Weight Loss

While the week started as usual, weight status quo, it suddenly changed. From July 16th to the 25th I held steady at 170. Sure, it was my goal weight but let's be serious. I wasn't convinced that's where I wanted to stay, unless, of course I developed bulging muscles on my upper body to match the massive leg strength I'm known for.

When the dam finally burst I lost 1.5 pounds (25th), 1 pound (26th), 1 pound (27th) and another .5 pound on the 28th. This is a total of 4 pounds in less than a week. It kind of makes you stop and wonder if something's going wrong. Weird that I worked very hard to get here and now find myself second guessing when the process works.

Even so, I suspect that I have about five more pounds to lose. When I started the weight loss program at Nutrisystem in February I researched possible goal weights. A BMI that was appropriate for a man my age and height would put me between 156 and 160. "Bah!" I said. I believed I could never reach that weight. After all I haven't been there since high school. So, I set my goal weight at 170. After Trey's wedding in May of '07 I weighed 172 for a brief moment. That ended as suddenly as it happened because I headed off to Camp Nebagamon for the summer and didn't stop eating till February of this year.

I calculated my body fat percentage at around 16%. I know that calculating your body fat percentage is actually a very poor second choice to other methods but it's the choice I currently have available to me. I'm sure that this calculation is very low so it gives me lots of room to move here. I'm not shooting for anything under 10% but that's still several pounds of fat I have to get rid of. If you use these numbers the 160 pounds is very reasonable. If I find that I am somehow able to rebuild significant muscle mass (not Schwarzenegger size, just some definition) that number will change but as it stands now it seems acceptable. I can still see the subdermal deposits of fat (though noticeably reduced) and vanity insists that I keep working.

My experience Sunday with being undernourished on my run is a challenge. I'm finding it difficult to allow myself to increase my calories in any significant way. I still log my food daily and am absolutely chained to the numbers I see there. I'd like to push it to 2000 calories a day (up from 1900) but last night when I figured my totals and saw 2000+ instead of 1900+ I wasn't able to eat the final snack I had planned.

Dahna is helping with that by preparing very tasty new recipes that include whole wheat pasta. I have such an irritating history of losing and gaining that I don't trust myself yet. I know I need to get past this but there's still work to be done here. I just keep remembering that I weighed about 200 pounds when we went to Florida for Thanksgiving last year. By February I weighed 230! I'm searching for the middle ground here.

It will be interesting to see how that adds to the effort to both control my weight and improve my running.

Week Five Report

Monday started with a new weight routine provided by my son. Tough stuff even though I'm using light weights (and moving through the various lifts quickly). The back exercises were the most difficult which obviously means I have a lot of improvement to make there. Also, he gave me three different routines for the week, so I won't get bored for a while with this. I had to look a couple of the lifts up on the internets (loving reference to our recent past prez) because I had forgotten what they were. Now, I've got it going on! That phase of the week worked well.

We had volleyball camp for the boys this week and I got to meet some great young men who love the sport. One of them even has his own sand court at his house! These guys have great physical ability. Now, if we can get them to perfect their passing skills we should be able to craft a great season.

The running program went well with a 4 mile run on Tuesday, then a regular 3 miler on Wednesday and track work on Thursday. The track work was 7 X 400m. The pace I was trying to reach was below 1:50 per and I managed to do that. I even hit 1:42 on lap 4!

I rested Friday and then ran a 5K at pace in JB Park. It was challenging (hills, you'll recall) but I did it at 9:10 per mile - exactly my target pace for the 1/2 marathon. Good so far.

Then came Sunday. I piddled around well past sun up and got on the trail around 8:30 a.m. Way too late! By the time I got to mile 2 I was fully engulfed in bright sunlight. It wasn't particularly hot (low 80s) but it was taking a toll. Miles 2 - 6 were completely exposed on the hot asphalt. My pace slowed with each mile and by the time I got to my water at mile 5.5 (had dropped water at 2.5 miles so it was available to me twice on my out and back route) I was really wasted. At that time I was just a few seconds off my 10 min/mile pace but the fight in me was done. I took a minute and a half getting water here and then continued toward the finish.

I fought for the next mile just to keep my legs moving. I knew that there was water ahead and I was closing in on the last mile so I refused to quit running. When I got to the water fountain there were two people in line ahead of me. I tolerated the first person because she drank her water and took off.

The next guy was a real jerk - a blader who obviously couldn't see what was going on around him. He actually filled his water bottle, drank some of it and then filled it back up. All while I stood there huffing behind him! It actually cost me two minutes of time! I did resist the urge to comment, however. Perhaps my body was secretly rooting for him!

I finally got back on the trail and pushed hard for the finish line. I had a guy pass me (the second of the day!) just as I hit the 3/4 mile marker and I decided I would let him drag me in. I was able to pick up the pace a bit and my last mile was the fifth best time of the day.

