Feeling Stronger Everyday

Weight: 175.4 lbs. BF% 19.1  #Days left to Philly Marathon: 126

It's so great having a trainer!  (Especially one as experienced as Jason Koop.)  I attached his reply to my e-mail about my pacing and runs during the summer.  He says:

"For your easy runs, I want you to run at 9:00-10:00 pace. The pace isn’t all that important but the feeling is. You should feel as if you are running at a 4 on a 1-10 Rate of Perceived exertion scale. For the hotter runs, keep the distance, just slow down the pace. For your half, I actually think you can handle down towards 7:45 if you have a good race. However, you have to view it in context of the total amount of training. The races at that point become training runs. you still need to get the most out of them, but keep in mind that you can’t have a PR on every race. That would defeat the purpose of training!"

My training schedule (currently working on my LT) is:

Monday:  Rest

Tuesday:  10 WUP 2x20 min, 3 min off, 10 CDN

Wednesday:  6 miles easy

Thursday:  10 WUP 40 min Tempo, 10 CDN

Friday:  Rest

Saturday:  10WUP 3x10min, 5 min off, 10 CDN

Sunday:  14 miles (easy) long run

I'm doing better and feeling stronger.  Since my Mother-In-Law had elective brain surgery during the week.  (She suffers from tremors, she need an operation to implant an electic rod into her brain to eliminate her tremors in her right hand.)  I ended up running a double workout on Friday to make-up for not being able to run in the middle of the week. I don't know if I can keep a 7:45 pace for a Half Marathon in hot weather.  I'm going to aim for an 8 minute to slightly sub 8 minute pace for the first half of the race and see if I can run a negative split.  My diet is a constant battle, but it's getting better.  This is what I ate for this week: (Which is much better than what I had been eating!)

Breakfast: 4 bowls of Frosted miniwheats w/ 1% milk, 1 100 calorie oatmeal, 1 protein smoothie and 1 egg, bacon & cheese sandwich on a roll. (my bad)

Morning snack:  2 fruit & yogurt parfaits (Mc D's), 3 nutrition bars (140 to 170 calories) and one donut.

Lunch: 2 Chicken salad on whole wheat, 2 Turket breast on whole wheat, 2 x 1 slice of pizza.

Afternoon snack:  3 Nutrition bars (140 to 170 calories), I skipped some afternoon snacks.

Dinner:  1 bowl of frosted miniwheats, 2 trips to Taco Bell (Fresco Bean Burrito & diet soda), 2 x 1 slice of pizza & salad, 1 pasta, 1 chicken quesadilla

Late snacks: 4 rice cakes, 2 low fat ice cream sandwiches (gotta cut back on the snacks)

I was concerned about my training, but lucky for me, I keep a running log on a worksheet.  I was able to look back at my workouts for the year.  I've put in five really good months of workouts and had only one weak month (June).  I just have to continue to get back on track with my diet and my training.  It doesn't guarantee that I'll reach my goal of qualifying for Boston, but if it gets me healthier, I'm all for it.  (BTW - Kate, I wish that I could swim as fast as you can - I'm a terrible swimmer.  Also, the Philly Marathon happens to also have a Half Marathon (hint) (hint) maybe you could come visit?)  Hopefully, I'll see you on the roads...

If you can't take the heat...

Weight: 177.0 lbs, Body Fat 19%, # Days until Philadelphia Marathon: 132 and counting

