Cool Running for the week of May 22, 2005

[Moochiecat]

Good lord, Betty, I just read about your fall! Glad you're ok, but I'm going to nag at you for not getting yourself checked by a doctor! Concussion is nothing to take lightly, little missy!!


Esther, I've been wanting to ask you for a long time, where are you moving to? I'm excited for you and your 5&10k runs!


I was sick thurs/fri and felt drained on sat/sun then mon we were gone for most of the day, so I didn't do squat!!
Today I did my 5k at a good brisk walk, so I'm feeling better about myself. I may go again tomorrow to try and make up for the lost days.
My scale hit 147 on Sunday though! It's back up to 148/149 now, but it's making it's slow progression down.

Take care, everyone!

[Esther]

Aww - thanks Moochie!

I'm going to post my times so you all have something to aim at :nod

We're going to Portugal - the climate is a little like California - warm/hot summers, orange trees, olives, eucalyptus trees, loads of forests to explore, wild pigs, all sorts of wildlife I haven't identified yet, mosquitoes... Also, incredibly friendly people, and houses that cost about a fifth of the price that they do here in Wales. No 'gators though! I'm seriously looking forward to exploring all those forsests.

I've just bought a book called 'Why We Run', previously published as 'Racing the Antelope'. Its a sort of autobiography of an ultramarothener, his work studying exercise physiology of insects and other animals, his views on life and some of his races. It's a really interesting read. I'll post a review somewhere when I've finished it. Does anyone else have any interesting books? Should we start a thread that people can add to when they've read one?

[Isabeau]

Wow Betty, glad to hear you're alright. Esther, I'm SO psyched for you! You're gonna do great! I ran (Couch to 5K week three) last night and will do it again tomorrow and Saturday. Today I was in the pool at 7:15 a.m. and swam for 45 minutes. I also did an hour of upper body weight training today not to mention I planted about 50 new perennials. Thinking I might go for a little 10K bike ride tonight, but I'm not sure yet. I love having days off mid week!

[ttdriver]

Good lord, Betty, I just read about your fall! Glad you're ok, but I'm going to nag at you for not getting yourself checked by a doctor! Concussion is nothing to take lightly, little missy!!

Thanks, guys, for all your concern. I am feeling alot better, 'cept for the tennis ball size bruise on my left butt cheek and my bruised left elbow. The headache has come and gone ... but recurs without warning ...

I am okay though ... really. And I learned my lesson never to stand on a bar stool!!

I ran 6 miles today in tremendous heat and humidity. Oh my heavens, summer has arrived in west central Florida. The temperature at 7:30 this morning was 81 degrees and the humidity was stifling.... I headed out for my 6 miles at noonish so imagine what I suffered through! But you know me....masochist!! I finished it all running and spent all afternoon in the A/C shivering!! I think I had a touch of heat stroke, because dummy me, I didn't drink enough water this morning before heading out. Lesson learned ... Friday's run will be WELL HYDRATED BEFORE HAND...

Great job everyone!

Betty

[jroche5998]

Did my 5 mile this morning. I was trying to avoid the rain and finally just said, "screw it".

Had a head wind for almost the whole run (how is that physically possible?). But my split (25:09) was only a second off my best split and I kicked it up for most of the second half and finally broke 50 minutes at 49:53.

So with a headwind, fully dressed, and raining I ran my best time ever (by almost a minute).

Can you say "happy"?

BTW for those who might not see this elsewhere, I'm out of the 290's finally after 9 months (never to return).

[iyamamaschke]

YAY everyone I am so happy for you all but, I am in a rut don't wanna do anything I am human and feel like a brick wall hit me. I need a friend to do this with me cause right now I am having problems doing it myself.

Sarah

[iyamamaschke]

I went for a walk 30 minutes it's not much but it's something and I am glad I did it.

[jroche5998]

That's the ticket, Sarah. Just take baby steps until you get your mind around this again. Something is definitely better than nothing.

[ttdriver]

JIM!! GREAT JOB!!! And out of the 290s!!! WOOHOO!!!

I understand the headwind thing .. happens to me alot. Don't know how, but I ALWAYS seem to being running into the wind .. !! Ahhhhh....resistence training!! :joy

Betty

[Moochiecat]

I got myself a really nice new exercise shirt that isn't as snug as my other ones so I don't have to wear my exercise jacket over it because it's HOTTER than heck here right now!!
Out of the blue we are having a little heat wave...it was up to 28 C yesterday..roasty toasty, with no wind.
I did my 5k brisk walk at 5 pm and it was fantastic, walking along the harbour..just a gorgeous day.
My butt hurts ...lol...I guess it's my glutes? Oh man...we were laughing all evening because every time I stood up my butt would holler at me...it was pretty funny...but that's a good thing!

I can't believe how different walking affects your body than running!

