Training For My First Next Marathon

Number 4

2011-10-19T11:11:00.003-04:00

(Has it really been a year?)

I ran another marathon on Sunday. The Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon. I wasn't in as good shape as last year, and it was really windy, but I finished in 4:03:31.

I would really have liked to get in under 4, but overall it was a good performance. I stopped for the portapotty at about 5 miles in. I shouldn't have waited for it, but there were only 2 people (guys!) in front of me, and I knew my time wasn't going to be great anyway. In the end, that break took 4:16 and was really annoying. (As a comparison I took another pit-stop later in the race, and I was only off the course for 0:46.) I'm not sure that doing something different (bushes?) would have led to a sub 4 finish, but when I ended up missing it by less than that bathroom break it was frustrating.

I crossed the half at 2:03:15. I knew that didn't bode well for a sub 4, but I felt I had more in me. Around mile 15 (I say around - the course was measured in Km which was confusing), I picked up the speed. I was finishing Km's in just under 5:30 and I started doing the math. I could see that I was still going to miss by a minute or two, but I had a fantasy of really burning through the finish.

As it turned out, I couldn't make up the lost time. Even though I wasn't going to make it, I pushed myself to keep running hard, even though my quads were hurting. I slowed a tiny bit, finishing Km's in about 5:40, but for the most part hung on through to the finish. I thought I could get a sub 2 second split, but even missed that - coming in with 2:00:16 for the second half.

I'm still pretty proud of that negative split. (Although if you take away the bathroom stops both splits are pretty even at about 1:59!) I had put in the miles for this race, but not the hard work of speed workouts or enough tempo runs. It was also a tough day to race, although not really a tough course. The mental toughness to keep going is something that I didn't really have earlier on in my racing experience.

Just recovering now, and haven't thought about the next one yet. I have been thinking about moving down to half's and concentrating on speed. But I've said that before...

The Aftermath

2010-11-11T21:23:00.006-05:00

Well the video is online:

You can see me on the right of the screen, wearing my trademark marathon outfit (see above). Notice the cramping at the end, and then the limping away. Ouch. I limped forward to get my medal, heat sheet, and food. Then began the long walk to the baggage.

They start the baggage trucks in reverse order, and so truck 62 was first. I had to walk back to 29, and then to about 14 to get out of the park. Mile 27! As I limped along, people kept asking me if I was alright. On the 5th guy, I said I was really cramped, which meant he started walking with me to the medical tent. He handed me off to another volunteer, and by the time I was at the medical tent, I decided to just keep going. I didn't want to stop - I just wanted to get out of the park.

I was not in as bad shape as after my first marathon, but not in as good shape as last time. As I exited the park I tried to stretch but found that I couldn't really do it. It either hurt too much, or I physically couldn't get into the right position. It's now been 4 days, and I can still feel pain in my calves and the bottom of my hamstrings. Last time by this time I had gone out for a short run. I may try tomorrow morning - but it will be a gameday decision.

I need to analyze how the run went, but I think I'll leave that for another post...

The Race

2010-11-09T12:01:00.007-05:00

Mile 1: Over the Verrazano we went. It was crowded, but I tried not to do too much dodging. But I had to a little, just to keep some space to run. I tried to keep in mind that iwas a long day ahead. I ended up running the first mile (which is uphill) in 9:29. Nice slow pace, I thought to myself.

Mile 2: I kept up with what I thought was a slow and comfortable pace. Until I passed the marker, and hit the Garmin. 8:18. Fast, but I figured it had the downhill part of the bridge.

Mile 3: Still keeping a steady comfortable pace. I wasn't wearing headphones so I could concentrate on my breathing - which was totally fine. Finished the mile in 8:07. I was concerned that it was too fast, but I felt really good. Who knows, maybe it was a good day for a PR. Definitely the perfect weather for it.

Miles 4-8: I felt like a machine. 8:07, 8:07, 8:04, 8:04. Nice and steady. I'd forgotten how enthusiastic the crowds in Brooklyn were. They were amazing, cheering each runner like they knew them. (I found myself looking at the fans sometimes to see if it was someone I knew - they called my name with such excitement!)

Miles 9-10: The various starting colors merged here, and it got a little crowded. Not terrible, just a little less space. 8:18 and 8:08.

Miles 10-12: Ran through Williamsburg, home of many Hassidic Jews. Always interesting to see their reaction, and there were a fair amount of people cheering - albeit in a much more subdued fashion. 8:08, 8:18, 8:03. (That included a re-tying of one shoe.)

Mile 13: I'd been thinking about the bathroom at eah mile marker when I saw the portapotties. I remembered from reading my old report that I went at mile 13 last year. Part of a scheme to add the time to my first half, in order to get a negative split. I did the same thing this year - though I actually used a portapotty this time. :) 9:07 for the mile with the break.

Mile 14: Over the Pulaski Bridge. I heard someone complain how the bridge was ugly and in such a weird place. I said "look to your left" and as she did she say the Manhattan skyline. "I feel much better" ws the response. I passed the halfway point at 1:49:15. I was feeling really good. I definitely kept in my mind that the race really starts at the end - but I wasn't tired. I made some calculations in my mind and figured out that even if I slowed down in the second half, I could still set a PR. Unexpected, but it would be really cool. I finished the mile (which included the bridge) in 8:24.