The times were as follows - 9:53.60, 9:49.46, 10:09.13 (quick water stop), 10:06.49, 10:49.12, 12:43.15 (water stop), 13:18.35 (water stop-stood in line!), 10:44.83 = 1:27.34.

I missed my goal of getting 10 minutes per mile on each of my long runs but this points to the amount of work I need to be doing to reach my goal for Lewis and Clark.

It also highlights the importance of my early morning runs. I need to get out there before the sun does. I've been doing that for a couple of weeks now but hadn't really understood the value of that tactic.

Another thing I was thinking that could have been a contributing factor was my nutrition. I had eaten at the regular time - 5:00 a.m. That meant that 3 1/2 hours later, when I was just starting my run, I was pretty much running on empty. Not a good thing, I'm sure.

The upshot of the nutrition story is that I'm down to 167 pounds now. I don't think I've weighed this little since I was in high school. I may be getting to the place that Allison (my daughter) warned me about - having to chose between losing more weight and running better times. It may be time to up the calorie level.

Anyway, that's the story so far.

BTW - Not to sound like an old lady but "Geez, I wish my arm skin didn't flap when I run!"

V8 and other possibilities

I'm thinking of adding V8 to my morning routine after this mornings "revelation." I was scheduled for 7 X 400m speed work, dutifully reported to the track at school with enough time to complete the workout before Volleyball Camp and headed on down. Took off for the first 400m and ran a warmup lap of 2:10. I'm alternating laps here (run one, walk one) so, after the first walking lap I took off with gusto and hit 1:54. Still not very impressive considering what I'd done last week and the week before. The third running lap I became aware of my gait and I'm thinking to myself, "What's wrong here?" I felt like I was plopping my feet on the ground - no spring, no energy. I couldn't figure out what was interfering with my effort. Finally, looking down I noticed I had on my old shoes, not my nice bouncy running shoes. Now I know why the salesman was so excited about them. They really do give me extra energy and rebound. I didn't feel like stopping my workout to change my shoes so I just muddled through. Wow, I shoulda had a V8! At any rate, the training was successful from the standpoint of hitting my projected times, even getting down to 1:42 for a lap before completing 5 of the 7 laps in under 1:50. All things continue to point to a successful PR effort at the 1/2 marathon in September.

BTW, I got to test out the new sand court at Northwest. The head coach and one of the assistant women's coaches have gotten donations and put together this fantastic facility. So far, one of the two courts is essentially complete (check out the pics) so we scrimmaged 6 on 6 at the end of practice today. It's gonna be a great year.

Week Four Report

Week three ended on a good note with a PR in the MLB Charity 5K on Sunday (all whining notwithstanding). This launched me in a good mental state into week four. Some credit for my good humor has to go to the fact that it coincided with week last of summer school.

I followed Hal Higdon pretty close to the letter with one change. It's easier for me to do my strength Monday, Wednesday and Friday to keep it consistent so I switched Tuesdays 3 mile run with Wednesdays Tempo run and Strength. Speaking of my strength training, I have been pushing it fairly hard in the weight room and seeing some progress there, most of which is directly tied to my vanity, however (sagging skin is tightening up a bit).

As far as my running goes I have been getting faster in my regular 3.1 mile runs in JB Park. I always discount the hills in this run but they are paying dividends when I get out on the flats. I'm convinced that's where my speed came from on my two recent 5K PRs. My "slow" runs are improving and I feel really good when I run. I've been confining my running to early morning hours to avoid the heat and it works great. The park is my own private world, at least for a bit.

My tempo run was a first for me so I was a bit tentative about what I was doing. I ran on the track at school which is sweet - a really nice composite track that is very fast. My first mile was 9:31, followed by a 9:08. The second mile is the pace I need to reach to achieve my 2 hour 1/2 marathon goal in September. Seems good. Oh, wait. This is a 35 minute tempo run, pick up the pace. So mile 3 was 8:41! Finished with a time of 8:24 for 3 laps (timed run, remember).

One thing I noticed, however, was that if you figure my last four fast quarters I had a time of 8:25! Now we're talking! I'm finally doing meaningful speedwork.

Wednesday and Thursday were good runs of 3.1 and 4 miles respectively. Friday is a rest day and Saturday back to the grind on the hills for a comfortable 3.1 miles. Good run in very pleasant weather. I got to run later in the day because of the mild temperatures.

Sunday I slept in a bit as well. I headed out to Grant's Trail for my long run at about 8:00 a.m. This paved trail is perfect for distance work because it's relatively flat and marked every 1/2 mile for almost 10 miles. I put water out at the 2.5 mile marker. I was able to get water here at 2.5 miles and then 4.5 miles because I turned around at 3.5 miles. This was a very workable solution and it allowed me to practice hydrating as I run. The good news is that my final time, including two water breaks and four intersection hassles was 1:08! Still maintaining a sub 10 min/mile pace over the long haul. This time equates to 9:45 per mile. This is about three seconds off my pace for six miles but considering the water stops, it's progress in my opinion.

