Training

Marathon Training – Week 4

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Week 4 Training

Week 4 Training

After last weeks step back week I started to up the mileage again. The planned long run this week was 11 miles.

Because of a family trip to Lancaster County, PA this weekend I had to squeeze my runs into the work week so I missed out on cross training on Monday and missed my rest day on Friday. I rested over the weekend (if you can call a family vacation a rest).

The runs were pretty easy. I had a decent faster pace run early in the week on the 3 miler. The run/walk ratio of 4:00/0:40 (a 6:1 ratio) seems to be working well for me. The temperatures were pretty cool early in the week but it was getting progressively warmer as the week went on. Getting up a little earlier these days means that I have to get the headlamp out again. It was time to change the batteries as the lamp didn’t do much for me early in the week.

Friday was to be my long run but I had to get it in before I left for work. Three of the weather forecasts I checked called for lightning storms (or a 50/50 chance of them). I got up at 4am Friday and checked the weather radar maps and it looked like I could get my run in. With a fresh set of batteries in my headlamp and a new battery in the RoadID Firefly lamp I was out the door and seeing clearly. It was already 70+ degrees before 5am but the weather held steady. Apart from being very humid it was a nice easy long run.

I also use these early long training runs to experiment on some gear. This week I again tried the Pro Compression socks vs my usual Zensah sleeves for the long run. Although my legs felt fine with the compression, the sock itself is rather thin for me and about 9 miles in my toes were feeling the inside of my shoes more than I would like. I think I will stick with my medium thickness socks and the leg sleeves going forward. No damage done as I wasn’t going too far.

I also bought a sample pack of GU in a new flavor (Salted Caramel) to try. I’ve used GU in the past but find the consistency a little thick for my liking but like to try new flavors from time to time. I still have plenty of samples of other products but these will get into the rotation soon.

New flavor to try

New flavor to try

A nice highlight of our trip to Lancaster County was that we took the boys to Dutch Wonderland. I was very surprised to find a ‘Dole Whip‘ stand. For those of you who don’t know what this is (and I confess I didn’t) this was something I heard was something only served at Walt Disney World in the Magic Kingdom near the Magic Tiki Room in Adventureland. It was really refreshing on such a hot day. It was my first taste of this frozen treat and I had a second taste (!) before we left later in the day. Now I have another excuse to go to Disney to make sure it tasted exactly right 🙂

My first Dole Whip

My first Dole Whip

Have a great week.

Marathon Training – Week 3

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Week 3 Training

Week 3 Training

A pretty easy week. It was the first step back week in the program and the mileage is still low, lower than my base training. Perhaps next time I start a new program I will maintain my base until the mileage catches up. For now I will take the rest. Still it’s almost another 25 miles on the road to my Philly Marathon.

I checked the weather forecast (actually 3 forecasts) for Saturday morning. All three had lightening storms forecast so I took my run inside the gym and hit the treadmill for an hour. That was the only day I went off plan by running 6 instead of 5. Not such a big deal and I’ve not been so great on my diet this week for a number of reasons. Back on track for week 4.

In addition to the training I managed to get out on a bike ride with my youngest. I did an hour riding on the canal tow path just before my long run (6 this week). We met up with my wife and eldest son and I ran with them in the stroller so Sunday was very much a family day. Typically we run as a family on Saturdays and this will be more the norm as we approach the longer runs. My kids are great in the stroller but pushing them 8 miles is tough on me and that is a long time for them after a while. There’s only so much we can all manage (especially the guy pushing the stroller).

The little backseat driver

The little backseat driver

Next weekend we have some family plans we are doing so it looks more likely that I may be skipping the cross training on Monday and running Monday through Friday as I will need to take the weekend off. Not the best and if I feel like it is too much I will probably skip one of the run days. I’m back up to 11 miles come the long run so Friday looks likely that I will be up at 4am to squeeze that one in before work. I hope the weather cooperates this week as the temperatures in the morning are currently perfect for running outside. The sunrise is getting a little later so headlamp running may be back on the agenda soon.

