Regarding the Metabolic Repair--
in a nutshell-- probably the greatest gift i could have given myself. i SEVERELY overdid the ReFeed week. I was suposed to eat about 2500 cals a day...i think i went overboard! At the end of the week i had gained....13 POUNDS!! AMAZING.. it was *mostly* water weight, and i knew it... i have now settled down to 139 for the past few days, so im giong to call that my new "real" weight. When all was said and done-- a 5 pound gain total. Water. It sux. Now i have to get it off, but im doing it moderately, for once. Im focusing on strength training right now, with LIGHT LIGHT run/jogging 2-3 X a week, till the weight is off. Then all bets are off and im dropping EVERYTHING to hit up the RUNNING SEASON!! I wanna be FAST! I wanna be GOOD!
For now im going to be patient. Im trying to take this weight off very slowly (im eating about 1600 cals a day) Before i was MAINTAINING at 1200 a day. Im very confident i can maintain right now *around* 2000 or so. Which is good news! Right now, after 6 weeks off from running, AND the addition of 5 pounds of fat, i feel SLOW. I feel AWKWARD. Running is HARD right now...total newbie ;) I can go out and belt out 5 or so ( i could probaby run a marathon if i HAD to) but it is SLOW!! Whenever i try to pick up the pace, i get tired and have to slow down.....sigh..... ill get it back!

OH! and im eating CARBS again! i will NEVE NEVER ever go low carb again...DOWN WITH THAT

MK: Thanks for the update. I'm so glad you are feeling better and happy with the results. I could EASILY gain 13 pounds in one week. Sure, a lot of it would be water, but still... It's hard to deal with but I'm sure you will have it off in no time with the running, which will improve in no time. In fact, I bet you will be posting here next week about an awesome run you just had. Wait and see! Why do you say that you would never go no carb again? Do you feel better eating carbs? I eat carbs and can't imagine life without them.

Pam

Milehigh-- i meant that i will never do that to myself again! Apparently my body is VERY SENSITIVE hormonally to low/no carb and high stress training. No BUENO for me..... I acknowledge how FAST i can lose weight when i cut out carbs, but at what cost?? Not to mention i am an ENDURANCE runner! Carbs need to be my staple! And they Taste so good....

Oh! and a quickie update-- i lied about being 139...as soon as i typed that BAM! Overnight another water "whoosh"! 136 today baby! I have less to go than i thought! ;)

ran this Am......at this point i am just going through the motions. No intervals. No High Speeds. No Lactic Acid thresholds or VO2Max workouts....slow and steady......so slow....so steady........ im gong for time right now. 50 minutes. Im guessing 5 miles? ish?

Fat-- how did your 5K go??
Mile high-- yours is today or tomorrow?

Hi guys!! MK, I could easily put on 13 in a week too. Glad you are getting back down quickly to where you are comfortable! Going for time is good... sounds like you are getting back to the point where you are falling in love with running again. :)

Thanks for asking about the 5k - I PR'ed today!!! It was the biggest race I've run in -2,000 people so a slow start but Garmin time was 34:59 *BARELY eeked out a sub-35 according to the holy Garmin* and gun time was 35:31... see what I mean about a lot of people? lol. Took us awhile to get through the starting gate! Ah well, the weather was FANTASTIC and I had such a good time. Happy to kick off the race season with a PR. Now it's back to logging those long run miles. 2 months until HM...ACK!!!

Pam - goood luck tomorrow!! hopefully the weather holds out long enough for a good race! i know what you mean about different treadmills. i've figured out different ones at the gym that seem harder and try to avoid those..haha.

FP - WOW! Congrats on the new PR. Great job! Glad you had fantastic weather and a positive race experience to kick off the season.

Pam - break a leg tomorrow!

Sorry I've been away again from the thread. Super busy at work...and I think I had some food poisoning last week that left me yucky and in bed for 2 and a half days. But bounced back and had two great treadmill work outs this week (it's been raining for the last five days) and a good strength workout. I love the assisted pull-up machine at the gym - it allows you to assume some of your body weight with your legs so you aren't pulling up your full weight. Very cool - anyone else tried this? One of my dreams is to do an unassisted pull up so I hope I can just gradually, slowly, decrease the amount of assist...

