Hey all, between the two different running threads i am lost and alittle behind (WOW< this thread has really grown you guys!!!)

Who is racing this weekend???!!!

Sharon- how is "operation 10K by the10th" going? What are you running this weekend, and what does your training schedule look like for next week????? Im a geek when it comes to training plans--LOVE to hear about them!

SkinneyPants-- what 5k this weekend?? Race for the Cure?/ and what 10k are you doing in November??

TakingCharge what the heck is gong on with your shins?!?! i KNOW you have good running shoes, but do you ALSO have good INSERTS?? As in, not the ones that came with your shoes??

Loquacious if you dont have any races planned, then please share with me about your running goals!!!! Immediate future, and far away future!

WELCOME to all the new runners!!!!

And SOMEONE made goal weight, but who was it!!?!? ARRRGGgggggg!! (CONGRATS!!!)

And Where the heck is CAKE!>!>!>!



Ilene MRC is the Metabolic Research Center. There is a separte forum on 3FC for it if you want LOTS of details.... basically the plan is developed to MAXIMIZE fat loss (and oh boy does it) while making you NOT lose muscle mass, (due to these high nutrient drinks you have to drink, 3-4 a day, which are BASICALLY just protein drinks). YOu get three square meals a day (plus protein shakes for snacks), but the foods you are allowed are VERY specific, and very specific portions and proportions of Protein to Carbs to fat. it costs big bucks, but INCREDIBLY effective. I lost 11% of my Body fat, and actually INCREASED my lean muscle mass while on it...

Haha thanks for refocusing us, MK!

Here's the rundown on me:

Operation 10K by 10-10 is hot and strong! We've switched to road running and run a tad over 4 miles on Wednesday and today. This weekend is kind of crazy but I'm hoping for this:
Sunday - 3miles (if time permits)
Monday - 4
Tuesday - 5
Wednesday - rest
Thursday - 5.5
Friday - rest or very short run
Saturday - 10K!
Feel free to suggest any tweakings that suggest themselves to you!

In other news: I'm still stuck at halfway to goal - lost 30 lbs, 30 to go. Thinking if my calories should be adjusted upward from the neighborhood of 1400 to 1700ish.

I think iDream hit goal?!?! woot!!

Sharon - that's exactly what I do... a little higher on the run days and lower on the cross training days. And when I say "little" higher I mean like 100 calories or so higher... not much. When I stalled out for the few weeks it was because I was upping my mileage and so my body was holding on to every calorie for fuel! Plus like MK said you don't want to get to the point where your run quality suffers because of inefficient fuel.

MK- my 5k is next Saturday, the 10th. It's the "Panerathon 5k/10k" and Panera supplies sandwiches, pastries, bagels etc at the end of the race... I figure if I'm running towards food, that may make me run faster... LOL!!

LOL SkinnyPants! I love it! I hope there's yummy treats at the end of my race on the 10th...like maybe a wine tasting tent

Sharon---- Ok, heres what i think you should do INSTEAD
Sun- 3 miles
Monday-- 5 miles
Tuesday 4 or 4.5 miles
Weds Off
Thursday 5.5
Friday either OFF or 2 ish miles of EASY EASY jog/walk followed by extensive stretching
Sat---enjoy race

My reasoning is having a hard day in between the easy days. instead of each one gettig harder.

Hey girls!! The switching of threads every month has totally thrown me off. At least this time it only took me 2 days instead of 4 to catch on...

Welcome to all of the new members! It's great to see so many new faces (avatars?)!

In terms of calories, I lost most of my weight on 1200-1400, but as my running increased, I went up to about 1500, and now I'm pretty much maintaining on about 1700 (on average) per day. I think the KEY is to listen to your body! Why up your calories if you feel fine? If you're starting to feel hungry or not having enough energy, then maybe add in some extra healthy snacks, but if it ain't broke, why fix it?

In terms of speed and endurance, I couldn't agree more with what Mk said about working on both with different kinds of runs throughout the week. That's been the most important factor in improving my speed over the past month and it's helped a ton!

Mk - I got orthotics made about a million years ago, but I think they're still pretty good. For the most part, I've been feeling totally fine, which is amazing because I've had shin splints forever, but I think last week of running 5x was just a little too much, considering I just increased from 3x-4x about a month ago! I'll see how I feel over the next few weeks and maybe get some new orthotics made if they don't get better. 10K next weekend!

Sharon - Have fun racing again this weekend!

Ok, off to study (uuhhhh). Have a good Friday everyone!

Howdy, runners! Just heading out the door for a 4.5 miler. No races here - I don't do well with running on pavement, although it sounds like the race thing is totally addictive!

Hope everyone is enjoying the cooler temps....

Hello ladies! It's been a busy week here hence the lack of posting.

MK~ I have my race tomorrow and I'm the one that made my goal. Thanks for taking the time to type out all of the info on speed and stuff, you're so smart when it comes to this runnin' stuff!