I’ll have to do a blog post about my running in the dark gear as there is a little too much detail to go into in this weekly update.

Thanks for sticking with me on this journey. This years Philadelphia Marathon will be here before you know it and soon I’ll be making my dining reservations(!) for Walt Disney World in January. Lots to look forward to.

July 2013 – month in review

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July 2013 – Nike+ Summary

July 2013 – Nike+ Summary

110 miles this month.

I started off the month on vacation so I took advantage of the time to get a couple of long bike rides in and then a few rest days as I started my marathon training for both Philadelphia and the Dopey Challenge in the middle of the month.

It seems a little strange to drop my mileage back a bit as I have a pretty good base (typically run 10 or more each long run every week) but I’m sticking to the plan so I don’t overtrain. There are alot of miles to cover between now and January and I’ll be training 5-6 days a week for 6 months so maybe lighter is better for now.

No big races this month. Weather wise the heat was pretty intense at times making the long runs and late starts tough. The last couple of days of this month have been in the low 60s on my morning runs. Great weather for running but I admit I thought it was a bit chilly out there on the early starts. I should be counting my blessings not complaining 🙂

The training seems to have started out well. I’m experimenting with my run/walk ratios right now as I returned to using Jeff Galloway’s method to get me through my two big goals injury free. I’m also trying out alternative fuels (Accel and PowerBar) and some new gear (Pro Compression Marathon Socks). I’ve a good few runs ahead of me to get it right but I’m pretty much set on all my other gear. It is nice to try new things from time to time. I still have yet to start my core work on the new stability ball. It’s staring at me from the corner of the room and making me feel guilty. If I start working on this in August this should be plenty of time to start seeing the benefits.

I’m coming up to my 3rd ‘Runniversary’ soon so I have a special post lined up for that.

Thanks for stopping by.

Marathon Training – Week 2

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Week 2 Training

Week 2 Training

I was able to complete the workouts on schedule this week. Cross trained on Monday and completed my runs according to schedule.

I didn’t get as much sleep as I would have liked this week (weather alerts and thunderstroms at 2am and a 3 year old getting new molars) so I was pretty tired all week. I took both the Tuesday and Wednesday runs easy as I was focused on running a ‘Magic Mile’ as part of my 3 mile run on Thursday.

The Magic Mile Time Trial is part of Jeff Galloway’s training method and is used as a predictor for determining your training and race pace. I headed to the track at Council Rock High School South early Thursday before work and did a mile warm up, a mile flat out and a mile cool down. I ran a 6:34 split for my time trial. Although it was 20 seconds slower than the same time last year I am completely okay with that. I’d be more concerned if I was closer to 7 minutes. Here is the link to the workout.

Using Jeff’s time trail tool these are my results.

Magic Mile Time Trial Results - July 2013

Magic Mile Time Trial Results – July 2013

I don’t have any PR goals for the marathon this year. I had aimed for a PR in the New Jersey Marathon but that didn’t pan out. I’m trying to run Philadelphia with my wife and bring us in under 4:30 which I think is doable as we are both sub 2 hour half marathoners and I just want to maintain endurance and health for completing Dopey. Once I have recovered from Dopey next year I can think about another PR race later in the year. I did the time trial to see where my fitness and pace levels were so I am happy with the results.

Also this week in addition to the running I am also working on nutrition and gear as part of my training. I have run four of five of my marathons using Clif Shot Bloks and know they work for me. I ran the New Jersey Marathon with Clif Shot gels but seriously over caffienated and elevated my heart rate. I’ll probably use the bloks again but in the meantime I’m experimenting with sample packs. I know GU has worked for me in the past but I got to a point where they were making me a little nauseous. They are thicker than other gels and are harder for me to get down. I tried the Accel gels and they seemed to work okay. I just purchased a 24 sample pack of the PowerBar gels. I used them today and while they tasted good (Kona Punch…Yum!) I didn’t feel they did that much for me. I have another 22 left in the pack so I can see if this was just today 🙂