My first race is a month away! Aargh! Can't believe it - it felt so far off in the distance and now it's almost here. I need to get out and actually run the route to figure out where the hills are and how to navigate them - hoping to do that tomorrow afternoon, weather permitting, maybe even in the drizzle if the weather doesn't clear up. I want to be familiar with the route before race morning. But I'm registered so it's official - I'm already getting butterflies. Any advice for what I should or shouldn't do in the next month to prep?

MK: Congrats on losing more weight already. Have you every checked out Lyle McDonald's Body Recomposition website. He has lots of interesting information about weight loss and exercise. I have spent hours and hours on that site.

Fat: Congrats on your PR. Great time! I know what you mean about crowds. The Lucky 7K was super crowded. I don't know how many people ran but I'm guessing 4-5 thousand. The race results aren't posted yet and I forgot to hit stop on my Garmin when I crossed the finish line (I have done that every single race this year, ugh!). It was slow to get moving and there were lots of hills going over the bridges. I think I was probably at about 41 minutes. MY goal was sub 40 so I'm a bit disappointed but I guess running in the wind and cold and up and down hills is harder than running on a treadmill like I usually do. My hubby and kids (19 & 25) came so that was the best part. They were so supportive and proud of me. My sis-in-law did the race too so my brother was there so that was cool, too. The weather held until just after the race and then it started to snow. Brrrr...

BlueRidge: Glad you are feeling better. I love the assisted pull-up machine. It is probably my favorite piece of stength training equipment in the gym. In fact, my lats are sore today from using it yesterday. Once a week I fit in what I call a pull up/push up challenge into my workout where I do as many pull ups and standard push ups as I can (usually about 50 each with short rests in between). I don't do any other strength training on these days, only running or cross training. It's fun and I always feel it the next day. I think push ups are helping my core, too, because I can hold a plank a lot longer than I used to be able to.

Later gators.

Pam

I'm still here! I've been having a rough few weeks, trying not to get discouraged about my hip and what not but I'm doing better. I had my first physical therapy appointment today and I am feeling *so* hopeful! It is such a relief to have a doctor who is going to help me get back to running instead of trying to get me to give it up. He watched me run on the treadmill and gave me some stretches to do 4x a day for 2 weeks and then I have a follow up appointment. He actually said that I could do some running! :carrot: I just have to stop before it starts to hurt. The half marathon training that I signed up (and paid) for starts on the 27th and I've emailed the trainers about my hip issue and they too are going to work with me and help me to train without pain. (hehe that rhymed) So I am really excited, but am going to be patient and start back SLOWLY. I am going to do my stretches religiously and get through this! I will cross that finish line on June 19th even if I have to walk the entire thing! :jig:

MK- I am so glad that your recharge plan is working for you! I am also glad that you are running again. I am on a low carb thing right now, and it does seem to make me grumpy some days.

FP- Congrats on your PR! What a great way to start off the running season. :D

todays run- 5.5 miles~ 44 minutes.... not TOO slow ;) Actually, i thought i was running lots slower than that, so im pleased that i can belt out the 8 min miles with minimal effort... I think i can be back where i need to be by May or so, if not sooner --- of course, its all contingent on how long it takes me to lose these 5 pounds! I give myself about a month. See where that lands me...... i dont WANT to be eating in a deficit anymore! I want to TRAIN :)

COngrats on the PR Fat!
Whats next up?

Milehigh-- sunday SUCKED weather-wise... Sorry about the crappy conditions......Hey! Was that your first race?

hey everyone. I've been hitting the gym most nights now although instead of working at speed, I've been going longer while upping the intensity. Obviously, I have to slow down, but I've been able to go longer (with visible reductions in my legs!) since I'm targeting fat rather than doing just cardio. Otherwise, I've been dieting and staying pretty much on track. It really amazes me how quickly my body sheds excess pounds the moment I start watching what I eat even if I'm not working out...

Congrats on the 8min mile mkroyer! eve, i'm amazed by your determination! fatpants, good luck and congrats on your weight loss!

MK: I gotta say it: I told you so, I told you so! I knew you would be running well in not too long. Congrats. You must be feeling great, and those 5 pounds will come off in a hurry, I'm sure of that, too.