Since Kate is battling her injury, I was hoping to pick things up for our "team" by getting my training back on track,(I really think of us as a team - I don't think that I'd be doing nearly as well without checking out her blog to she how she's doing). Unfortunately, I'm still finding myself going backwards.  I ran my first 10K race of the year, the New York road Runner's "Park to Park" race.  (The race was rescheduled from Saturday to Sunday because of a Jon Bonjovi concert.)  I got the day right, but I was a bit off on the race's starting time.  I thought the race was to start at 8:30 a.m., but it was scheduled for 8:00 a.m. instead.   I ended up starting 10 minutes behind everyone, but I knew that I wasn't going to win and I also knew that it was chip timed, (it didn't really matter when I started) so I proceeded at the start to run my timed six mile tempo run.  The race started out in the high 70's with 88 percent humidity.  I'll spare you the gory details and just give you my splits:  7:52, 8:07, 7:57, 9:09, 9:26, 8:53, 1:37 (last 10th), for a finishing time of 53:09.  First three miles, okay, the second three miles - yuck!!!  I felt fine early, but by mile #3, I was covered in sweat that wasn't evaporating.  The last three miles, I didn't have any energy and I felt like I couldn't catch my breath.  I was forced to stop and take walk breaks over the last three miles, (again).  After the race, I realized that I've run all of my PR's in the spring, when I've been doing more speed training and the weather wasn't hot and humid.  I think that when I run longer in the summer, I'm dialing back the pace of my runs because of the heat, but I just realized that I might have been training myself to run slower.  From now, on, I'm going to really try to push the pace on my tempo runs to try to offset my slower pace long runs.  Hopefully, this old body will hold-up to some increased intensity over the next few months.

I'm starting to get very concerned that my race times are getting slower instead of faster, but I'm going to hold off on my panic since I've had a string of "weak" training weeks and I have a Half Marathon coming up in two weeks, (the Nike New York Half Marathon on July 27th.)  (So, I'll see how that race goes and then panic!)  Jason has increased my tempo run lengths to 2x20 minutes, 3x10 minutes and 1x40 minutes for my training program - each with 10 minutes of warm-up and cool down.  (I have three days with tempo intervals each week.)  I'm hoping that the increased length of the tempo runs will increase my ability to hold an 8 minute pace consistently.  I don't know if two weeks are enough time, but I think that I have to concentrate on picking up the pace of my training runs or I'll never reach my goal in November.   I wish that I felt that I coould comfortably reach my goal at this point in my training, but it looks like I won't know until November 23rd.  My diet still stinks, but I'll save that one for my next blog.

The best laid plans...

Weight 176.5 lbs. BF 19.5%

I was hoping to really put in some good workouts over my vacation.  I had two weeks off, we stayed home and did day trips with the kids (mainly since well flew our older boys to Orlando for their 9th birthday present in May) so I'd have the chance to catch up on some sleep and work in some quality work outs.  I ended up sleeping more, but running a lot less than I'd planned, and I ate a bit worse than I'd planned, also.

I made the mistake of trying to make up ground by running some hard intervals at the track and to race a hard 5K.  I ended up overstriding and suffered from muscle spasms in my back, getting some recurring PF in my left foot and also some ITB in my right knee.  I've gone out for a few runs since then, but my back will only let me run them at an easy pace.  I'm hoping to run a 10K race on Sunday as a fitness test and a tempo run.  Since I train on my own, I try to run one or two races a month.  I enjoy meeting up with people and making new friends before and after the race.  Of course, I'll pull out a picture of my kids at the drop of a hat and tell everyone about how they're growing up and what they're doing in school.

I'm hoping that my back will get better and that I'll be able to put in a good effort on Sunday.  My diet is getting better now that I've returned to work.  It's easier for me to stay on my diet when I'm at work, I have less temptations at work.  At home, we have four young children who are eating and snacking almost constantly, it makes it very easy to eat the wrong things a bit too often, and I endulged a bit more than I should have.  I have to constantly remind myself that I'm no longer in my twenties, or even my thirties when I could eat whatever I wanted and not gain so much weight that I couldn't work it off. 

Someone wrote that men stop maturing mentally when they're twelve years old.  I'd like to think that its closer to eighteen, but I know that I'll always be a kid in some ways forever.  (Although I need to be more mature in my eating choices.)  Which is probably why I'll keep running.  It can be hard at times, but whenever I finish a run, I always have a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction.  Running never fails to bring out the kid in me.  So, I guess I'll be seeing you on the roads...

This old dog is still trying to learn new tricks

Weight 173.4 lbs. Body Fat 18.2%

I feel good now that I'm getting back on track.  I've gone back to the track to get a better sense of pacing.  A few days ago, I was able to put in 6x1600 meters in 7:26 to 7:43.  I was hoping for 7 or 8 intervals, but it was 87 degrees out and my body said "enough" so I agreed.  I'm back to concentrating on my intervals and if I have to skip a workout, I skip an easy run, instead.  My friend and fellow weight loss particpant, Kate is also back on track, which is great.  The nice thing about doing this is not doing it alone.  I admire anyone who has the determination and preserverance to get out there and make the comitment to get fitter and faster for whatever reason.  Kate is doing a great job with her training.  It's hard to balance an increase in training with work and home and not have your body break down.

