Diet

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Days like yesterday are the reason I love running

Awesome day running yesterday.  There has to be a correlation between tempo runs and performance.  Before my tempo run, I was having a hard time to get below 9:00 pace.  Last Sunday for my long run I was way over a 9:00 pace.  Yesterday I started out a bit slow, just because I was sore from the tempo run the day before.  After the first mile it was all “down hill from there”.

Here are my splits:

8:45
8:14
8:04
8:10
8:04
7:51

And it felt great.  I was a bit tired at the end, but not bad and I had almost no pain, except a little in my knee.

Now to the amazing part.  Those who follow this blog know that TJ and RS run also.  Yesterday RS had a great run and is getting back into the game after getting over some injuries.  As I got home from my run, HM was playing a video game.  HM doesn’t like to run but I keep trying to get him going anyway because I know he would do great if he just tried.  Anyway, I got home after my 6 miles and he looks up at me and says, “Hey dad, do you want to run a mile with me”.  Two thoughts go through my head.  First, wow he rarely asked that before.  Second, he thinks I am so tired I’ll say no. Before I could think, I said, sure, get on your shoes and let’s go.  After 5 minutes of trying to find his shoes (they haven’t been warn much), we go for the run.  RS joined us and we went for a slow mile.  It was a recovery mile for me and a good starting mile for HM.

All that to say, days like yesterday are the reason I love running.  I haven’t had one of those days in a while, so it was great getting to enjoy a fun, fast run and run a mile with two of my kids.  Quoting from the Christmas Story, “All was right with the world”.

Tomorrow: I think I figured out the carb/diet/running problem that has plagued me for the past year!!!

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The running/carbs balance – Ugh

Today is a much needed day off.  I ran a lot last week and I feel it.  The good news is that my hip hasn’t been hurting much and I am still taking no meds for pain!!!  The bad news is that I carbed out over the weekend.  Yes, I eat Pizza and a couple cupcakes and…  I won’t go on, you get the picture.

As I was running Thursday and Friday, I could feel that my carbs were low.  Those runs we not easy and I felt like I was doing everything I could just to keep going.  Friday night I bought the family some pizza.  I was famished. I had 5 pieces.  The rest of the weekend, I didn’t do much better.

I gained 4 lbs over the weekend.  I assume some will leave if I eat well this week, but with 2 work lunches and a work breakfast on the calendar this week, it is going to be hard.

Anytime I hit a wall, I try to figure out how to get over that wall.  My plan this time is to eat my low carb diet this week, but eat 1 whole wheat bagel each day.  These bagels got an A- on my Fooducate app, so I thought I’d give them a try.  My thought here is that one bagel a day will give me enough carbs that I won’t go crazy by the weekend and I can continue running without feeling like my legs are going to collapse.  Since today is my day off, I won’t eat one today, but starting tomorrow, I am going to give it a try and see if I can’t reach some type of balance.

I hate this whole running/dieting thing.  According to my app, I used up 1,400 calories in my run yesterday, and I still gained 2 lbs from what I eat.  This is crazy if you ask me – which you didn’t – which is why I am writing about it in my blog in order to blow off some steam.

Thanks for listening – reading – whatever.

Ultimately, balance is the key.  It is the key to life, running, eating, sleeping, just about everything.  I hope I can figure out the balance between eating and running.  If anyone has ever been successful in this area, let me know.

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Updates on running and dieting

Training has been a bit hard lately.  Not too bad, but I’ve increased my mileage this week quite a bit from last week.  Most people say to only increase 10% over your previous week, but I am trying to get back to my 35 – 45 miles a week.  I figure that I was only out of running 2 weeks, so it really shouldn’t be that big of a jump to go from last week (my first week back) running 23 miles to this week running 35 miles.  Overall it has gone well.  I am back to sub 8:30 pace and am taking no anti inflammatories or fish oil.  I really am trying to run without any meds now that I am in the low 180s in weight.  So far so good.  I am a little sore, and have a little hip pain, but that is all.

Next week I begin training to run my next 5K.  TJ has some workouts for me to do that he has been doing since last week.  I have just over 2 months to be able to bring my 5K time to 20:00.  As I’ve said before, this is my goal and I hope to achieve it, but if I don’t, that’s okay.  I just need something to shoot for that will motivate me to do these workouts.  Also, these workouts will help my overall running time and that will be crucial as we kick into training for our marathon beginning in July.

