2007 Goals

1) Target Weight 164#
2) Finish Fargo Marathon
3) Finish Outerbanks Marathon
4) Finish Beardsley Half-Marathon
5) Run 29:59 5K
6) Scout Twin Cities Marathon
7) Scout Grandma's Marathon
8) Add track/speed work in 3rd Quarter.
9) Stock up on some really cool "Pre" t-shirts
10) Help Cooper run 5 kids races.
11) Help Paige run a 5K

-46 is good news

-46* is COLD!!! Good thing the windchill was not that low last night! -46 pounds is good news. My Saturday weigh in was 246, which is down 46# from my June 17th weight of 292 and down 86# from my all-time high of 332.

I am now in my 16th week of my running program and getting my runs in has become second nature; I don't feel comfortable if I don't sneak one into my schedule. I am now consistently at 20 to 25 miles per week. My pace has not picked up much, but I am running at the right heart rate and building endurance. I started not being able to jog for two full minutes; now I can go four to six miles easily without a walk break. I am eating better and I now feel changes in my body; I am training it to be a fat burning machine!

This effort is opening up new opportunities for activities for my photography and art and opening up new possibilities for activities with my son. It is worth every second of it.

26*, 30-40mph wind and snow; good run

Ran last night around 7:30pm in falling snow and a strong north wind. Run felt surprisingly good. My wind shell jacket and pants were up to the challenge and I was actually a bit warm towards the end. Falling snow made for a quiet night and I basically had the greenway trails to myself.

Came home to a warm shower, a chance to tuck Cooper into bed with a kiss, and a bowl of pasta, a pork chop, and some raw carrots. Only thing to make it less than perfect is the Vikings play, but I am repressing that nicely. . .

Rain and Snow tonight

Forecast is for a "Winter storm warning" tonight; or at least some rain and snow. I was listening to the weather last night and I almost went for a second run last night (55*; great evening!!!). But I was really tired and went home and went to bed early. So, instead I am looking at the weather reports and wondering when I can get a run in tonight and also get the pumpkins carved and other things done. . .

23+ miles last week. I am going to walk around in a new pair of shoes today to break them in as my Saucny Grid 3D's are pushing 250+ miles. . .

Saturday's run

A 7.5mile morning run along the river this morning. Started a bit cold by warmed up to be a nice day. Legs felt kinda dead in the last 1.5 miles and the muscles around my left knee hurt a bit.

Off for a short run this morning (3-4 miles).

ORN's (obligiatory running notes

10/19 -- 6.16 miles-- I ran about two miles, then went into run club and listened to a review of Asics clothing and shoes. Then did another 4+ miles with the run club.

10/21 -- I was on call for work, so I could not run outside where I would be away from my phone and ability to respond to calls. So I did 4 miles on the treadmill.

10/23 -- Greenway, 4.68 miles, nice fall evening.

10/24 -- Greenway for another 3.87 miles, again, nice evening.

10/26 -- Greenway 4.31 miles. It was afternoon and turned out to be alot warmer than I thought and I was overdressed. I was trying to do a pace run, but ended up going out too fast and had dead legs in the second half of the run. Not real happy with either my pace or heart rate.

I decided and mapped out my marathon plan for spring. I am using one of Hal Higdon's 18 week plans. I will modify it a bit because my current mileage is higher than he has us running for the first couple of weeks, so I will up the mileage to my weekly average until the plan exceeds that and then build with the plan.

Gotta run! ;)

Marathon fueling

"Determining your total calorie needs

Step 1: Determine running calorie expenditure per mile
0.63 x body weight (pounds)

Step 2: Determine goal race pace or how many miles per hour you'll cover
Example: An eight-minute miler will cover 7.5 miles/hour

Step 3: Calculate hourly expenditure based on goal race pace
Example: An eight-minute miler would multiply 7.5 by the figure from step 1.

Step 4: Determine hourly calorie replacement needs
0.3 x the figure from step 3 (Note: Research shows runners can physically absorb about 30 percent of what they expend.)"

Link

Interesting. . .

See Kim Mueller's full article for some applied case studies.

Carbo Loading Down Under

"The Western Australia
Carbo-Loading Method

1. During the pre-race week, eat normally while training lightly until the day before a longer race.
2. On the morning of the day before the race, perform a very brief, very high-intensity workout.
3. Consume 12 g of carbs per lb. of body weight over the next 24 hours."

Link

Going to try this. Also be aware of this note:

"The Western Australia carbo-loading strategy works best if preceded by a proper taper -- that is, by several days of reduced training whose purpose is to render your body rested, regenerated, and race-ready."

