finally a sensible plan

I feel like I finally found the holy grail for my body type and metabolism, etc. 

Paleo Nutrition.  Dr Harris, who writes the PaNu blog, was interviewed on a low carb podcast.  He presented his views with clarity and good sense.

And http://www.fitnessspotlight.com/ provides some straight-forward ideas for weight training and fitness.

And this review on Good Calories Bad Calories by Gary Taubes.  In 2007 Science Friday hosted a very interesting interview with Gary Taubes. As a journalist, he simplifies complex topics.  I found another interview on that same low-carb pod cast.  I enjoyed hearing in the second interview about the difficulties of changing the dominant paradigm. Taubes compared it to piloting a cruise ship from a lifeboat alongside.

one more run: seeing the need for speed.

Two weeks of sitting on my butt at work equals loss of conditioning.  I enjoyed my 8k run this afternoon, but felt it in my glutes. I aimed at 7:40/km and averaged 7:50.   I learn something about pacing every time I go out for a run. When I plan the pace, I need to account for the walk breaks I take.  I also ran to beat music, which I really enjoyed, from Audiofuel, a UK company that has partnered with the London marathon to produce marathon training pieces.  The beat moves my feet!

Today I ran into the dunes on hard pack and brick. I wanted to run faster than I run on the beach and needed firmer footing.  All my parts feel good after the run.  Cold-weather running is a process of putting clothes on, and taking them off a half hour later. Today, the temperature was just slightly above freezing. Winter hat, ear band, silk layer, wool layer, pullover reflecting coat.  Technical gloves.  Wool layer, technical tights that I use for x-country skiing and biking in the winter. Plus wool ankle-socks.  I didn't bring any water, since I planned for only an hour.

Garmin Connect - Activity Details

What I liked about the run today: I saw a red fox and a big deer. Odie ran with me and has forgotten how to run on a leash.  I had to remind him quite often that he was with me.   But he got the hang of it.  Except when we were in "scented territory"  -- He's very interested in other dogs, either to master them or mate with them.  That's why he's called a dog, I suppose.
 
I feel more energetic after my run. I will sleep better tonight too.  The marathon was on my mind. Train hard so I can glide through the race.  The more I sweat, the less I will bleed. Something like that.  I need to do the mental training too.  Pushing myself a little today, I recalled the mental talk needed for an endurance sport. It's easy to ease up.  Harder to bear down. But if I want to run faster, I will need to run faster.  My fantasy is a sub-Five race.   That's 7:09/km.   I will need to improve my running to meet that time goal.  More reasonable is 5:30, in time to have my finish recorded. 7:51. Omph.  What I ran today. Just another four and a half hours.  Good thing I have plenty of time to train.

to run faster, I will run faster

Okay, I finished the brief that has sucked up all my mental energy for the last two weeks. I slipped easily into the over-work habit and didn't run mid-week this week or last. I will change. I can change. I have changed.

Coach offered some ideas for making the 5:30 cut-off time for my first marathon. 

In your last email you asked about staying ahead of the 5:30 cut off time. I don't have my calculator with me on this trip, but I believe that this pace is about 7:40 per kilometer. Please check me on this.

To prepare yourself for this pace, there are two things you can do:


1. Run some 1600 repeats on the short long weekends. Do you have a track that is usable? Other option is a measured segment of 1 mile. Let me know if you have one of these and want to do the repeats.


2. Run 5K, on either Tues or Thurs short run days, at 7:40 per kilometer, trying several different ratios: 1-1, 1:30-1 or 2-1. Some runners actually run faster with a run 30 sec/walk 30 seconds.
 
These look like exercises I can accomplish very easily.  I hate the idea of walk breaks though. I just have this issue that I don't want to walk half the marathon.
 
Jeff thought my knee pain from the 25k run related to inadequate walk breaks.  I just caught myself wishing I had different legs. Then I thought about people who can't run or who run in wheel chairs they peddle with their arms.  No Whining!  I have strong, healthy legs.  So I will pace my run this weekend and jump back in the saddle.

sea shell races

I enjoyed my run today (6.7k in a hour - including cool down walk). I was a bit annoyed with myself, having skipped my mid-week runs. I blame it on the icy weather. But I saw others running, and truth be told, I easily slip into an over-work habit when I am writing on a deadline (like now).

Somehow I TOTALLY FORGET that exercise, particularly running, increases my energy, relieves tiredness and reduces stress. Now, what's to not like about that when a deadline looms??? Maybe it's just that I like the adrenaline of hyper-focus and long hours. Dunno.

But anyway, I ran 6.7k in a snowstorm on the beach. The snow was wet enough to stick to the heels of my shoes, requiring occasional clearing. I ran into the wind first on this out-n-back along the North Sea. Everything looked dusted with sugar. The wind had swept the sand, revealing the tops of seashells. With the addition of a sugar frost, the seashells looked like they were racing one another, the snow forming a slip stream on the sides of every shell. I imagined a school of porpoises in minature.

I told this story to my younger son at dinner. He looked at me quizzically. Porpoises can't swim, he said. I said, yes they can, and then explained that porpoise was another word in English for dolphins. He was thinking of Tortoises. Then we had a good laugh at the idea of tortoises trying to swim. They'd look the same as rocks trying to swim. You have to understand that my sons spend most of their waking hours speaking Dutch (and when they talk in their sleep, it's in Dutch too).

So, I've committed to getting both my mid-week runs in this week.  I think I will see more improvement in my speed if I work on it during the week. I'm downright leisurely on the weekend pace.

plans without details are just dreams

I set up the workout plans for the week without deciding WHEN I would do them.  As a result, I completed only Sunday's run, which I considered a MUST-Do.

I will try again this week.

LSD

Yesterday, I enjoyed a great 25k run. I left home at 4 PM and ran a big loop up the North Sea coastline, then into the Dunes and back home. The sunset was gorgeous, soon replaced by a clear sky and billions of stars. The sand and the dunes were frozen since the temperature was at most -1c. My water bottles froze too. I ran on the bike path in the Dunes to be sure I didn't lose my way in the dark.

My knees are a little sore this morning, but otherwise I am no worse for the wear. The last 5k were difficult - I could feel the point where I outran my previous running distances. My legs were tired. I took fairly regular walk breaks. I wished I could run at a faster pace. I will edit this later to add my pace. The run took about 4 hours 20 minutes.

In the very cold weather it was a challenge to regulate temperature - too cold, too warm. By the end of the run, I started to get cold because my clothes were damp with sweat. Altogether, the run was a big success. Odie, my marathon dog, loped along with me, carry sticks for miles and sniffing every interesting smell.

Revised Schedule - January to April 2010

In response to my report on my "crappy run," Jeff commented that they're normal occurrences.  To help with my jitters at increasing distance, he suggested a strategy for long runs - call someone every 10k. 

"They can be your motivation lines," he wrote. 

Jeff also gave me a revised schedule to consider, which I've posted on the side panel.  This schedule works a little better with upcoming deadlines at work, which will require some extra time at the office in January.

I also need to plan for a school ski trip next month. Last year, the trip interrupted my running schedule, and I felt a bit under-trained going into the CPC.  I'd like to run the CPC half, and will need to see how I can integrate it into my training schedule for Rotterdam.

Jeff's blog also offered some mental strategies for long runs, a timely post for me: Think Positive.