I’m pretty much set on my running gear. I love my Nike UV Miler shirts and also the Road Runner Sports Velocity/Runner’s High shirts and I’m pretty steady with my multiple pairs of Nike shorts. For the long runs I typically go with a compression sleeve (I use Zensah compressions sleeves). I recently saw a discount on Pro Compression Marathon Socks and have seen this brand talked about on plenty of blogs. I purchased a pair this week (in Neon Orange) and decided to take them out for a spin. They were much harder to put on than I expected. They felt a little thinner than my usual sock (I use a medium thickness sock typically) but they felt fine. I ran okay and there was no discomfort from them and my legs were not tired the rest of the day. Interested that I felt the compression around the feet. That is why I tried the full sock over just the sleeve. I want to see how they wash and wear a couple more times before I decide whether to take the plunge and buy a couple of pairs. Anything to help my feet feel less tired during the Dopey will be helpful.

Pro Compression Marathon Socks - Orange enough?

Pro Compression Marathon Socks –
Orange enough?

Overall, it was a good week. Next week is a little shorter. A step back week where my longest run is 6 miles. Will again aim to cross train on the bike on Monday. Due to a trip I will not be able to run on Sunday so I will run Friday and Saturday and use Sunday as my rest day this week. Not a big deal and it probably will get me used to running all the back to back races at Dopey.

See you next week.

 

 

Marathon Training – Week 1

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Week 1 Training

Week 1 Training

I started my training plan for what will be my 6th and 7th full marathons on Monday. Per Hal Higdon’s plan, Mondays are reserved for cross training and Fridays are reserved for rest days. So far, one week in, I got the mileage in but I was kind of off plan already.

Due to the logistics of life I was not able to plan my week in line with the plan so somehow I had to get my long run in before Sunday as that was not an option this week. Hal’s plan called for runs on Tuesday (3 miles), Wednesday (5 miles) and Thursday (3 miles) at an easy pace and then 5 easy miles on Saturday and 8 long distance (slow) on Sunday.

The heat was a big factor this week. The east coast of the US was under heat advisory for much of the week and it was tough out there. I actually ran on the treadmill for my first day but felt I was being too cautious and took the rest of the runs outside. Tuesday’s run was pretty good. I was getting up early in the morning to beat the heat and made a pretty good pace. You can compare that to Thursday when it was much warmer and at a shorter distance and I was almost a minute per mile slower. In fact I ditched my Friday plan of the long run. I took a days rest after four continuous days running (I’m not at Disney yet). Saturday’s long run was later in the morning and I paid for it with the heat and humidity. I ran out of water at mile 7 and slowed down a little. Overall I felt good this week and feel okay going in to next week.  Mileage goes up just one mile for the long run to 9 miles.

I was toying around with Galloway intervals this week and went back to his 4:00/0:35 interval that I used for much of last year. I have run the last two months without using the Galloway method, running up to 14 miles without intervals so I know what I am capable of. The goal for Philadelphia is to stay healthy so I can complete the Dopey in January. No PRs for these two events. Following Jeff’s method to stay injury free.

Luckily it seems the weather has broken a little and it felt much cooler today. Looking forward to next week and staying closer to the plan. Tomorrow I’m planning on 30 minutes on the stationery bike as my cross training. I also recently bought a stability ball and plan to do some ab work (so I can justify blowing up a big red ball sitting in the corner of the bedroom). I also plan in the next couple of weeks to run a Magic Mile to see where I am on pace overall and to measure against how I was against this time last year.

Have a good week. Stay cool and stay healthy.

Hi Ho, Hi Ho…Off to the races I will go

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Today I started my training for the 2013 Philadelphia Marathon and the 2014 Walt Disney World ‘Dopey Challenge’.  For the next 6 months through the Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend (January 9-12, 2014) I will be out there putting in the miles 5 days a week building my base until race day in Philadelphia (November 17) and then buckling down for the next 8 weeks until ‘Dopey’. As a reminder, the Walt Disney World ‘Dopey Challenge’ is 4 days of running and includes a 5K, 10K, Half Marathon and Full Marathon…truly ‘Dopey’.