Mile 15: This includes the beginning of the Queensboro Bridge - the real monster of the NYC Marathon. I managed to keep running even as many people slowed to a walk. But it's a long bridge. Only about a third of this mile included the bridge, and my split was 8:45.

Mile 16: The bulk of the bridge. I felt like I was putting in the same effort, but my Garmin was showing my a pace of over 10 min/mile on the uphill. The distance measurement was passing noticeably slower. After thinking about the PR in the morning, I could feel it slipping away here. 9:06 for the mile.

Mile 17-18: A little surge of the downhill ramp, and the entry into Manhattan. Tons of crowds at this point, and it really energizes a runner. I was supposed to see a friend here - but way too crowded and I never saw him. 8:34 and 8:40. Not bad splits, but I could feel that it was harder to get these splits.

Mile 19-20: The crowd thins out as we moved higher up on 1st Avenue. And then the Willis Ave Bridge. I remembered stopping to stretch here in 2005, and I just kept pushing on. 8:54 and 9:10. I had no ability to speed up and this point, and the PR was clearly gone. I had a secondary goal which I'd been saying all week, and that was to finish in under 9 minute miles. That's what I was shooting for now.

Mile 21: The Bronx. My home borough, though not really in that neighborhood. They had pumped up music there and a giant video screen where you could see yourself. It was exciting, but I was really tiring. 9:14

Miles 22-23: I was really struggling. I was calculating in my head how likely it was to reach my goal. I was counting on 10 minute miles, and my chances were looking good. My main motivation at this point was just to keep running - I didn't want to stop and walk. That had really been devastating to me in 2005, and I just forced myself to keep going. 9:16 and 9:25.

Miles 24-25: I saw the first friend here after missing all the others. Was really nice, but I was in bad shape.

(I faked the smile for the picture.)

I entered Central Park at 90th and tried to energize myself. There were small rolling hills, and I had nothing left. I was cramping every few minutes. Nothing that made me stop running, but it was altering my stride and I was very uncomfortable. I was grimacing, but I wasn't going to stop. 9:49 and 9:36.

Mile 26: The last mile. In my previous effort, this was my fastest mile of the day. But this was a different day. I was not doing well, but kept focusing on continuing to run without stopping. I had serious cramps in my calves, particularly on the left. It had been bothering me all week, and was really making its presence known now. I soldiered on to Central Park South where I heard someone call my last name. Too crowded to see who it was at the time, but I just wanted to finish. I saw the sign for 1/2 mile left and was really getting excited to be done.

And then, BAM, I got a major cramp just as I was heading back into the park. This was about mile 25.9. This time I had to stop and grab my leg as I hobbled a few steps. One runner ran into me and I apologized as I tried to move to the side. A race volunteer came over to me and put her arm around me, and asked me if I needed to stop. I was so close. I really didn't want to stop, and I said no thanks and hobbled away. After ten or twenty feet it subsided and I continued on. Even with all that drama, I still hit 9:47 for the mile.

Mile 26.2: The big finish. I knew I had nothing left for a sprint, but I guess I tried to speed up just a little. I had reached my goal of continuing to run, I had reached the 9 minute mile goal, and I had reached my next arbitrary goal of getting in under 3:50. I had nothing forcing me to sprint except wanting to finish strong. I just kept up the pace and raised my hands as I came into the finishing area.

And then just for fun, I got another major cramp as I crossed the line. (Should be interesting to see that in the pictures.) I crossed the line hobbling, and only stopped my watch a little later. My official time, I later found out, was 3:49:04.

The Lead Up

2010-11-08T11:25:00.008-05:00

I started earlier this year way out of shape. I'd put on about 20 pounds over the winter, and was the heaviest I'd ever been. Through February I'd run a grand total of 2 miles. I started off slow with 30 miles in March, and then 72 in April. I continued to build a base until starting marathon training in earnest in July. By the time the marathon came I'd run 829 miles for the year. And I was 25 pounds lighter.

I'd been real careful through the whole cycle and felt no pain in my legs at any point. I slowly added distance, and then only added in speed in the later months.

Unfortunately, in the last week I've had some trouble. I started feeling cramping during the day, particularly in my left cramp. I wasn't sure if it was from pushing too hard in my last track workout, or just "taper madness" as I eased down on the running. (And started obsessing about the marathon!) Either way, I didn't feel so confident in the last week. Well, I wasn't going to cancel at this point...

Saturday I carb-loaded. (Like I do every day!)

I spent Saturday night trying to figure out what to wear. I ended up finding my old marathon shirt from 2007, with my name on it. I got a good idea for "sleeves" to use knee socks. (Or what I'd call tube socks.) I cut off the tips so my hand could go through, and used gloves for my hands. But these stayed up much better than sleeves cut off from another shirt.

I obsessed about socks and shoes. I ended up using a new pair of Asics Nimbus socks, and went with my old Nimbus shoes. I was worried that the new ones had caused me problems - and I still think they may have hurt me. So I went with the old ones which had just under 350 miles on them.

