Week 32: Omega-3 Fatty Acids

Once again I was really happy with my weight loss results for the last week. I dropped another 1.3 lbs bringing me to a total of 33.3 lbs lost, or 67% of my 50 lbs weight loss goal. Why? Because I ate less than I burned. Sounds pretty simple doesn't it?! I have found that the key to weight loss for me is to keep track of what I am eating and to stop when I reach my allocated amounts. It works!

I've also made a couple more changes to my diet. Two weeks ago I increased the amount of fruits and vegetables in my diet. Last week I changed the percentage of carbs to protein/fat from 70/30 to 60/40. I think I need a little more protein in my diet to help with recovery. I'll see if 60/40 is enough carbs to fuel my runs and to continue to give me energy. If I start to feel tired, I will switch back to 70/30 or maybe try 65/35.

Moving from Pace to Feel

This week I started a new training cycle. I was planning to take a week off after my last milestone race but I felt great, so decided to continue training. In hindsight, I really like the approach I am taking by training for my next furthest event (for the 15K I used a half marathon plan and for the half marathon I used a 30K plan, so on and so forth). As a result, when I start the next cycle, my largest mileage weeks from the previous cycle fit nicely into my current cycle, and the race week serves as a step back week to recover from the cycle. The approach is working perfectly.

Anyway, based on my current training plan I was scheduled to run four, seven, and four on my mid-week runs. I ran all three at the Northshore trail. Tuesday I started at the Boy Scouts trail head and ran to Rockledge Park and back (dailymile map). During my last cycle I really focused on my speed/pace. But this time I am just going to run based on how I feel. During this run I was feeling pretty good and ended up at a 11:29 mpm pace.

From Rockledge Park trail head.

The Ranch 30K Training Plan

Note: On April 18th, 2011 I abandoned this training program due to an ankle injury. I decided to skip The Ranch 30K milestone race and am now training for my first 50K. 

For my next milestone race, I plan to run The Ranch 30K trail race. As I have done with my previous milestone races, I will train for the next furthest milestone distance (the marathon) so that when I toe the line at this milestone race I am fully prepared to go the distance.

After reviewing numerous marathon training plans I have decided to follow Hal Higdon's Intermediate-I Marathon Plan. Since my race is on May 15th, 2011, I will need to start at Week 7 of the plan in order to complete by the race date. I am very comfortable with the mileage starting in Week 7, so that shouldn't be a problem.

Click image for larger version.

My Race Milestones

Note: I have changed my approach. See most recent training plan.

I have now completed my second milestone race, the Cross Timbers Half-Marathon. After considering my performance, I still feel I am on track to achieve my ultramarathon goal by the end of 2011. Therefore, I am going to continue with the milestone races and dates that I previously established.

• Nov 2010--Rockledge Rumble 15K (race report)
• Feb 2011--Cross Timbers Half-Marathon (race report)
• May 2011--The Ranch 30K
• Aug 2011--Fat Ass Trail Marathon (location TBD)
• Nov 2011--Rockledge Rumble 50K (my first ultramarathon!)

The next steps is to develop the training plan for my next milestone race, The Ranch 30K. As with my previous training cycles, I will train for the next longest milestone race, the marathon, so that when I toe the line at the 30K I am well prepared. I will post my training plan once completed. 

Cross Timbers Trail Race Report

Last Saturday I completed my second milestone race, the Cross Timbers Half Marathon. This year was the 30th anniversary of the oldest trail race in Texas. Cross Timbers also claims the title of the “toughest little trail in Texas.” After participating in the race last weekend, I don’t argue with the title!

I ended up placing 45th out of 214 total finishers and 12th out of 26 male masters with a finishing time of 3 hours and 13 minutes. I think the actual mileage for the race was around 14.25 miles, so that puts me at around a 13:34 pace, a minute and a half per mile slower than my goal pace. (race results)

Before going any further, I want to stop here and thank the race director, Teresa Estrada-McCoul and all the volunteers for an absolutely fantastic experience. The Cross Timbers Trail Run was very well organized and we all know that these events would not happen if it weren’t for the volunteers. So thank you to Teresa and the volunteers for a job well done!

