Archive for September, 2010

Thank you everyone for all the positive comments on the last post.  Between the 3 internet venues you guys reply on, I was touched by the support.  Not that I’m surprised, you folks are always incredibly kind and cool.

The Anti-Dicking Around Method
Over the last week, I’ve had a few emails and comments from readers/friends who really connect to the idea of taking the emotion out of weight-loss and are starting to treat their own weight-loss endeavors with this in mind.  Matt commented in the last post “It is analogous to running. Stick to the plan- log the numbers- get results.”  Yes!  That is exactly it.

Simple geometry: the shortest distance between two points is a straight line.  I’ve said this about running improvement and it also applies to weight-loss (or anything in life, for that matter).  You can dick around and cross fingers, hoping that you get to point B eventually, or you can take control of the situation, figure out what you need to do and just friggin’ do it – then you will most assuredly arrive at Point B, and in a timely manner to boot.  No question marks involved.

The best part about the “I’m through fucking around” mindset is that it takes a huge load off your brain.  There were some sweet comments mentioning my hard work and dedication but in truth, it feels the opposite, there isn’t anything worky about it.  I’m just jotting down a few numbers on a pad of paper.  This is so much easier than constantly trying and failing, guessing and missing, then ripping myself a new one for having screwed up again…now that is work!

The cool thing is that this simple idea works for anything you want to change in your life.  It’s worth remembering that you are your own boss and with it, you wield real power.

Edit: In eerily well-timed events, this video is going around Facebook today.  Talk about supporting the message of “just friggin’ do it!”.  Great stuff. (thanks for linking it, Priyanka!)

Double edit: I went to the guy’s website and thought this was hilarious.

Which Direction Are You Headed?
When you improve yourself, there are two ways you can go about it:

1. Focus on what you’re going to get out of it: faster times, a better body, a feeling of accomplishment, etc.  This view has you heading towards something.  That’s fun! Like winning a pot of gold for your trouble.

2. Focus on the negative: I’m fat, I’m slow, I hate that I blah blah… This view is more of a fear based one and the method I was using unconsciously and unsuccessfully for the past year.  With this “running away from” mindset, you’re at a disadvantage from the get-go because you’re already in self-defeatist mode.

I’m not saying #2 doesn’t have a place at all, this is usually what gets my ass moving to change in the first place, I get so sick of the thing I don’t like about myself that it’s just easier to stop doing that one thing (quitting cigarettes and drugs comes to mind).  But #1 is what keeps me interested, focused and turns it into a fun game.

Besides, negative shtick gets old.  It’s boring to live it but even way more boring for your friends and family to have to listen to.  Seek out the light, it’ll make everyone happier.

OK, enough ching-ching, didn’t mean to get all self-helpy on you.

Race Weekend
Girlfriends and running: a winning combo.  Can’t wait to finally meet Rebecca, remeet Reyana, hookup with old buddies Kat, Doggie and Loren.  Sweet times ahead.  I’ll hopefully get some photos up before race day so this isn’t the last you’ll hear from me.

Mentally, I’m feeling peaceful, uncluttered and not too concerned with the outcome.  It’s a fast race, typically multiple sub 1:30s from my age group which takes the pressure off completely.  My goal is still high 1:33, no crazy surprise antics in store.  Just try to run a solid race, drink enough water and if I’m really lucky, get a non-sucky race photo out of the deal.  It could happen.

As posted on Facebook and the 3:20 thread yesterday (thanks for all the supportive comments, you beautiful people!) I had a really swell run yesterday that confirmed my plateau is gone, finis, no mas.  Done.

Last pre-race workout: 8.31 miles and it went like this:

Miles 1-4 8:38 cutting down to 8:11 (unintentional, just felt good from the previous day off)
3x.75mi @ 10k w/90 sec rec’s (6:44 pace)
1.75mi home @ 8:17/mi.  Avg for the run, 7:59

And as posted, it was 73 degrees.  Race morning promises to be 10 degrees less than that which means woohoo…speed bonus.

My bashful goal setting is now under review.  To be honest, it was already under review a couple days prior but I wasn’t sure if I should say it aloud or not.  I hate stating a goal and not making it, but on the other hand, it would be disingenuous to say I’m going for a slower time if I’m not, the whole point of this blog is to be real.