Sunday morning I got up at 4:45. Showered, had coffee and oatmeal, and got ready. It was a new month on the Jewish calendar, which calls for longer morning prayers. There were actually services in the Athletes Village, but I didn't think I'd get there that early. The earliest I could pray at home was at 5:41 and so that's when I started. I was out of the house shortly after 6.
I should mention that I was assigned to a 6:15 ferry to Staten Island. I remembered from last time that the ferry situation is a complete mess, with nobody checking what time you're supposed to be there. (How could they anyway? It's public transportation.) Also, for me to get to the bottom of Manhattan at 6am is very difficult. The subways don't run so frequently at 4am. (And c'mon, 4am for a 10 o'clock race!!) As it turns out, even at 6am the subway was a mess. I drove into the city to miss all the local stops in the Bronx. I ended up still requiring 3 trains, and then a shuttle bus to the ferry.

At the ferry station I overheard people saying that it was so crowded at 6, the people had to wait over a half hour to get on a ferry. I smiled inwardly as I got on a ferry in less than 5 minutes.
On the other end there were shuttle buses taking us to the start line. Once again it was so much better doing this at 8:20 versus 7:20 (or 6:20!). I still had to wait in the cold exposed area, but it wasn't too long.

I ended up getting to the athletes village about 8:50. It had taken me about 2 hours and 45
minutes to get there from home. (It would end up taking me just 5 minutes longer to get back to the Bronx by foot.) I was very happy with that, since it was a cold morning.

A little hard to see, but it was in the 30's at 7 - which is when they wanted me to get there. It was around 45 degrees by 9, and the sun was out. Much more comfortable.

I hung out by the baggage trucks and had a second Clif Bar. Within a short time it was time to head to the corrals. I checked my bag and went to the portapotty. There was an announcement that there were 5 minutes left to the corrals being closed. I was next in line. I went in, and thirty seconds later they announced the corrals were closed. Damn. I rushed over anyway.

Well, there was a line extending out the back of each corral. That was good enough for me. I ended up merging with my corral. I was in a lead corral (for the second wave) but ended up being behind a couple of thousand runners. Fine with me - I wanted to start slowly.

I had on a sweat suit, which was good because it was cold. I saw some snuggies there - still not sure if that was a good idea. Easy to get off, but they're open in the front. I had cut up the seams of the sweatpants to make them easier to remove with shoes. It worked out well for me.

Anyway, at 10:10 we headed up towards the start line. After a few announcements, the canon went off, and the familiar strains of Sinatra's "New York, New York" start playing. We were off...

29247

2010-11-05T10:12:00.003-04:00

Marathon day is almost here. And I'm going crazy.

I ran my last track workout on Tuesday, and it called for 6 x 400m. It was my last interval workout, and they were such short intervals, that I couldn't help but push myself. I could tell I was pushing hard, but it didn't feel like I hurt myself. But since then my legs haven't felt quite the same. Occasional twinges and cramps which I haven't felt for 8 months. Maybe it's just "taper madness" but I'm kind of freaking out a little bit. I don't want to limp this thing through. Anyway, still a couple of more days.

I kept track of the weather forecasts, and it has become clear that it will be sunny but cold. Some say that's good for running - but I really don't like the cold. In the insane way this race goes, I'm supposed to take a 6:15 ferry to Staten Island - for a 10:10 start time. And during those few hours before the start, the "real feel" temperature is going to be in the 20's! Forget heat stroke here, we have to worry about frostbite!!

Anyway, I'm rushing to work like usual. Not sure if I'll get another chance to post, but you can track me via my number above. Thanks for the all your support!

New Shoes?

2010-10-26T18:19:00.004-04:00

A little late, but I finally got another set of Nimbus 12's. I used them today on the track, and they were ok. I think. I got new socks as well, and didn't like those. Anyway, I'm not sure whether I should wear these or the old ones for the marathon.
The old ones have 350 miles on them. They don't bother me, but they're old. I figure the new ones will have better cushioning, and maybe help me feel stronger at the end of the day. But maybe they're too stiff, and I don't have enough time to break them in. (If I wore them for all my remaining runs scheduled, I'd have less than 30 miles on them at the start.)
So... any advice?

In other news, I've gone over 800 miles for the year. Considering that I didn't start until March, that's pretty cool. I'd love to break that (arbitrary) barrier of 1000 for the year - but it will be tough to do that after the marathon. I'm kind of burnt out as well.

And just to keep up with the obsession, here's the latest extended forecast.

If you compare this to how it looked a few days ago, you'll see that Marathon Sunday looks about the same. Of course, the three days before it have turned from sunny to rain - so you can see how inaccurate this is at this point.

Not so fast...

2010-10-24T22:09:00.003-04:00

Alright, I spoke too soon. I thought I was getting faster, but then I looked back at my 2007 times, and I'm not that fast.

Yes, I'm faster than I was 25 pounds ago, and at the end of this training cycle. But starting from a bad place means I didn't end in as good a place as I could have. I do seem to be running my interval runs well, but my tempo runs - which I think are clutch for marathon training - are a little off the pace.

