Temptation

Alright…  This is a test.  How strong am I…

Background:

December 31 of this year I committed to doing something that I have known for a long time I needed to do if I am ever going to REALLY lose weight and get in shape.  I said goodbye to a beloved old friend…

Alcohol.

Most notably… beer.

See, I have never been a hard liquor drinker.  I like a good glass of wine and could probably really get into wine drinking with little effort.  But I LOVE beer.  I drank it more for the taste and the pleasure than the buzz.  I rarely, if ever drank to excess (a few notable exceptions admitted).  I tried all types from all over the world.  I made my own VERY tasty varieties for years.

However, I am acutely aware that beer is bad for me.  This is multiplied exponentially by the fact that I have the metabolism of a three-toed sloth.  I can just THINK about drinking a couple of beers and my pants get tighter.

So the writing was on the wall.  One of the last great stumbling blocks to true fitness needed to be removed.  My last beer, hopefully ever, was a glass of my favorite, Guinness.

I also, after reading some compelling research, gave up ALL sodas, including diet.  It seems even diet sodas can compound and confound your body’s efforts to convert fat to fuel and I need all the help I can get so it had to go too.

You will, however, pry my morning cup of coffee from MY COLD, DEAD, HANDS… ’nuff said…

I have also, for quite some time actually, not eaten at a fast food restaurant.  Given my current position and the amount of travel I have to do,  this ain’t easy either..

Situation:

I am staying tonight in one of my favorite hotels.  Comfy beds, reliable in room wi-fi, and the source of my temptation.  From 5:30 to 7:00pm each evening they provide a hosted bar where you can get 3 free drinks, lots of junk food, etc.  This particular hotel is also sandwiched between two fast food restaurants (no pun intended).  I am bored, alone and, even though the beer et al. have been removed from my diet, the cravings are still definitely there.  I almost cried the other day while walking unintentionally through the beer aisle at the grocery store.

If you were to ask me what part of the triathlon was hardest, I would definitely say eating right.  This has always been my Achilles heel and will probably continue to be so for the rest of my life.  Which is why I have to get it under control.

Solution:

I don’t know if there will ever be one.  I will fight this battle forever.  Tonight, however, I purposefully walked through the snacks area, leered at the beer tap and then walked back down the hall to the exercise room.  I stared in the window for a long while, contemplating my choices.  When I am done with this post, I will go downstairs, ride for an hour on the stationary bike and then get in the hot tub.

This is my life now.  These are my choices…

…Saturday marks one month since I started all this.  I have lost four pounds…

The frozen one

A few times per year we get a rogue photographer/reporter or maybe even a news crew that shows up to “capture the spirit of our club” or some other such nonsense.  I always love the looks on their faces when we start piling out of cars like clowns in a circus at about 5:25am, happy (mostly) and ready to run.  You can tell… they just don’t get it.  Even their questions seem more personal than news related.  Mostly because of the emphasis on the word “do”.  As in, “Why do you DO this!?”  They are always met with the normal patience of the group and an effort is always made to explain that which really can’t be explained unless you already understand it.  They are usually left shaking their heads as they wander back to their cars.  We just giggle and shake ours as well.  Most of us are really not sure why we do this completely ourselves, we just know we couldn’t NOT do it.  It is a part of our day.  We look forward to it and most of us feel genuinely bad/guilty when we miss (whether we admit that publicly or not).

My running buddy this morning was on of the usual suspects.  I was just glad not to have to run alone on a snowy trail.  I like running on snow more than running on ice… but that’s not saying much.  We actually chose to run a longer route just to avoid finishing up on a snowy trail.  It’s supposed to heat up just enough to melt the top layer (that 40 of us packed down this morning) and give it a nice icy glaze.  Probably won’t be running the trail any time soon.

