HH5210 mod: 7-2

3 miles in 27:05 (9:01/mile)

Another gorgeous day for a run. Another ab workout, and I'm feeling more discomfort in my left shin. I'm going to get my shoes looked at tomorrow and start doing some better stretching, since I've slacked off on that.

My mom's broken ankle turned out to be a spiral fracture of the tibia with some bone chips in the ankle are that she is going to have to have som surgery for. Turns out my brother broke his ankle the day after my mom. I'm not sure I want to go running for a few weeks. :)

Monthly Weigh In - April

This was a tough month, but I was able to stay on target, despite multiple days of fears I wouldn't (rant below). Down another 6.5 pounds for April)

	01 Jan	01 Feb	01 Mar	31 Mar	30 Apr
Neck	16.25	16.25	15.75	15.375	15.125
Waist	44.75	43.25	41.5	39.5	38.75
Bodyfat%	33.5	31.5	30.1	27.3	26.5
Weight	208	200	193.5	186	179.5

Methodology and Stress:

Warning from here down is long and rambly.
I haven't really discussed the Weight loss thing too much here since this is supposed to be a running blog. At least in my head it is. :) But I'm running out of semi-interesting things to say when I run the same 3 mile route 2 of my 3 runs a week.

One of the things my running is supporting is my weight loss. My goal is to be back at my high school weight of 165 (which was more muscular then, but we'll work on that later). Preferably before I start hauling my ass along the roads training for the marathon. The current plan is for me to transition to running 4 days a week after mothers day, and then I'm going to start Hal Higdon's Marathon Novice plan, with 4 extra weeks for life built in, the Beginning of July. So I may not reach goal before that, but I can certainly shave off a few hundred calories here and there and be down to goal, or possibly lower if I believe what the healthy weight predictors say I should be at, by the marathon November 30. I may use some of my buffer weeks to make goal, or since the first couple of weeks of the program aren't that different from my 4 day a week plan, I may just continue on through July.

To make that more clear, I have a food log and have a goal to stay 500 calories below my maintenance level each day (I averaged 520 below last month, with 5 days where I couldn't accurately track because we ate out, so I'm assuming I was at maintenance). I also don't replace the calories from walks and runs. (roughly 31 miles of walking, 44.5 miles of running, estimated at 100 calories a mile). I've read I really shouldn't be at a significant calorie deficit during marathon training because of the physical demands on the body. Wherever it was I read that certainly implied that I should be at maintenance and be replacing my run calories as well.

I'll admit I'm anally retentive with some things, and this weight loss thing is no exception. Some days it gets really old obsessing about calories and walks and runs and progress. I want to be done with the weight loss side of the lifestyle change thing so I can get to a maintenance level so I can eat more. I'm not hungry most of the time, but it's the psychological pressure of knowing that if I don't meet my goal, or have a bad day that it just means more time doing this.

I'm going to have to keep my food log for the rest of the year at least to make sure I'm eating enough, and the right things when I'm training for the marathon, but it seems like it will be different as I look ahead, mainly because the boundary will be less... hard, somehow.

I really try to stay off the scale except once a month (with an unofficial weigh in on the 15th) during the process, because when I started I was doing daily weigh ins and driving myself nuts. (I'll probably go to This month, I did my 15th weigh in and had made no progress. Not possible! So I wandered through my spreadsheets and banged another one together that added up calorie deficits and walks and runs and the projected total calorie deficit. I should have been down like 2.5 to 3 pounds. Same thing the next day... A couple of days later, it was all gone... I just don't understand this body thing my brain is driving around. It was totally stressed out. I can't say I was going to quit, but I spent hours recalculating maintenance calorie levels on the off chance that I wasn't really in as much of a deficit as I thought, reading about weight loss plateaus, etc... I just want to be done...

What I call the maintenance level is essentially using some of the many tools online to calculate my sedentary calorie level. Specifically the one I originally settled on is here :For Men, For Women

My food log has the calculated value in 5 pound increments and I adjust my target calories down as I lose the weight. This keeps me closer to on track because you need less calories as you weigh less. As I discovered when I was in panic mode there are a number of different ways to calculate your maintenance level.  I think I'll talk about that in another post...

If you're still here, thanks for reading.  :)

HH5210 mod: 7-1

3 miles in 27:44 (9:14/mile)

What a great day for a run. 60 or so, no clouds, sunshine, and except for that damned headwind on the way back in, perfect. I'm really glad someone asked me if I really wanted to wear my running pants today. Wore the shorts for the first time. (TMI moment: May need some compression pants under these, they seem to ride up in the crotch a bit. )

I think my sub 27:00 run last week was a fluke. This run about kicked my ass. I blame the sun and the head wind. :) Or it could have been the 7 hours in the car on Saturday.