In a way I'm kind of happy, since it helps me set some more realistic goals for the marathon. I'll discuss these at a later date.

In the meantime, the 15 day extended forecast has finally hit marathon day. Yay! It's time to obsess about the weather! (Even though I know they're not nearly accurate. They're generally not accurate for the next day, and at this moment, they're not even accurate about what's going on outside my window! But hey, I feel like this is part of the whole marathon process!)

Getting Faster

2010-10-14T22:26:00.002-04:00

Lately, my training runs have been fast. Or what I consider fast. I looked back at where I was in 2007, and in fact, I've been running slightly faster as of late.

Now I'm annoyed. For the majority of this training cycle, I've felt that I was nowhere near where I was in 2007. I started out 20 pounds heavier, and much slower. And so I assumed that a PR was out of the question. Actually, I kind of felt that my 2007 performance would likely be the best ever for me. It was an hour faster than 2005, and I felt I was in really great shape then.

And now, suddenly I feel as though I could actually better my time. Only, that I really haven't trained appropriately. I've run some of these last training runs fast, but I could tell that I wouldn't be able to keep it up. One thing I definitely don't want to do, is crash and burn during this race. I don't want to start too fast, and then suffer through the last 10 miles. (Been there, done that.) And so I'm not certain how to run this race...

It's interesting for me to realize that I have a lot more running potential in me. Quite honestly, I'm tired now and can't really think about doing this again. But I can tell that if I started the training season in good shape, and trained as if I was going to run a 3:30, that I could definitely do it.

I think I'll try and start at a comfortable pace, and then gauge how I'm doing at about 10 miles. Easier said than done, but that's what I'm thinking right now.

(Of course it could be a torrential downpour, or 75 degrees, and all this will go out the window. But it's still too early to obsess about the weather at this point!)

Update - 1 Month to go

2010-10-07T19:35:00.002-04:00

Yeah, I'm not so good at posting anymore. I guess facebook has kind of taken over. Just a lot quicker.

In any case, I've definitely been running. Let's see...

July 109 miles

August 151 miles (PR!)

September 133 miles

Total for the year so far: 717 miles. (Not bad, considering that at the beginning of March I was up to 2!)

I've been using the FIRST method, though a lot of my tempo runs haven't been too exact. I'm sure that will hurt my time, but I'm ok with that.

Also, I was away for the Jewish Holidays in Israel. Really tough to run there with all the hills and high heat. Between the location and the holiday schedule, I'm a little off. Today I ran for only the second time in 9 days: a 20 mile long run on Sunday, and a 10 mile tempo run today. I was pretty fast, but my knees hurt towards the end. I didn't want to stop, but it's concerning a little. And I'm supposed to run a speed workout tomorrow. We'll see...

Today marks 1 month to go until the marathon. I'm actually pretty tired of the training. It's been a big stress finding time for the runs, and making sure I do them. It's been good for me, no doubt. I've lost over 20 pounds and I've gotten much faster than when I started. But it's hard to fit it all in. May move back to the half after this one. (Though I'd have to eat less - which is a problem.) Needless to say, I'm looking forward to the taper.

100 miles

2010-06-30T23:04:00.003-04:00

I reached 100 miles for the month of June. First time since before the marathon - in October 2007.

The weight is kind of stagnating, if not going up a little. A little frustrating. Seems as if I'm going have to give up eating the way I do. (i.e. out of control!) Not happy about that...

I started to work on a training plan for the marathon. I've been good with the long runs, and even doing a little tempo here and there. But the thought of driving out to the track to do intervals is less appealing. Hard to do it with all my early hours these days. And the evenings on the track are impossible - too packed with people going for strolls!

In other news I went for a bike ride today. First time in three years I believe. I need to get a bike...

Upset

2010-06-22T11:07:00.006-04:00

I've been really good, and yesterday my weight had reached a milestone I've been waiting for. However, it was the morning after my Sunday long run, and I refused to count it until I was there for two days in a row. Unfortunately, last night I had a family wedding...

Once the food is in front of me, I have no control. I specifically did not come early, so as to avoid the pre-ceremony "shmorg". I was kind of counting on the actual dinner being unimpressive, as it often is at these events. Nope. When I want the food to be bad, I'm of course disappointed.

Dessert didn't help either.

Part of this weight tracking is this obsession with weighing myself. Since I showered before the wedding, I stepped on the scale once I was in the bathroom. Over the course of 4 hours I was gone for the wedding, I gained 4.5 pounds! Ugh. The next morning's official weigh-in was three pounds up from the day before. So upsetting...

Sigh...

In iPod news, since the shuffle seemed to be working I took it out for my run on Sunday. I had a few things going on in the hospital, so I had my phone with me. The shuffle was working until about 3 miles in, when I got a phone call. I paused the shuffle, and then couldn't get it restarted. So annoying, since I had another 9 miles planned! In the end, I plugged my headphones into my blackberry, and was able to listen to music at least.

I was able to use it for an hour trip to Brooklyn yesterday, and a 45 minute trip back. Today, it worked fine on my run. So temperamental. I'm hoping to get the clip plus delivered tomorrow (super-saving delivery from Amazon is super-slow!) and so this might have been my last run with the shuffle.

