Pheidippides’s BodyBlog

The good news is that my running is going very well.  Yesterday I ran 15.7 miles, getting my weekly total to 40 miles for the first time.  I ran 15 miles in a bit over 2 hours, 3 minutes, about an 8:15 pace overall, including 3 miles of warmup and cooldown.  Counting only my out and back 12 mile set, I ran the first six miles in 49:30, 8:15 pace, and six miles back in 44:43, a pace of 7:27.  My purpose was to run at or under a rough goal marathon pace, which right now is something under 7:30 min/mile.  I wanted to see how it would feel to try to maintain that pace after having run for 7 1/2 miles and over an hour.  Aerobically it was O.K., but my legs definitely were stiffening toward the end.  It was one of my best training runs, though.  Overall pace over 12 miles: 7:51 min/mile.  I’ll take that.

The bad & the ugly:  my diet has gone to pot.  Even while I’m dramatically increasing my running mileage and calorie consumption, I’m not taking advantage of it because I’m not eating smartly.  My weight this mornign was around 174, although that’s partly water weight from eating heavily yesterday.  So my diet begins today. My goal this week is to lose the water weight and get down to 171 by next Monday.  Then over the next 5 weeks I’ll try to lose one pound a week and get down to 166 six weeks into the program.  Then I will need to stop focusing on weight loss and focus on maintaining good nutrition over the last few weeks before the marathon.

I’m also going to maintain a minimal upper body strength program of pushups, curls, rows, and some ab work so my upper body doesn’t go completely soft during my running.  It already is a lot softer than it was last spring.

Nearly 4 weeks into my 14 week marathon training program (Marathon — Dec. 7), I’ve effectively forsaken all fitness and health goals other than running faster and longer. The concentration is helping my running, mostly, but it’s holding it back in one way: I am not losing any weight, and as a result I’m not getting the benefit of running faster that I thought I woudl get from carrying fewer pounds.

So, without detracting from my running focus, I’m going to add a six-week diet program to my training.  Starting Monday, Sept. 29, I will concentrate on losing one pound, at least, per week, for a period of six weeks,  so I lose a total minimum of six pounds by November 10.  At that point, with only three weeks to go before the marathon, I’ll stop focusing on weight loss and instead focus on getting ready for the marathon.

The components of the plan will be:

1.  Careful eating.  I will not, strictly speaking, follow a purely "clean" diet, but I’m going to be a lot better than I’ve been.  It will involve planning what I eat day to day and week to week to avoid unplanned snacking and late night eating.

2.  Cardio.  This is the easy part.  I’ll be running 35 to 45 or so miles per week.
3.  Strength training.  I’ve really let this go, and I can feel the strength loss in my upper body (although my lower body is doing great with the running).  My plan will incorporate weekly minimums of curls, pushups, rows, and ab work so I maintain some muscle while I lose weight.
4.  Measurements.  This weekend I have to either fix my digital scale or just decide to use the somewhat less precise analog scale.  I will measure my weight and my waist every single day, in the morning, before eating anything.

I’m going to try what I call the "ratchet effect" diet method.  That is, holding on to whatever weight loss I manage, so I don’t yo-yo back and forth.  If I lose 1.5 pounds the first week, then I’ll still try to lose a pound the next week rather than mentally go easy on myself.  The hard pounds to lose are the last ones, anyway.  It’s easy for me to get down to 169 (I’m about 172.5 or so now); it’s hard getting lower than that.

Hopefully I will get the weight down to a meaningful (as opposed to mere water loss) 166 pounds (or maybe a bit less than that), from my current level of around 172.
More on this as I work out the details.

This morning I headed out to the bike trail at 6:40 a.m., well before sunrise, with the goal of running my longest long run yet — 19 miles.  I beat that by perhaps a half of a mile or so — I’m not exactly sure because I missed the mile marker for 9.5 miles.

I made my goal: about 19.25 miles in 2:50:40.  At the end of it I couldn’t believe I’d been runnig that long.  With the exception of a few 15-20 second drinking fountain stops I ran the whole way.