It’s amazing how much better I felt once we left the trail and got on clean, clear streets.  I finished up 7 miles with an 8:30 pace but I can tell you that the first 2 miles were much slower because I just didn’t feel safe on the snow.  You also just can’t get any push without slipping so it changes your stride.  Anyway, I was much happier on the road… for once.  I had my balaclava on but pulled down under my chin because I was a bit overdressed so I had a good coat of ice on my goatee by the time I was done.  That plus one of the girls I was talking with right after the run had a very distracting coat of ice on her eyelashes that I couldn’t help but chuckle at all made it very clear that, although 18 degrees is warmer than we have been running (and no wind… yay!!), it’s still bluddy cold.  I will admit that I love to see winter come but like everyone else, I also love to see it leave!  Shouldn’t be more than another month though, and it will start to warm back up again.

For now though, I remain permanently frozen.  Waiting for a time in the not too distant future when I will once again be longing for cold weather as I run through the 90 degree heat and humidity of mid MO summer.  Always gotta have something to bitch about…!

Running and swimming in the snow.

I ran in a true “snow” for the first time yesterday morning.  Granted, it was only a couple of inches, but I decided to try to do it without Yak Traks, et al. (mainly because I don’t have any).  The route started with a relatively flat warmup and then went up a big hill at about mile one.  My legs started feeling immediately fatigued and it felt like I was running on the beach.  By the time we were done, my butt and hamstrings really hurt.  It was muscle sore, but still.  I could feel myself defending every step because I was worried about slipping.  Those old demons appeared again from the days when my back was hurting really bad and I felt very unstable.  I was afraid through the entire run that I would fall.  While I know that if I continue to run in adverse conditions I will get more comfortable, I really didn’t enjoy this run.  I just felt tense the entire time.  I think I will take a bit more consideration of elements before I do this again until I am a bit more prepared.

This morning I went to the pool and swam 1200 yards.  I also managed 600 without stopping!    I know this is no great feat, but it is a new distance record for me so I’m happy.  I find that if I can just relax for the first few laps of a long stretch, I get past the “pump” where my muscles feel tight and then I get into a rhythm that I can carry for long stretches.  I really felt like I could have gone several hundred more yards, but I need to take it in moderation.  If I can get to 1000 yards by the end of February I will be very excited.  I still suffer from form breaks and my legs sink when I get tired, but I can feel it now and have learned some things to help correct it.  I am really hoping I can get in on the group training that is being offered by our local club.  It’s supposed to start in February (if it goes).  I think this is a perfect next step for me.

But do ya “love” it?

I just don’t know about this swim thing.  I went to the pool this morning, did my 1000 yards, even got in a 400 yd stretch.  Felt better than I thought I would.  I tried a couple of new drills, one in particular that emphasizes the glide part of the swim stroke.  I dropped my strokes per lap from 24 to 18 and was only slightly slower.  I can see how efficiency can be beneficial over the long haul.

But I just don’t love it yet.  I’m trying.  I think I am much more comfortable in the water than I was even a couple of weeks ago but I still feel like I’m doing everything wrong and my endurance isn’t increasing as fast as I thought it would.  I am already secretly aprehensive about my first open water swim and the thought of cramming my fat butt into a wetsuit does not thrill me.  Nor does trying to wiggle my soggy, fat butt out of one in the transition area.  Maybe it will be warm and I won’t need to wear one…  No matter.  It will happen.  I just need to get myself in the mindset that form and efficiency are the most important skills to develop in the water becuase this is the shortest part of the race.  Seven minutes if I’m fast up to 12 minutes if I dog paddle.  Out of a race that can last an hour to an hour and a half, this isn’t much.  I can make greater gains in the bike or on the run if I focus on them so I will build my endurance for the next month or so and then switch to fewer, more technique focused workouts so that I can spend more time on the bike/run portion of the show.

Maybe I can learn to love swimming as I go.  For now, though, not drowning is going to have to do.