Since I know you're all dying to know what happens, I'll keep you posted. :)

Running "Naked"

2010-06-17T18:57:00.002-04:00

I've had iPod troubles. My last 5 or so runs have been "naked", that is without any music or podcasts. It hasn't been too bad, but on several of those occasions I had been expecting the entertainment, and it failed at he last second. That's kind of annoying.

I had a 2nd generation shuffle, which just stopped working out of the blue. I couldn't charge it for days, and then suddenly one day it charged. (I have a replacement charging connector, and I wasn't sure if it was the connector or the shuffle.) Anyway, once I charged it up, I took it out for a run. Nothing. I assumed the battery was dead.

So I order a new player. (Sandisk Clip Plus. I'm Interested to try a non-iPod out.) In the meantime, I've had an old first generation shuffle sitting around the apartment. I bought it as an extra gift many years ago, and then never ended up using it. So I charge it up, load up some songs, and charge it fully overnight. The green light was on. Today I took it out for a run - nothing. Couldn't get it to start.

Strange this is, that when I get back home, the thing works fine. I'm so intrigued that I check out the original shuffle as well. Wouldn't you know, that works fine too. I even took it with me to work, listening to it on the commute both ways. No problem. So weird.

In the meantime, to make things even worse, my amazon order for the new player has been delayed. Halfway through my order being filled, my credit card account was compromised. They closed the account and sent me a new card. The credit card people said the amazon charge would still go through, but today I get an email that there's a problem. Sigh...

Anyway, now I have two players that work. At least in the house. And hopefully the new one next week - which I'm looking forward to. It comes with 2gb for 29 bucks, and I have another 2gb microSD card hanging around. And so, I'll quadruple my current mp3 capacity. This will allow me to put podcasts and music on the same player. I just hope it's not too much of a pain using a non-iPod. I've been using iTunes all these years...

In other news, I put in two short runs this week. 4 on tuesday, and 5 today. I ran today as a slow tempo, just under a 9 minute mile, but no stops. Felt pretty good.... Hope to go nice and long on the weekend. On call Saturday, so hopefully that won't be on no sleep like the last time.

Diet was looking good early in the week. (I skipped the all you can eat!) Took a bit of backward step today, but I ate a lot last night. I weigh myself in the mornings, and so eating at nght really hurts me. (At least it kept me from eating the M&M's in front of me at work today.) I hope to be hitting a major milestone soon, so I'm still sticking to things most of the time.

Sauna Suit Stupidity

2010-06-13T22:50:00.004-04:00

My legs have been sore lately. I think trying to "catch up" my long run after I missed it for the race, was a bad idea. In any case, I took an "easy" day and only ran 10 miles. Feels funny to say that, but the last few weeks have been 11, 12, and 13. Each week the last few miles have been tough, and so today's 10 actually seemed relatively easy. I think it was a good move.

Hypothetically, if I would be starting the FIRST program in a few weeks, I'd start out with a 13 miler. I can already see that I'm not up to snuff to start out the program as prescribed. I don't recommend modifying it, but I may have to do that myself - though I don't expect the same results.

The diet has stalled a little as well - this wasn't a good week for me. I'm trying to get back on track, and at least I haven't really gained much.

Speaking of weight loss, I have noticed this this increasing trend lately of runners wearing these "sauna suits".

This is one of the most idiotic ideas I have seen. The fact that people believe this is helping them is insane. The only use for this is for a weightlifter or boxer to (temporarily!) get down to weight. I don't think any of the overweight "joggers" I see are using it this way. They actually believe that sweating more will lead to more weight loss. It makes me want to stop and educate each one. Firstly, it's dangerous. Second, in all likelihood it leads to less exertion, with the dehydration and overheating leading to earlier exhaustion.

For the record, in these hot summer days I try to run with as little as possible, often wearing sleeveless tops. Even with drinking I get dehydrated. On today's 10 mile run, even with my water belt, I still lost 4 pounds on the run.

I changed the title of this post, on the off chance someone will find it in a google search. If you're considering getting one of these for weight loss, don't do it! To lose weight, you need to burn more calories than you take in. Sweating more does NOT burn calories. It only dehydrates you - which is dangerous and not lasting.

End of rant...

Bad Habits

2010-06-01T11:09:00.003-04:00

I've been going to an all-you-could-eat sushi & chinese place for quite a few years. It's a weekly deal on Mondays. Most of the week I think I'm not going to go, but Monday afternoon I start to feel the pull.

I've tried a few tricks. First I would tell myself I'll only have sushi, which is healthy (healthier?) right? But I'd always give in to the chinese. Then I decided to try the takeout offer. Same deal, except it's not all you can eat, but rather all you can stuff into the plastic container they give you. So I took only sushi. Trouble was, it's a lot of sushi!

For a couple of weeks I was good, and managed to eat the sushi over two days. But the last two weeks I've eaten this ridiculous amount of sushi in one shot. Last night I don't even think I wanted the last few pieces. But I couldn't throw them out either.