HH5210 mod: 6-3

5 miles in 48:37 (9:43/mile)

Yay! First time I've run 5 miles!

I decided to run today instead of this weekend, because I've got alt least 7 hours of driving on Saturday, to go down and help out my mom. She broke her ankle on Monday, and is not weight bearing for 3 weeks. I'm going down to check on her and bring her dog back to our place. It's hard to walk a dog on crutches, and she has no fenced yard.

Running long at work meant a new route, since I'm not sure if the trail under the Fremont bridge is open yet. I'll have to run up to the bend on Monday instead of turning right around and check it out. The new route was all sorts of interesting... :)

I don't think I've mentioned before that my work runs are around/near/beside Lake Union. This run went up the East side of the lake, up on Eastlake and Fairview to the University Bridge.

So I'm running along Eastlake, about 6 minutes in, and apparently I didn't pay enough attention to the map, because all the sudden my sidewalk goes down 15 steps to a dock a foot above the lake, goes a hundred feet, then other 15 steps back up. Nothing like creative sidewalk management to make things interesting for everyone. :)

Then as I turn onto Fairview I realize that there are essentially no sidewalks for the entire run. Ah well. About the time I realize that I run through a cloud of epoxy or paint fumes that almost takes my breath away. Mmmmmm, toxic fumes. :)

At about mile 1.5 I turn to jog up to Eastlake for a second. Holy crap, it's a hill, and not a small one, at least for me. Where did that come from? I really need to pay more attention to the map, and use that elevation map. A few blocks once I'm up on Eastlake then back down to Fairview, holy crap, I swear this is 45 degrees. Nelly, that was interesting

Finally I get to the Bridge after another small hill and the turnaround is right under the bridge operators station. I'm feeling like I've got a pretty good case of vertigo running on the edge of the bridge, and seeing water 80 feet down flashing by as I run.

I must have been hungry, because I swear I ran by 10 restaurants , and they all were pumping out amazing smells as I went by. The oddest sight had to be the 'terrorist runner' who blew by me as I was coming back down the hill after the bridge. Except for his shoes he was all in black. It was about 55 out, I was out in pants and short sleeve shirt. He had on Tights, shorts, insulated shirt, balaclava, and then one of those scarf things with everything but his eyes covered, and black gloves. Very odd. I'm hoping he was training for a hot weather run somewhere.

No aches and pains during the run, but my left calf and shin were twingy, and I'm feeling something new in the outside of my left lower leg too. Some RICE tonight, and then I'm going to make sure I go down to the Balanced Athlete and get a second opinion about my shoes next Tuesday.

splits:
(approximate only, first time I've run this route, and I missed the mile 2 marker by 350 feet or more. The button was clicked at the same place on the route each time though.)
mile1 - 9:32
mile2 - 10:15 (where did those hills come from?!?!?!)
mile3 - 9:38
mile4 - 10:08 (those damn hills again)
mile5 - 9:02 (ahhh... blessed flat ground)

HH5210 mod: 6-2

Whoo Hoo!!!! I broke 27:00 for my 3 mile run!!!!!
3 miles in 26:24 (8:48/mile)

I could not have kept that pace up for a whole lot longer, and my 'push' at the end really just involved some arm flailing and gasping, and not a lot of speed increase. Felt good though.

I'm going to have to add some workouts to strengthen my core, even if it's just some daily situps. I knew the first mile was faster than normal just from the way my lower abs tightened up about 1/2 a mile in. The tightness gradually progressed up my abs till at the end it really didn't have too far to go and it was going to be affecting my breathing pretty badly. No side splits today, but my right shoulder/neck bothered me again for a 1/2 mile or so, then finally went away.

Any suggestions for at home workouts for the core?

The right side of my core seems a bit more sore than my left, and I came it with a bit of soreness in my left calf, but neither seem serious. I think the side thing and the neck/shoulder thing are from the way I sit at my desk.

I can't run this pace every day, but I keep reading that I need to vary speed and workout, so I figure if I run Mondays as a 'medium' run, Wednesdays as a 'speed' workout, and Saturday as a longer, 'slow' run, I'll be OK.

HH5210 mod: 6-1

3 miles in 29:33 (9:51/mile)

This was a tough run. Not sure if I ate too early, or more likely, it was the back to back with yesterday. I really thought about walking it in at around mile 2, but, needless to say, didn't.
I was however, able to keep a better handle on my pace for this run.

Congrats go out to HappyBlogChick for her first 5K!

Splits:
mile1 - 9:58
mile2 - 9:49
mile3 - 9:46

It is April, Right? -aka- HH5210 mod: 5-3

4.5 miles in 43:08 (9:35/mile)

Went out with Toby on Sunday after our crazy ass snow on Friday. No snow to run around after 2 days of melting, and he actually cooperated with me for a change. I started out a bit slower, and didn't push like I normally do coming back in on the last quarter mile. Run felt really good.