Bob Frost(y)

Image via Wikipedia

If you were to ask me how many layers I had on this morning for my run, the proper response would have been… “All of them”.  Indeed, my closet was empty of running stuff (and yes,  I looked like the Michelin Man) as I waddled out the door this morning.

Stats:

Temp: 4

Wind chill: -7

Wind: Straight from the North Pole at about 15

Common sense: -10

And there were 11 other foolish mortals out there with me.  Which didn’t really help at all.

This run is most easily summed up by saying that I was very happy to run 10 miles for the first time in 2 months and that I weighed 5 pounds MORE when I finished than when I started because of ice accumulation.  My neck warmer was frozen solid and I couldn’t get it off.  My eyebrows were frozen solid and wanted to fall off.  I felt something heavy in my sleeves and discovered that my windbreaker is not wicking because there were two HUGE snowballs (sweatballs?  Meballs?  Bobballs? …maybe not that last one…) in the sleeves.  Literally big enough to throw at someone… but that would just be gross.  Every layer I took off had ice on it.  I actually felt warmer standing next to my truck with no shirt on than I did with all of my wet, icy layers on…

… it was fun… <insert evil grin here>

The return of Captain Whineypants

Well that sucked.  Two completely uninspiring workouts in two days.  How irritating is that?

I had to travel for work this week so after my Monday swim and Tuesday morning run I wasn’t sure what the rest of the week would bring.  But I am determined to get through this 2 month stretch with my fitness intact, even if I have to piss people off and not do stuff with them at conferences.  This is more important to me.  The promise of warmer weather had me thinking about a run outside but I just didn’t have time so I had to default back to the mini gym at the hotel.  Here I learned a couple of things.

First, treadmills well and truly SUCK.  I am convinced that I would rather run IN a tornado than run on a treadmill again.  I just can’t put in more than 2 or 3 miles before my mind goes completely numb and I begin to drool.  I usually don’t hit the drool stage outside until at least mile 12 outside…

The other thing that I discovered is that I am REALLY getting tired of getting hives after a workout.  This itchy, painful condition seems to be becoming more common with me and I really have no idea why.  I am going to try to be more consistent about taking my allergy medication to see if having at least a little of it on board at all times will make the difference.  Whatever it is, I’m getting sick of it.

So then I get home last night, tired from a 4 hour drive, get rotten sleep and head to the pool this morning where I discover that, even though I only missed one swim workout, my endurance is back down to ZERO and I can only swim about 200 yards at a time without my form completely disintegrating and my feet dragging on the bottom.  I managed to slog out 1000 yards before I finally just gave up and declared an end to the carnage.  Maybe Sunday will be better.

Hopefully I can shake these workouts off and have a decent long run tomorrow.  Too bad the good weather is going away.  It was sixty yesterday but is only going to get up to 40 this morning before the temps fall back into the low thirties this afternoon and drop down to the low teens tonight.  Should be about 12 degrees tomorrow morning.  You would think it was still winter…

Finding a workout

Well 400 yards today didn’t come as easy as 500 yards last week.  Most likely because I swam yesterday and I’m just tired.  Still, I was able to extend out to 1000 yards total for the session, but I’m still just out of gas at about 1000 yards.  Looking at some of the group workouts the club does, I just wonder how long it will take me to get to that 2500 yard mark.  My guess is about 6 months.  Hopefully less, but I think that is reasonable.

I’m digging for one of my “hidden gems” runs in the town I am going to tomorrow evening, Maryville.  I know there is a lake out there but I don’t know if there are any trails around it.  There is also a university there so between the two I should have a couple of options for a run.  My hotel appears to have an exercise room but the pool is dinky.  If all else fails it looks like they have a treadmill and stationary bike.  I’m afraid this will be my greatest challenge over the next couple of months…  Just finding time and space to workout on the go.

