24 pace. Lotsa sweat which felt really great.

When I was finished, I was standing at my car, trying to cool off and this guy came up to me and started talking. I asked him how it was going and he said he was just out trying to get into shape and lose some weight. I said, "Well, you're doing the right thing." It turns out John's lost ~70 lbs. He used to weigh 370 and is now down around 300. I told him we were two peas in a pod because I had been about 370 when I started losing. He said he was having a hard time running and that it was very difficult for him. He said he looked at me and said, "Man, that guy is really running." LOL! I told him just to ease into it and be patient and it'll come. Anyway, it was cool meeting another kindred spirit.

Note to self

I'd like to respond to a recent comment from my good friend and reknowned butt-kicker, SteveS, not to be confused with my other good friend and reknowned butt-kicker, Steeeve. Here's the comment:

Vic,
The actions comment was only put there to remind you that we have heard it before. There is nothing wrong with being a "back of the pack" runner but when you workouts always end with, "I took it easy and cut it short" then you have shorted your other health goals. It is Friday and you have nothing posted. This would lead me to assume another light workout with a side order of bad eating. I refuse to be part of the sheeple to offer congrats on work that is not done or done poorly. I have offered advice before but you have to implement. When I lose more weight than you in the past month, there is a problem. Show me actions.
SteveS

Let me say first, that SteveS hit the nail right on the head about not posting this week. Like many others, SteveS knows me like a book. Although I wouldn't go so far as to refer to readers of this blog as "sheeple" (by the way, that's hilarious), I do understand what SteveS is referring to. I think for the most part, most bloggers aren't fishing for a butt-kicking when they post their workouts and struggles with weight-loss, nutrition, etc and most commenters respect that and try to give encouragement any way they can. However, in this case, I feel like SteveS's comment was not only appropriate but timely. I'm afraid that were I to go back to read my posts from the last 10 weeks, I'd feel an irresistable urge to kick my butt as well. By the way, I may be wrong but I take some people's relative silence in the comment field as being a reflection of some of the same thoughts that SteveS presented above. I imagine there are others who would have loved to go off on me as well.

I think in a way, I have been "riding on the coat tails" of Marathon Vic, telling myself that I've done the hard work. I've come so far and now it's time for a break. Like I deserve it or something. What a friggin' retarded, perverted way to look at this journey and at my life. How stupid is it for me to think that just because I've lost 70+ lbs. and run a marathon that I deserve a break, that I can indulge in fast food, that I can start watching TV again and sitting around the house eating chips? Actually, the opposite is true. I worked hard last year and rather than deserving all the above things, I deserve more of the good stuff, more energy, more flexibility, strength, long life, a feeling of accomplishment, to be faster, all that stuff.

Yes, these are more words. I'm tempted and inspired to just delete this post right now, put on my shoes, and hit the pavement. I'm also real close to purging the Pappa's baked potato I had for lunch. :) Suffice it to say that I hear what you're saying, SteveS. I'll say nothing more. It's time to get to work. Feel free to kick me in the ar$e any time.

It's ALL good, July!!!

Thanks for reminding me, July, that I haven't posted since Wednesday. Fortunately, all is well, quite well as a matter of fact.

Sounds like a lot of fun was had in Corpus Christi this weekend. I hope Bill got his fill of Mexican food and sleeping on the beach. Bill, did you look at any sun dresses in come of the cute shops down there on the strip? Oh, I can't wait to see you in that dress.

I hope the weather in Corpus was nice because if you're a runner and you weren't in Houston on Saturday morning, you missed one of the top 2 or 3 days of the year, IMHO. I met my good friend and running buddy Jo at Patterson at 6, right at daybreak. It was a cool 62 degrees and almost no humidity. It was one of those mornings where if you were just standing around, you were a bit chilly but as soon as we got moving, it was just right. I mean it was perfect. Jo joked that that if we could bottle this weather and sell it, we'd be millionaires.

We did a little over 6 miles. I've got the splits on my Garmin but don't feel like bootin it up right now. Our first mile was 14:06, I remember. We stayed pretty consistent the next couple of miles. Our 3 back were at about 13:40. It really didn't feel like we sped up that much. I think I was just getting warmed up. For the first time in what seems like a long time, I felt like I could have done 6 more. I ran continuously the whole way, except for a potty break. I really felt good. I know the weather had a lot to do with it.