The Lucky 7K was my fourth race. I did the Winter Distance Series at Chatfield. They were awesome races. Not too crowded. Fairly nice weather. I plan to do them again next year. My hubby and I own a gym in Roxborough so we were sponsors of the event so it was good all the way around as many of our members raced in the series too.

EveL: Glad you found a doctor who supports your running. That is wonderful news. I'm sure it will feel get to get moving, however slowly, again.

Locquacious: I know exactly what you mean about how the weight comes off when you watch what you eat even if you're not working out. For me, it's all about diet. Running and working out help a little, but that's it, just a little. Unfortunately.

Pam

I'm still here too .... just busy! It's funny that most of you are ramping up for race season and mine is pretty much done! I'm just focusing on keeping my base right now and increasing cross training for a couple of months to build strength and lose the 5 pounds that I put on during race season. It gets me every time ... I run less (for taper and recovery) and eat more (for fueling and re-fueling) so (duh) I gain weight. I said I wasn't going to do that this year, but of course I did anyway. :rolleyes:

I actually had a really great season, running nearly every race faster than last year and setting new PRs in 5K, 10K and half marathon. It's nice to know that I'm still improving, even if I am old. :D Keeping my base mileage up last summer helped enormously. I just hope I can continue to put in the 25-30 miles per week and stay healthy.

I have a 14 mile long run on the schedule for this weekend, enjoying our cool weather before the summer-switch gets flipped and it turns hot again. Which can happen any time now....

Hi everyone!

Still doing my physical therapy stretches RELIGIOUSLY and am actually feeling an improvement. :D First day of training starts on Saturday! I have a follow up orthopedics appointment the day before and I'm going to try not to get another cortisone shot. But we'll see what this guy thinks. He was telling me last time that people really benefit from the SECOND shot more than the first so idk. I'm pretty sure I won't be going back to him after this appointment though, just because of his condemning my running career. :rolleyes:

Hope everyone is enjoying nice weather. It's actually raining here today.

I am still here too. And still prepping for my half marathon relay on May 2nd.

I ran my first ever 6+ mile run on Saturday and it was great! What a fantastic way to welcome Spring. According to my Garmin I ran 6.24 miles. Woohoo! Nike+ put my 10K new PR at 71.01 mins. Hooray!

For the first time, I was actually a bit sore after my run but it wasn't my legs, it was my (oblique?) abs. Why would that be? I joked to my husband that it was from fighting the wind (boy, was it ever windy that day!!) but now I am wondering if that could be true? Or why would that be?

Now, I have come down with a cold so I am hoping that doesn't derail my week too much. As long as I'm not coughing, I'll keep running I suppose. I am "scheduled" (according to Hal Higdon :) ) to do another "long run" until the weekend anyway so I should be able to get in a few 2-3 mile runs in the meantime.

Happy Spring everyone!!

The secret to fat loss
 

todays run
6 miles
no garmin
approx 50 to 52 minutes
had to stop to pee twice! Hoping that means im about to have a WHOOSH of weight loss :)
It was 40 degrees this am! Absolutely beautiful outside!


Did a refeed this weekend. I havent weighed myself but im uber bloaty. Im sure itll be off within the next couple of days though

Fighting the urge to run more. I need to stay focused on fat loss, although i already am starting to worry that i am overdoing it. If i dont see a loss by the end of the week ( was hovering around 136 for over a week, before TOM/refeed bloating hit) of at least down to 135 than i am going to have to re-evaluate what im doing. 135 would put me at still less than 1 pound of fat a week, but thats OK. its still LOSING. the thing is, after coming off that Metabolic Repair program, i SHOULD be losing fat easily (and i MIGHT BE--just masked by the bloaty stuff right now). If im NOT losing than i am doing something wrong-- OR my body is freaked out and reverting right back to where i was before. SO, if i dont have a loss by the end of the week, i am either going to :
A) Cut the training-- as in STOP training and just eat in a deficit
or
B) INCREASE my cals and keep training the same.
right now im eating 1550 a day.
Id be willing to increase up to like 1800.
or i could not train while trying to lose.
I might just be one of those people who cant train AND handle eating in a deficit. It might need to be one or the other.

