#28FitDays, Hobby-Runner Style

This blog is supposed to be about running AND diet, but my diet has been nothing to write home (or anywhere else) about!  Tomorrow that will change, as I embark upon Prevention Magazine's 28-Day Transformation Challenge! 

The Challenge

This challenge, scheduled to start May 1, showed up in my Facebook feed just as I promised myself that if I didn't regain control over my eating habits and make progress in the right direction by the end of May, I would have to join Overeaters Anonymous.  I really shouldn't have to do that, because I know better than you would think from my recent habits, and I have proven in the past that I CAN do it!  Heck, in 2012 I followed Weight Watchers and stayed within my points target for six months, including 3-weeks on a low-iodine diet which means NO restaurant food and NO packaged food!  Later in the year, I was able to fast for colonoscopy prep.  So self-discipline IS within reach. But in 2014, I find myself often unable to go half a day without Cheez-Its, peanut butter crackers, potato chips, pretzels, junky vending-machine cookies or a few handfuls of salted peanuts. 

In 2012 I started with a BMI in the obese range and almost made it to my target smack dab in the middle of my healthy range.  Within the past few weeks I've crossed the line from healthy to overweight again. Time to turn it back around!  So, today I signed the manifesto:

Here is what it says:

For 28 days, I will recommit to  wellness and inspire people around me to do the same.  I'll eat clean, sweat more, and stress less.  I'll get stronger, be bolder, and stretch my body and my limits.  I'll try something new, whether it's kombucha or kickboxing, and I'll stop throwing energy at past failures.  I'll play more, laugh more, and yes, breathe more.  Finally, I'll trust the process, take it one step at a time, and go for it.  This month I'll remember that I'm capable of anything.

Kombucha?  What the heck is that?

Anyway, on a less abstract, less touchy-feely level, here are the "rules" and how I will make them work for me:

1.  Eat Clean.  A 28-day meal plan is provided.  I will use some of the meals/recipes, but to Keep It Simple I will just pick a few of the breakfasts, lunches and snacks that I know I will like and that are convenient and will repeat them each for a few days in a row instead of eating different meals each day.  I won't use the dinners on the meal plan because I'm lucky enough to have a retired husband who plans and prepares dinner and I don't want to interfere with that!  Most of the meals he makes are fairly clean and healthy; I'll just have to practice portion control for that meal.  I also plan to track Weight Watcher's points and stay within my allotment.
2. Do 150-Minutes of Cardio Per Week.  I'll likely exceed that as I continue training for the 15K Mastodon Challenge on May 10. I'm also currently enrolled in hour-long sessions of body workout (which includes aerobics) 2X per week and Zumba 1X per week and have paid for Lap Swimming at the local high school pool.  I'm looking forward making better use of those swimming privileges after May 10.
3. Strength Training 3-4 Times Per Week.  The Challenge provides 4 "WOW's" (Workouts of the Week) which each consist of just 4 exercises and should only take a few minutes.  My 2X-per-week body workout class also usually has a strength training component, and I belong to a gym that is less than a mile from my house.  Shouldn't be a problem!

Day 1

For accountability, I will try to post each day any notable successes or areas of needed improvement and my plans and challenges for the next day.  So, for Day 1 tomorrow:

Breakfast:  One hard-boiled egg, 1/2 cup of fat-free ricotta cheese, banana  (Notes:  The ricotta cheese is not on the meal plan, but I have it on hand from another menu I was recently trying to follow so to use it up I am making it equivalent to the 6-ounces of fat-free Greek yogurt that is on the plan.  And the plan calls for 1/2 a grapefruit, but I'm replacing it with a banana because I also have those on hand and have eaten a half or whole banana almost every morning of my life for as long as I can remember! I know that grapefruit is probably healthier and maybe I will switch to it later in the month.  Bananas are simpler to eat, though, and Weight Watchers considers both to be zero points per serving so I am comfortable with this substitution.)

Lunch:  Tuna sandwich.  About 3 oz. tuna packed in water, 2 tbsp. diced celery and 1 tbsp. low-fat mayonnaise, on a toasted flax-and-fiber whole wheat sandwich thin.  1/2 cup of strawberries.

Snack:  1 Sargento reduced fat sharp cheddar string cheese, 1 apple and 15 unsalted pistachios in the shell.  (Note:  This is really one and a half snacks per the plan, but I can do it within my points  allotment.  I've already had this snack twice and learned that although pistachios are one of my favorite things, the unsalted ones are definitely less addictive than the salted ones!  I will finish the ones I bought, but probably won't buy them again.)