It's official

Going Dopey in 2014

It’s hard to believe that just 3 years ago I hadn’t run at all.  I actually reached 3,500 miles of cumulative running this weekend (since I started recording my mileage in September 2010).

My mileage total as of July 14, 2013

My mileage total as of July 14, 2013

Philadelphia was my first marathon back in 2011 and I was so nervous when I signed up. The feeling of crossing the finish line in my first marathon will always be with me. This year’s Philadelphia Marathon will be my 6th marathon and my third Philadelphia Marathon in a row. I have been in contact with the Philadelphia Marathon folks and may be a featured blogger this year. I’ll share the link if that does happen.

Completing my first marathon - Philadelphia 2011

Completing my first marathon – Philadelphia 2011

I am especially pleased that this year my wife Shari will be running with me for her second marathon. It should be a fun time. The crowds in Philly are really great and there are no real quiet spaces. It’s a great course. The first half takes you through the city, its neighborhoods and many of the well known sights. The second half of the race takes you along Kelly Drive up and back through Manyunk. The finish line is at the foot of the Philadelphia Art Museum (the ‘Rocky’ steps). Temperatures in the last 2 years have been ideal for marathoning. Cool to start and warming up just slightly through the morning but not too hot.

Rocky at the top of the steps - Philadelphia Museum of Art

Rocky at the top of the steps – Philadelphia Museum of Art

I will then have 8 weeks between running Philadelphia and the Walt Disney Marathon weekend. In 2011 I had only 7 weeks between running Philly and the Walt Disney World Marathon. Having signed up for a second marathon before even finishing my first marathon you can only imagine the thoughts going through my mind if I would be able to do it. I did and even improved on my time from 7 weeks earlier.

2012 Walt Disney World Marathon

2012 Walt Disney World Marathon

I had been turned on to the idea of the ‘Goofy Challenge’ (running both the Half and Full Marathon) from my experience running alongside the runners during the 2012 Disney Marathon and thought I might be up for the challenge in 2013. I wanted also to return to Philadelphia in 2012 and see if I could improve on my marathon time. I worked really hard in 2012 and PR’d by over 6 minutes, breaking 4 hours in the marathon. For the ‘Goofy Challenge’ I was running to raise money for ‘Autism Speaks’ and was more concerned with completing the event than of any specific time goal. In addition to the Challenge I also ran the Family 5K with my wife. We also ran the marathon together (her first) and we took as much time as we needed and as many photographs as we could. It was a great weekend. I was able to raise just over $3,400 for Autism Speaks in the process.

Mile 20 with Mickey, Minnie and Pluto

Mile 20 with Mickey, Minnie and Pluto

This year’s Philadelphia Marathon should be special as it is the 20th Anniversary of the race. Philadelphia really knows how to celebrate and I am very much looking forrward to the event this year especially running alongside Shari.

They actually moved the Philadelphia Marathon weekend back a week this year as there is another event going on in the city on the usual weekend in November. That will be beneficial for me as it gives me an extra week to train for the ‘Dopey Challenge’. To replicate the race conditions I have modified my race plan to have 4 days of consecutive running from Thursday to Sunday for the last few weeks of the training so my body get used to the effort (or abuse) and it can adapt to recover more effectively. It will also help me know what I need to do in terms of fueling and recovery techniques going into the event.

I will be heading to Walt Disney World solo this year due to the logistics of racing all four days. It will be a little different not having the family with me but through the magic of social media I have made lots of great connections with fellow runDisney enthusiasts and will no doubt be meeting up on one or more of these days to share the experience. Don’t feel bad for Shari for not being with me, she is headed down to Walt Disney World the following month to run the 2014 Walt Disney World ‘Princess Half Marathon’ and ‘Glass Slipper Challege’.