Hi everyone! I haven't been posting here too often since I've been focusing on dieting more. Regardless, I'm signing up for a 5K run in honor of a friend who died. I have three weeks until it is...and I'm totally getting into gear. 9:50 mile from September (last 5K), get ready to be defeated! ;)

EveL - so happy to hear you have gotten the green light to run again! You must be thrilled! Way to go on your discipline of keeping up with your PT stretches.

LJ - glad to hear you signed up for a race, and one that is meaningful to you.

Mkroyer - I hear you about the bloating...with it being TOM I am retaining water like it's going out of style and can't find a sports bra that flattens me down enough to be totally comfortable. Sounds like you have a good strategy though on experimenting with calorie deficit and training.

So here's my funny story about running the route of my first 5k race which is April 17. This Tuesday I headed out with my ipod and a map of the route in my pocket - I wanted to get a sense of where the hills were, how the route felt, etc. It went really well, the hills were doable, and though I'm not used to running on asphalt and sidewalk, my joints survived it. However, right at the end I made a wrong turn and didn't realize it. I ended up running (okay, walking) up a big hill, then realized I made a mistake and turned around, but a big scary off-the-leash dog was out in the yard barking, so I didn't want to go past him, so I went BACK up the hill, didn't know where I was, made a big old loop and probably added an extra two miles to my route! So I figure if I can do that my 5k will be a breeze. :)

It's TOM so the scale is wonky so I'm still not in onederland, but am seeing progress in other ways. I went to get a massage and my therapist said, "wow! Your calves have never felt like this before!" which was very cool to hear. With the nicer weather I've been doing more outdoor running which necessarily means hills here in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Have a great weekend, everybody!

Questions and Advice
 

I have not posted on here in awhile but would like some advice from everyone. I am currently running 3 days a week and doing strength training 3 days a week (with Chalean Extreme). I have exercised fairly regularly for 11 years mainly cardio or so but have seen the pounds creep up because never really looked at my food. I am 35 and weight about 125 pounds and 5'1, I would like to reduce my body fat percentage. I trained with Galloway last year for the New York Marathon and got hurt during the actual marathon and could not finish. I don't know what happened, just my foot hurt from the very beginning, I tore a ligament. I had been doing cardio (Turbojam) on 2 days while running 3 days a week and that might have been too much pounding. I agree that strength training is essential. But I am so scared to add another day of running b/c I am fearful of injury. I usually do one run of about 4-5 miles, one running class day (where we do speed intervals, hills) and one longer run day. I am not up to a lot maybe like 6 miles. I really want to reduce my body fat. I have been trying to eat between 1600-1800 calories per day. Any suggestions for a complete program that is not overdoing it but can speed up the weight loss. I want to get faster with my running, but feel that if I can lose some weight that will really help.

Well, as you (prob) know, fat loss is about being in a deficit.

How do you KNOW you are eating between 1600 and 1800 a day? Are you guessing? Are you estimating? Are you eyeballing ANYTHING at all? Do you eat an apple and say, "this is a medium sized apple", and then look up medium apple and put it down as 75 cals? Do you use a spoon or tablespoon to measure out a scoop of peanut butter? Do you pour yourself a glass of milk (or creamer for your coffee) directly into the cup/mug? Do you count splenda cals, and I cant believe its not butter spray?

My point is, you are little already. You are concerned with losing body fat. Your BMR is 1320 cals a day. I used the Harris Benedict activity multiplier of 1.55, which puts you at the higher end of moderately active... I assume you prob have a sedentary job, but i could be wrong-- keep in mind, almost ALL OF US grossly OVERESTIMATE the amount of calories we feel we burn a day, in other words we think we are OWED more food than we really are.So, activity of 1.55 puts your daily avg calories needs (to maintain) at about 2050 cals a day. Keep in mind these are just starting point numbers. In ANY CASE,, if you are 100% sure that the days you eat 1800 you are really eating 1800, than that only gives you a 200 calorie deficit for that day. That's if you are SURE. My point with the whole thing at the beginning is that unless you are WEIGHING your food to the GRAM with a scale, EVERYTHING you put in your mouth, you could be off...... when you only have a 200 cal deficit a day, if you are off even a LITTLE bit, then you are really eating at maintenance, and you wont lose a pound of fat. Even if you are eating 1600 a day, that is only a 400 cal deficit, and if your tablespoon of peanut butter is a little heaping tomorrow, than that 190 cals just turned into 240 without you realizing it, and did you know that little single serving creamer at the gas station coffee counter has 40 calories in it!!?!? Boom!! You are down to a 300 cal deficit. And guess what else? Your medium apple was really a little bigger and in fact had 110 calories in it.....and you accidentally forgot to count the small handful of almonds you took out of the receptionists bowl.....that's about 50 cals right there...assuming it was only one handful.... Do me A favor and check out the link i gave on the previous page, entitled "the Secret to Fat Loss"