As usual I started with a 1.5 mile warmup, heading upriver, and a 1.5 mile cooldown over the same path on the way back.  In between ran a main set of 16 plus miles, trying to speed up a bit on the way back.

1.5 warmup: 13.26 min

8.25 miles out:  1:13:22

8.25 miles back:  1:09:09

Last 8 miles of the back segment I ran in 1:06:19, trying to hold an 8:20 pace.  I beat that pace by 21 seconds, for an 8 mile average of about 8:18 min/mile.

1.5 cooldown: 14:42.  When I slowed down my legs really stiffened, and I was barely beating 10 min/mile pace.

Total 16.5 mile time: 2:22:31.  8:38 min/mile pace.
Average pace over whole distance: 8:45 min/mile.  About what I aimed to do.

So with 12 weeks to go to the marathon I’m up to a 19 mile run and able to hold a decent training run pace.  In a few weeks or so I’ll try to get the long run up to 22 miles.  Then I’ll need to incorporate some marathon pace running in my longer runs as well.

19.5 miles is my longest continuous run ever.  Even when I ran long runs in my early twenties I never continuously ran that far.  My legs are a bit sore right now but not too bad.  I’m kicking back now watching the 49ers look completely mediocre against the Seahawks.  Rest is good.

I had one of my best and hardest workouts with my running group yesterday.  The weather unexpectedly cooled to the mid-to-low seventies, so the group leader substituted long intervals for short ones.

The program was 3 x 1.5 miles, followed by one final mile.

My legs were a bit stiff from the 10 mile race Sunday, but they still felt pretty strong, and I managed intervals of 10:09 (6:46 pace), 9:58 (6:39 pace) and 9:55 (6:37 pace), and finished it off with a 6:25 mile at the end.  So I managed to hold what I think is a bit better than a 10K pace over the first intervals and 5K pace over the last.  A great confidence building set.

The plan this weekend is to run a slow 19 mile long run.  In another two and a half weeks I may try my next race, either a 10K or a 5K.  If I run the 5K I will definitely gun for a sub-20 minute time.

My 10 mile race this morning is in the books: 1:12:04.  A little disappointing, since I’d hoped to finish in under 1:10, but pretty good for my first race at that distance, and my longest race since a half marathon 18 months ago.

I started off fast — a little too fast, probably — at about 6:45 min/mile for the first two miles.  After that I deliberately slowed the pace, but I couldn’t quite hold it at 7 min/mile pace.  I finished the first five miles in almost exactly 35 minutes, but I was already slowing by then, and finished the last half two minutes slower.

My finish was good for 82nd place overall out of 458, and 82 out of about 900 if you count the slower group that started the same course one hour before (they are billed as separate races).  I was 9th out of 37 among men 40-44.

Based on my 5K time, I underperformed a bit, but my stamina obviously isn’t quite up to the level of my current aerobic ability, and that gives me something to work on.  Although it was a bit disappointing not being able to maintain the pace I set over the first half, this was still a first for me, since I had never 5 miles at a 7 minute pace before.
Based on this performance, it’s a little hard to see a 3:10 marathon or 1:30 half marathon in the near future, but it might be doable if I really emphasize the stamina component of my running with more threshold pace runs around 6:50 to 7:05 pace. I’ve got to keep the mileage and number of weekly runs up as well.  I finished this last week at just about 30 miles, and I’m hoping to complete a 19 mile long run next weekend.

Tomorrow is my next race, the Buffalo Stampede 10 miler.  It’s my longest race since March 2007, when I ran a half marathon.  Since then it’s been all 5Ks and one Olympic distance triathlon (with a 10K run at the end of it).

Since I’ve never run this distance I’m a little uncertain about the right goal time, but based on my recent 5K time (20:04) and a various running calculators I’ve reviewed I’m going for under 1:10, which is a 7 min/mile pace.  That sounds like a real bear of a pace to maintain over 10 miles, but the running calculators I’ve seen say I can do it so I’m going to try.