On the nutrition front, I've done really, really well since Wednesday. I've logged the entire week for Catherine to scrutinize. This weekend, I've had some drastic fluctuations in my weight. It's been kind of a roller coaster ride. I've fluctuated +/- 7 or 8 lbs Saturday and today. I've had a VERY active weekend doing lots of yardwork, running, more yardwork, bending, shoveling, sweating, hydrating, sweating more, and even a little swimming thrown in there for good measure. I think I've averaged a good 3 or 4 lb weight loss this week, approximately. Keep this up, and Bill's gonna look just lovely in his new dress.

Oh, and anonymous, I've got your actions right HERE, buddy. :)

Getting back in the groove

Someone reminded me today that it seems like I've been semi-out-of-commission for a long, long time. To be honest, it seems like an eternity to me as well. It seems like forever since I did a Saturday long run, since I did 20+ mpw, since I ran an easy 10+, since I nailed a 12:30 5 miler. But looking back at my logs, I see it ws just 8 weeks ago that I did a 15 miler in a 25+ mile week. So, really, my running hasn't endured much of a hiatus. My nutrition and weight loss, however, have been at a stand-still since the afternoon of the marathon.

I think since January 14th, I've sort of given myself an excuse to go back to eating poorly. Now, dont' take this the wrong way because I totally loved it when Bush landed on that aircraft carrier and announced to our troops, MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!! But I kind of feel like that's what I did on January 14th after crossing the finish line. Mission accomplished!!! But like the War on Terror, my fight isn't over until it's over, and I've been stuck in a quagmire of sorts since January. So, since my war hasn't been going well, I'm implementing a little "surge" of my own.

I'm pulling out the big guns, logging EVERYTHING I consume, nailing daily deficits, exercising moderately, watching my fats, cutting out sugars, and getting off caffeine. Really, it's just getting back to basics.

And for added incentive, Bill and I have agreed to a friendly wager. Whoever loses the most weight by July 31st gets his Houston marathon entry fee paid by the loser, well, by the other person. Actually, we're both losers. And to top it all off, the loser must show up to day 1 of SMART training in a dress. I'm thinking a mid-thigh, strapless in a floral design would do just fine for Miss Bill.

Let the games begin!!!

Oh, I ran 2.3 miles tonight at about 14:30 pace. Don't know why but I felt really sluggish tonight. I ate supper before my run so that may have had something to do with it. That and I didn't get started until 8:30. When I think that I JUST ran 2.3, I have to remind myself that for me, that's over 30 minutes and there's nothing wrong with a 30 minute workout. Superwomen Barbara and Christy routinely run ~30 minutes during the week. And Flash June's even been known to keep a workout to just one loop around Memorial Park from time to time. These days, she's doing that in about 30 minute, or sub-30 even. So, I'm not disappointed in 2.3 miles. I'll get there. The focus right now is on the weight loss.

Thanks for the encouragement!

Great comments on that last post and I wanted to just say that I really appreciate it. Call me needy but I get a lot of motivation knowing that friends and fellow journeymen are cheering for me and want to see me succeed.

So far, so good this week. I got in another 40+ minute workout yesterday after work. There were TONS of people at Memorial Park last night, probably the busiest I've ever seen it. I got 3 hot miles in at 13:57 pace. Again, I felt very loose and relaxed. The extra stretching before and after my runs seems to be helping a lot.

Tonight will be a good test of my commitment. I'm on call for the next two days but need to run 5 tonight and 3 tomorrow. That means I'm going to have to stay close to home in case I get beeped. I'm very hesitant to venture out when I'm on call for fear my run will be cut short and my pattern of late has been to simply blow off the run altogether. Inevitably, I end up regretting that decision when the pager never goes off. So, tonight, I"m just gonna DO IT!!! If I get paged, then sobeit. I've got to do this.