I might re-schedule my 4:30 a.m. runs to night time.  My wife has been doing better with her walking, but she usually walks after dinner and she doesn't get back home until after dark.  I'm encouraging her to walk in the morning when it's light, instead.  It will be a bit challenging for her, since she's more of a night person and I'm more of a morning person.  But I'll do anything to help her with her fitness.  Her body really took a beating with having two twin pregnancies.  Jason wants me to run a 10K race to see where I'm at, fitness wise and pace wise.  So, I'm running in the NYRR's "Park to Park" 10K race in Central Park on July 13th.  I'm really looking forward to it, but I am concerned about running at a good pace and not running out of gas before the finish line like my last race.  I'm hoping that by continuing my interval training, my stamina will continue to improve.  My diet hasn't been the best, but it's coming along.  I've been replacing my beloved ice cream with frozen yogurt and I've come up with some good pre-run eating options.  The oatmeal, whole wheat toast (or english muffin) and my latest favorite, rice cakes with a little peanut butter, seem to be working well.  At least now, I'm not running out of gas during my training runs.  So, I'll let you all know how I do on the 13th, 'till then, I'll see you on the roads...

Running on Empty

Weight 174 lbs. BF 18.5%

I'm working hard on getting back to my conditioning level before it was interupted by illness.  I recently ran a local 5K race to get a gauge of where I was, fitness wise with mixed results.  I still haven''t gotten the hang of pacing myself to running a fast 5K yet.  Last March, I ran a "PR" of 22:58 - with splits of 7:43, 7:29 and 7:00.  I just ran a new PR of 22:31, but my splits were 6:40, 7:18 and 7:49 (with three walk breaks).  I simply ran out of gas in the last quarter mile going up a little hill near the finish.  For the 5K in March, I started out too slow, for this race, I obviously went out too fast.  I've got to get more comfortable running at a 7:00 per mile pace (and knowing what that feels like).  I think that it's time that I spend some time back at the track where I can try to run the same pace for each lap.  I'm squeezing in morning runs before we take the kids out for the day while I'm on vacation.  So, I' getting a bit more rest and I think that it will help me with my training down the road.  My legs are feeling pretty good, but my lower back "barks" occasionally.

My kids are getting into seeing Daddy running.   They now tell me to "Have a good run" when I head out for my morning run, which really gets me in a good mood.  I was even able to (finally) buy my wife some stability trainers for her walks.  She used to buy keds and k-swiss tennis shoes (it's a fashion thing) and she couldn't see why she would need to spend over twice as much for some quality shoes.  The problem is that she has flat feet and bad knees.  I finally got through to her that by not wearing stablity shoes that she might be aggravating her knees, so she gave in to my logic (for now).  Hey, when you're fifty years old, it's always something, I guess.  I'll see you on the roads...

That's more like it!!!

Weight 171.8 lbs, Body fat 18.7%

I feel bad for Kate, my weight-loss compadre’, who injured her foot after running a 15 mile training run.  She’s been hobbled a bit this week and I know how tough it is to get injured when you’re coming up to a crucial point in your training schedule.  I e-mailed her about Dimity McDowell, who had to train for several weeks on a stationery bike wearing a protective boot due to a foot injury.  By the way, Dimity wrote the “Weight Loss” story and besides doing a great job on that, she and her friend, Sarah did a great job in getting back into shape after Dimity gave birth to her second child and Sarah gave birth to a set of twins!  (Children #2 & #3 for her)  I saw the pictures of those two “stone bellies” in the latest issue of Runner’s World – all I can say is GREAT JOB!  You ladies ROCK!  They just missed running a sub 4 hour marathon on a very hilly course.  Kate, you rock too, and I know that you’ll get over your injury and come back stronger than ever.  Hang in there, partner – you’ll get it done!