It’s been a light week for running since the 5K.  I ran 7.85 or so miles Wednesday morning, and about 4.8 on Thursday night.  I took Friday off and will take today off as well, although I may do a little swimming or some light upper body workout.

I still haven’t got the scale to work.  I replaced batteries, but it’s not working and I wonder if the batteries are old.  I will try with some new batteries one more time to see if the scale is salvageable.  I fear my diet has gone to pot without the scale to help me discipline myself.  Last night I had a big Mexican dinner at a local restaurant (but they were clean enchiladas, really!) and two margaritas.

I’ll be eating better and holding off all alcohol today in anticipation of my race tomorrow.  It starts only about a mile from the house so my jog over to the starting line will be my warmup.  Here goes!

Ran this morning: 7.85 miles in 1:09.  Main set was 5 miles, first four of which I ran @8:30 pace and last mile of which I ran at 7:15 pace.  Overall average 8:15 pace.  Based upon my last race performance I’ve set 8:30 as my standard training pace, with 6:52-7:00 as my tempo pace (for sustained reasonably hard training runs of 3-4 miles or so) and 6:12 as my interval pace.

Reading WendyM’s last blog made me think about my own constantly changing fitness plans. I like the idea of focusing on increasing strength, lowering bodyfat, and improving muscle definition and body appearance, but my first interest is in endurance sports — especially running.  I’m up to over 30 miles per week and aim to get up to over 45 mpw this fall during my marathon training.  My (44 year old) body will need rest time, and it also will crave ample nutrition.  With all that, and family and work,  I just don’t have a strong desire to get in the gym much right now, or stick to purely "clean" eating.  I don’t feel bad about that; it’s just the way it is.  I like gym workouts enough that I expect that to change eventually — perhaps right after I finish my marathon (assuming I do) in December.  But for now, and for the next 14 weeks, I will focus on running, and see how far that focus can take me.  With a bit of extra effort I think I can also lose a little weight and body fat.  We’ll see.

I ran a 5K yesterday: 8 a.m., temperature in the mid-60s, conditions perfect but for a bit of wind.  I was well conditioned, and I had eaten pretty well the days before the race.  I wwas well hydrated as well.

The course was relatively flat and fast, mostly on streets and partly on paved bike trails.  I lined up just behind the first row or two of runners about a  yard and a half back of the starting line.  My goal was 20 minutes, so I intended to run the first two mile at a steady 6:20 pace and then hold or improve that pace as well as I could over the last mile.

I started out a bit faster than expected, covering the first mile in about 6:12.  I then slowed down somewhat, probably to around 6:30.  At the mid stage of the race I was trying to hold pace by keeping up with runners around me, with mixed success.  The last mile was hard, but I didn’t fade as badly as I’ve faded in previous races.  I finished decently in 20:04 — a new PR by 24 seconds, but still just 4 seconds off from my 20 minute goal.  So I was pleased but just a bit disappointed that I couldn’t quite bring it home in the end.

I placed 21st out of 320 overall, and 4th out of 30 among men 40-49.  I missed getting a top 3 award by 2 seconds! I passed the 3rd place guy at 2 miles, but he passed me with about 400 yards to go and I couldn’t get the lead back.
My 5K pace was 6:27 min/mile.  I am using that pace to set my training paces and to establish some goals for the next 14 week training and racing schedule, culminating in the Dec. 7 California International Marathon.  I hope to break 20 minutes in another 5K at some point soon, and then get to 40 minutes in the Run for the Hungry 10K on Thanksgiving.  I’ll shoot for 1:30 in the half marathon later in the fall and finally a sub-3:10 marathon.  The marathon goal may change as my  training progresses, but right now that seems like a fair goal given my 5K time and current fitness level.

I’m glad running is going well because my weight loss program has ended with a whimper.  I don’t actually know my weight right now because the scale isn’t working, but I don’t think it would have good news for me anyway.  I can’t help but think that if I’d stuck with my diet better and lost a few more pounds that I would have reached my goal of a sub-20 minute 5K.  Oh well. Onward and upward.