My training program is here if you are interested in taking a look. This is Hal Higdon‘s Marathon Intermediate 1 marathon plan for (Philly) and his 8 week multiple marathon plan modified so that there are four consecutive running days each Thursday through Sunday.

Again this year I will be running for Autism Speaks as a returning alum of ‘Team Up’. They are a great charitable foundation and do wonderful work.

I just completed hosting a virtual 5K to raise money for this years event and I am pleased that today it sold out. All 150 spots were taken. You can read about the event here. Everyone seemed to enjoy this event and I have had many kind comments from participants.  This has gone a long way in helping me reach my fundraising goals.

If you would like to help by sponsoring me as I run ‘Dopey’ please visit my personal fundraising page. Your contributions will be greatly appreciated.

I hope you some of you will follow my blog and join me on this journey to the finish line.

June 2013 – month in review

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June 2013 – Nike+ Summary

June 2013 – Nike+ Summary

A couple of days late but I’m on vacation so that’s okay.

127 miles this month. A pretty light month in terms of activities. Just one race, the San Francisco Half Marathon, which my wife and I ran as part of our 10th anniversary trip. That was a great race. You can read my recap here.

2013 San Francisco Half Marathon

2013 San Francisco Half Marathon

Whilst on the trip to San Francisco I did my Dopey run. There is still chance to sign up for the race as it is open through July 31st or until all the spots have been filed. Head over to the event page or my Facebook page to see some of the great photos that participants have been submitted.

Dopey and me in San Francisco

Dopey and me in San Francisco

I’m on vacation this week and so I’m taking advantage of the time to run with my wife and my boys. The weather is cooler than last year (i.e. not great) but it’s perfect for running and biking. I’ll take a little rest after vacation as my training for the Philadelphia Marathon starts in mid-July. Once that starts it is all go all the way to the finish line of the Dopey Challenge next January.

I did sign up for a couple of races which will be new ones for me this fall. The Cooper Norcross Benjamin Franklin Bridge Run (a 10K crossing the Delaware River between Camden, NJ and Philadelphia, PA) and the Trenton Half Marathon (crossing the Delaware River between Trenton, NJ and Morrisville, PA). It sounds like I like to run bridges, but after running the Golden Gate Bridge who can blame me?

Running the Golden Gate Bridge

Running the Golden Gate Bridge

Have a happy 4th of July.

May 2013 – month in review

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May 2013 - Nike+ Summary

May 2013 – Nike+ Summary

115 miles this month. I have learned this month that looking just at the numbers does not tell the full story.

I started the month with high expectations for achieving a PR at the New Jersey Marathon. I was just coming off a PR in the Atlantic City April Fool’s Half Marathon which I thought would be a pretty similar terrain being by the shore and I had definitely put in the miles of training.

As you can read from my race recap things didn’t go according to plan. I didn’t achieve my PR and felt fatigued. This manifested itself about 10 days later when my body just ran out of juice. Rather than be in a funk about why I hadn’t achieved my goals and looking for a dozen reasons why I felt bad I took the time to look at how I got here, what I was doing right and what I was doing wrong. It basically came down to quality vs quantity. I took a couple of days off and readjusted my goals and my training. Hopefully going forward the changes I am planning will pay off. You can read about that here.

This month I launched a Virtual 5K run to raise funds for Autism Speaks for the 2014 Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend where I am running in the inaugural Dopey Challenge. So far the reception to this has been great. Many people have signed up and the first 100 medals have been ordered. I encourage you to sign up and participate if you can just for the fun of it. Remember, if you fully participate and post a picture of Dopey on your run you may be eligible for one of the prizes. See this post for details.

I have my Dopey ready for my run

I have my Dopey ready to run

At the end of the month we celebrated Memorial Day weekend and the official start of the summer. It was a fun weekend as I got to spend a lot of time with the family and celebrate my 10th wedding anniversary. You can read about that here.