My main goal right now to get me to July 31 is to lose as much weight as possible. I've got to stay focused. I'd like to work on my running but I've got to concentrate on my calories right now. 25 pounds of weight loss and building back up to a modest 25 miles per week puts me in a very good position to start marathon training the end of July. In my opinion, the 25 lbs alone is worth 5 minutes off my best 5K and will get me a little closer to "keeping up" with the group come marathon trainin season. Hopefully, come the fall series, I won't be struggling to get in under the cutoff for some of these races. I'm really getting pumped up again and looking forward to the Fall.

Big Fat F!!!

My running log has a Plan tab on it where I can enter my planned training for the week. Then, as I enter my runs in the actual log, it populates my actual miles for each day and tallys what percentage of planned mileage I've actually run through the week. By the end of the week, I'm able to see what percentage of planned miles I actually ran.

I always looked at this page as simply what it is, a percentage of planned miles that I ran for the week. But David pointed out to me that to him, it's kind of like a grade. Now, in the schools I attended, the grade scale was A (93-100), B (86-92), C (78-85), D (70-77), and F (below 70). So, here's the row from last week.

A 38% is a BIG FAT F

I've entered into a whole new level of underachievement. Do I have anything positive to say? NO!!! Man, that's strange, isn't it?

I did 3.3 miles on the beach yesterday at a little over 14 minute pace. I made the mistake of waiting until 9:30 or so to head out. I drove out and planted some water at around the halfway point. My out leg was right into the sun and the breeze was barely noticeable. On the way back, though, I was able to relax a little and stop squinting and get into a groove. I really enjoyed running on the beach. The left to right camber on the out leg was a little tough on my ankle but made for a good workout.

I'm slowly but surely running out of time before marathon training starts. I really wanted to end July at around 270 lbs but that's very quickly becoming out of reach. To get there in 12 weeks, that will be an agressive 2.5 lbs. per week. It's doable, yes but I'm going to have to dig deep. Now is the time. No more putting off what I must do.

It's the shirt

I broke in my new Striders tech shirt tonight at Mem Park. I was running out of day so I decided to just do 3. To make it interesting, though, I kicked it up to tempo effort for mile 2 and then back down for mile 3. Not much time to go into the details but I'll just say it was a fabulous run. I felt really good and relaxed.

The highlight was my son who came with me and did his first ever 3 mile run. I was so proud of him and he was pumped up about his accomplishment. He kept talking on the way home about how his feet hurt and his legs are sore but he feels good, "REALLY GOOD!!" He did great. He said he wants to do the half marathon in January. I told him to go for it. That would be a huge accomplishment for him so we'll see where it goes from here.

My splits:
Mile 1 - 13:52
Mile 2 - 12:33
Mile 3 - 13:54
Average pace - 13:27

This was my first run in a long while where I ran continuously and strong the entire way. I wanted to take a walk break after my tempo mile 2 but resisted the temptation. By 2.25, I was pretty much recovered and back to easy effort. Certainly the beautiful weather and the cool temps contributed greatly to my good run tonight. I'll take it. It was a good confidence builder.

Will be in Galveston this weekend. Hoping to get a run on the seawall in on Sunday. Back on Monday. Later!

This sounds cool

I found information on this in my neighborhood gazette. It's a Triathlon series for kids put on by the Kiwanis Club of Houston Sunrise. The events are 100M swim, 1 mile bike, and .5 mile run for ages 10-12. A little less for the younger ages. Here's the link if you want to check it out. Kiwanis Kids Triathlon Series

SCORE!!!

All the cool people in Houston (with a few exceptions) were gathered at Chatter's Bistro near downtown last night for much fun, food, and frivolity, Strider-style. Hats off to our VP, Ted, who hit a homerun with the new venue. There was ample seating for the masses, the food was EXCELLENT, and the weather was absolutely perfect!!!

Catherine the Great was GREAT as our guest speaker, presenting her heralded Peak Performance seminar to those in attendance. In most other venues, this seminar would come at a cost to each attendee but in good Strider fashion, it was FREE for us. An astute communicator, Catherine was able to pack volumes of information into her 30 minute seminar and then opened up the floor to questions from the group. Certainly everyone left last night with some new knowledge about nutrition for athletes. One point that was hammered home that seemed to strike a cord with many Striders was on the nutritional value of beer to an endurance athlete. Evidently, there was some contention on this point and the verdict is still out.