Good luck!

Workout for building vo2Max

"The best way to do this would be to alternate short intervals run at vVO2max with short 'floats' (jogging recoveries) at perhaps half of vVO2max. Keeping the hard intervals short would delay fatigue by preventing acid buildup in the muscles from getting out of hand. Keeping the floats short would prevent oxygen consumption from falling very far before hard work resumed.

The workout format she settled on was highly unorthodox, consisting of 30-second bursts at vVO2max separated by 30-second floats and repeated to failure (that is, until vVO2max can no longer be sustained for 30 seconds). In testing this format Billat found that some runners were able to amass more than 18 total minutes at VO2max, almost one third of it occurring during their jogging recoveries! A group of moderately fit runners increased their VO2max by 10% (that's huge) in just 8-10 weeks when they added twice weekly 30-30 sessions to their training.

The only question is, how do you determine your vVO2max? The only sure way is to perform a graded exercise test in a laboratory environment. But you can get a close approximation simply by running a six-minute time trial on a track. Divide the total distance you run in six minutes by 12 to get the distance covered per 30 seconds. Suppose you run 1,720 meters in your six-minute time trial. 1/12 of this distance is 143 meters. This is roughly how far you should run your hard 30-second intervals in your 30-30 workouts. Here are some other guidelines:

* Warm up with 10 minutes of easy jogging
* Set the countdown timer on your watch for 30 seconds and reset it immediately at the beginning and end of each interval
* Run 30 seconds at your vVO2max (control your pace by trying to cover exactly 1/12 of the distance you covered in your six-minute time trial)
* Jog 30 seconds at roughly half vVO2max
* Repeat this process until you can no longer cover the designated distance at vVO2max (16-24 intervals are the norm)
* Cool down with 10 minutes of easy jogging
* Do this workout once a week for four to six weeks beginning right after you've completed your winter/spring base building. (Expect to see the number of intervals you're able to complete gradually increase from session to session; expect to see your pace increase gradually as well)
* After four to six weeks, switch to a 60-60 format for four to six weeks
* After another four to six weeks, switch to a format of five, three-minute intervals at vVO2max with three-minute jogging recoveries for four to six weeks"

Link

Great article by Matt Fitzgerald. Be sure to check out his book Runner's World Performance Nutrition for Runners (Rodale, 2005).

Running Podcasts

I have joined the iPod generation and started listing to podcasts. I have found "running" podcasts and love them! The podcasts are basically radio shows by runners for runners. Like everything else, including blogs, they range from boring to fantastic. Here is short review of a few of them:

1) Phedippidations by Steve Runner. (http://www.steverunner.com/

I love this one. Steve is a self-identified" middle of the pack runner. His broadcasts are always interesting, he mixes in interviews, mp3 comments listeners have sent in, and even some music. Most podcasts are approx 55 minutes. The archives have 67 podcasts and Steve has been consistent at releasing 1 per week.

2) http://www.irunningradio.com/

I definately enjoyed these and recommend iRunningRadio. Content is good; duration is good. Jim Reimann communicates well to beginning and average runners that are looking to improve and enjoy running. Jim is joined by his wife Bonnie and other guests as topics dictate. I especially recommend the shows on "Best Running Movies" and "iPod Running Lists" iRunningRadio has published 29 podcasts since November 2005. I would love to see them more often, but my guess is Jim is spending most of his time these days on his podcast on Fantasy Football. . .

3) Runner's World http://www.runnersworld.com/marathon/archive.html

Good Information from great sources (Amby Burfoot on Long Runs!!). That said, the average length is 7 minutes including intro and exit songs. There have been 9 episodes this fall focused on the fall marathon season. I really hope they will continue and expand their podcasts, but we will have to wait and see. . .

4) Competitor's Radio http://www.competitorradio.com/archive.php

I have only listened to 2 or 3 podcasts here. The interview of AJ Acosta is fantastic! Same with the interview of Bill Rogers. Duration is good. I don't honestly know enough about them to rate them on frequency of podcasts. The show is also wider than just running. A lot of the shows in the archives are interviews of cycling or triatheletes, and focus on topics other than running.

5) Run Cast Weekly http://www.runcastweekly.com/podcast.htm

I will put this one here without a recomendation. Topics list looks good, but the last posted podcast is August 29, 2006. I will post updates here when I have had a chance to listen to them.

I plan on putting up a permeanent sidebar with links for these.