I’m doing a bit better now than I was when I wrote my last blog.  (Sorry for the gloom and doom – I get that way when I’m sick.)  It turns out that I was sick when I ran the 5 mile race on Father’s Day.  Before the race, my stomach was bothering me a bit and ever since the race, I’ve been dealing with stomach cramps for the entire week.  For the past two weeks, I’ve been battling allergies, which have given me a really sore throat, fatigue and some kind of stomach bug or virus.  (At least I haven’t got strep throat like my son, Kevin; the poor kid, he’s been really hurting for the past few days.)

Needless to say, my workouts haven’t been great, I had to eliminate some interval workouts and replace them with either easy runs or rest.  But the good news is that I’m feeling better now than I was two weeks ago.  On a scale from 1 to 10, I’d rate my current health about an 8, but my energy level is much better than it was a week ago.  I was even able to put in an easy 10 mile run this morning.  It was one of those day’s you want to clone, or save, (if you could) which made it a lot easier for me to enjoy my run.  It started in the low 50’s with low humidity and a light breeze with a clear night sky and a full moon, and it finished with the sun shining in a clear blue sky.  I was going to try to struggle through an easy 6 or 8 miler at the start, but as the sun came up, I couldn’t resist extending my run so that I could make the most out of a special day.

My weight has been getting better since my throat isn’t killing me and I’m no longer cooling it with everything cold that I can get my hands on, especially like ice cream and ice cream floats, which are my throat’s “comfort food”.  I’ve been eating oatmeal for breakfast, or egg white omelets with veggies.  I’m going to try someone’s suggestion when I make oatmeal at home this week during my vacation and add a teaspoonful of peanut butter and see how it tastes.  (It sounds really good.) (I also haven’t tried the oatmeal with an egg cooked in it, but I’m going to try that, also.)

The kids are psyched (and I am too) since I’m taking two weeks vacation starting next week.  I’m looking forward to getting an hour or two of extra rest every day during vacation – hopefully I can make up some workouts and get my training back on track.

We’re planning on taking the kids on day trips to various places over the vacation.  I also have a local 5K race that I’m hoping to run next Tuesday, I hoping that it will be a better performance than my last one, we’ll see.  Until then, I’ll see you on the roads…

Watch out for the bear!!!

Weight 176.0 lbs. Body Fat 18.8%

The bear finally got me.  Actually he didn’t get me as much a he downright mugged me.  He jumped on my back, slapped me in both ears, punched me in the stomach and wrapped me up in plastic.  On Sunday, I ran the New York Road Runner’s Father’s Day 5 mile race in

Central Park

.  I enjoy supporting this run especially since it supports the fight against prostrate cancer.  My father died from complications from prostate cancer several years ago.  It’s a terrible disease.  I remember the first time that I had to change a diaper, it was on my father. Neither one of my parent’s ever got to see the grandchildren that my wife and I brought into the world. Our children arrived a few years after my mother and father passed away.

I was hoping to better my 5 mile “PR” time of 38:53 that I set last year.  Race conditions were cloudy skies, with 70 degree temperatures, nary a breeze and 93% humidity.  I felt good at the start, but I didn’t have enough time to warm-up before the race – aside from a few stretches.  I planned to go out easy at about a 7:15 to 7:30 pace for the first two miles to warm-up and then turn on the jets for the last three miles and see if I could hold something close to a seven minute per mile pace to the finish.  So much for the plan.