Do you understand what im getting at? The smaller you are, the more diligent you have to be. And the bigger your deficit is (PROB) going to have to be. Im sorry. You might need to eat closer to 1400 or 1500 to give yourself a 500 cal a day deficit, which equals (in theory) one pound of fat loss a week.

Don't listen to people who tell you that exercise is 20% of the equation and diet is 80% for fat loss. Diet is everything. Diet is 100%. Training/exercise helps to ensure that you will be happy with your body when you achieve your goal (of course it serves other purposes as well!)


You are also absolutely right to assume that losing fat will help make you faster!! its FREE SPEED!!! The more body fat you drop, the faster you will get without even trying!! Think of your excess body fat as dead weight your bum has to drag along on every run!

Do you have an actual running goal?
A race? A distance? I need more info to help you design a program...
But right off the bat, how long have you been running (this recent spell i mean?-- i dont care if you ran in HS if that was 20 years ago!) When you trained for NY, that was as a walker? using the run/walk method? How many miles do you run per week now?

If you are doing that running group/class than you've already got speed work built in, so don't add any of that! Only more advanced runners have any business doing more than 1 speed workout per week...... you prob wouldn't physiologically benefit from any more. However if you REALLY want to get faster, once you are ready (depending again on your distance goal-- is it short like a 5K or long like a 1/2 or full?) you would prob benefit from lactic acid threshold training, as opposed to sprint/interval/Vo2Max style speed work. It (intervals) seems to be the most popular, but only because the average joe runner doesn't KNOW about threshold training workouts! I can honestly credit threshold training with taking me from a mid pack runner to winning local races.
Anyway, for now keep working on increasing the distance of your long run once a week, and if you can, i highly recommend adding one easy running day, where you run neither far nor fast, but at a relaxed, fun, comfortable, recovery run pace. At the end find time to do slow,isometric stretching, mobility work, and foam rolling. Try to do mobility and foam rolling twice a week-- once after a run, and once on an off day. you MUST take at least one day off a week.... Strength gains are achieved when we are at rest, not while we are working.....
You agreed that strength training is essential, but i don't see that you've placed any focus on it. I recommend get the fat off first (ie focusing on diet/emphasizing strength training more than you are now) and running moderately or doing some other form of moderate cardio. Once the weight is off you can scale back the strength training (just maintenance lift) and focus on the running and training. For now work on increasing your weekly base mileage.
Once again, what are your running goals?

I also sprained my foot during my marathon in October....mile 2 to be exact..... And then i sprained it AGAIN the week before my January marathon...... Its never gonna heal....... :)

blue- sounds like you had quite the adventure! I hate getting lost, and crazy people who let their dogs off leashes. :o

ajpinn- mk know's her stuff and I couldn't have said it any better than she did. I'm also doing Chalean Extreme and I'm loving the results I'm getting. Good luck with your goals.:)

I went to my follow-up orthopedic appointment today and I didn't have to get another cortisone shot because the doc was happy with the major decrease in sensitivity. He pushed on the side of my hip and this time I barely felt anything! :carrot: I told him that I went to physical therapy and got some stretches and have been doing them as well and he was happy with the progress I've made. I asked him about foam rollers and if I would benefit from using one and he ok'ed it. I found one at REI and took it home and tried it out. It definitely was painful but I'm sitting down now typing this up, and I'm not getting the usual uncomfortable feeling in my hips that I was usually getting.

Tomorrow is the first day of my half marathon group-training. I'm really excited and a bit nervous as well to get back to running. I'm really hoping that I can go for a decent amount of time before getting any pain.