I've got work to do still to get down to the 9:09 miles I'll need to average to get my goal in September but I feel good about what I've done. I have nothing standing in my way this time. My schedule is set and I will be able to work the program with the resources I have available to me. I'm starting to feel very good about my progress.

Race Results

I just got in from the MLB 5K Charity run and checked my results. I continue to be amazed at how accurate the timing mechanisms are for these events. I keep my own time on my watch and the comparison is within a couple of seconds.

I was mildly disappointed by my time - 27:28. This is just 8 seconds below my previous PR. I mean, yeah, it's still a PR but I was excited and, I thought, ready to blow the top off this thing. I've got all sorts of excuses for my "failure." Way too many people who were walking started at the beginning of the pack. Where's the race etiquette here? I guess I could've figured this much since it is billed as a Charity Run. And, there were no directions to runners about how to line up. Being charitable here, I could say that many of those folks didn't understand how things work. I spent the first mile (for real) dodging slowly walking individuals, and worse, groups. I can't for the life of me figure out how some people who were so slow got that far in front of me. Usually you get past those people fairly quickly, but not today.

The start area was very narrow even after we went through the starting gate. For about two blocks we only had the width of a two lane street to work with so the crowd couldn't thin out at all.

The route was okay. I knew where the hills were and attacked them where I could. My training is in a hilly park so I can practice this aspect of racing. The downhills came at the appropriate times and I feel like I maxed out the downhill glide to my benefit. My third mile was 8:39.32 which was below my projected time of 8:45 per mile, by the way. I missed the mile one marker. I guess I was distracted by the water station and positioning myself to be out of the flow of that traffic and blew by it. So, at mile two I hit 18 minutes even. This was 30 seconds off the pace I wanted to maintain. Usually, my racing starts moderate, speeds up for the end of mile one and then rolls for the duration.

Other victories today would include the fact that I placed 27th (of 109) in my age group. I was the 902nd of 2436 men and 1218th overall (of 5151).

I seem to moving in a direction that will allow me to complete the 1/2 marathon in September in under 2 hours. These, after all, I times I have never achieved, splits that have previously been unthinkable for me. I really have no reason to be disappointed. The progress is what I'm after here.

My next race is undetermined. I'm looking for a 10K for the August 2nd weekend. Anybody know of a good one within one day travel distance from St. Louis?

Looking for a PR on Sunday

So, Sunday, while all of St. Louis is awash in the giddiness of hosting the Major League Baseball All Star Game, I will be working to achieve a PR in the 5K. The MLB Charity 5K Run will be the event where I push myself. I have already PR'd this summer but I am looking to PR on the 1/2 marathon in September (sub 2 hours) so each race now is an incremental movement toward that goal. I always run faster in races than on training runs. I have had some good training runs the past two weeks so I'm looking for a positive effect here. I'm also going to be testing ideas here about prerace hydration and fueling and pacing during the race. All of these are issues that will serve me in the longer run for sure but may have an effect here as well.

I have to say that when I got back into running earlier this year I was totally disheartened and began to feel as though my time had passed. I was too old to do this any more I thought. I struggled to complete my training runs and everything was disappointing if not downright painful. If it were not for the encouragement of others I might have totally given it up. I honestly don't know why or how the breakthrough came. But, it finally did!

I haven't scheduled my marathon yet. It won't be this season. But, that's one big thing I have left to do. I have actually completed two marathons in the technical sense. From the standpoint of getting it done, I did. But both were very unsatisfying in that they didn't represent my best effort. Preparation for a marathon is a long, tedious and difficult process and before each of these two races life got in the way. I ran the Chicago marathon in 2007 and the race was stopped when I was at the 17 mile point because of the extreme heat. My daughter and I ran the additional mileage along North Lakeshore Drive so we logged the 26.1 miles and we got our medals to show for our effort. But that was kinda like kissing your sister. I feel like I was "mostly" prepared for this race but I hadn't really completed the training like I wanted to and was a bit nervous about my preparedness. The second attempt was St. Louis 2008. This time I almost declined to run. I had gained about 20 pounds and my preparation for this race was horrific. I just ran because I had already paid the fee. After about 15 miles I was feeling pretty good - on pace for a 5 1/2 hour run. Then, I got blisters on both feet and barely made it to the finish line before they took it down. Yes, I got a medal for the effort but limped back to the car embarrassed for my lack of genuine effort.

This time will be better. I am following the training regimen to the letter. I have added weight training to the process. I am already at my "running weight" so things will only get better from here on out. I have discovered an eating plan that seems to fit my exercise plan. I am running faster now than ever. I do not have anything on the schedule between now and September 13th that will stand in the way of my continuing ALL of the above.

Most importantly, I think, is that I have made myself accountable by telling lots of people what my plan is. Now on hard days when I don't feel like getting out to run or to the gym to work out, I know that there are people who will ask how my training is going. I certainly don't want to have to tell them that it's not - for whatever reason.

Forward into the fray. Tomorrow the victory will be mine!