Just an FYI on my weight.  I finished my diet at 177.  I got as high as 183 over the weekend which was rather depressing.  So this week, I have worked hard at trying to stay away from the carbs.  The main carb I eat is a piece of bread before I run, which seems to really help.  So I am, as of this morning, back down to 180.  That is exciting since I was afraid my body was dictating that it wanted to go back to the high 180s.  I hope to get back in the mid 170s if only to keep my hips and back out of pain and not need to go back on pain meds.

Keeping motivated!

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Running, Weight and Boston

It was a good first week back to running.  My long day was Sunday and I chose to run only 6 miles, which put me at 23 for the week.  Not bad for the first week back after a 2 week break.  I think the cardiovascular effects of the time off surprised me most.  On Tuesday, I ran 3 miles at a 9 minute pace – ugh, had I fallen that far back in only 2 weeks?  No, it only took a couple of days to be back in the 8:30 pace.  Yesterday I ran 6 miles at an 8:23 pace.  I am happy with that result.  Although my hips are acting up some, I am still trying to stay away from anti-inflamatories to keep the pain down.  It is tolerable, so I will keep with my hope of not needing to go on them again.

All in all, things are progressing, however I am fighting my old friend, carbs.  I am back to battling the intense need of carbs and my need to keep my weight off.  As of this morning I have gained back 5 lbs.  I am not happy with that.  I can see where I went overboard this weekend a couple of times and eat too much bread, but I also ran quite a bit. This is the most difficult thing about running for me.  How do I control the urge to eat and run at the same time.  My metabolism isn’t strong enough to just keep the weight off.  I don’t eat a lot, but evidently it is enough to gain weight.

Ultimately running will win out and I’ll just work at keeping the weight off.  This is not easy, but neither is running 6 days a week.

Finally, I have decided to make a real effort to qualify for Boston in the Jacksonville marathon this next December.  I will do all I can do to make that goal.  Goals in running make it that much more interesting and fun for me.  I will do my best and see what happens, but I wanted to put it “out there” to make it more real to me.

Today is my off day.  Tomorrow… It all starts over again.

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Very interesting article about losing weight with exercise!

Researchers Claim To Discover the Single Most Efficient Exercise Regimen

Scientists in Australia claim to have discovered the exercise technique that burns the maximum amount of fat with the least amount of work.

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4 mile run – better than dieting

Three days this week I ran 3 miles a day.  Three days this week I gained 1 lb each day.  So 3 runs and 3 lbs gained.  Hmmm.  I am not eating poorly.  Of course I am eating more than when I was on the diet, but I could never run without some food and carbs.

Yesterday was my 4th run of the week.  I ran 4 miles rather than 3.  I am gradually increasing my mileage this week and going to try running a normal week next week.  It was a good run with some hip pain in the beginning, but the pain went away as I concentrated on relaxing and my keeping my running form.

This is the interesting part.  I lost a half pound when I weighed in this morning.  The reason it is interesting is that I remember last summer as I graduated from 3 miles to 4, I began loosing weight.  Each day I ran 4, I lost some. Each day I ran 3, I didn’t.  Now yesterday I ran 4 and lost weight.  I don’t know what that one mile means, but 4 seems to be the magic number for me to loose weight running.

All that to say, when I was running 5 to 7 miles a day and 10 on Sunday, I rarely lost any weight.  It was always confusing to me.  I think that at that mileage, my body is trying to hold onto fat since it knows I will need it for my runs.  That is the only reason I can come up with as to why I can run 40 miles in a week and sometimes gain weight.

Today is a 4 mile run.  I’ll be interested to see if I loose weight in the morning.  At least I am back under 180.  I don’t want to go back to the 190’s.  Right now I am off all meds and for the first time in a long time my blood pressure is down to normal.

I’d say my 2 weeks off and my diet was a good idea.  I love wisdom!!

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3 days running and back on pace!

Getting my running legs under me again.  Yesterday was my third run since I took 2 weeks off and lost 20 lbs.  I felt really good running and felt my stride was longer and easier to maintain.  Ultimately I ran just over 9:00 pace on Monday and just over an 8:00 pace yesterday.  I did feel like I was pushing it a bit after the first mile, but I knew I was running well and wanted to see what I could do.

The good news is I am still not taking and anti inflammatory meds or fish oil.  I think that is my biggest success from my time off.  I used to be in a lot of pain with my hips and back that I had to be on meds everyday.  Now I really have almost no issues other than after my run yesterday my left hip hurt for a while, but the pain went away on its own.

I am trying to keep to my run plan.  Today and tomorrow I up my mileage to 4 miles each day and then Sunday I go up to 6.  I hope by next week to be in the 5 mile a day range again.  I just didn’t want to take things too fast.  Also, I didn’t have any muscles pulling as I ran yesterday so that was great.