Finally, based on a little encouragement, I am venturing into uncharted territory. I have basically been running using Jeff Galloway’s Run/Walk Method since February 2011. It has served me well and got me through 5 marathons. When I revisited what I had been doing as discussed earlier I noticed that although I was putting in the miles I was not getting any faster and all my runs were pretty much the same. Ultimately I want to improve on my marathon times going forward and during the New Jersey Marathon even my walk breaks didn’t seem to help. I am currently reading Pete Pfitzinger’s book on Advanced Marathoning and although I do not expect I will train at that level or follow his plans I am looking to change up my running experience.

Over the last three runs I basically threw caution to the wind and did not use the Galloway Method. I ran a 6 mile easy pace run, a 5 mile tempo run and this morning I ran 10 miles without stopping. These are the furthest distances I have run non stop. That sounds silly coming from someone who has run 5 marathons (including a Goofy Challenge) but I want to see what I can achieve. I believe somewhere out there is a 3:30-3:45 marathon that I can run. It’s worth a try. I’ll be watching carefully how my body reacts and I am open to using Galloway again in the future if I think it will be beneficial. I already plan on doing something like that during Dopey just so I can survive the event!

Looking at the last 3 days of runs it seems to be working so far and I feel okay. Judging from my splits over the last 3 runs my average pace is already that bit quicker. We will see what the future holds I guess.

6 miles easy pace - 5/29/13

6 miles easy pace – 5/29/13

5 miles Tempo run - 5/30/13: 1 mile warm up - 2 miles at tempo with 800m recovery - 1 mile cool down

5 miles Tempo run – 5/30/13:
1 mile warm up – 2 miles at tempo with 800m recovery – 1 mile cool down

10 miles long run - 5/31/13 - miles 1-5

10 miles long run – 5/31/13 – miles 1-5

10 miles long run - 5/31/13 - miles 6-10

10 miles long run – 5/31/13 – miles 6-10

Speaking of future plans, I have a 5K coming up this Sunday (June 2nd) which I will be pushing my two boys in the running stroller again…no PR there 🙂 and on June 16th I will be running the San Francisco Half Marathon with my Wife. I then have the 25 miles Cycle Bucks County event on the 22nd. Lot’s to look forward to. June should be a pretty low key month as the training for this year’s Philadelphia Marathon and January 2014 Dopey Challenge start in earnest in mid-July.

See you on the road.

Relax. Review. Renew.

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Last Wednesday morning I got up for a planned 6 mile run around the park near to our home. It was 10 days post the New Jersey Marathon and I felt no physical discomfort and 6 miles is a typical mid-week run distance for me. This run, however, was far from being a typical run. I quit the run after 4 miles not because of any physical pain but because I just didn’t have the energy to do more. Those 4 miles felt like miles 21-24 of a marathon. My heart rate was into the high 170s much like it had been during the marathon. I was beat and I was beaten. I posted my feelings on a running related Facebook group and got the general feedback that I needed to relax, take a break, smile and look back on my achievements.

I should have seen this coming as the signs were there a couple of weeks before I ran the New Jersey Marathon but that was during the taper and I just put it down to coming off the big mileage weeks and needing to recover before the big day. I took the next couple of days off as it was obvious I needed to and took a look at my training history in Garmin Connect.

What I saw was that I had been training 5 days a week without a break since January 2012. In fact I jumped into the NJ Marathon training straight after completing the Goofy Challenge this year at week 3 of the plan as that was how the plan worked in with the race date. From looking at my training history I took stock of how I got here and what I needed to do to get my ‘Mojo’ back. Bear in mind that I am still a fairly novice runner (in my mind) having been doing this for about 2.5 years.

Relax

I did indeed stop and relax. I took the next couple of evenings to catch up on a few shows that had backed up on the DVR as a consequence of trying to get my early nights for the next day’s run and also pushed the alarm clock back to allow myself an extra 1 to 1.5 hours sleep in the morning. That was a good start.