So I might just go for a PR after all – though it won’t be a wild one if I manage it, probably barely skirting last year’s 1:33:51.  Despite my workouts suddenly being so fine and fab, I haven’t done any runs to make me think I can whip out 7:06s.  Now 7:09s?  Perhaps.  Funny to think that 3 sec/mile is the difference between “I might” and “I can’t”, but there ya go.

While I’m in this non-bashful mode, I’ll also state my goal for the end of 2011.  Sub 1:30 Half.  I am no longer sure what’s possible and what’s not, but it’s conceivable that I could do it.

Flo ver. 1.75b
Not yet the full-fledged second version – 5 lbs to go before I announce that particular upgrade – but for the interim, this is what 115.5 lbs. looks like (a 7.5 lb. loss).   Not a huge change really, but it has undoubtedly put some speed back in my stride.  Here’s my last full body shot taken in May, if you want to compare.  The biggest difference between the two is that I don’t have that asinine grin anymore.

For even crazier contrasty fun, revisit my About Me page. I just swapped photos, juxtaposing this shot with my very first race photo from 2007.  That is one picture that will always make me cringe, but it illustrates my journey better than race times ever will.

Well ok, that’s a lie, you totally can, but the smaller word is definitely included in that other big word.  And I am seeing progress…

Yesterday finished off a 68 mile week and with it, a tasty weekend of running.  Saturday was an easy 9 miler, avg. 8:29 (it’s still shocking to me to see any average under 8:45 after this stupidly hot summer).  Sunday’s Long Run wasn’t actually long since it’s the end of the training cycle, but it was a goody: 12.1 progression.

My usual progression style is to go comfortably until 4.5 mi from home, do the progression for 3.5 and then the last mile is cooldown, only because there are stoplights and intersections in that last mile, so I kind of have to do it that way.  So for a 12, I’d start the faster bit at mile 7.5.

First mile of the run, I was immediately back in slowland, 9:02, a fact I’m now totally ok with – if my body wants to start that way from here on in, so be it, it’s clear to me now that this is meaningless in the scheme of things.  Anyway, as I trundle along, I contemplate what paces to shoot for in the progression.  Still unsure of my current fitness (and that 9:02 isn’t helping) I decide low 8s to start, then whittling down to 7:40ish.

This is how it played out:

9:02, 8:42, 8:25, 8:19,

8:12 – “hmmm, a little early but it feels good”

8:00 – I come upon a young couple I had seen up ahead during my first mile but who had long disappeared, so of course I’m an asshole and have to pass the shit out of them.  I look down at the Garmin and see 7:36. “Oops, back off the pace, girl!” I shake out my arms, cool the jets.

8:00 – loony-tune park regular on bicycle approaches me talking to himself so I pretend I’m laboring to make sure he doesn’t even attempt to mess with me…then I giggle to myself immediately after he passes thinking, “Wow, I just faked that I was laboring.”

7:50 – a cute runner dude steps out of the woods, smiles at me and says “Pit stop.”  I laugh and reply, “Suspected as much”

7:35, 7:25, 7:13 – “neato, Half Pace!”

8:35 for the last 1.1mi – I stopped the watch for a few minutes to chat with my pals Lara and Jeff who had a booth at the museum for a cycling event.

Average overall pace 8:10, even with the laggardly start.  The bitch is back.

The Week Ahead
is so light!  Day off today, then Tues is 8 mi w/3 x .75mi@10k, Wed is 6, 4 w/strides Thurs, Fri off, 4 w/strides Sat. and race!  Girlfriends will be arriving from Fri-Sat, so that’ll add another layer of fun.

I find it fascinating that I’m in the final days of a training cycle that had harder workouts than my last marathon cycle and in the suckiest of weather, but somehow I’m left thinking, “Really?  That’s it?”  This is nothing like how I feel at the end of marathon cycles: tired legs, hurting feet, the constant nervousness in the pit of my stomach…just wanting it to be O.V.E.R.  But this time, I feel like I’m just getting started.

Owe it to the weather, the new weight, the fun way this cycle was constructed, proper recovery weeks and rest days, plus knowing that if I screw this one up, I get to try again in 9 weeks…I really couldn’t be happier right now.

Reflective Headbands In Stock – Safe and Cute!
I now have reflective headbands, perfect for running in the dark.  You can get them in white or black. The reflective part is a silvery grey stripe down the center, so they look cool on their own, even if you don’t need the reflective bit.  I also got a cool camo design, a zebra-esque print and a couple other additions, so check out the latest and greatest!