Getting There

I did not sleep well the night before Cross Timbers. I was too excited about completing the race and achieving my next milestone. I was also wondering about the challenges I would face on race day. Over the last couple of months I spoke to many trail runners about Cross Timbers and I had heard over and over again about how tough the course was. Was it really as tough as everyone was saying?

Sometimes people build things up much higher than reality in order to make a point. I’ve experienced this with movie reviews, my friends telling me about the life-altering drama of the most recent blockbuster, only to be gravely disappointed when I sit to watch it. Maybe I amplify what I hear from others and build it up further than they intend. That’s where I was at with Cross Timbers. I had heard the stories. I was warned about the terrain. And I didn’t want to be let down. I WANTED a challenging run, something more difficult than I had experienced in the past. Well let me tell you this…

Cross Timbers did NOT disappoint!

Week 31: Racing Weight

I was super happy to see my number on the scale this morning. I wasn't really trying to lose weight last week. If anything, I was trying to carbo-load in preparation for my next milestone race. But I also made some changes to my diet and the changes seem to have worked. I lost a little over a pound!

So what's different? Well, as I mentioned last week, I wasn't keeping track of what I was eating. Instead, I was just trying to eat when I was hungry and stop when I was full. The eating when hungry part wasn't hard, but I think the stopping part was my downfall. So I started keeping track again.

Also, I have been reading through an excellent book, Racing Weight. The author, Matt Fitzgerald, walks you through the best foods to eat to help you lose weight so that you can get to the best weight for endurance sports like ultrarunning (your racing weight). I didn't really learn much about that proper types of food (as I've been studying this topic for over a year now).

But I did note that he encourages a higher percentage of fruits and vegetables and a lower portion of grains, dairy, and protein. So I made some adjustments. In the spreadsheet I developed to track my eating I can adjust the percentage in each category and the spreadsheet automatically calculates how many Weight Watchers points I need to eat in each food category (grains, fruits, vegetables, etc.) at different times throughout the day so that I eat a balanced diet. I see three primary benefits of this approach:

1. I lose weight!
2. I am eating healthy.
3. I am never hungry.

Cross Timbers Trail Conditions

This weekend I run my next milestone race, the Cross Timbers Half Marathon. I just read an update from one of the North Texas Trail Runners about current trail conditions at Cross Timbers:

"I did an out and back of about the first 4 miles or so. Currently, the trail is only slightly drier than last year, where there were several spots with standing water. Currently those same spots are just very muddy and slick. The start, up the clay hill, will be very slippery. The trail has suffered from erosion and there seems to be more projecting roots than I remember from previous runs there. The first really steep hill with bare clay is going to be really treacherous." -- Hobert Richardson

Now THAT'S what I'm talkin' about! Sounds like it will be a fun time for all! The description reminds me of the run I did a few weeks back after the snowfall we had here in North Texas. The trail was wet and muddy and very slippery in spots. The trail conditions greatly affected my pace--I had to slow down so I didn't end up on my a$$!. So if the train conditions do not improve before the weekend, I expect the same will be true. No worries--if I have to go slower than planned, I'll just get to spend a little more time out in the woods. Who can complain with that!

Week 30: Back On Track

I think I am back on track with my weight loss. I mentioned previously that I thought I had hit a set point and I thought that was the reason why I stopped losing weight. But in hindsight, I think I was just eating more than I was burning. Weight loss 101... if you eat more than your burn, you will gain weight. It doesn't get more complicated than that.

So I am back to tracking my intake and burn and making sure that I keep my intake slightly below my burn so that I lose a little weight each week. I am in no hurry to get to my weight goal. I want to do it in a healthy way. But I also want to keep making progress.