I also thought of the reasons why I run. It was really about my health. It was never that I was going to start running to complete marathons. I started to run so I could lose weight and be healthy to do all the activities with my two young boys. The races and endurance events only came about as I gained confidence with my abilities and saw the opportunities it offered me in terms of personal achievements.

Review – Running

I also took a deep dive into what I was doing, or more specifically, how I was doing it. I am not an elite runner nor a racer and I don’t plan to be. I am my own competition. I set the challenges and meet the goals. What I saw from my training history is something that I had read about as a big training mistake.

Quantity vs Quality.

I had downloaded training plans and added them to my calendar so at any time I knew what I needed to run in terms of distance. To me it was making sure I hit the mileage goal for the week. If it said 12 miles I ran 12 miles. As I posted earlier this may be a little OCD and may have been a big factor in this. I met my goals in terms of quantity but I wasn’t really following the plan.

These plans are designed by expert coaches with much more experience than I have. I’m no expert and based upon my look back I am in no position to coach!! I was reaching the numbers but not looking at the quality of the workout. If the plan said run 6 miles ‘Tempo’ I ran 6 miles. If the plan said run 6 miles ‘Repeats’ I ran 6 miles. If it said run 6 miles ‘Race Pace’ I ran 6 miles. If you had looked at any of the runs uploaded into my Garmin Connect account you would not see a difference in any of these runs. BINGO!

The plans are designed not to just build the ability to conquer the miles but the ability to train your body to conquer the miles well. Mix up the training to build up the right capabilities to run well not just run long. Some speed work, some hill training, some easy and long runs. They are all part of making me a better runner. I did not have the right focus. The results spoke for themselves.

Review – Diet

One of the other signs that my training was not going as planned was my diet, hunger levels and weight management. Having been overweight for much of my life running helped me loose almost 60 pounds and achieve everything I had to date.

Since I completed the Goofy Challenge back in January I had put on about 6-8 pounds. This had frustrated me and probably pushed me into making sure I got those miles in and didn’t miss a day. I had a ravenous appetite and was pretty much eating more.

I couldn’t in my head see the disconnect between the increased hours of training and the weight gain. I had started coming home from work pretty exhausted (yes, from a desk job) and had begun to rely on the 3pm espresso. Tip – you don’t want to be the guy who walks up to the coffee bar and the barista says “Hi Ian. The usual?” Ugh!

So looking at my diet and my intake combined and with not running last week as much as I normally would I was very focused on my food. I stopped drinking my umpteen cups of coffee and drank water more throughout the day (which was a big factor when I initially lost the weight) and made sure that without the extra calories from running that I made sure I came in under or close to my daily calorie budget. I use an app to track my daily nutrition. It keeps me honest and helps maintain my weight after working so hard to lose it. So the overall result of my diet review was the same as how I had approached the mileage.

Quality vs Qauntity

Again, it’s amazing how I lost sight of this as diet has been a constant battle through out my adult life and this was as easy slip which I could have caught. I wrote earlier about my love of pancakes, but as they say, it’s fine in moderation. In my mind I had earned my calories and I had spent everyone last one of them and was still within my daily budget. I had lost sight of the moderation. Oops!

So what do I do about this?

Renew

I immediately started on the diet. That was the easy part. At work I’m drinking more water. I have my trusty Nathan Triton 24oz water bottle and pretty much sip from it throughout the day. No caffeine withdrawal issues LOL. I still have a cup when I get up and my travel cup on the way to work but I have done my best to eliminate any more caffeine (than is absolutely necessary) from my daily intake.

Without the daily running I noticed that my appetite wasn’t as much on overdrive as it had been and I was able to meet my daily budget. That was a big fear. I survived. In fact I have lost about 4 pounds in the last week without any workouts. I was 171 pounds when I weighed in this morning which is just over my 168 pound goal weight. My body must have been expecting to work out every minute and so stored fuel. I guess I gave my body a rest and my metabolism decided it didn’t have to freak out and store food for energy!!!