Dinner:  Whatever DRH (Dear Retired Husband) makes!  Based on his typical patterns, it will probably be either chicken or pork, with wild rice and a green vegetable.  I'll try to take a piece of meat the size of a deck of cards or my palm, half my plate of vegetables, and either no rice or a quarter of a cup.  I won't eat dessert, and I will have a glass of wine or beer only if it fits within my points allotment.

Cardio and Strength Training (in the morning before work):  Fartlek run, 8-10x 1 min on/1 min off.  Based on the weather forecast, this will likely be on the treadmill at the gym.  I actually don't mind doing intervals on the treadmill, and this workout will only be 20-minutes (plus 5-min warmup and 5-min cooldown).  If I have time, I'll also do Day 21 of a 30-Day Runner's Strength Challenge that I started on March 11 (today is April 30:  do the math - LOL!), and the Week 1 WOWs.  All together, the strength work will consist of:

15 Tricep Dips
60-Sec Plank X 2
20 Skier Squats
20 Bird-Dog Push-Ups
20 Pilates Roll-Ups with Forward Fold
3X 30-seconds "Run the Tires"

Wow, I'm hungry and tired just from writing all that!

I'll also weigh in tomorrow morning, but I don't like talking about that number.  I'll just let you know how many pounds I need to shed in the next 28 days to get my BMI back from "overweight" to "healthy."

Who's in this with me?  Anyone? 

Less Than Two Weeks Left to Get it in Gear!

Hit the streets in my neighborhood today for a long run (10 miles); it had been three weeks since I had done one of those and I was seriously questioning whether I should attempt the 15K Mastodon Challenge on May 10.  A week ago I ran 5 miles; it took me 58 minutes (when a year ago I could do it in 49) and my right foot was unbelievably sore for days afterwards so I hadn't run again.  Should I drop down to the 5K?  Should I drop out?

I was so excitedly looking forward to my training plan when I put it together in January.  But the winter weather got me down and I ended up running many fewer times than scheduled in January and February.  I made up for it by doing combo runs, i.e., incorporating another workout (most often a hill workout) into my long run.  It made the long runs harder than they were supposed to be, but at least I got the miles in. 

Then at the end of February I went on vacation and left my heart and my psyche in Key West.  I can't even list all the scheduled runs I missed in March and April.  Well, actually I could, but it would be boring.  Here is a picture of my training plan for March 2 - April 19.  I know you can't see the details, but of particular note is how many days have a typed workout listed and no handwritten notation.  Those are the workouts I skipped.  The circled ones with arrows connecting them are combos I did.



The best laid plans . . .


The plan was based on a half-marathon plan, so where you see 14-18 miles listed for long runs, I only did 10-12.  And it was a mistake to put together a 4-run per week plan.  That's not feasible with my work schedule; it should have only been a 3-run per week plan.

All that aside, the good news today is that I ran the first 5 miles, same route as last week, a little faster this time:  55:30 instead of 58:00.  The difference?  New shoes, and walk breaks!  I hadn't realized how worn my shoes were because I didn't think I had run that much, but my husband reminded me that even though I hadn't run many times most of my runs were long.  Since I'm just a "Hobby Runner," I don't track my shoe-mileage, but I decided to switch to the new pair.  I had hoped to do the race this year without walk breaks, but based on today's results I'm thinking maybe not.  I tried to mimic last year's race, where I ran the first two miles before I settled into my run/walk intervals.  My run intervals are a little longer now.  I was pushing myself for the first five miles, so after I turned around to do the loop in reverse, I slowed way down.  Today's goal was a 105 to 120-minute effort, and I was just shy of 10 miles when I hit 120 minutes.  Below is today's route, and the race route.  On today's, I've marked where I was at the time it took me to finish the race last year.



Today's Run - about 8.3 miles at 1:36:32



2013 Mastodon Challenge - 9.3 miles in 1:36:32

Definitely slower than last year, but I'm dragging around about 12 extra  pounds so between that and my lackadaisical training, I guess that's not surprising.  But today convinced me not to drop out, or drop down to the 5K.  I'm going for 15K!  I know that's not a big deal to my friends who are marathoners and ironmen, but it is for me! 

So my plan for the next 12 days is to do all the remaining runs on my training schedule, as written - no combos, no more makeups. And I'm going to try to eat better than I have been so far this year, especially since I'm starting a 28-day diet challenge on May 1.  More about that another time.  For now, here is a video I found of elephants running - closest things we have to mastodons these days!



TTMMSY (Things That Make Me Say "YIKES!")

In my Facebook news feed Saturday morning: 

Race Day is only 3 weeks away!!!  YIKES!