Twilight run

It was a chilly October night, with the smell of leaves strong on the air. The rain had stopped, remaining was a few puddles to jump. I ran into the night with a peace and a solitiude that amazes me. 3 months ago, I could not run 1/5 of a mile; now I ran 3.1 miles with little perceived effort and I felt great. I probably could have used a bit more for "wind barrier", but overall I had a great time.

I got home and Cooper asked "how far did you run daddy?" When I said "3 miles", he responded "Wow, cool!!!!" Warmed my heart.

Speed advice?

Situation: I am still overweight (about 80 to 90# above where I want to be for running), and I am slow (race = 12 min/mile; training = 14:20 or so per mile). It is also getting ready for snow to fly. I am running my first marathon in May of 2007 and if I continue losing weight at the rate I have done for the last 90 days, I will be at target weight next July/August.

My current thinking is that I continue with endurance and mileage work and not worry about speed. I feel this will lower my risk of injury and help me with my marathon goals in the long term. This does mean that I am looking at a 5:50 to 6:20 time for my first marathon. I will start adding speed work in the spring when I can get on outdoor tracks and my weight is down lower.

I am open to advice on this; please chime in with emails and comments!

Thanks.

Recovery Sunday

Legs felt sore this morning from yesterday's run. Then I had to go into the office for a couple of hours to work on a problem. Still, I felt like a good run would help. Bundled Paige and Cooper in the car and set off for the greenway. Cooper rode his bike, Paige walked, and I took off jogging. Ended up covering over three miles at a slow pace (3.23miles, 45:24), and I felt great. The legs stretched out well and felt fine. I actually had my first hammy pain yesterday (verry little, but enough to feel and be scared!) Today, it felt 100% normal.

I also found a running track with public access for speed work that is about a mile from our place. So that will factor into my training plans for speedwork.

Woops, buried the lead -- I ran in shorts in the setting sun on what may be the last warm day of the fall. . .

Semi-Long Run

This maybe the last warm and sunny Saturday of the year. Still a bit windy and crisp, but overall a fun run (7.26miles; 1:45:15). Heart rate started slipping up into a higher zone too much in the second half of the run, but I felt good and enjoyed myself.

Legs felt a bit sore last night, but overall it was a nice endurance run with no complaints on my part. . .

Saucny Grid 3D shoe's went over 200 miles. I purchased another pair last week and I will start using them this week after they are "broken in."

Live long and prosper

This is from Hal Higdon's book Master Running (Rodale Press, 2005, p. 61)

Fitness Category	Exercise Calories Burned	Miles per Week	Risk Factor	Extra Years Life
Unfit	0	0	1.0	0
Somewhat Fit	500	5	0.80	2
More Fit	1000	00	0.50	6
Still More Fit	2000	20	0.350	8
Superfit	3500	35	0.25	9

"The . . . chart is based not on the work or words of any one scientist, but rather on coversations with many of them. In five categories, it suggest how many calories a week you need to burn through exercise which could include running, to lower your risk factor of dying young and thus extending the length of your life." (Higdon p.61)

Cold Run II

Air temp was about 44* around 1pm to day when I set out. Sun was bright and warm, but there was still some snow on the ground from Wednesday's storm and a 35 to 40mph North wind kept things chilly and challenging. Despite the conditions, I did 4.33 miles.

I realize I also posted an article on "fat burning" that said run in an aerobic range rather than anerobic. Today, my heart rate was too high. I did not feel that short of breath, and was still able to sing from time to time. But my heart rate monitor said I was too fast and to intense for the best benefits.

Going to fast on endurance runs increases the chances of injury and does not help with fat burning. I will need to watch this, especially to see what the effect of temperature will have on getting the right pace for my winter runs.

Losing Fat

Myths:

There are secret shortcuts; 5 minute per day, three time per week exercises and magic pills that can burn fat. Fact: there is no medicaly evidence that any of them work, and there is clear medical evidence that some of the drugs are VERY dangerous. Unfortunately, you put the fat on one gram at a time and you will have to burn it off the same way. . .

Walking is enough. Here is the great deception. If you are sedentary, walking has many immediate health benefits. But is does not burn fat. It simply does not get your heart rate fast enough. Running is still the best exercise for most people to get their heart rates in the right zone to burn fat.

Faster and farther is better. Nope. The goal is to stay in the right heart rate zone for a longer time. Actually, running too fast is counter-productive. You can do Run/Walk of various paces and intervals, as long as you keep your heart in the target range of 65% to 75% of your max heart rate.