Our next race is a 5k in May.  It was our first race we ever ran and it will be fun to compare our progress.  TJ has a training plan worked out for me when I get myself back to normal running.  My goal is to finish in the 20 minute range, which would be a miracle.  But in the past year I have seen a lot of miracles happen because of my running.  I wish more people could experience what I experience.

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My first day running in 2 weeks

It all begins again…

Running. Yesterday was my first day back since my 2 week break. How was it? Good. Not great, but good. I ran 3 miles at a 9:00 pace and felt okay. A few aches and pains as I got my muscles moving again and my lungs burned as I ran. I assume that was because of a sinus infection I had late last week, but it could just be from the time off.

The interesting thing was that I am off all anti inflammatory meds and woke up with no back or hip pain and no aches at all. Wow. I guess loosing 20 lbs made a huge impact. I hope it does in my running. A coworker who used to be a nurse told me that for every pound of fat, the body needs a mile of veins and arteries to support that pound. So if that is correct, I have 20 miles less of veins and arteries for my blood to have to travel around my body.

I feel great.

Three miles again this afternoon and I am shooting for a total of 23 miles for the week. That is almost half of my past mileage, but better safe than sorry.

In so glad to be back. I am amazed that in 19 months I went from 278 lbs and not able to run 800m to 178 lbs and a half marathon under my belt. God is good.

I love running (and am enjoying eating again 🙂 )

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Running again

Today is the day.  Diet: Over.  Running: Starting.  Me: excited.

Since I ran my half marathon, I have lost 18 lbs.  The biggest reason this was crucial is because my hips and back were giving me a lot of pain.  I could cover the pain with ibuprofen, but I didn’t want to be on that stuff long term.  Loosing that weight will take a lot of stress off of my back.

This morning, I weighed in at 178.4.  Exactly 100 lbs since my highest weight July 2011.  I am pumped and can’t wait to run this afternoon.  I’m going to take it easy for a couple of days and only run 3 -4 miles.

Can I say what has helped me more than anything else in running and dieting?  WATER.  I have been drinking almost 100 oz of water a day for 18 months.  I believe that is close to 3 liters.  This has been huge with my running and weight loss.  I am almost always hydrated, except sometimes in the middle of the night.  I can run 13 miles and not need a drink.  It keeps me full and makes me feel so much better than before I used to drink it.

So, going past water, today is the day for my first run in 2 weeks.  Of course the forecast is for storms this afternoon.  The only weather I won’t run in is storms, especially with lightening.  But, maybe I’ll hit is right and get in 25 minutes of running.

I love running.  I can’t wait.  By the way, congratulations to Emma for running her first half marathon and beating her target pace and raising money for her charity.  Very exciting.

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1 day to go

Today is the last day of my diet /  recovery.  I plan on running tomorrow for the first time in two weeks.  It has been hard not running, but I know I feel a lot better for taking some time off.  Also, I am down to 179 for the first time since I can ever remember.  For those who don’t know, at the height of my weight gain, I was 278 in July 2011, so I have lost 99 lbs so far.  Wow, a year and a half ago I would never have thought I’d loose so much and have run a half marathon!

I am a bit hesitant about running again since I have had almost no carbs of fat in 14 days.  I’ll take it slow to begin with and see how I feel.  I hope that loosing so much weight will make a big difference, especially in my aches and pains.

I can’t wait to love running again.

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Running makes life an adventure!

5 more days to go on my diet and run recovery.  I am using a physician’s weight loss diet and am now at 182 lbs which is the least I’ve weighed since college.  It is going to be great to run again knowing that I have about a bowling ball less weight to run with.

I am a bit worried about getting running after my diet.  Mainly I know I’ll have to go slow since I’ve had almost no fat or carbs for a while.  I tend to want to push the envelope a lot and I want to be sure I don’t do that.

TJ is working with me on a running plan for our next race.  It is going to be the “Spring Scramble” in the first week of April.  This was our first 5K we ran after we began to run in March of last year.

Wow, a whole year is almost up.  I began running on March 25, 2012.  Is amazes me how far TJ, RS and I have come in a year.  Looking back at our first 5K, I barely finished in 32 minutes.  My goal for this year is to finish in the 20 minute area.  I am sure with TJ’s help, I’ll get somewhere close.

Life is always an adventure if you make it one.  That is why “I love running”.  Running is all about getting out there and doing it.  It is up to me to run.  Sometimes things get in the way like injuries or other responsibilities, but for the most part If I run, I do better at running.  If I run, I feel better about myself.  If I run, I feel like I have accomplished something.

The more I run, the more I love running.