Sharon~ I count calories too. I'm shorter than you but when I was actively losing I took in anywhere from 1181-1587 (although I rarely ever ate 1587). I used the website that Jewelie posted. I started calorie cycling when I hit a small plateau at around 150. Before that I was taking in between 1200-1300 cals and it worked fine, but I wanted to change things up (I was stuck in a rut). Everybody's body is different, so what works for me might not work for you, plus you have to take into account other workouts you might be doing s well. I was doing the C25k/3 Mile runs 3X/wk, HIIT (brisk walking/running) for 30 mins 3X/wk and strength training & abs 3X/wk. Going by calorie counters can be tricky, but it can at least give you a ballpark figure to work with. For instance, on the site I used it gave me 3 #'s, one for maintenance, one to lose 1lb a wk and one for 2 lbs a wk--I split the weight loss numbers down the middle and went for it. I'll let you know how upping my calories goes for me and maintenance though--I've upped them to around 1400-1500 and I'm scared to death, but I'm pretty sure I'll survive. Next week I'm staring P90X and I've heard I'll have to up my cals even more for that...we shall see!

FatPants~ I agree with Sharon, SkinnyTights is a great name for you!!

Well, no run today, just my HIIT & ST'ing, but I did wear my new knee brace today! I bought an ACE neoprene one yesterday. My knee was pretty mad at me all day yesterday and I figured I should try stabilizing it a bit. I can tell you this, it felt fine after my HIIT today--although I hated wearing the dang thing. I hope I can manage wearing it for the whole race tomorrow without ripping it off of my leg in a fit of rage! It's odd, running with it on today brought back a flood of memories of when I wore my brace after dislocating my knee cap the first time...ugh, they didn't make those things very comfy back then (25 yrs ago--good gracious, did I just type 25 years?! Ack!)!!

Well ladies, hope everyone's having a great day! I need to get back to my house cleaning (fun, fun, fun!) my oldest is turning 9 and his party is on Sunday and the last thing I want to do after my race is clean!

Hmm that schedule makes a lot of sense, @MK! I'm so grateful that you're so willing to share your knowledge and experience

@iDream - congrats again on GOAL!! And HAPPY RUN tomorrow! I did take a look at the calorie calculator and I like the idea of splitting the balance down the middle.
@Taking - I HAVE noticed that I'm way hungrier on running days so I might design a cycle around that. And I think I'm at the point where I'm less likely to use running as a justification for eating crap - like @SkinnyTights and @MK said, I want GOOD FUEL for this RUNNING MACHINE!!

Thanks everyone else for your calorie input - sorry if I missed responding specicfically to someone's comment! I'll keep y'all posted on my experimenting...

oh ps, @dancer - do you just run at the track, then? I really liked how running at the track made it easy to increase distance in clear, gradual increments, and I liked the security of not having to worry about getting home if i totally burnt out or got hurt or something. But once we got past 3 miles, the round-and-round laps got monotonous, plus I wanted to be more used to the style of a race. Do you do music or audiobooks or what?

Hey girls. Just a quick update: I hopped on the treadmill without a specific distance goal in mind, but I ran 6.2 miles in 59:55!! I know it wasn't outside, but it gives me hope that I can finish next week's 10K in under an hour! It's my first race so I really just wanna finish and get my little medal and fun t-shirt (it's designed by Ed Hardy..welcome to LA!), but secretly I'd love to make it in under an hour, so we'll see!

IDream - What kind of HIIT do you do? Is it with weights? Happy bday to your 9y.o.!

Sharon~ thanks! Yeah, I thought the extreme weight loss numbers were a little on the low side and the other one a little high--so I figured if I hit somewhere in the middle it would be good. I wish I would have scheduled mine around my running days--actually thought about doing that, but being so close to my goal at the time I just left it as it was. Hope you like calorie cycling! It was nice to have some variety in my meals doing it that way.

TC~ woo hoo! That's awesome about your 6.2 miles!! Wowza!!! I'm looking forward to getting my shirt tomorrow too--and that little paper number as well! Might just frame that bad boy! The HIIT I do is just brisk walking/running without weights. I had started the program a few months back (it was an 8 wk program) and when I finished that's when I decided to do the C25K. It's basically brisk walk for 5 mins, 17 intervals of brisk walking for 30 seconds and then running (currently running at around 7.0-7.2) for 30 seconds, 5 mins brisk walking (which sometimes turns into more and maybe--if I'm feeling extra spunky--a few dance moves on the treadmill to Dave Matthews while I'm cooling down ). Thanks for the Birthday wishes!

Ok, I'm behind already!

TC, awesome time on the 6.2 miles!

I've recently started calorie counting again. I use thedailyplate to calculate my calorie goal and then tweak as needed... right now I'm going back and forth trying to decide if I am "moderately" or "very" active... the difference being about 300 cals/day. Maybe I should look into the calorie cycling idea!

you guys have convinced me to start calorie cycling ( little)
Im entering in "maintenance" and i think im going to take the idea of calorie cycling to gradually bring my body up to the calorie levels its needing, and help keep my metabolism active!!

Ok, its 7 :48 am
GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE RACING TODAY!!! ( or just running)

I am trying to get my butt out the door for my last (gulp) 20 miler..... Grrr...I bought an audio book and put it on my ipod. We will see if that helps bust up the boredom so that i FINISH the damn run!! I better finish it, i just had a MASSIVE breakfast to fuel it, so now i am just waiting for the food to move a little further along my digestive tract!!