First, I’ll talk about yesterday’s tempo, a pretty swell workout from the get-go: 12 miles w/3x (2.5mi@HP, 3min rec’s.) Environment was 68-70 degrees with a gusty 17mph wind.

My first couple miles were alien to the entire summer, 8:24 and 8:29.  Wow, just like old times!  Where’ve you been, my sweeties?  The 2.5mi intervals averaged 7:11, last 2 miles home averaged 8:11.  Final tally: 12.1 miles @ 7:42/mi.  Yu-huh.

Jim asked me if I was sandbagging, planning a PR after all, but I’m still so mistrustful of my fitness and with such a long hiatus from racing (plus my first one without carrying a handheld) this legitimately has Rustbuster written all over it.  They’re coming though, those pretty little PRs, I can smell ‘em.

Summer Paces
I’ve been wanting to talk about my summer paces, but only now that they’re behind me.   Yes, we had a record hot summer but still, my easy and warmup paces were so insanely slow, I was too embarrassed to post my averages.  This is kind of shitty because I know that when I give you the real dirt, it lets you know that it isn’t just you struggling, but my paces were so much slower than even the heat-adjusted calculators gave, that I wimped out.

I had one angel on my shoulder saying, “You know you don’t fare well in the heat – it’s ok, honey” but then that bitch on the other side would pipe up, “That’s just an excuse, ya big whiner.”  By the end of June, when 90 degree highs became the norm, I just gave into it.  My easy paces were very often 9:10s to 9:30s, even 9:50s sometimes…slower than recovery runs! Crazy.

The one saving grace is that my 3:20 forum buddies, who are more like Sub 3ers at this point, are very comfortable running slower paces.  Having them as examples gave me “permission” to trudge when I had to trudge.  I looked on the bright side and considered it “time on my feet” (always a handy fall-back) though did wonder if, beyond heat, habit plays a role, too.  That you get used to a certain effort-level and start settling in to that naturally.  Didn’t really matter though, I ran what felt right at the time.  As long as the quality runs were at the right paces (albeit adjusted for heat), I was ok with it.

The funny thing is that we’ve had a few cool days in the past couple weeks but it’s not like I wanted to run 8:40s right out the gate, I was still in 9 mode to start (which is what got me thinking about habit and pace).  Then this past week, still with warm days, the pace started to lower, culminating in yesterday, better than pre-summer.  Of course, I’m also lighter in weight, which makes a difference, but it’s interesting that it’s not an instant return – seemed to take some acclimating back down.

My Exciting Fun News
I’m going to be a-traveling in January!  Going to Californ-i-ay (San Diego to be exact) for the Carlsbad Half Marathon on Jan. 23rd.  This’ll be a blast on many levels.  I’m going to stay with my pals Jackie and Louis (a.k.a. HikerGirl and RiP), longtime forum friends with whom I finally got to hang with in Boston.  Jackie and I always have tons to giggle and snicker about while Louis is hilarious, so forget the race, this is a highlight unto itself.

Then, I get to meet the Coach Man/Composer Extraordinaire who made this cycle such a strong one, Adam (a.k.a. A muse).  This is seriously cool since I’ve admired the guy’s running chops for forever.  He doesn’t know it yet, but I’d love him to give me a lesson in Track 101 while I’m out there.  Maybe I can coerce him.

Then there’s the race, which boasts a beautiful course and also handily falls about 2 months after the Philly Half.  So I have 3 Halfs in succession with 9 weeks between.  Enough to get in a good training hit before each.  As I mentioned on the 3:20 thread, I’m no longer thinking in terms of “goal” races but hope to continually get better at this distance as I collect more under my belt.  Basically, they’re all goal races and none of them are.

Then there’s California!  Hard to believe that with all the traveling I’ve done, I’ve never been as an adult.  I’m peeing in my pants excited to finally get there.

And on that drippy note, as I head out for an easy 10-miler on this lusciously gorgeous day, I wish you all a great weekend.  Savor this beautiful weather if you’re lucky enough to be a recipient.    Ciao, babies!

A Disturbing Run
I’m sitting here with fresh puncture wounds and deep scratches on my palms and knees due to a very strange set of circumstances on this morning’s run.  It was 9 easy, I was having a really nice time enjoying myself, thinking some happy crap and on the return, I take the skinny dirt trail adjacent to the bike path.