I looked at my training schedule. I am signed up for the Philadelphia Marathon this fall and the training starts in earnest in mid-July. This gave me a chance to continue to train but have some recovery time before that starts. I looked at the resources I had in my Training Peaks account and decided to tackle the Runner’s World Winter Maintenance Plan.  This is a 6 week plan which has 4 days of running with some cross training and rest days. The peak long run is in week 4 at 16 miles but this provides a mix of easy runs, tempo runs and mile repeats.

I have never really focused on mixing up the types of training like this but aim to try this time around to make me a better and hopefully fitter runner. There is a track at the high school near me so I plan on using this as a place to do the speed work training.

On the cross training days I plan to do some stationery bike work with some abs/core work and some lunges and squats to work the muscles around my knee and leg joints. We will see how that goes. Nothing like making your plans public to hold yourself accountable.

At the weekend I went for a 6 mile run again. I will a little nervous that I would feel the same low energy when I ran. Indeed the route I took was quite hilly. I felt pretty good out of the gate. I didn’t want to push myself too far but after the first mile I decided to do some speed play. I chose a telegraph pole a couple of streets away and ran at a tempo pace then resumed my easy pace. I did this a couple of times and it felt good. In fact looking at my heart rate I didn’t get any higher than 169 bpm which was less than I had been experiencing in recent runs so the rest seems to have already started to show benefits. I finished with a feeling I could have done more. 🙂

It gave me a little confidence that I can get back in the game with a little focus. This week I ended up running just twice and only 10 miles but I learned alot from taking a little rest time and self reflection.

This was a long one. Thanks for sticking with it.

April 2013 – month in review

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March 2013 - Nike+ Summary April 2013 – Nike+ Summary

April 2013 – Nike+ Summary

I’m posting this a day late but there is quite a lot to look back on this month.

This month I logged 145 miles, logged a new Half Marathon PR, signed up for a new Disney race and began tapering for the New Jersey Marathon on May 5th.

Spring is definitely here and I clocked more miles outside than inside than I have since the beginning of the year.  I’m glad to be outside again although my podcast listening is falling behind (a decent trade off).

My new half marathon PR at the Atlantic City April Fool’s Half Marathon on April 7th is pretty much down to me chasing my wife who is more often than not leaving me in the dust these days. The weather for the race was perfect and the flat course and pace I was able to maintain gives me confidence that I can achieve my goal in the upcoming New Jersey Marathon. 🙂

runDisney also announced this month an addition for the 2014 Walt Disney World Marathon weekend.  The new Minnie themed 10K race and the new ‘Dopey Challenge’.  Needless to say I am in. I signed up to run again with Team Up/Autism Speaks and hope to beat my fundraising of just over $3,400 that I raised for the 2013 ‘Goofy’s Race and a Half Challenge’. Wish me luck.

The end of the month sees me in the last week of my taper with only a few days left before the New Jersey Marathon. Looking back at my mileage from month to month I am actually 40 miles or so less than March which was the peak of my training. That feels about a week less of running. I need to learn for future events that I cannot eat as if I ran that extra 40. I’ll worry about that for the next race 😉

The taper itself has not left me frustrated like people often say but the strange thing about running significantly less mileage and catching up on sleep (days without an alarm wake up call!!!) have left me achy and feeling exhausted. Running is definitely a daily energy boost and all the aches and tiredness is hopefully just a sign of my body recharging before the big day. I actually feel refreshed and good about this weekend and hope to meet my goals. If it works out it works out, if not I remember I am not an elite runner and there will be other races. It’s about overall long term health and enjoyment. PR or no PR I will still have run my race, met the distance and earned my medal (and dessert)…although I will be trying as hard as I can for that PR.

(If you want to follow me during the New Jersey Marathon my Bib number is #2492)

Hopefully I will be feeling fit and healthy and have a nice race recap or two at the end of May.

Thanks for sticking with me.

(If you want to support me as I raise funds for Autism Speaks you can do so at this link. Thank you.)