I also went to Barne's and Noble and found a good book that I can't wait to dive into called "chi running: a revolutionary approach to effortless, injury-free running" It will hopefully help me to have the best running form to prevent any further stress on my joints.

I guess the gist of this rambling post is to just say that I am feeling positive about my rehab-progress and I can't wait to be back to running shape, lol.

I also got my tax check in so I'm hopefully getting a bodybugg tomorrow! WOOHOO!:D

Happy running, all!

thanks for all the advice and sorry about your injury. I also have the book chi running and it seems great but honestly haven't started finished it. I have been using calorie king and online resources for my calorie estimates but I could be off. As for running. This bout since trying for the marathon I have been running again for about 3 /2 months. My goal is to lose weight and get faster during races, mostly 5 and 10ks for this year. In New York, you have to do 9 qualifying road races to get entry into the marathon so I am doing this whole cycle thing again, so this year my goal is to get by body fat down so next year when I run the marathon I can have a better time (my first marathon was 5 1/2 hours and was 4 years ago). My goal is to be fit but also be able to run for the rest of my life. After I do this marathon I don't plan to do more, just half marathons but we shall see. I want to learn how to exercise to meet my potential but not to overdo it or injure myself. I don't see myself entering any contests but I have not felt good about my body in a while and would like to get back there, so to be lean and left body fat. I also want to keep habits that I can continue for my lifetime. So I would say my goals are two fold, be a faster runner and trim fat. thanks for your advice. My class does different stuff each week, this week we did hills. I don't know the schedule but I am assuming it will just build on what we have been doing.

Myroker,
I loved reading this. I just got back into running after about 8 months. Sadly I have gained a ton of weight during that 8 months. My best 5k time was 27min, when I was consistently running. When I went for a 3mile jog yesterday it took me 39 minutes :( , but at least I figured I was getting out there. I just back from a 4 1/2 mile jog that took me 53 minutes, I know it is awfully slow. I mainly need to focus on my diet to get my weight down, to increase my time so it is not embarrassing. I am running the 10k in the Cleveland Marathon in May. I definitely can run 6 miles, but my time is going to be humiliating. Again my weight is holding me back. My ultimate goal is is to run the half marathon in Akron, Ohio in September. Anyways, I found your post to be inspiring.

AJP, in my experience, strength training has made me a considerably faster runner, especially by focusing on lower body/core work (though I am not complaining what upper body lifting has done to my arms and shoulders!) I know you said you had been running for 3.5 months this time around but how long have you been incorporating CE? I found it took probably a month or so of consistent weight training to start seeing an improvement in my running. But that improvement first came in endurance (I could run for longer periods of time without getting tired and walking); speed came with the weight lifting PLUS speed sessions on the treadmill. If you are not already, I would think about replacing one of the runs with a speed workout, or maybe adding one in. Maybe think about cutting calories, though it's a little counter productive during marathon training. Still, I have found that if I eat at my "weight loss" level (which is 1200 calories) 6 days out of the week, and the day before my long run, eat more (around 1700 calories), I have the fuel to complete my runs, and the weight still manages to come off.

Eve- SO happy to hear about your injury improvement and yay for no more cortisone shots! good luck with your HM training and have fun!!

All - a question for the longer distance runners who need to fuel up during the race. Yesterday I went out for 8 miles and have noticed during the past few runs that I tend to run out of gas between 5-6 miles which makes the last few miles incredibly long and slow because I have nothing left in the tank. I'm guessing it's time for me to start incorporating some gus and gels. I know there are quite a few out there for me to choose from, but wanted to know if you had any favorites so maybe I can avoid the nasty ones? :D