My comment:

 

YIKES is right!!!!!

yikes

Google:  expressing shock and alarm, often for humorous effect

UrbanDictionary.com:  a term used to show shock or extreme surprise

Mirriam-Webster.com:  used to express fear or astonishment

 

Yikes, indeed!  I am not surprised or astonished that the Mastodon Challenge 15K is now less than 3 weeks away, but I am somewhat scared and alarmed!

 

Some Other Things That Make Me Say "Yikes!"

- Last year I could run my 5-mile neighborhood route in just under 50 minutes; now it takes me 58.

 

- How many runs I've missed in April because of schedule irregularities, a chest cold, sore feet and a good book.

 (Hey, what can I say?  I'm a "hobby runner!")

 

- How out of whack I've let my eating habits become and how much of my weight loss I've regained (which I'm pretty sure explains my slowdown).

 

- Just how sore the top of my right foot has been after a couple of recent runs.  (I think I made a bad choice last time I bought running shoes.)

 

- Rita Jeptoo ran the Boston Marathon in less time than it took me to do a HALF marathon!

 

Speaking of the Boston Marathon

It's unusual that I would recognize the name of an elite runner because I don't follow the sport at that level, but when I read that Meb Keflezighi won the Boston Marathon I thought his name sounded familiar and I had a feeling that it had something to do with the NYC Marathon.  I was right, here it is:  http://www.letsrun.com/news/2013/11/time-life/.  Based on that, which is all I know about him, I think he deserved to win!  Yay, Meb!

 

Back to Me

Last year I completed the Mastodon Challenge in 1:36:32, for a 10:22 pace, and that included walk breaks!  That really made me say "Yikes!" (expressing astonishment) because it was almost a whole minute per mile faster than my pace two weeks prior in my first half marathon.  I don't think I can hope to match that this year, so my goal will just be to enjoy the run - and hopefully to finish it without my feet hurting too much! 

 

Eighteen days to go! 

 

Back to the Blog - What Happened To March? (part one)

Author's Note:  I started writing this post on March 31; here it is April 14th!  I'm determined to finish this post today, and to both run and blog more consistently between now and race day!

Still here, still training (so to speak) for the Mastodon Challenge 15K!  I went on vacation at the end of February and came home on March 2.  After a week in the Florida Keys, it was a month-long struggle to overcome post-tropic depression and get back into the routine.  Now that I think I've gotten back in the training groove, it's time to catch up with the blog.

A Hobby Runner on Vacation

I left for vacation feeling fit, if not skinny.  Of 12 scheduled runs between February 1 and February 19, I had only totally missed two or three of the "easy" runs.  I had completed all the hill workouts (inside and outside), long runs and one speed workout, either as scheduled or in combination.  I had also completed the 30-day beach body challenge, although this picture taken of me on vacation shows that I unfortunately did not also follow a beach body diet:

I'm the one with the snorkel, while everyone else has a beer!  What's up with that?

Everyone else wore a wet suit for snorkeling in the 72-degree water (not sure if it was the Gulf of Mexico or the Atlantic Ocean).  I originally attributed my "toughness" to being used to water aerobics and lap swimming in a cold pool, and swimming in the North Atlantic off New England where we're lucky if the ocean temperature reaches 70 degrees in July.  But looking at the above picture, I think it was just an extra layer of built-in insulation! 

I haven't yet written the post to explain my nom de plume, but one sign that I am a Hobby Runner is that I did not take my running shoes on vacation.  Actually, at first I did pack them, but ended up leaving them home when my suitcase was too heavy and too full.  I brought my walking sandals and all of our lodgings had swimming pools, so I figured I would focus on walking and swimming as cross-training.  I even brought my resistance bands, but they never left the suitcase.  I only did one early morning exercise walk, and although I enjoyed a couple of swimming pools, I can't really claim to have done any exercise swimming.

Pool in South Beach,  Miami

Nice morning for an exercise walk - Islamorada



Someone else out enjoying the early morning sunshine in Islamorada; it's surprising how fast they move when they are startled!

Kayaked twice, and did a fair amount of walking.  And we even bicycled uphill to the highest point on Key West - elevation 18 feet above sea level!  Here is a picture of another location on the bicycle tour, where we stopped to share some fresh coconut:

Oh, and did I mention the daily dose of conch fritters, key lime pie and margaritas?  To summarize, I left home feeling fit and returned feeling full! It was one of the best vacations ever.

Back to Reality

So not only was it still cold when we got home (as in single-digit mornings), we had to "spring ahead" just to make sure it was nice and dark at run time, too!  It had been kind of fun, in a twisted way, in the fall when the mornings got dark to put on the reflective vest and headlamp and get out before sunrise. But it got old when it got cold and stayed cold for so long this year.  The gym is nearby and I've taught myself plenty of satisfying interval workouts for the treadmill, but it was even hard to go out in the mornings to drive there.  So, the so-called routine that was kind of mushy even before vacation was that much more so afterwards.