What works to burn fat:

Running for at least 45 minutes. when you start running, you body is burning 80% carbs and only about 20% fat. At fifteen minutes, you start increasing the amount of fat you are burning. At 30 minutes, the ratio is 50/50. By 45 minutes, you are burning mostly fat. (See David L. Costill "A Scientific Approach to Distance Running") (see also Jeff Galloway, Galloway's Book on Running, 2nd Edition Shelter Publications, 2002, pp.237-8 & p29)

Aerobic exercise is key. "Fast anaerobic exercise burns sugar; slow aerobic exercise burns fat. Fat in the muscle cells can be burned only when there's an adequate supply of oxygen. This is aerobic exercise; exertion that is done at an easy-enough pace so that the blood can provide all of the oxygen needed by the muscles. As soon as you increase the pace beyond your current capacity . . . the muscles can't get enough oxygen to burn fat and so they shift back to the readily available by inefficient energy source, glycogen." (Galloway p. 238) Stated another way: "at 40percent VO2max (an easy job), fats supply about 50percent of muscle energy in a typical trained runner. At 80 percent VO2max (a comfortably brisk run), fats supply only 5 percent of muscle energy." (Matt Fitzgerald, Performance Nutrition for Runners, Rodale press, 2006, p. 12)

Keep it going; it is a lifestyle change. By regular exercise over 45 minutes. . ."you show your body that you're serious about endurance. It responds by converting the formerly sugar-burning cells into fat burners. The minimum necessary is one session longer than 45 minutes per week, but the process is accelerated by exercising for more than 90 minutes once every two weeks. . . ."To maintain the capacity of your expanding fat furnace, you'll need at least two other 30-minute sessions a week. If each of these can be increased to at least 45 minutes, you'll improve the adaptation. As always, it's better to slow down from the beginni9ng of exercise so that you'll fell better, be more motivated to continue, and go further." (Galloway, p.239) 2x per week for 45 minutes or more, and one long run every two weeks of at least 90 minutes. Most half-marathon programs will provide this benefit.

If that wasn't good enough: "Running regularly for more than 45 minutes at a time(even with walk breaks) trains our exercising muscle cells to be fat burners at all times of the night and day. After months of regular distance running, you will have transformed a cast number of running muscle cells into fat burners that prefer fat as a fuel, even when you are sitting around all day or asleep at night.: (Galloway p. 237)

Finally, eating every 2-3 hours maintains a higher rate of metabolism and burns fat. (see Galloway p. 236)

Should anyone listen to me?

Reasons no:

1) I am seriously overweight and have not seriously run or workout for the last 20 years.

2) I am slow. I get passed by people with strollers. I am usually the last to finish. When I finish a 5k, I have to tell the finisher that I really did only 5k because they are ready to register me as placing 20th on the 10K.

3) I have no degree or college courses in health, nutrition, medicine, exercise, etc.

4) I have made every mistake possible.

Reasons yes:

1) On 7/14/06, I was 292 pounds and could not run for 30 seconds. On 10/13/2006, I am 252 pounds, and can run over 4 miles wihtout a walk break and long distances of 12 miles. I have lsot 6" on my waist and 4" off my coat size.

2) I read a lot. My educational, work, and social success (trivial pursuit games) has been due to the fact that I read and organize a lot of data on topics that interest me. For the last 90 days, that has been running. I have read and learned from some of the best books on the topic.

3) Its the internet -- check me out to see if I am right!

Anyway, this should tell you a bit more about me so you can assess what I write.

Have fun running!

Eating bad???

I read lots of statements about good eating v. poor eating, but of course, despite my size, thought they didn't apply to me. I have never "felt bad" when I was eating less than perfect, and I had not realized the postive effects of my change to better eating because they came at the same time as I started running. Well, this week proved me wrong!

I had some upgrades at work, so I have been doing long hours and overnighters. The weekend was very disruptive to my schedule. This week, I ended up cancelling my vacation and working to make sure the problems were resolved. Also, I had not been available for the last grocery store trip and didn't leave a list, so I was out of fresh fruit at home. I was tired, stressed, and ended up eating poor, especially on all-day Monday and lunch Tuesday. Tuesday afternoon I finally got away for a treadmill run. I only got in about 2.5 miles and felt like crap. Wednesday, I left work early, went and bought some fruit and veggies and got a nap. By Thursday night, I felt MUCH better and my run showed it.

OK, I admit that this is probably an admission that I am both human and stubborn. But I now see the light! Salads and fruit with a lot less salt, fat, and meat.

