Hey all,
So, I ran the 8K Sunday and it went great!! Actually, beyond belief. I actually won my age group, 45-49. Overall, there were 241 runners in the 8K and I finished 14th. My time was 38:30 which is an average of 7:44 minute per mile. Pretty wild. I felt prepared and nutritionally, this is what I did:
Wednesday/Thursday - Stopped protein supplements (shakes, bars) but ate normal meals, just larger quantities, so it did take a bit longer. I did drink with my meals so I was able to get more in. Did run 3 miles Wednesday, 5 miles Thursday.
Friday - Doubled up on vitamins and fluids. No cardio. Still no protein supplements, but also reduced protein in meals. Still drinking with meals trying to get carbs/calories.
Saturday - Avoided protein, drank lots of liquids (clear urine), doubled up vitamins and ate carbs all day long. I thought I was going to burst. I'm not kidding. Drinking water definately relieved the restriction. I don't understand how some people post that they cannot feel the difference in their restriction whether they drink or not. I guess the bottom line is that we are all different, but I can DEFINATELY eat more when I drink with my meal.
I wasn't going to do any cardio, but my running group meets Saturday mornings. I went because we start with a 20 minute speaker and the topic was about injuries and foot striking which I really wanted to hear. Plus, the coach talks for a bit about what's going on and blah, blah blah ... I dressed thinking I would maybe just go out for a mile or two but then I looked down at my Garmin and I was at 2.5 miles ... and I still had to run back!! So ... I ran 5 miles the day before a race. Not smart ... and one of the reasons I crammed so many carbs in. I knew I hit my energy stores hard.
Morning of the race I woke up two hours early and had a bowl of oatmeal and orange juice. I continued hydration moving to electrolyte drinks and a GU energy gel about an hour pre-race. The energy gels are in a form easily converted to glycogen. You can look them up and research them and see if they are for you. On the way to the race, I stopped and grabbed a tripple expresso and pounded that (I am not a coffee drinker). 10 minutes pre-race, I cracked open a Roctain, which is an energy gel used by marathon runners/endurance athletes. I figured with our limited ability to get energy, this would top me off.
Gun sounded and we were off. I started right at the front and the elite runners took the lead and I fell in behind them at a 7:15 pace (They were zooming at sub 6) I have a running belt and had it filled with electrolyte liquids as well, though I didn't need any until the 4 mile mark. I slowed my pace, as I was afraid of bonking, back to 7:30 at 2 miles and held it there for another mile. I felt good. At mile 4, I was beginning to feel a little winded (and over-heated ... I need to assess my clothing for races), so I drank some. Let me tell you, running and drinking with my little sleeve is not easy. I ended up getting a bunch of air in and belching and ... eesh. I gotta figure out a drinking system. I had slowed to a 7:50 pace and felt good after finally getting some liquids in and stomach settled, so I picked it back up. I could see the finish line a quarter mile away, so I sprinted (if that is what you could call it after 4 3/4 miles) the rest of the way. I felt great. Did some stretches ... grabbed a banana, orange and drank my protein drink.
So, what did I learn? Nutritionally, I felt right on. I probably could have even maintained my 7:15 pace longer. Hydration ... I am going to have to work on this. Researching this says you shouldn't need to hydrate during a race of this length (<45 minutes) but I think we are in a different bucket here. But, I know I also over-heated, too, so I had some extra liquid loss there, which ties to what to wear for a race. I have never had this issue during training, but racing is far more rigorous so I need to have a different clothing plan there.
Thanks for reading and good luck to any and all who decide to take up running. I have to say I am loving it and couldn't have done it without my sleeve.
Last night was my running group's first training. Every Wednesday evening will be at a track working on speed and Saturday morning will be a long run going different distances on different routes. There are 4 groups, Marathon, Half-marathon, 10K and 5K. There are about 15 pace coaches as well. Our group of about 80 runners will be put in different buckets depending on which distance we are training for and the pace we run. The pace groups start at 7:30 minute miles and go up to 14 minute miles, but I am not sure the incremental breakdowns between. As the weeks go by, if our training is going well or poor, we can switch groups, distance or pace, which is nice. Takes a bit of the pressure off.
Last night, Wednesday, we were at the track working on figuring out which pace group we were going to fall into. Our coach had us start with two warm-up laps at a moderate pace. We then had someone from Therapeutic Associates show us some pre-run stretching routines. Next up was a 1 mile run at a pace where you could hold a conversation. Pace has always been an issue for me, and with all the people there, I think I ran a bit faster than I should have. I completed the mile (4 laps) in 8:08. After about a 5 minute rest, he had us run laps. Marathoners did 4 laps with a 30 second break in between, Halfers, 3 laps, 10Kers, 2 and 5Kers, 1. We were supposed to run at the same pace as our mile, but again, I failed miserably at that. I should have been running a lap at around 2 minutes, but was well under 2 minutes. I think all the adrenaline and people just gets me going, but I really need to follow the coach's directions. It will help prevent injury and put me in the pace group I belong. There is no reason for me to bite off more than I can chew.
We finished with two cool-down laps which was supposed to be at 50% effort, but again, I was running at just over 8:30 ...
Last night I attended the introduction seminar for a running group to train for a half marathon to be held on July 4th. It was pretty exciting, I have to say. There were over 150 people there. We got a cool tech shirt and socks and a brief intoduction to the program. We will get together twice a week, Wednesdays at a track to work on speed and strength and on Saturday mornings for a long run. These runs will be all over town and in Vancouver as well, each week somewhere new with varying distances going up to a max of 12 miles.
I bought a Garmin 405 GPS watch today which has a heart rate monitor. Last weekend, I bonked after 4 miles going at a 8:15/mile pace, so this morning, I slowed it down to a 9:00/mile and ran just shy of 5 miles and felt fine. One of my struggles is pace, so, instead of trying to pace based on time, I am going to pace based on heart rate. We'll give this a try so I can try to get a basic feel for a pace.
Nutrition is also going to be one of my struggles. I am finding it difficult to eat enough. 1,200 calories isn't going to cut it running 4/5 miles per day. Just think when I am running 8/10/12 miles. I tried an energy gel this morning before my run, so that could be why I was able to do this morning bonk-less. It is going to be an experiment, for sure. I have some whole wheat spaghetti with chicken for lunch, so we'll see how I feel and recover.
Also, I am running in the Valentine's Run on the 12th. I signed up for the 8K, which is 5 miles, so I should be OK with that since I am running that distance in training, now.
I will continue to post on my training over the next 20 weeks or so leading up to the half marathon, so click on the Follow just above to the left if you want to stay tuned. I will post everything I learn about this training as it relates to me and my sleeve.
Well, this has to be a first. I have actually lost weight over the holidays. About 10 pounds! It isn't like I tried to lose ... I actually cheated quite often. I made at least a couple dozen batches of english toffee and sampled all the goodies brought into the house as well as the office.
But, there lies the difference from this year to years past. Sampled. Not overloaded. Not engourged. Plus, I am exercising more and not overloading at mealtimes, either. I just wonder how much I would be down if I hadn't sampled.
Which makes me wonder ... I am now in the 180's weight-wise. I am working out and lifting weights, but I am suprised that I am still losing at the rate I am. I don't want to turn into some whimpy looking dude with a bunch of extra skin dangling all over the place ... But, I can still feel fat around my body, so ... I guess there is more to lose. I can pretty much eat anything I want. Bread still feels lumpy, so I have one bite every few days.