Speaking of freebies, in celebration of the Strider victories in both the HARRA Fall and Spring club championships, each Strider in attendance was given THE COOLEST Asics technical running shirt with the new Strider logo on it. It's a very, very nice shirt and for all who missed the meeting, they will be distributed at any one of the upcoming Strider events through the summer and Fall. There are limited supplies so come on out to an event. If fun, food, and frivolity isn't enough to bring you out, just the shirt is worth the trip.

Thanks to the Striders for another memorable gathering. STRIDERS ROCK!!!

6 tough miles

Make that 5.8. :) It's been a long, long, long time since I actually ran the distance I set out to run. Well, is 7 weeks really that long a time? Seems like FOREVER to me. It wasn't pretty but I got 'er done and had fun doing it.

The crowds were thick at Memorial Park and so was the air. The breeze couldn't quite decide which way to blow. At times it was right in my face and man, did that feel good!!! Other times it was still. I plodded along at >14 min pace but kept fairly consistent through mile 4. I took a couple of walk breaks and finished the last .5 at a bit faster clip. I don't have any splits as the Garmin was powerless. Total time from the watch was 1:26. I'm like SteveB. I wish the Garmin had an auto-off. But I guess that wouldn't make sense. It would be powering down in the middle of a run.

So, I'm on plan through Monday (Day 1). Starting the week off on plan is a good start. hmmm...don't know if that makes sense. Here's what the rest of the week looks like.

More pondering the previous post...

From re-reading the previous post, I don't think I did a very good job conveying the point of my previous post. The point was not about why running is NOT important enough to commit a lot of time to. The point was why, for me, running IS an important part of my life and why I think it is important enough to commit much time and energy to. You see, for me, running for the sake of running frankly does nothing for me. I guess you would say in that respect, I'm not a purist. It's how running affects other aspects of my life, my "real" priorities if you will, that motivates me to put in the time and effort it takes to improve.

For a time, in my younger years, basketball was my priority. I was a purist when it came to basketball. I played every day. I watched as many baskeetball games as I possibly could. And I was good. I could play pretty much with the best of 'em. One time, the Celtics were in town and a few of the players came over to my church to practice. Scott Wedman, Rick Carlisle, and Greg Kite were at the gym and needed one more for a game of 2-on-2. Now, I'm not saying I was NBA material but I actually held my own and had a couple of nice assists to Greg who slammed it home. I could just hear Johnny Most..."Kaiser comes down the court, between the legs, fake. He threads the needle passing to Kite...SLAM!!!!" I got started with basketball a little (the middle of my sophomore year) or I would have definitely played college ball. Basketball was plainly and simply a priority in my life. Maybe #1 or #2.

Then, when I joined the Navy and started working nights at the Naval Hospital in Groton, CT, golf became my "thing." I'd work nights, play golf during the day. In between, I'd sleep a little. I even practiced putting in the lab at work when things were slow during the wee hours. Golf was my #1 priority, I must admit. Really, nothing else mattered to me.

So, my point is that I spent a lot of time playing basketball. I spent a lot of time at golf in the past as well. But the reason I spent that time is that those things were priorities in my life. They were tops. With running, though it's different. No, I'm not saying I spend any less time running. I'm not saying I'm not committed to the sport. I'm not saying I don't want to take the time to do the hard work that it takes to get better. I'm not saying it's not important to me. Quite the opposite. I will put in the time. I will push myself. I will study the sport. I will invest in good equipment. I will get up early or stay late or whatever it takes to get better but not because running in and of itself is a priority in my life. Not because it's #1 or #2 like basketball and golf were. It's because I believe running makes me a better father, a better husband, a better employee, a better friend, and a better disciple of Christ. I make running "a priority" because of how it enhances my "real" priorities.

I hope that explains the previous post. It wasn't a "I'm not running much lately because I'm busy and have other priorities and my kids come first and my job comes first and God comes first" kind of post. I was trying to convey my thoughts on how running fits into MY life and why I think it's important enough to spend Saturday mornings doing long runs, to get up at the butt-crack of dawn for an easy 3 miler before work, to race and try to PR every time, to set goals, to take time off from work the Monday after a long, long training run, to spend money on good equipment, to put in 10 to sometimes 15 hours a week driving to the park, stretching, doing a training run, stretching some more, driving back home. Running is a thread that weaves through so many aspects of my life and improves my relationships and my work. That's why I do it. That's what motivates me. Now, I'm all fired up and may just go out in the hall and do a few laps aroun the 10th floor here.