Splits:

mile1 - 9:48

mile2 - 10:00 (uphill)

.5 mile - 5:12 (uphill, down, up, down)

mile3 - 9:12 (downhill)

mile4 - 8:57

Congrats to Dani at Run, Dani, Run! and Run Runner at Run! Run! Adventures in Couch To 5K who both ran their first 5Ks this weekend!!!

I've got a rant about obsessing about calories and weight loss progress (or lack there of) in my head, but I think I'll save it for tomorrow. :)

So, we got 8 inches of snow on Friday, the 18th. It's freaking nuts!!! Here's Toby the Bernese Mountain Dog, loving life. :)

HH5210 mod: 5-2

3 miles in 27:56 (9:18/mile)

A solo run for a change. My boss is down with the crud, so he didn't go. It was nice. I just ran. Probably a bit harder than I should (I really need to get a heart rate monitor) but it felt good, and the increased mileage on the weekend sis probably helping because I felt like I could keep going when I finished.

I may have to switch to shorts, the pants were a bit warm, and I think I got some sun. Guess I need to add sunscreen to the gear bag. Had to spend 10 minutes washing shampoo out of my shower kit after the run though. Apparently the lid to the shampoo hadn't closed on Monday.... grrr...

splits:
mile1 - 9:34
mile2 - 9:08
mile3 - 9:14

HH5210 mod: 5-1

3 miles in 28:10 (9:23/mile)

Not a bad run for the day after a 'long' run. :)

My boss didn't go out so I ran with one of the other slower members of the marathon club. His base pace is a bit faster than mine. I probably pushed harder than I needed too, but I was only nauseous on part of the middle mile. :) I think the middle split is a bit of a fluke, I think I hit the button far too early. Not sure hos I managed identical splits on the first and last miles. :)

mile1 - 9:37
mile2 - 8:56
mile3 - 9:37

HH5210 mod: 4-3

4.18 miles in 39:29 (9:29/mile). And since I didn't do it last week (apparently because I have this 'blog entries are write once' attitude)... Holy Crap, I ran 4 miles! :)

This was supposed to be a 4 mile run. Before I get into the details of that, however, go congratulate MomOf3 on her first 5K!

After a long , but fun weekend, I managed to get out at 7:40 on Sunday, while it was still light out. A second 4 miler was on the schedule, and I went ahead and took Toby, since he needed to work out some kinks too.

Turns out that my turnaround point on the map doesn't actually have a street sign (and now that I go back and look at Google maps, I see that it really is the county access road I thought it might be) This means I went an extra block. The only reason I noticed, is that I finally figured out how to work splits on my watch, and when I got back the splits looked odd:

mile1 - 9:48

mile2 - 10:23 (adjusted pace 9:31)(uphill for 1/2)

mile3 - 10:05 (adjusted pace 9:15)(downhill for 1/2)

mile4 - 9:22

So I remapped it. Turns out the messed up turnaround added 0.09 of a mile to the middle two legs. (mile two also includes the only hill currently in my workout runs) . Toby did not like the hill, nor has he changed his opinion about the speedup for the last 0.2 miles. :) I almost tossed what was left of my dinner after finishing though. That last mile was really tough.

We went to visit Grandma this weekend, 4:30 down to Long Beach, WA, and then a gorgeous day on the beach 73, slight breeze, wow. I'm kicking myself for not running, but I was tapped. Hung out with my mom till around 1 on Sunday and then drove back. took about 3:30. We cut an hour because Kaitlyn slept. She was VERY done with the whole car thing by the time we got home.

Some Kaitlyn pics:

Mom trying to turn her around... :)

Happy, with a lid full of Cheerios.

Not Trying To Be Perfect Anymore

I got tagged by lisa for the 6 word memoir... I think I did this a few weeks ago, but I only used 5 words, and I like this one better. :) I'll skip the last step, because the people I would tag have all ready been tagged. :)

Here's the rules:(1) Write your own six word memoir.(2) Post it on your blog and include a visual illustration if you want.(3) Link to the person that tagged you in your post, and to the original post if possible so we can track it as it travels across the blogs-universe.(4) Tag at least five more blogs with links.(5) Leave a comment on the tagged blogs with an invitation to play.

Obviously the title is the memoir. I have to work really hard at not constantly striving for perfection, in my actions and in other things as well. (Technically, this is a symptom/action of codependency). Doing the best you can is one thing, not allowing yourself or others mistakes is another. The running helps actually. Some days are bad, some are good, sometimes you have to adjust the schedule to match reality, etc...

And on a lighter note, and because I want too...

Kaitlyn on the tractor at the Family Farm exibit at the Woodland Park Zoo last weekend:

HH5210 mod: 4-2 -and- Doing More Than Running?

3 miles in 29:20 (9:46/mile).