Combined with all the soy sauce causing me to retain water, I felt terrible when I was done. This morning, I was 3.5 pounds up from yesterday, and I didn't eat that much else during the day. I can't even put that on my graph, it's so ridiculous.

Since I didn't get a long run in on the weekend, I planned to run 12 this morning. I left early, so it wasn't too hot. (Though it was still pretty hot.) I felt terrible. The first few miles were really a struggle - which I blame directly on last night's dinner.

I was going to shorten the run to 10, but by 5 I felt a little better and so I forged on to about 6 before turning around. In the end the last 2 miles were killer. I was pretty slow all day, running about 10 min miles, a little above or a little below. And I took plenty of walk breaks. But the last two miles were rough. It could be because I was back in the heat again, but I felt wiped. And so with all those calories last night, I still didn't have the energy needed for this run. It was depressing.

And for the record, though I drank 40 oz of water on the run, I was down 3 pounds just from the run. Obviously some dehydration, but I like to think that I was sweating out some of the salt as well. Actually didn't feel that thirsty when I was done, so we'll see what happens.

Anyway, old habits die hard. I'm not ready to swear off this weekly treat of mine, I just think I need to adjust a little. Maybe not stuff the container so full that I can barely snap the lid on? It's a work in progress.

I'm away from my scale tomorrow morning, so the next weigh-in will be Thursday morning. I suspect that might impact how I feel about this Monday extravaganza...

L'Chaim 5K 2010

2010-05-31T12:19:00.004-04:00

This is a small race I've run before. (See here and here.) I was 4th in my age group the first time, and 2nd the next year.

In the signup area I saw a lot of the old crowd. Kind of funny to see the same people each year for this race. We were all talking about past performances. It made me think that this is how the elites must be at races. "Remember last year when you out-kicked me at the end?" At a typical NYRR race I'm well within the pack and much more anonymous. Anyway, I've just recently started adding in speed, so I didn't really expect to compete this year.

The race started at 10:30, and as I had expected, it was really hot this year. Like every year, people always take off at full speed. For the first few minutes there were about 100 people in front of me. These guys fade away within minutes.

I crossed mile 1 at 7:01. Ummmm... that's fast. I ran an 8:12 tempo mile last week and it was hard. And it was at least 10 degrees cooler. Looking at past reports I've thought the first mile was short. With a better quality GPS watch I can definitely see that it's not. Maybe it's all those people in front of me pushing me to run faster. In either case this was too fast for me. I had to slow down. I didn't think I could keep up this pace for the whole race. (Did I mention it was hot!)

I took it down a notch, though it was still tough to keep going. By this time there was only a few people in front of me that I could see. There was one guy who was staying close to me, passing me on the downhills, and falling back on the uphills. Eventually the course flattened out more, and he went up ahead. I hit mile 2 with a 7:44 pace.

The third mile I was really struggling. I didn't want to let up the pace, but it was really a struggle to hang on. I was determined to keep pushing - that's really the purpose of racing, isn't it? I was also starting to think of winning some hardware again. (Not many small races, with 5 year age groups, and 3 trophies per group!)

There was a kid in front of me for about half the race. I later found out he was 12. Obviously not my age group, but I was amazed at his endurance! I had no extra gear to catch him, but at about 2.6 miles he stopped to walk a little. (He ended up finishing 45 seconds behind me. And there were another two kids aged 11 and 12 within the next minute after that. Incredible!)

There was one other guy within reach. I ended up passing him at around 2.8 miles, but he seemed too comfortable. I knew he'd catch me in the end. And he did. At about 3 miles he went right by me. He had a little cheering squad for him yelling out that there was somone (me!) behind him and to leave me in the dust. He didn't have to worry. He only beat me by 3 seconds, but I had nothing left in the tank.

I finished mile 3 in a 7:43 pace. And though I usually finish up the last 0.1 in a fast pace, I couldn't this day.

Total time 23:20 for a 7:31 pace. Age group placing? 4th. Again. I was happy anyway. I hadn't expected to run anywhere near this fast, so it was a really good effort from me.

What's funny is that when I looked at previous reports, I also took a picture of the results. I hadn't remembered doing that, but it was there in the blog. This year I didn't bring a camera, but my blackberry has a pretty good camera. Comparing the results, you can see the same people up there on the list. Most of the people are remarkably consistent. (I guess if I hadn't gained 25 pounds after the last race my time would look more similar to the previous effort. I'm 15 pounds down, and working my way towards the next 10!)

Here's my pace during the race. I definitely started too fast, but I'm happy with my effort to maintain the pace for the rest of the race. It wasn't easy, and half the battle was mental toughness.

I've been thinking of running a race on Father's Day next. It's the tenth anniversary of the first race I ever ran, and so I had sentimental reasons to run it. The downside is that it kills my long run for the weekend. Since I don't run on Saturday, I've only got the one day to run long. There's really no reason for me to run a 5M race in 3 weeks, other than the sentimental one. I'm now leaning against it. Price goes up June 5th so I'll decide soon.

Finally, since I'm not going to run today, I'll summarize May. 87.55 miles, up from 71.98 in April. (Which is up from 30 in March, and 2 in February!)