Cold Run I

Had a cold run for run club on Thursday night. Air temp was around 34* with 25 to 30mph wind, pushing the wind chill down below freezing. The snow from Wednesday's storms had mostly melted and the pavement wsa dry, so it could have been worse for my first cold weather run.

Run itself felt ok, but lots of things went wrong. Left my heart monitor strap at home, then my GPS started flashing "low battery". It died before the first mile. So I was running a route that I knew the distance and estimating the time. (ORN: 4.16 miles, 54mins approx). I put on a kick the last quarter mile and overall felt very good.

Exercise now to cut dementia risk

"Exercising for half an hour at least twice a week during midlife can significantly cut a person's risk of dementia later, say researchers.

People in their late 40s and early 50s who do this could reduce their risk of dementia by about 50%, according to a study reported in Lancet Neurology.

Those who are genetically prone to Alzheimer's disease could see a reduction of about 60%, it adds.

The Swedish team said the findings had large disease prevention implications.

'If an individual adopts an active lifestyle in youth and at midlife, this may increase their probability of enjoying both physically and cognitively vital years in later life,' they said."

link

Walking 'not enough to get fit'

"A team from Canada's University of Alberta compared a 10,000-step exercise programme with a more traditional fitness regime of moderate intensity.

Researchers found improvements in fitness levels were significantly higher in the second group.

They told an American College of Sports Medicine meeting that gentle exercise was not enough to get fit.

Lead researcher Dr Vicki Harber said: 'Generally, low-intensity activity such as walking alone is not likely to give anybody marked health benefits compared to programmes that occasionally elevate the intensity.'

Dr Harber and her colleagues were concerned there was too much focus on simply getting people to take exercise, rather than on its intensity."

Link

Thar be hills here -- Oktoberfest 5K/10K

Oktoberfest is a GREAT 5K cross country course that followes both a golf course and the hills around it with great views of Lake Lida. 10K is twice around. All runners get a beer stein and the crowd is great.

1) I ended up running only the 5k. I intended to run the 10k, but the sleep deprivation of the week got to me.

2) I placed second in my age group and got a ribbon. I have to deeply thank EVERYONE that is my age that slept in and allowed me to my win.

3) There were hills! Oh boy, there were hills. Some uphills and downhills were too steep to run. Much of the course was uneven and even sloped side-to-side, which I really dislike running on.

4) Course was dry and windy. A wet course would have been hard to deal with!

5) Overheard: "This is not a ourse that you want to wory about time, unless you are comparing year to year. . ."

6) Overheard: "If I was a local cross-country coach, I would make my team run this course for training. Those that don't drop out will be ready for anything because this is WAY tougher than they will ever see in a race.

7) Heart rate was REALLY high for as slow as I was running. Maybe those hills were a bit tough. . . :)

I really did enjoy the race. I will definately run it again. I strongly recommend it to anyone not in my age group.

Off to Oktoberfest

I am off to Pelican Rapids to run the Oktoberfest. Last couple of days have been a bit of a downer with lots of late hours at work and now Paige has to work today. So, I am off by myself. But the lure of the "beerstein" for every participant is too strong. :)

I might wimp and switch to the 5k during the ride out. . . But I will run. Not for a PR, not because of the forcast for 22mph wind, but for the pure joy of it!

Scheels Run Club

3.75mile at about 14:00 pace. Again, probably one of the last warm days of the year to run in shorts with sun. Felt nice. Full moon rising as I finished. . .

Fall greenway

It rained most of the afternoon. I got home early and was hoping to get in a run, but Paige was not home and Cooper and I had to wait for her. So when I got out to run, the sun started coming out and the first part of the run was warm sun, even if the air was only 51*. I decided to do 6 miles instead of 4. Got to the half way point and the sun started going down, it started clouding up again and threatening rain, and the wind picked up. My hands and body were cold! I ran negative splits, but those were mostly to keep warm. Overall felt good and a nice warm shower should restore me fully. Heart rate was not as good as last night, but the pace/warmth issue had a lot to do with that!

ORM -- 6.18 miles at 13:42 pace.

Recovery/Endurance run

4.34 miles. I ran in shorts and SS shirt for the first time in a couple of weeks; although the sun was setting, it was a warm evening. Ran by a couple of parks and two schools. Football and soccer practices were going on as I ran past. The golf course was actually empty, but it was a great route to run.

Felt great during the run. Pacing was exactly right; kept my heart rate in zone 3 which is my focus for burning fat and building endurance. I would be happy with runs like this every day!