Pheidippides’s BodyBlog

My 5 weeks of slacking (relatively) in my running don’t seem to have hurt my speed.  I ran my first aerobic interval workout yesterday with my running group in about two months, and it was my fastest interval workout yet. 8 x 800 meters, and with the warmup, inbetween jogging, and cooldown it was about 8 miles total.

I ran the intervals as follows:

1:       3:14

2:        3:06

3:       3:06

4:       3:08

5:       3:05

6:       3:06

7:       3:06

8:       3:04

After the first interval, which at about 6:30 pace was my slowest, I ran every interval from about 6:18 pace to about 6:10 pace, significantly faster than my 5K race pace.  That’s the fastest pace I’ve sustained over an interval workout.  I was also very consistent, and I was able to run the last interval the fastest, so I was pacing smartly throughout.

There’s a 5K/10K coming up in a week and a half, and a 4 miler a week after that, and I definitely want to do that one.

After about six weeks of slacking since the marathon, I finally upped my mileage last week.  4 days of running, about 34 miles.  Most of it was in the 8 min/mile to 9 min/mile range, with some faster stretches.  I also ran one 3-mile tempo run in 21:44, a 7:15 pace.  To move closer to my goals I need to stretch that out to 4 miles and quicken the pace to near 7 min/mile pace.  One of my aims this year is to make tempo runs (between 10K and half marathon pace) a bigger part of my training, because they improve stamina (my weakness).

Tomorrow if time permits I will run intervals with my running group, and will use them to gauge where my aerobic ability is right now.  I felt pretty good on my 11.5 mile long run Sunday, but I haven’t had a really good aerobic interval workout in about two months.   We’re supposed to run 800 meter intervals, which I hope to run between 3:05 and 3:15.  We’ll see.

I still have a little pain in my left hip.  I definitely pulled, strained, or tore something there about five weeks ago, and it hasn’t fully healed, although it’s better than it was. I may have to get it checked out, although it hasn’t stopped me from running lately.

I ran 5.5 miles this morning in a little over 44 minutes, a bit over an 8 min/mile pace.  I started out around 6:50, before sunrise, conditions clear and cold, temperature about 35 degrees.  Ran along the streets, over to the river, and then along the river bike trail for a little over 2 miles.  My feet and legs felt great, which was gratifying, although my left hip continues to hurt a bit.

Weight this a.m.:  172.2, my new low for the year, and bodyfat 17.5%.  My waist is just a notch thinner, too, measuring no more than 37 inches.

I continued with my new pushups regimen, doing sets of 32 and 37 this morning.  Last week I tallied 137 pushups total, and this week I’ll do a lot more than that.  I’m trying to push my ability while simultaneously trying to avoid hurting my rotator cuffs.

I’m pleased with progress so far.  At the beginning of the year I was consistently weighing 176 to 178, and now it’s around 172.2 to 174.  Reaching my goal by February 14 is starting to look doable, but I’m reaching the difficult point, and I have to stay on track.  Looking in the mirror this morning, I noticed that the love handles are still there, and it will take a lot more weight loss to get rid of them, or at least to mostly get rid of them.  I expect I will still have a bit of handles even if I get my bodyfat far below where it is now.

With the resumption of my running and a few good days of eating carefully, I seem to have lost my extra holiday pounds, and I’m back where I was at the the time of my marathon run on Dec. 7.  Weight this morning: 173 pounds, down 4.6 pounds since I measured eight days earlier. Bodyfat: 17.2%, also down somewhat.  My waist measurement is also down a bit.

I still have a long way to go to reach my goal of 165 pounds on February 14, but at least now the goal looks hard rather than impossible.  The key, still, is really controlling what I eat, as well as getting back on track with regular running to increase my calorie burn.  I ran 9.4 miles on Sunday at about 8:40 pace, with one brisk interval of a a mile in 7:30.

Hawaii is less than 5 weeks away, so time to get cracking to get into swimsuit shape.

2008 is over, and it’s time to move forward and set new goals for 2009.

2008, overall, was a fitness success.  I started the year barely able to run, because of my Achilles tendon problems.  By the end of the year I had achieved personal records in the 5K and half marathon, and run my first marathon ever in 3:20:00, qualifying for the Boston Marathon.  I competed in my first ever triathlon, finishing respectably in the first half despite somewhat deficient training.

In terms of strength training, I started well but finished poorly.  Basically, strength training gave way to running, which I prefer.

In terms of body weight and composition, I failed to lose weight, but I seemed to have lost some bodyfat, at least until the end of the year.  Unfortunately, after the marathon training I ate poorly for several weeks, and my weight is not up a few pounds.  I weighed 177.6 today, with a bodyfat reading of 19.2%, and my waist has expanded a bit.

I stayed healthy, although I have some ongoing weakness in my right Achilles tendon, and more recently I seem to have strained what I think is my hip flexor muscle on the left side.  I have an ongoing tendency to injure myself with my running, which I have to address.  My health has been good, and I’ve continued to lower my cholesterol a little bit (the men in my family tend to have very high cholesterol).

So, my fitness goals for the year are as follows:

1.  Improve my running, especially at the 5K to half marathon distances.  Lower my 5K time to 19:15, and my half marathon time to under 1:30.  Run 10K in under 40 minutes by the fall.  Run the CIM marathon again, this time under 3:10, ten minutes faster.  Be able to run 5 days a week, over 30 miles per week, without injuring myself.
2. Lose weight and improve body composition through exercise and improved diet.  Get weight under 165 pounds, and bodyfat under 13%.  Lose the love handles for good, and improve muscle tone, especially in my mid-section.
3.  Strength train moderately, mostly to supplement my running, and to improve basic strength, flexibility, and muscle tone.  Be able to do 60 plus pushups at once, and over 15 pullups at once.  I’m going to start a mostly at-home weekly strength training exercise regimen that will emphasize pushups, pullups, curls, and bodyweight exercises and stretches.

4.  Eat a cleaner diet, cutting weigh back on bad carbs (candy, cake, chips, junk like that) and be more careful about controlling portions and limiting late night snacking.  I won’t eat completely cleanly, but I will eat more cleanly.  The goal is to continue to improve health and fitness, lose some weight, and provide my body with good nutrition to continue improving at running.

5.  I will continue to engage in supplemental aerobic activiities such as swimming, cycling, and use of gym machines to supplement my aerobic fitness and running as necessary, for fun, and to engage the rest of my family in healthy activities.

Phase 1 of my 2009 fitness plan begins now and ends on Valentines Day, the day before my family leaves for a trip to Hawaii.  The goal is to lose a lot of weight, get my weight down to 165 pounds, look better in a swimsuit, get well underway with my strength training program, and establish a modest base of running at least 4 times per week, over 30 miles per week, with minimal pain or injury.  When I get  back from Hawaii I will start ramping up my running program to try to achieve my time goals in races later in the spring.