This felt like a tough run for some reason. Actually now that I think about it, it was tough because my calves were really tight at first, so I was working there, and then I ended up with a negative spit, so the last half, after my calves warmed up was fast... Duh.

I don't get this training thing. I need to do more reading to try to figure out what, if anything, I should be doing differently. Reading about McMillan Running Calculators, and intervals, and varying speeds during runs makes my head hurt. At this point I'll try to start understanding it, but I'm just going to run, and let my body tell me pace.

On a related not: I have a huge amount of respect for all of you who go out and do more than just run the other days of the week (or sometimes the same day).

I like the running, some days I get home after a lunch run and I want to go run again (I don't mind you, I'm not that crazy yet. I just think about it.). The idea of just doing some pushups and situps, no matter how appealing from the perspective of whole body fitness. (I went to the playground with Kaitlyn this weekend and tried to do 2 pullups, failed each time, and managed to do 3 full body dips on the parallel bars. I'm still sore 3 days later).

Turns out my boss really likes to swim, and we pass a pool on our runs. $30 annual membership and $3 per lap session. It motivated me enough to think about it and to even find the Couch To 5K equivalent for swimming. Swimming a continuous mile (0 to 1650)(apparently 1650 yards is a mile in swimming). Sounded cool. Even made me think about a mini tri. Now the idea just makes me shudder.

It's possible that it's the same motivation thing that took me so to get back into running. Or, it could be that I'm hungry and more tired that I'd like to be (possibly because of the running and calorie deficit thing, a rant for another day).

Who knows. I'll probably bitch about it a couple more times and then make a decision. Or not. I'm really thinking that I won't add anything until July, which is when I hope to be at my goal weight and start eating more. It still bugs me though.

HH5210 mod: 4-1

3 miles in 28:46 (9:35/mile)

A little bit different of a group run. Overall the group ran a bit slower, and my boss didn't come along so it was a completely different Monday run for me. Nice to talk to other people once in a while. :) I really felt it in my lower abs and upper thighs on the return leg, but that went away at some point.

Return leg was with my bosses boss, who is one of the club 'founders'. We ran a little fast for me (but survivable), but probably about right for him. He ran a freaking sub 3:16 marathon on Saturday. Turns out he's got 97 marathon or longer races under his belt. 69 of those are ultras... Wow. Turns out my boss has 2 marathons already, and the contractor I just swapped offices with (to put him closer to my old boss, still part of my team) has 18 marathons or longer (2 ultras). Guess I'm going to have to keep running. :)

HH5210 mod: 3-3

4 mile run in 40:15 (10:04/mile) with Toby.

Toby did much better this run. Probably because I remembered the same rules apply to him as do to me. No breakfast before the run. :) And he's a dog, so haul some treats along. :) I almost cried in frustration on the last .1 miles though. I try to speed up that last block to make sure I didn't over do the run. I figure if I have anything left, I wasn't pushing too hard. I literally pulled him along for a big chunk of it. Not the most mature thing I could do, I'll do better at being an adult next time. :)

Run felt pretty good, but I noticed some toenail/other toe contact for the first time. I'll pay attention to it. I wonder how to deal with that, but I'll go Google. I also had some chafing on my upper body. In a spot that got no sympathy from my wife given her experiences breastfeeding. :) Possibly time for some BodyGlide.

I was really tired after the run though. I've noticed that for a week or so, and Val seems to think I'm pushing the calorie deficit too far, especially on run days. I'm normally 500 (possibly more) calories under my sedentary maintenance and I'm not replacing run or walk calories either. I'll probably write a whole separate entry about it later.

Ate breakfast and then we took Kaitlyn to the Zoo for the first time. What fun. And more calories burned. :) I'll have to post some pics later, but we had a lot of fun. She really liked the Raptors interestingly enough.

HH5210 mod: 3-2

3 miles in 27:21 (9:07/mile)

I don't know whether to thank the brutal headwind we started with or not. Of course it went away on the return leg, so no tail wind. Grrr... My boss was only running 2 miles today in deference to his foot problem, so I think we started a bit fast, and then I was trying to punch through the wind, so I went a bit faster than normal. When I hit the mile marker and my boss turned around, I was around race pace (9:15) and decided to try to keep the pace since I wasn't puking yet. :)

I really pushed the last 100 meters or so (I know it's asking for trouble, but it's nice to know I'm not running full force for the rest of the run), and then fought my watch for my stop time. I'm certainly not running this pace for my 4 miler on Saturday, but it felt pretty good. Can I call this a 'speed workout' :)

On a real training note, is the fact that my last workout was at a 10:09 pace, and I was capable of a 9:07 pace mean I need to be pushing harder on my regular runs? Not to 9:07, but should I be shooting for 9:40 instead of 10? Or, at this point in the game, do I run how I feel like and let my body pick the speed?