Diet Update

2010-05-27T22:08:00.003-04:00

Still going strong. The exercising motivates me to keep eating healthy. And the progress is encouraging.

I had set a preliminary goal to lose 15 pounds in 3 months, and I just hit it in about 2 and half months. (As an aside, I just looked up my last major diet and saw that I lost 19 pounds in 2 and a half months that time - and I started and finished at a lower number.)

And so, I've set my next goal. Which is to lose 11 pounds in the next 2 months. I really should aim for 1 pound a week, but it would be nice to hit goal weight in the summer. We'll see. The curve looks do-able, though I know it will get tougher near the bottom.

In running news, I started adding in a little speed. So far just a couple of tempo runs, mostly because I've been too lazy to go to the track. I 'm scheduled for a 5K this Sunday. I had hoped to use it as a test of my current running speed. Unfortunately, the forecast is for 88 degrees. And this being only a semi-serious event, they're starting the race at 10:30. Kind of sucks. I'll probably still run the Father's Day Race in Central Park. It's a 5 Miler though, which is a little different. I'm using the FIRST book that I've talked about in the past. A lot of their tables are based on your 5K time. So I was hoping to get a good idea of that on Sunday. And it won't happen in 80 degrees...

Have a good (long) weekend!

Back Online

2010-05-17T09:10:00.008-04:00

My computer was down for a few days - quite difficult to live without. Ended up having to replace the motherboard, and I'm back in business.

Keeping up the running, and I'm really happy with that. I've been really disciplined with the build up of miles, and I've managed to get a significant amount of base miles in that fashion. I've been running a little over 20 miles a week the last month. Not a crazy amount, but enough to get me ready to start formal marathon training in a month. Also, I've built up my long run in a slow progression: 6, 4 (race), 7, 8, 9, 10, 11.

The consistency is what I'm most proud of. Compare my running in the first few months, with the last few months. (Running days in bold.)

This has all helped with the weight loss too, though I think watching what I eat is even more important. Combined though, I've been doing well:

The weekends have not been good for the diet, mostly because of the large Sabbath meals. Tomorrow night begins another 2 day religious holiday, full of food - including religious significance to eating cheesecake. (And I'm not making this up!) I'll try and stay strong...

5KK

2010-05-07T17:43:00.002-04:00

No time for a long post, but if you go to "life time" in the training log section of my sidebar, you will see 3106.13 miles. And this only represents the amount since I started keeping track less than 5 years ago.

Anyway, that number represents 5000 km. Or 1000 5K's. (Or 5KK!)

In the meantime I'm keeping up the running and the weight loss. More updates on that when I have time.

Happy weekend!

Kosher Gatorade Update

2010-04-29T19:32:00.002-04:00

I tried the lemon-lime G stuff. Not that great. Today I had to do some shopping. I decided to run and end up at the drugstore. I ended up buying a fruit punch G2. Pretty good. Tasted like a melted freeze pop.

Bigger problem is that the stuff at the marathon won't be kosher anyway. As a result of a question in the comments here I realized that not all Gatorade products would be kosher. I emailed them, and as it turns out, the Endurance formula will not be kosher at this time. And of course, that's what they serve at the marathon.

So now there's no incentive for me to use it - or get used to it. Unless I carry my own Gatorade for the marathon - which I won't - I'll be stuck drinking water anyway. So I might as well stick with that.

At least I can save $1.69 for a 20oz bottle...

Battling the Elements

2010-04-27T19:54:00.002-04:00

I've been so good at keeping up the running lately, that I was kind of down about all the rain on Sunday. I was planning on running in the morning and heading to the hospital in the afternoon. But it was really pouring in the morning, and I decided to just head to work early.

I think in the end I probably would have blown off the run. But when I got back I saw a whole bunch of facebook status updates from people who had run the More Half Marathon that morning. 6,360 finishers in the pouring rain! Well even though I didn't have the commitment of already having paid a entrance fee, I was still inspired to head out and run in the drizzle.

It was mildly annoying in the beginning and my neighbor even suggested I bring an umbrella. But in the end it really wasn't bad at all, and I was so glad I did it. Got in a little more than 8 miles.

Today it was super windy when I started. Couldn't hear my ipod - just wind. I thought it was going to be really tough, but I had no intention of quitting. In the end, once again, it wasn't bad at all.

So I'm happy with the running so far. Really just base miles - no speedwork or anything else. Maybe in a few weeks, but I want to be careful not to get hurt.

The diet is going well as well. Skipped all-you-can-eat sushi/chinese last night, and all-you-can-eat bbq tonight. (You can see how I gained all the weight previously!) The weight doesn't seem to come off as easily as it did 5 or 10 years ago, but it's coming.

Progress

2010-04-22T19:40:00.003-04:00

This is my weight goal and progress. (Courtesy of fridegraph.com) Though I started over a month ago, I've really focused more on my eating the last week or so. It's nice to see a little progress. (2 pounds per box in that graph, so I'm down 7 so far.)