At one point, I see a dead animal laid along a cement slab on the short stone wall between the path and the river.  There are tons of flies swarming around it but I had to stop because it looked like a red fox and…

1. Back in 2008 I thought I saw what might have been 2 foxes fighting but it seemed too far-fetched and I always regretted not stopping to investigate.
2. Foxes were in a conversation I’d had with someone just yesterday…freaky
3. It was weird, laying there on that slab.

So as I verify that it is indeed a fox (wow!) it sinks in that someone has cut open this fox, pulled out its guts and lain them there next to it.  It was too neat a job to have been done by another animal and besides, what type of animal could do this?  We don’t have bears or lions here.

I decide that was enough of a viewing and start back up running, but my thoughts are dark now, thinking of the creepy person who would do such a thing.  I should have known better than to remain on the dirt trail because on another distracted morning I fell hard there, there are too many roots and rocks that you have to pay attention to, so of course…I fell hard.  The one thing I was able to do is roll so I didn’t fall on the knee that’s been opened up 3 times, taking most of the brunt in my hands.  I’m cool though, I didn’t sprain anything and it’s only skin stuff.

Headband Giveaway!
Back to frothier matters, I wanted to announce the first GIM Headband Giveaway!  Marcia, from Running Off At The Mouth is having a giveaway for 2 free GIM Headbands of your choice.  She also wrote the most kick-ass review, so I’m pleased as punch and hope you guys check it out and enter to win.

Da Weight
I’m almost 7 weeks in from the start of my weight-loss adventure.  To show you how it’s been going, I made a handy-dandy graph that begins on July 23rd, when I started counting calories.  Body fat tracking starts a couple weeks later when I got the new scale.

With great timing, I’m able to say I am right this second at last year’s “best race weight”.  It’s 116.4 on the new scale (= 115.5 on the old scale since that one was off by a pound).

As background, I started on 1800 calories and lost a nice amount pretty quickly.  Too quickly, I thought, one week it was about 2.5lbs, which was the initial reason I had for raising it to 2000/day.  But right after the big drop, at around 118.5, it kept shifting up and down for about 3 weeks, though my calories were constant.  I think my body knew I was up to something, so staged a minor revolt.

I knew to eat more rather than less because I went through the same pattern last year, and now I’m running a bit more mileage.  Plus, the addition of the headband biz makes me less sedentary – I’m not exactly doing jumping jacks around the room or anything, but moving around a tad more.

It worked, the weight started dropping again, but it’s still an up and down thing as you can see by the jagged lines (though we’re dealing with decimals, not major swings).  As I mentioned in another post, having the fancy-ass scale appeases me while my weight shifts, since the body fat number lets me know good things are happening even when the weight doesn’t bear it out.

I imagine that unless you have a large amount to lose, you’d see a pattern like this, too, as opposed to a steady drop.  I’m lucky to have last year’s info as comparison, otherwise I might have cut calories further when the opposite was warranted.

A word on body fat
When I first got my scale, I followed Tanita’s advice and weighed myself before dinner – they say you’re most hydrated then – but I feel that I get a more consistent read in the morning since I don’t always drink the same amount throughout the day.  Also, it seems more realistic to think I’m in the higher range found in the morning’s weigh-in, rather than 14 to 12.5% pre-dinner, which is more like a bodybuilder’s numbers.  It’s irrelevant but just for truthiness’ sake.

Body fat is trending downwards: the first week averages 16.31% while the last 7 days average 15.47%.

Calorie Counting
It’s making all the difference.  When I tried to lose without counting, I was never sure if I was eating low enough or high enough and if one day the weight was up, I’d bitch at myself for being “bad” and there was always an air of of that around…a real negative vibe from one day to the next.

The wildest thing is that from the day I started counting this time, July 23rd, I haven’t had one ass-kicking moment over my weight.  Not one.  Contrast this with me bitching at myself about weight constantly from January through July this year.  I swear, at the risk of sounding all Kumbaya, by counting calories and treating it as a math equation, it literally turned the act of weight-loss from an exercise in self-disgust into an expression of empowerment.

As I touched on in an earlier post, when you count calories, all the emotion is gone.  And I mean ALL the emotion is gone.  It’s no longer a question of being “bad”, because you know what you ate, the proof is on paper and if you choose to eat more or cheaty, it’s a conscious decision, one you (ahem) weigh before making.  At least that’s how it’s worked for me.