I ran my first mile in 7:33, not great, but I was warming up, although I already felt that I was working a bit harder than I would have liked.  Mile #2 came in at 7:28, a bit disappointing since I was hoping for closer to 7:15, but I felt that I could still do well over the next three miles, or so I assumed.  But mile #3 became increasingly tougher than I’d thought; it was more uphill than I’d remembered and I was now laboring even more to keep pace.  My body was covered in a thick sweat that wasn’t evaporating.  I finished mile #3 in 7:49 and now I wasn’t feeling very good about the remaining two miles left to race.  About a quarter of the way into mile #4 after cresting a hill, I felt nauseous and I had to step off the race course for a bit.  I didn’t want to step off, but I had a feeling that I’d better step-off before something even worse happened.  I was beginning to feel light-headed and nauseous.  I continued walking hoping that my symptoms would go away and I could try to save my race, but it just didn’t work out that way.  After several starts and stops, I knew that the race and the high humidity had gotten the best of me.  I alternated walking and running to the finish and finished in 40:46. My last two mile splits were in 9:57 and 7:57, the last split surprised me a bit, since I also took a few walk breaks in the last mile.  My most recent race, was a 4 miler in April in the same park (under better conditions) and I ran that race at a 7:12 per mile pace finishing in 28:50.  I was so wiped out from this race that I ended up going to bed for a nap at 6:30 p.m. on Father’s Day. I slept the whole night and I’m still a bit woozy today.  Whenever I run a race, I always feel that I could’ve done better, but when I have a race like this one, I start questioning my fitness and my training.  I don’t think its’ Jason’s fault, I think that by having to cut some of my mileage over the past two weeks due to the extreme heat (even more than my training called for) and I haven’t been sleeping well over the past several days that I set myself up for a let down.   My weight is also still creeping back up, I’m getting too lax on my diet and I know that I’ve got to get back on track in that area, also.

The question is what do I do now?  I’ve come too far to give up now, but I am fearful that I might not reach my goal of a 3:30 marathon in November.  I’d feel a lot better about my chances if I could run consistently around 7 minutes per mile in the shorter races.  I have the Nike NYC Half Marathon coming up on July 27^th, which should be a good test of where I am, training wise for the marathon.  I know that I just have to put my disappointment of this race in the back of my mind and train even harder to succeed at the Half Marathon. I also think that I might be running my easy runs at too easy a pace.  It’s time to crank things up a bit and hope that my body can take it.  I’ll see you on the roads…

Heat, Fresh Legs, Allergies & Tunes

Weight 174.0 lbs Body Fat 18.4%

All winter I wanted it to get warm.  I longed to run without being cold or to wear layers.  Be careful what you wish for.  Four days of high 90 temperatures and high humidity.  I tried one 8 mile interval training run on day #2 (Sunday) that started in the low 80’s and finished, exhausted in the high 80’s.  Then it was off to the community pool with the kids and when we returned, Kevin and Ben (my nine year-old twins) dragged me out to the tennis courts to play tennis.  (It’s funny, since I used to play competitive tennis and I also taught and coached kids, my wife thought that I’d be the one dragging the kids out to the courts, not the other way around.)  Anyway, I was so tired from Sunday (and my allergies were going crazy) that I had to pass on my Monday and Tuesday workouts.  Wednesday was supposed to be intervals, but my body had other ideas, so after one mile interval at 8:00 pace and a half mile interval at the same, I came back home with a paltry 6 miler (with some walk breaks).  Today, (Thursday) was a different story.  Today was a training day that you remember as long as you can because it was a really good run.  The morning was almost perfect, the temperature was in the low to mid 60’s and the humidity was surprisingly low.  The sun was just coming up around my second mile, it’s been coming up earlier into my runs, which is nice.  I was supposed to run 3x10 minute intervals, but I felt so good, I ran 4 instead, for a total of 10 miles.  The best part was that I ran four mile splits (as part of my 10 minute intervals) in 7:53, 7:51, 7:23 and 7:58!  I’m now excited to be running in a NYRR’s Father’s Day 5 miler on Sunday in

Central Park

.  (I’m hoping for a PR.)

Eating wise, my allergies flaring up had a negative effect on my diet.  When my allergies go crazy, (especially in the summer) I get a very sore throat (and tonsillitis) that feels like I’m swallowing broken glass – if I don’t keep constantly swallowing liquids, or anything cold.  At night, I sleep with a cough drop in my mouth to keep my throat from getting too dry and sore.  So, I ate a lot more ice cream (I know, I should’ve had low fat frozen yogurt instead) and cough drops than I had planned, which showed in my weight numbers.  Fortunately, I’m feeling a bit better and I figure that I’ll just move on in my quest to get my old body in better shape and get my weight under 170 lbs. for the first time in over twenty years without looking back.  (Is denial a useful diet strategy?)