…that and avoiding fast food at all cost…

Fitting it all in

Is it sick when you are running in 15 degree weather (windchill of ZERO) and find yourself using words like “comfortable” and “nice” to describe the day?  Or is it just that my frame of reference includes several sub-zero days so 15 seems like a heat wave?  Of course it probably helped that I had tights AND running pants on as well as 3 upper layers, gloves and a running hat…  heh… I guess I CAN learn how to dress for the weather after all…

This particular frolic through the new light dusting of snow we had gotten the day before was about 7 miles and was wholly unremarkable.  Easy out, easy back.  No pushing, just mileage.  I’m coming to love workouts like this.  Mostly because there are so few of them nowadays.

My running buddies are all gearing up full tilt now for their spring marathons.  Most of them were running at least 10 miles yesterday and some were going as long as 16.  I got more than one jealous/dirty look when I announced that I was turning around at the 3.5 mile mark.  What they don’t know is that I was secretly jealous of them for running the long miles.  I do miss the long runs though…

No matter.  I’m frying a different fish nowadays.  I’ve got a swim today and tomorrow and then I leave to do some training for a few days.  This is my first challenge to my schedule.  Finding places/ways to exercise on the road is a challenge.  I can’t exactly bring my bike and most hotel pools are WAY too short to swim for anything other than entertainment.  I may be doing a lot of running/stationary biking for the next month or so.  Hope it’s enough!

It’s still a race

Haven’t done a TIART in a while so I thought I would chime in.  This week’s topic is about 5K/10K.

I used to run a lot of 5 and 10K races back in the day.  Then I got this crazy idea to run a marathon and before it was over with I was a total running snob.  I didn’t want to run “those” races because they were WAY too short.  Whatever…  I was an idiot.  The 5k/10k distance race is fantastic for a million reasons.  Here is what I think and then How I run them.

What I think

Whether you are an experienced ultra marathoner or are doing your first Couch to 5k race, these distances are perfect for you.  Now, before you ultra-snobs jump me and beat me with water bottles (or Twinkies… bleh… you guys really eat that crap?), let me ’splain.

New runners- The 5k is a perfect first race.  The distance allows you to get the experience of running with a group, crossing the finish line, setting goals and getting fit.  But it does not take a huge amount of time to train for like the longer races.  An hour (max) a day for 4-5 days a week is all you need to get sufficient mileage in to successfully complete a 5K.  And the benefits are overwhelming.  Just be careful.  It’s addictive…

Experienced runners- Put your hackles down and listen.  If you pound long distances all the time, that is all you will ever be able to do.  I am NOT a fast runner, but by varying my workouts and forcing myself to run shorter and faster, I find I improve all around.  And I have BEATEN runners, who I KNOW run much more mileage than I do, in a 5K because they have only been doing long runs for so long that they have forgotten how to run FAST.  It is a completely different experience.  If it makes  you feel better, go for a run after your… run.

What I like:

It’s still a race.  You have to push yourself to get better.  The atmosphere is different.  Everybody knows a 5k will usually be over and completely done and the clock put away in about an hour.  So the energy is higher.  These distances give me the chance to play with things that longer runs don’t.  I can work hills, extend my stride on downhills, attack, sprint or just cruise and enjoy running with lots of people.

What I do:

Because I have run longer for the last few years, I have found the best recipe for me is to get to the site early and run a few miles before the race (trying to time it so I get back to the starting line just in time is the hard part).  I do this, not to show off my mad mileage skills, but simply to warm up.  I have run long for SO long that I don’t even stop creaking and popping until about mile 3.  Getting the joints lubed takes some time and I find that I actually run FASTER when I do this, rather than slower like you would think.  I don’t take water if offered.  My race is usually just over 20 minutes.  If I need water, I haven’t prepared properly.  Besides, my race is usually half over by the time I hit the first (and usually last and only) water stop.  I can wait 10 minutes…  Once the race is about to start I try to block out everything and really focus on my race.  This is HARD.  There are tons of distractions and it’s easy to get sucked into the flow.  My last race I wanted to run 7:30s.  That was my only goal.  I don’t remember much of the race (except for getting nauseated for some stupid reason) and didn’t chat a whole lot with other runners.  I came in at 7:29/mi.  That’s pretty good.  the 5k distance may be shorter, but it’s still a race and I try to take them seriously (for the most part).