How Do I Look?
Not much different, though a little more compact than when I was at this weight last year.  When I did this from Winter-Spring 2009, I’d just started the pushups challenge and had added a few chinups – I’ve been maintaining both ever since then.  I also spent a few months recently concentrating on core, though I’ve temporarily let that slide in favor of hip exercises (I’m a monogamous exerciser) the sides of my trunk going around to my back seem harder now.

Other than that, I don’t see much of a change in the mirror, my thighs are a little smaller but that’s about it.  I’m more sure than ever that 110-112lbs. will do me well without stepping into twig territory.

What’s It Doing For Me?
It’s making me faster.   How many seconds per pound, I’ve no idea, because it’s mixed in with a challenging training cycle.  But in the past 3 weeks or so, I’ve surprised myself by being able to do workouts that I would have assuredly struggled with…and it’s not like it got cooler,  it’s still been full-on summer.

I’m niggle-free.  Completely.  Got nothing hurting, nagging or bugging (aside from today’s puncture wounds).  Seems like I had an assortment of little things all year until now.  Not saying this is the weight-loss, but it’s timed interestingly, at the peak of my cycle when I’d expect more of that, not less.

As far as fitness predictions, I remain cautious but have a sense that I’m a hair’s breadth away from last year’s PR season and am confident the final few lbs. will see me surpassing it.

I am beginning to dream again.

As of today, I’m on it, choo choo!  I celebrated my 49th birthday on the pavement this morning with 7 well-deserved recovery miles, thanks to a weekend of strong, satisfying runs capping a 66-mile week (and this one had a rest day in there, too).

As mentioned, I switched Tempo days from Friday to Saturday in favor of better temps.  Though I’ve made that Fri/Sat switch 3 times this cycle, I’m never truly pleased about it because it means Sunday’s run will be on tired legs.  Add to that my LRs are in the trail system for hillier terrain, it’s a double-challenge, but I’ll take that over a tempo in humid soup any day, so the switch was made.

Originally scheduled as an 11, I changed it to 9 since those extra 2 warmup/cooldown miles wouldn’t win me anything, so: 2 miles warmup, 6@half pace, 1 mile home. It went swell, I wore my heart rate monitor and the numbers were as they should be.  Pace-wise, I averaged one second over my projected goal pace which bodes well since race morning is likely to be 10-15 degrees cooler.

Later that afternoon, I went to a BBQ where I ate and drank like a happy pig, knowing I had 17 miles the next morning.  It’s good to have an occasional piggy day when you’re dieting anyway, though I may have mowed down a group of small children when the cakes were served, I can’t exactly recall, it’s all one big sugary blur.

Yesterday before the run, I wondered how it would go since it was a 50-50 set of circumstances.  It could go great because I’d carb-loaded at the BBQ with a wide assortment of bean dishes (strangely, no farting…stranger still that I feel the need to report that fact) but on the other hand, I’d had enough wine that it could be one of those leaden-legged deals.

The weather was wonderful – low 60s to start – so I wore a singlet for the first time since May. My initial miles were slow, as they have been all summer (worth a discussion on another post, it’s been a dramatic change) but each mile clicked by a little faster and when I got in the trail, I started feeling more energized.  On the return, I was doing low 8:00s and my last mile was 7:50, an unexpected surprise considering the previous day’s tempo and booze-a-rama.

Coming Up
This next week brings only one major workout (wow, winding down for real!): 3 x 2.5mi @ HP w/3 min. recoveries. Very happy to be doing one more race pace workout…good for the mind as well as the body.

On Wednesday I’ll fill you in on my continued travels down to race weight, the latest numbers and observations.  In the meantime, UPS will be delivering my second pair of Kinvaras tomorrow, blue ones with white soles.  Woohoo!  Not that I don’t love my current pair despite their screaming hot pink soles, but if I wear anything with pink in it, I’m convinced it looks as though I spent serious closet time putting together the perfect ensemble.

Since I’m way too cool for that shit, I’ve been occasionally wearing older crappier shoes to keep from looking like I’m trying to be the Queen of Pink…deliberate insouciance at the risk of tendonitis or some other shoe-related running injury.  Because birthdays may come and go, but immaturity is forever.