This upcoming weekend is my next milestone race. So I am not going to worry too much this week about trying to lose weight. Instead, I am going to focus on eating a high carbohydrate diet so that my body is fueled up for the race. Then I will resume my weight loss focus next week.

What do you do to carbo-load before a race?

One Week Until Cross Timbers

I am one week away from finishing my second milestone race, the Cross Timbers Half Marathon. This race will be the second milestone race that I complete along the way to achieving my ultramarathon goal. Although I realize I still have a lot of training in front of me, this last round of training has given me the confidence to believe that I will achieve my goal. I am already starting to think beyond my first ultramarathon to other, more ambitious distances--the 50 mile and 100 mile trail races. But first things first.

This is the second time I have used the strategy of training past the race distance. To explain, when I trained for my first milestone race, the Rockledge Rumble 15K, I used a half marathon training program. For my current milestone race, the half marathon, I am using a training problem for a 30K race. My next milestone is a 30K, so I will use a marathon distance training program. And so on and so on...

Somewhere along the Northshore Trail.

Week 29: Stuck

I gained weight again last week. Looking at the trend over the last couple of months, I seem to be stuck in about a four pound range, not going any higher than the top of the range and not going any lower either. I think this is what some refer to as a set point, a weight that your body likes and tries to maintain.

When I reduce my calorie intake to try to drop weight, I get REALLY hungry. I think it is my body trying to tell me to eat so that it can maintain the current weight. I don't remember the hunger thing previously.

I need to figure this out. I just ordered a book called "Racing Weight: How to Get Lean for Peak Performance." I think I need something new and different in my diet approach in order to get it kick-started again. Right now I am feeling stuck and I don't like it.

Have you ever felt stuck with your weight loss efforts? What did you do about it?

L-Five Trail Run Report (16 Miles)

Today was my last long run before starting into a two week taper. Although my legs were a little tired by the end of the run, I otherwise felt great.

I am definitely ready for my upcoming milestone race. I took a drive up on Saturday to look over the course. But I decided not to run it because the ice and show had not yet melted. I will run it blind on race day.

Some snow on parts of the Northshore Trail.

Amazing Story--Ultrarunner Diane Van Deren

Inspiring! Make sure you watch both of the videos.

What challenges have you had to overcome to achieve your goals?

It's Different This Time

I was a little apprehensive about how I would feel this week after my 17 mile long run on the weekend. The last time I ran that far I felt great immediately after my run. But I paid for it dearly for more than a week. Both my knees and my ankles were very sore. My arms were sore. My calf muscles were sore. I was really tired. I had to stop running for a while to recover.

It's different this time.

Yes, my legs were a little tired on Monday, but no pain and no stiffness. None what so ever! My arms were fine. Actually, I felt really good. When I ran my four miler yesterday on the treadmill I had lots of energy. No issues.

Today I ran eight miles on the treadmill (still too fricken cold to go outside!). I felt so good during and after the run that, as I sit here writing this, I feel like going another eight! I'm ready. I'm pumped. Bring on my next race!

Weather Or Not

It is so cold out today that not even my cat wants to go outside! Like I'm going to argue with that.

We are getting hit with a little winter weather here today. I know our winter weather is minor compared to what is in store for other parts of the country. But it doesn't take much to create havoc here in the Dallas / Fort Worth area.

A light rain earlier this morning turned to ice and a little snow. In response, most of the schools are shut down, many businesses closed, both major airports cancelling flights, wide-spread power outages, and every local channel is focused on reports showing cars struggling on the iced-over roads.

We suck at doing winter weather here!

So why would I want to go outside today? I don't. Not gonna do it. But I am in the last week of my mileage build-up before I start tapering for my next milestone race. Not gonna miss my miles, weather or not.

The solution... yea, the dreaded treadmill.

Didn't like it, but four miles on the treadmill beats no miles. Period.

How has the weather affected your running today?