What it boils down to is this: I had 18 runs scheduled in March, but only ran 8 times and only half of those outside.  Four out of 8 runs were combos, where I incorporated either a missed speed workout or a missed hill workout into my long run.  The 6 runs that I missed were "easy runs" of various durations, from 40-50 minutes up to 80-90 minutes (although, for me, "easy" is an oxymoron once the duration exceeds 45 minutes).  On the positive side, by doing combos, I managed to check off all the long runs, hill workouts and speed workouts in my plan, so maybe I can still legitimately call it "training," imperfect Hobby-Runner style!

March's Combos

Each of these was supposed to be two separate workouts.  I'm sure some of the purpose is defeated by combining them, but at least I did them and affirmed that I can do some semblance of running (with walk breaks) for the length of time it took me to complete the 15K race last year!

Long Run w/ Leg Speed (treadmill)

I was back from vacation for a week before I finally put my running shoes on.  The scheduled run was a 90 to 105-minute long run and I had missed a "leg speed" workout.  Here is how I did it (all at 0% incline), to the best of my recollection:

5-minute walking warm-up, increasing speed each minute from 2.5 to 3.5 mph 

13:45 minutes at 5.3 mph (equal to about an 11:49 min/mile pace according to the conversion chart at hillrunner.com)

15 sets:   alternating intervals of 30 seconds at 8 mph (7:49) and 60 seconds at 5.3 mph (original settings*)

50 minutes at 5.3 mph 

5-minute walking cool-down, decreasing speed each minute from 3.5 to 2.5 mph 

*I hadn't run in two weeks, and by incorporating speed intervals I was making my long run harder than it was supposed to be.  As I recall, I managed the first five speed intervals at the original run/jog settings, then slowed it down to jog/walk for the middle five and sped back up for the final five - or something like that.   

Long Run With Long Hill Repeats (treadmill)

After completing the above workout on a weekday morning I thought I was back in the groove, but it stayed cold and dark and my slump resumed for another 10 days.  Then I went to the gym on a Sunday and tried to do this, all at 5.3 mph (preceded and followed by the same walking warm-up and cool down as above):

10 sets:  alternating intervals of 3 minutes at 3% incline and 3 minutes at 0% incline (which, according to the hillrunner.com chart linked above, is like alternating 10 min/mile and 11:49 min/mile without having to change the speed setting)

45 minutes at 0% incline (to achieve the scheduled 105-minute long run) 

A few sets into the hill repeats, I started taking some walk breaks during the 0% incline.  This reminded me of last year's Mastodon Challenge, where my timed running intervals consistently (but not on purpose) included the uphills and my walk breaks were on the flats or downhills.   (I'll write more about that when I recap the 2013 race, which I hope to do before race day 2014!)

Easy Run with Fartleks (finally OUTSIDE!)

"Fartlek" is my favorite new word learned since I started all this so-called running.  Even so, when I see "FR" in my training plan, I can never remember if it's "Fartlek Run" or "Farklet Run" and I usually end up thinking of "Farkle," the dice game!

Runner's World explains fartleks here.  My training plan said this:

FR:  8-10 X 1 min on, 1 min off

According to the calculator mentioned above, my FR "on" pace should be 9:30-10:00/mile and the "off" pace about a minute and a half slower.  This workout would take just 20 minutes, and I had missed a 50-60 minute "easy run."   It was actually nice enough, and light enough, to run OUTSIDE after work before dinner!   Woo hoo!!!!! First outdoor run in several weeks!  I did a 45 minute run, with the FR's in about the middle.  From what I read at Runner's World, I think the fartleks are supposed to be more random, but I do what I can with my interval timer app.  I modified my route in-progress and never got around to mapping the distance to figure out if I made the target paces.  But any time I exercise I can consult the perceived exertion chart permanently tattooed on my brain (from my years of carrying it around as a Jazzercise instructor) and I know the fartlek "on" intervals were "hard" while I tried to keep the "off" and "easy run" intervals between fairly light and somewhat hard.  I don't know if that's exactly how it should be, but it's good enough for a Hobby Runner!


Jazzercise Perceived Exertion Chart

With the addition of an unremarkable 50-minute Hill/Easy Run treadmill combo, those were all the combos I did in March.  There was also a "cruise interval" work out and there were a couple of long runs, and there are some things I want to say about cross-training.  I'll save all that for part two!

Happy running!  Hope you are getting outside and enjoying Spring as much as I hope to for the rest of this month!