I read the new Runners’ World issue this month and I’m looking forward to trying out some of their running tunes for my IPod Shuffle for my training runs.  My “top ten” favorite running tunes are:

1          Synchronicity II                      The Police (Live)

2          Message in a Bottle                 The Police (Live)

3          Somebody told me                  The Killers

4          Pump it up                               Elvis Costello

5          It’s all been done                    Barenaked Ladies

6          Rock the Casbah                     The Clash

7          Pump it                                    Blackeyed Peas

8          (What’s so funny about)

Peace, love & understanding Elvis Costello

9          I just want to celebrate           Rare Earth

10        Too much food                       Jason Mraz (Live – Tonight, not again)

I tend to like live albums because they seem to have more energy, and that’s what I’m looking for at 4:30 in the morning.  Besides, I used to play the drums in Jazz Band, (and some very average rock bands) so sometimes, I imagine myself up on stage playing the song and that gives me a good burst of adrenaline.  I’m not as familiar with the newer artists, so most of my songs are a bit old, (like me).  Although, I’m open to any suggestions, so if you have any additional inspiring and motivating favorite training songs that you think will help me get through some upcoming long runs, please feel free to e-mail me any suggestions.  (If they’re on i-tunes, I’ll be sure to give them a listen.)  Until then, I’ll see you on the roads…

Do you clean your plate???

Weight 173.2 lbs. Body Fat % 18.8%

My training never fails to present me with some challenges.  Running in the changing spring weather is a good one, although it’s not as tough as running in the late fall and winter months. In one week, one early morning run was done at 39 degrees and I had to go back upstairs for some running pants and a windbreaker after I stuck my head out the door to see if the Weather Channel was kidding me, (they weren’t).  The next morning it was a balmy 60 degrees and a few nights later, I ran while it was humid and in the low 80’s.

Training wise, I’m on an “easy” week.  Jason Koop always seems to schedule me for an easy week right when my body needs it.  My legs have been getting tight and tired, lately.   I put in over 150 miles of running last month.  I know it’s not a lot for many people, but it’s a “PRD” (Personal Record Distance) for me and I’m not even near the high mileage part of my training program!  This week, I was supposed to only run one 8 miler with intervals and the other 4 runs are supposed to be easy 6 milers.  Of course I made the mistake of putting in 10 miles of intervals instead of the 6 easy miles that Jason had scheduled me for on Sunday.  My legs really let me know the next day that I probably pushed myself a little too much.  I had to rest for the next three days and I put in a very gentle 10 miler after that, since I’m now playing catch-up on my weekly mileage.

I encountered yet another eating challenge, my love for ice cream (and ice cream sodas) when it gets warm outside.  On a few nights, I had a Weight Watcher’s toffee ice cream bar (2 points) as a snack and it showed up in my weight and body fat numbers.  I’m still battling to get under the 170 lbs. mark.  Sometimes, I put off writing my blog when I get close to 170 lbs. like I did a few days ago, hoping that the next day I could write that I finally passed that mark, but the scale isn’t giving me a break, I still haven’t gotten under the 170 lbs. mark --- yet.

For my weekday eating, I’m doing pretty well with breakfast and lunch, but snacking and dinners still seem to be getting in my way.  Right now for breakfast, I usually have either a small cup of oatmeal, an egg white omelet with broccoli, tomato & onions, or a low calorie fruit smoothie.  Lunch is usually a turkey or chicken sandwich on whole wheat, a burrito bowl with black beans, chicken, salsa and lettuce, (although sometimes I get the burrito) or a tossed salad with chicken on top.  For dinner, I eat whatever my wife is making, (when she has time to cook.) I just try to watch the portions, which can be a bit tough.  If she’s not cooking, or I’m running late, I usually try to find something light to eat at Taco Bell.  (They have this fresco menu with items that have less than 9 grams of fat.)

Last Friday night, we had my father-in-law over for his birthday and my brother-in-law (who’s a chef and CIA graduate) cooked us all some short ribs of beef, mashed potatoes, grilled veggies and for dessert, crème brulee.  Now, I know that none of that is even remotely on my diet, (aside from the veggies) but there was no way that I wasn’t going to eat it – no matter what it did to my numbers on the scale.  I did try to load up on the veggies, but I still ate more beef and potatoes than I originally planned.  I was even going to pass up on the dessert, but my wife told me that I would insult the chef, (i.e. her brother) so being a good host, (who really didn’t need too much prodding, anyway) I obediently ate all of my crème brulee.