I also checked my cholesterol this week. Not great. (Not horrible, but should be better.) I hope to keep up the weight loss and exercise, and then recheck it in the summer. In the meantime I had an avocado for dinner. (Lots of garlic and salt - nothing wrong with my blood pressure!)

In other food related news, Gatorade is finally kosher. For the first time I went to buy some. My preference would have been to get the G2, which is less calories. But my guess is that the stuff they'll give at races will still be the original, in lemon-lime flavor. So that's what I went with, and I'm interesting to see how it goes. I'm planning on running 86 miles on Sunday now that I've got this stuff...

Anyway, I'm still running. Did some traveling last week, but managed to get in 3 runs for 17 miles. So far this week I've run twice, so I'm hanging in there. I'm just trying to build up some "base" miles before beginning marathon training in earnest a few months from now. (I'm also trying to be careful not to overtrain and get hurt.)

Now back to NHL Playoffs...

Race Day!

2010-04-11T14:35:00.006-04:00

My first race today in over 6 months. Man, was it good to be out there.

The weather was absolutely perfect. Like usual I got there 2 minutes before the start. The officials were actually going to let me in to the red section, up near the front. (Usually, if you're not there 15 minutes early you have to head to the back.) I told them I was way out of shape and needed to go to the back anyway. I ended up joining in a few sections back. It seemed to work out well as I had plenty of space to run.

Not to bore you with details, but basically I ran without music, and just paid attention to my breathing. I was able to keep things controlled the entire race. (Actually interesting to hear people huffing it out right from the first mile.) I've been running about 9:30 pace lately, and I just tried to stay comfortable out there.

I hit the first mile marker at 8:52 and was somewhat surprised. I still felt pretty good. The second mile didn't have the hill that the first did, and I hit the mile marker at 8:33. Wow. The third mile had some slow elevations, and I started to feel a little tired. I could see my HR heading into the 170's. (First time I've worn my HR monitor in who knows how long.) I think I slowed down just a touch to make sure I'd have enough left to finish strong. Third mile went by in 8:50. As I headed into the last mile I felt ready to take it on. I started pushing a bit, but not too much. At about 3.5 miles I was really feeling it, but was determined to finish strong. I held on until I turned the last corner and really poured it on for the finish. Final mile went by in 8:17.
Final time was 34:34 for an 8:38 pace. Not close to my PR (not even in the same ballpark), but much faster than I've been running in training. It's just incredible how a race can help you do that.

Anyway, here's the pictorial representation:

Comfortable start, fast second mile, slowed a touch for the third, strong finish to the end.

HR controlled until mile 3, somewhat steady in the low 170's and then a climb in that last push. I was back to 140 within a few minutes of the race, but above 100 for at least an hour. Will need to keep an eye on that.

In the end, it was a great day. Nothing triumphant, but a good reminder of what it's like. I probably won't do a lot of races in the next few months, until I get in better shape. But here and there I'll do a few. In the meantime I need to get back into better shape.

I'm Back

2010-04-07T23:38:00.006-04:00

Well, I made it back from the holidays. Over the 10 times I managed to run 3 times. (Which is not bad considering that 5 days were religious holidays with running not an option.) The first two were as previously mentioned, on the treadmill. The last one was a beautiful 6 mile run on the "Belt Line". I didn't bring a camera, but it's a really nice place to run. Here's a couple of pictures I found online which gives you a sense:

I guess there weren't too many leaves yet, but it felt like the first picture, since it was a really sunny day. I also ran with my brother which was pretty cool. He really only got into running recently, having run a half-marathon in the winter. (And I'm not sure he would say he's "into" running - but I'm working on it.) I knew I was keeping him back for most of the run, and so in the last mile I let him finish up on his own. He ran ahead, but came back to finish with me anyway. It was a really good run.

Today I did a little shopping, and it was right next to a pizza store. I must admit I tried to get some pizza, but the post-Passover rush was on. It wasn't worth waiting in line. I ended up going home and putting in another 4 miles, and had a smallish dinner later.

Tomorrow morning is my official weigh-in after the holidays. I think I did well, and I'm curious (anxious?) to see the number.

Bad Math

2010-04-01T14:48:00.004-04:00

I'm visiting my parents for Passover. Never managed to get a run in before I left on Sunday, but did run on Monday before the holidays, and a short run today. 6.4 + 4.55 = 10.95 miles. For my weight I'm guessing that's about 1200 calories burnt.

On the intake side, I've had about 20 pieces of matzoh (2400 calories), ten cups of wine - eight official, two recreational - (~1500 calories), and three days of my mom's cooking (20,000 calories). See the problem here?

Seriously though, I'm doing my best to keep a handle on things. And there's practically a full gym in the basement here. We'll see what happens when I get back and weigh in...

Short Post

2010-03-26T11:22:00.002-04:00

Yeah, another post. I'm sure to burn out...

Just did a quick run, and it was really hard. Had to walk after 1.5 miles (and was thinking about it at 1)! Was a little disappointed, but when I got home I could see that I was running faster than I thought. 9:32 per mile. Sadly, this used to be ridiculously slow for me. But now it's faster than I've been running, so at least I can tell why I struggled.

Anyway, I hope to get a "long" run in on Sunday before heading home for Passover.