My suggestions:

Focus on YOUR pace.  The danger of shorter races is that a lot of the “athletes/runners” that enter them… well… aren’t.  They think that because they can run a mile they can run a 5K.  Or they do it because somebody dared them.  Look, nobody wants to get dropped off the starting line by some goob wearing boxer shorts or a chick who matches all the way down to her lipstick and nails.  I have rarely ever been BEATEN by one of them.  They haul ass off the starting line to the roars of their buddies and then bonk about a mile and a half into the race.  But if you try to stick with them to show them who the athlete is, you will ruin your own chances to succeed by trying to stick with some ridiculous pace.  Pick a steady pace and you will pass a ton of people in the last mile that you never thought you could run with.

By the same token, you WILL go out too fast in your first few 5Ks.  It’s natural.  You are excited.  The adrenaline will take over and before you know it you are two minutes ahead of your goal pace at the first mile marker.  It’s OK.  Just relax and go back to your pace.  You’ve only got two miles to go!  Like many have pointed out here, the race is so short you can walk it in if you have to and still get a decent time out of it.  Just keep running.

Save something for the end.  You signed up, paid money, trained and made sacrifices to get to this point.  Why on EARTH would you leave anything on the course?  Work your hardest and then sprint to the end.  You will feel better for it later.

Finally, meet people.  Shake hands.  Congratulate each other.  Swap stories and phone numbers.  Make friends and running buddies.  That’s really what it’s all about.  And besides, that guy that won the race?  He’s pretty lonely.  It must suck to be so fast nobody wants to run with you…

This way to Sanity>>>

Image by wadem via Flickr

I discussed the difference between dedication and insanity in my last post just a bit.  It is truly unfortunate that the athlete in me wishes to be insane…

I stared at the temperature guage this morning in disbelief.  It said “-2″.  And it looked like the guage itself was having diffculty displaying the “-” properly (as did my truck guage on the way to work!).  A sane person would look at this, coupled with the 10-20 mph winds and simply roll over and pull the covers back up tight.  I, however, was searching our closets in my mind for enough of the right kind of clothing so that I still go.

Sanity won out (this time) as I realized I just don’t have the gear to keep me safe in such extreme conditions.  Minus 15 windchill is just not something to play with.  However, once I succumbed to this decision I was immediately disappointed and felt guilty.  That’s sad…  I was angry with myself for bailing out on the run.  Even though I also knew that if I had gone, my darling wife would have gone all ninja on me and seriously kicked my butt.  And I would have deserved it.  In the end, it was my dad’s voice from long ago in one of his many “speeches” to me that came back to me and helped me make my decision.  He said simply “Son, you need to pick your battles.  Sometimes it’s better to live to fight another day.”  While this applies in all aspects of life (relationships, jobs, friends, etc.), it is especially true for us “athletes” who don’t get paid to do what we do.  In other words, I “could” have gone running in these dangerous conditions even though I don’t have the gear or the experience.  BUT…  I have to go to work today.  My family depends on me for support.  Sitting in the emergency room with frostbite, missing work, when I have a perfectly good gym membership makes NO SENSE.

So I chose, instead, at the beyond the grave prompting of my dad, to pick my battle today.  I chose to do battle with a stationary bike for 45 minutes and then mini-brick it by jumping off and running a fast mile (7:10!!).  My legs felt predictably stiff on the run and I did look longingly out the window as I went around, but starting this weekend the temperatures are supposed to moderate and there look to be some glorious days ahead for running.  I still got a decent workout in and made it to work right on time.

I win… (even though I still feel guilty…)