Which leads me to exploring the “clean your plate syndrome”.  I think that part of my problem (aside from an affinity for junk food) is the “clean your plate” training that I received when I was growing up.  Cleaning your plate was something that was celebrated in my family.  When I was in grade school, I attended Parochial schools where the nuns would stand over you while you ate reminding you that there were “starving children in Africa” who would love what you were currently eating, (even though you didn’t).  I’m sorry, but even for a skinny Irish kid who didn’t know anything about Italian food at the time, seeing spaghetti thrown out of a pot of boiling water into a cold colander and then being rinsed over and over with ice cold water, thrown cold and still soaking wet onto a plate, topped with a ladle of canned hot meat/marinara sauce and served to me was just plain wrong.  (My brother and I were the only students stubborn enough to “outwait” the nuns and not have to eat all of our food; since we were by the time that they were exasperated with arguing with us already thirty minutes late for class.) 

I remember reading several years ago about a study of obese people, and it seems that they also might be “plate cleaners”. The study compared two groups of people, one average weight and the other obese for several weeks or a month, I can’t recall.  Each group for every meal was served a buffet (in separate rooms) with increasing amounts of food for each group at the buffet everyday.  The average weight eaters left food after their meals, and ate the same portions regardless of the amount of food available, but the obese eaters increased their portions until no food was left over each day.  For the last buffet, the caterer put enough food for over twice the amount of people in each control group and the obese eaters still ate everything, not a crumb was left!

I find that the argument of “not letting good food go to waste” is a tough one for me to fight. Got leftovers?   Put em’ over here.  The kids couldn’t finish their French fries/ice cream/hot dog?  No problem, Daddy to the rescue.  I’m getting better at fighting these impulses, and they are impulses.  I just have to think a little more often about what I’m putting in my mouth and also concentrate and plan my diet much more than I originally thought. No matter what, I’ll see you on the roads, because that’s the best place for me to go burn off some of my mistakes.  I keep telling myself that it’s a learning process…

Time to "Kick things up"!

Weight 173.5 lbs. Body Fat 18.8%

Overall, not bad on the weight side, since I was on vacation last week, but I'm a bit disapointed with the body fat percentage.  It shows that I've been eating higher fat items like hot dogs.  (Which I did on Memorial Day.) I've rationalized it that I'm not a professional athlete and in over 5 years I've only been able to get my weight down to 175 and hold it for a few weeks, once.  For the past several months, I started at 186 lbs. (but I was 196 lbs. when I wrote in to the challenge) and quickly got my weight down to under 175 lbs. by just "cleaning up my act" by sometimes following Ilana's guidelines and just not eating junk as much or as often.  But I know that if I really want to have a good chance to run a sub-3:30 marathon, I should get my body fat consistently down to below 18 percent.  I've been reading a book on the "Celebrity Weight Loss Secrets" and a lot of them are exactly what Ilana has been telling me.  (Surprise!) So, less indulging, less cheating and more sticking with the plan going forward.

As for my training, Jason wants me to put in around 90 minutes of fast intervals a week.  Sometimes my body's not up to it, but I keep trying.  I have two days of 6x8, 8x6, or 7x7 intervals with 3 minutes easy and one interval session of 3x10 minutes with 5 minutes easy in between.  I've been doing reasonably well on these, but there's always room for improvement.  Getting some extra sleep while on vacation really helped.  I wish that I could get an extra 2 hours of sleep a day, it would make my training a lot easier.  I'm still working out what to eat before a run, since most of my daily training runs are now around 10 miles.  I hate bringing water on my runs, I have several different hydration belts, some have four little bottles, some have two, some have room for one bottle in the back, but I think that I prefer to just carry a bottle in my hand.  The four belt works reasonably well, but I find that the bottles get warm rather quickly in hot weather.  What are your favorites?  Let me know - especially if you've found an easy way to carry water for your long runs.  Until then, I'll see you on the roads...