Later!

Pondering

Saturday night on the way home from my 3 miler, I was thinking about how people find time to run and train. I thought about Christy and Barbara who don't just juggle career, family, school, church, and fitness but excel at them. How do these superwomen do it?

I guess it really comes down to setting priorities. For some, its God, family, career, then running. For others, it's career, education, family, then running. For others, it's running, running, running, and then more running. What a life!!!

For me, I look at running a little differently. I think it goes back to my mantra, a kind of mission statement if you will where running is concerned. I'm most successful when running is woven through ALL my priorities as part of "a healthy lifestyle with running as a key component." Where my spiritual life is concerned, running equips me for His service. Also, I see caring for my body as an act of thanksgiving for the gift that God has given me. Running makes me a better employee. I have more energy and think more clearly. It affects my family as I have more energy when we are together and am setting a good example for my kids. Not to mention the fact that I'll probably live a lot longer as my health improves and running is key there. Socailly, I have created and developed many real and lasting relationships through running and have so many fond memories and shared experiences with friends. Running makes me more patient, more calm, more thoughtful.

This framework seems to work well for me. I'm afraid that if running was an item on a list of priorities, I would end up at one of two extremes. I'd either be obsessed with running or I wouldn't run at all. It's just how I'm wired. Looking at running and a healthy lifestyle as a consistent thread that affects all my priorities works well for me. Now, that's not to say that I'm not goal oriented. I have lofty goals when it comes to running and on any given day, to be able to reach those goals, I'll certainly have to prioritize. But by keeping my eye on the bigger picture, it's been easier for me to find that balance.

Ok, on to business. This last week didn't turn out like I had planned.

I'm not making excuses but I was single parenting last week (wifey was working out of town) and for Thurdsay and Friday was fighting the crud.

.

This week looks good. I'm going to tackle a 6 miler this evening after work. I'm going to have to slow down and get 'er done. It's hard to run >14 min pace. It feels like such a regression but I've got to start back somewhere. Maybe a manly sub-13, back-to-the-barn mile 6 will make me feel better after 5 at 14:30 or so. Anyway, we'll see. For now, I'm just planning on pulling out the old slow and steady for tonight's run.

Here's what the rest of the week looks like.

Later!

Kick in the Butt!!!

I was laid back in the recliner this afternoon reading the new issue of Runners World that's been sitting on my dresser for about a week. Lo and Behold, the cover told the story and was just what I needed. "101 Kicks in the Butt" was right there on the cover. After skimming through 38, when I got to 39, I immediately got my shoes on and took off out the door. :) Well, not quite. I still had some "chores" to do but ended up doing an easy 3 miles late this evening.

I've been sick the last couple of days. GI issues. I actually had to go home from work on Friday because I felt so bad. On the way home, I happened to catch Spiderman 3 on IMAX. :) So, I guess the day was half sick day and half playing hookie. I think God punished me for the hookie part 'cause I spent much of the remainder of the day in the bathroom. I felt better this morning but not well enough to make the planned long run with June. Of course, I really wasn't going to run WITH June but you know what I mean. We were both going to be out there and meet up for breakfast. I was really looking forward to that. Sorry, June!!! Another time, k?

So, I did 3 miles this evening. The main goal tonight was to just not mess my pants. LOL!!! It had been about 12 hours since the last "episode" but I wasn't completely confident that once I got running, my "issue" would rear it's ugly head making for a very uncomfortable and embarassing trip home. So, no problems though as I made my way around. I felt relaxed. It was hot and humid. Wonder how many times in the next few months we'll all be saying that.

I felt good. I've definitely lost some fitness and strength but that's to be expected. I actually felt like a long(er) run tonight but didn't want my first in a week to be a long run so I settled for 3. I think after 3 or 4 good runs during this coming week, I'll be ready for an easy, slow 7 or 8 miler on Saturday.