thanks
 

I have been doing the weight portion of chalene extreme for a little over 3 months and just finished the lean circuit. I do feel it has helped my running and I feel a lot stronger. I finished a 4 mile race yesterday in a little over 38 minutes which is fast for me. I don't know if it is my class where we did speed training or hills or the weight training or a combo but I will take it. I think the weight training and the new class are helping and hopefully will improve my speed and endurance as well. I know the key is to really fuel my body and make sure it is the right kind of fuel. wow, I don't know I could function on 1200 calories day day, that is amazing, and you are exercising an hour a day. wow, I am more at the 1400-1600 calorie range. I have used the vanilla bean gu, that is my favorite kind, i bought a case of the strawberry banana but I hated it and gave them to a friend. They tasted like a bad medicine to me. I also like the shotblocks, they kind of taste like gummi bears. They come in different flavors. I used them when I was running for more than an hour. Cliff makes them. Just make sure to drink a lot of water with them. I think my plan it to do one speed training (with the class and continue when it is over and hills), a longer endurance run on the weekend, and a recovery run or tempo workout. Add in 2 more cross training sessions during the week like the bike, 3 weight training and some yoga and core work and watch my diet. thanks everyone for all the advice. It is nice to share with others that are in your same position.

Hello all,

5 more days until super sexy Coke zero day...............

I registered for the Seattle half marathon on June 26. My dh is registered for the full. Yes the dh who started running 10 minutes ago is running the full Marathon. I wanted my first 1/2 to be a little less GIGANTIC, but I wanted to do it with my man more. Well we wont be anywhere near each other as he runs MUCH faster than I, but we will be together driving to the start.

My IT band is still being a bit of a brat, so for the last couple weeks I've done less running and more on the bike and yoga. We are also doing a 2 day 200 mile ride together in July.

Weight is 100% what goes in.

FP: I haven't need extra nutrition running yet, but I have biking. I like Honey stingers because they are natural. Cliff shot blocks and sport beans work OK for me too. I really like bananas the most, but there are transportation issues involved. Real food seems to sit in my stomach better. MY Dh has been trying different foods on his runs. He is up to running 20 miles on his long runs and spending $5-7 on stingers and shot blocks doesn't rock his world. He eats dried figs/dates, pb honey sammie halves, bananas . I have also tried and hated a couple of gus, but loads of people love them. I think you just have to try stuff out. My mentor on the triathlon site I belong to swears by snicker bars for herself.

I could get on board with that REAL fast. :lol:

SGeranium - congrats on registering for the half. And, yes, my bf is an amazing runner with relatively little effort so I get you on your DH running the full...

EveL - yay! thanks for sharing your good news! How did day 1 of half-mary group training go?

missjkd - welcome! glad to have you on the thread! Glad to hear that you are getting back out there.

So impressed some of y'all are at a place when you need to use gels and that kind of thing...that makes you hard core in my eyes. :)

So I haven't run for the past few days w/ TOM but did get some good, long brisk walks in and also painted the living room (no need to do upper body strength work out after hours with a brush and roller...) I'm challenging myself to remain physical during TOM even though I am tired, low energy, sore boobs, etc. Amazing how much my appetite fluctuates with my cycle - I am enjoying it being low again.

Anyway, I have a post-dinner run scheduled for tonight and it's shaping up to be a nice sunny, breezy day which should make for a good workout. Three weeks until my 5k!

April 1st = TIME TO GET BACK WITH IT :)
 

Eh.....
there comes a time when i must ask myself a question-- what is more important, the "last 5 pounds" or a summertime of running and loving it and setting PRs and winning little local races and being healthy and active
??
its warm in the morning again guys. Granted, its still early spring and at any moment we can get another does of winter, but so far since spring hit, its been pretty much in the 40s every morning. It was in the 50s the other day!

So, i ran an easy 6 on Tuesday, and then today a 5.5 mile Glycogen Depletion Run...was gonna be lactic acid threshold, but i just dont HAVE a LA Threshold anymore! ;) gonna haf to work on that....
Glycogen depletion goes like this (FYI, its an EXCELLENT weightloss tool--supposedly!)and its going to seem similar to LA Threshold, the difference is its shorter.
So, 1 min at 5K pace (6:30 min/mi), 2 min 10k PACE (7:10-7:30 min/mi) and then 2 minutes easy (8-9 min miles) .... repeat. THEN, after 30 minutes of this, i bring it down to an easy 9 minute mi and just run steady state for another 20 minutes, AFTER i depleted the glycogen (the purpose of the intervals).
LA Threshold, on the other hand, you sustain the paces for much longer..... 5K pace fo .25 miles to half a mile/full mile, and then 1-2 miles at 10K pace, the a mile or 2 at marathon / recovery pace..... different paces for different purposes and races