Running farther, eating better..

Left the office today a little early for my run. It was supposed to be raining by 3 p.m. and then drop into the 40s or 50s from the mid-60s. Instead, it was still sunny at 2. But I didn't want to push my luck, so I bugged out for a run in what turned out to be 70-plus degrees. The sun was actually hot -- in early April!

Focused on form not speed. I am trying to finally, finally embrace certain ideas from Chirunning including running for the joy rather than the accomplishment. Began with an easy 10 minutes like Danny Dreyer suggest and worked on body sensing to see if I could feel tension anywhere. My right ankle where I had all the symptoms of a stress fracture but no fracture last summer was talking at me just a bit. So I focused on relaxing my lower legs and voila, sensation gone. Everything else felt fine.

I still need to work on my downhill form. I have a tendency to pull up off my tilt and let my core go, which puts way too much strain on my back. I am still working to find the balance among length, stride and speed in the downhill. But it'll come.

The run was great but breezy. That's not a complaint. The weather for the last few weeks has been nothing short of amazing.

Along with my efforts to focus my running on the process and not the product, I've been working on dropping a few pounds (like 20) and learning to eat healthy. I tend to get really rigid about my nutrition, drop the weight and then within a year put most of it back on. (Usually, I'm only working to take off 10 but a low back issue packed on the second 10 at Christmas.) So I'm down 8 or 9 lbs in six weeks. It's slow but steady.

The best part about the weight loss is that I'm not being rigid. If I want something sweet, I eat it. If I want something salty, I eat it. I just attention to how much I eat of any one thing and make sure I get a salad every other day at a minimum plus fruit, too. These are two food groups I really neglect. But no more. Bonus: I feel better all overall -- and especially when I'm running. Who'da thought?

Starting Over

In my renewed effort to focus on the joy of running and not the numbers, I left my heart rate monitor and my Garmin behind for yesterday's run. No way to know how fast or how far I was going (well, I guess I knew how far because I was on one of my favorite routes). But no pressure to perform, no obsessing about my speed, no concerns about heart rate. Just a casual run.

I was totally relaxed except for the butt-dragging feeling in my body. My running form felt great -- no pains, discomfort; my breath rate felt good. I just like I was running with a hangover and I don't even drink. I'm not sure where the butt-dragging feeling came from, although I guess it could be trying to run fueled by fast food. I guess nutrition really does matter. Who'da thunk?

As Danny Dreyer says in ChiRunning, there are no bad runs, just good lessons. And the lesson for today: Stop eating junk (as if I really had to write that down).

One last note: Today is my 11th wedding anniversary. Let me tell you I wouldn't trade a minute of it. I waited a long time for the right man to come along and he was worth the wait. Happy Anniversary Gene.

Running on empty

I really need to start eating better. I ran 3 miles yesterday and felt like crap the whole way. I took the 1-minute walk breaks at .5 and 1.0 plus 2.0. Still my heart rate went way too high. It's a little tough to run well when you're running on a steady diet of chocolate, sugar, Diet Coke and some fast food.

I know all the right things to do -- I know how to eat better; I just don't know how to make it happen. I feel totally addicted to Diet Coke and sugar. It doesn't help that most of my eating happens at the office - stress easting.

Any suggestions?

Lap 1: 11:21; 163 ave. hrt rate; 174 max heart rate
Lap 2: 10:52; 169 ave. hrt rate; 175 max heart rate
Lap 3: 10:49; 171 ave hrt rate; 181 Max hrt rate

Heart rates and walk breaks

So I talked with an exercise physiologist about my heart rate the other day. He suggested I go out when the weather breaks and do a max heart rate test by running a couple of easy miles, then do an 800 meter run with all-out effort the last 200 meters. Then walk for 5 to 7 minutes and repeat. The heart rate at the end of each 800 should be close to each other and that will be my max heart rate. He thinks my heart rate may be higher than anyone has suggested and that's why I train in the 160s. I'll give it a try soon.

I tried a couple of walk breaks on my last run (Sunday). Went 4 miles and took a 1-minute walk break after a half-mile then again after another half and then after each full mile from then on. I felt better than I have recently, but that could also be because I'm trying to eat a little better. We'll see after my next run or two how it goes.

Interesting thing, though, even with the walk breaks, my time stayed pretty much where it's been.
I'm not a big fan of walk breaks -- I hate starting back up again, but if it keeps my heart rate in better check and allows me to run longer distances, I'll work with it

Lap 1: 11:35
Lap 2: 11:05
Lap 3: 11:04
Lap 4: 11:14