[iyamamaschke]

Hey, I just wanted to let you all know I am feeling better. TOM reared it's ugly head so I know my hormones are whacked out. I actually gained 11 pounds overnight so this is a really bad one and obviously my estrogen is too high for who knows what reason. I am sure it will settle down and I will begin to be more myself. This is the worst hormonal surge I have had since starting this WOE almost 7 months ago so I cna only hope my body is releasing fat and estogen at the same time and that is why I have been really off for this whole cycle.

Sarah

[Esther]

The Cool Running 5k Challenge

Well folks - I survived yesterdays' 5k, and I have a challenge to all of you who've never run one. Can anyone out there run or run/walk a 5k race and take *longer* than 56 minutes? ensive Is it possible?

I had a wonderful time yesterday - the people were really friendly, the 1 mile kids race felt just like a street party, only 3 people recognised me so I was able to sink into obscurity a little, and everyone who finished either race got a lovely medal with purple ribbon! My 9 year old managed to drag himself around the 1 mile course (he even beat a couple of other kids!), whilst I waddled around at the very back of the 5k every step of the way, apart from a couple of late starters who soon overtook me. In fact, after about a quarter of a mile I never even saw any of the other runners again...

The race was a lot hillier than I'd expected, and the hills were long so I couldn't use my 'walk up, run down' technique as I needed walk breaks even in the downhill sections. My blood sugars stayed pretty stable, despite a big kick of adrenaline the hour or so before the race making me very touchy and snappy. I was really worried that the adrenaline would destabilize the blood sugar, but I'd invested in some more keto-stix and made sure I was in full ketosis before starting. I figured that if my blood sugars did dip, I'd stand a better chance of coping if I had plenty of ketones in my system to keep my brain ticking over. It was interesting to see which of my old symptoms were due to the adrenaline (the touchyness and snappiness), as when my blood sugars are unstable I always get those symptoms combined with shakiness, confusion, weakness and loads of other stuff.

I was really careful to stay aerobic the whole way around and I think that helped a lot. It was soooooo tempting to set off too fast at the start - even after about 4 strides into the race it was obvious that *everyone* else was twice as fast as me, but my challenge was to get around without hitting either the wall or one of the officials (which is exactly the sort of thing I *would* do if I threw a hypo with other people around...) so I'm really pleased with myself. My ketosis strips turned a wonderful shade of purple this morning, too. Almost the same purple as the ribbon :yes

Well today I just have to make sure I rest and eat properly and then tomorrow it's the 10 k. Am I mad?

[jroche5998]

Esther that, is fabulous! I'm considering some 5k's and 10k's myself.

My training run (did I just say that, what am I training for? LOL) this morning was very strange. For the first mile I felt very heavy, I had no stride and I felt like I was plodding along. But about 2 miles in I noticed that I had found my stride. It was a quick short stride but I felt like I could use it all day. I had a small cramp in my right calf but I think it was beacause I was favoring that leg because my shin was tender during the first 1/2 mile. SO now my right foot is a little sore. But I'm sure some ibuprofen and I'll be fine. TMI, I know.

Anyway my split(26:17) was slow by over a minute off my best, but like I said my stride felt very comfortable. I was having no issues with the hills really and coming home felt great. Had plenty of kick and really kicked it hard for the last 200 yards. That was kindof wierd my quads felt kindof tingly but no problems at all. Then I continued to run a few hundred yards to cool down. My time ended up being 50:35, which is my second best, but 43: seconds off the pace. SO I did make up some time.

Next 5 mile on Monday new best time, I feel it. Will I ever run my 2.6 route again? LOL

[ttdriver]

Esther, that is fabulous! You finished it, therefore you won!! That's how I look at it. I'm only out there competing with myself. I came, I ran, I conquered! Isn't it thrilling to cross that FINISH LINE!!??! And girlfriend, you burned alot more FAT by staying aerobic the entire time ... LONGER MEANS ULTIMATE FAT BURNING. People seem to think (mistakenly) that going FASTER is better for burning fat, but its totally the opposite. Staying in your target zone is how you burn fat, build stamina and endurance and eventually................speed.

Someone told me a long time ago that if you concentrate on DISTANCE, the speed will eventually come. And they were right. I'm not FAST by any stretch and will never be since I began my running so late in my life, but I *am* ALOT faster than I used to be. So you build up to it ... if you push too hard its counterproductive. Therefore, I would say you had a MARVELOUS FIRST 5K!!! Now, take it easy with the 10K ... pace yourself, its a long ways.....but I know you will do it! Just don't OVERDO IT!

Saturday AM: Happy Memorial Weekend to all of you. Wow, 3 glorious days off work. And what am I up to? Well, I ran 8 miles at 6:30 this morning ... whew, the humidity was 100% ... but at least the sun wasn't out until the return trip ... so it wasn't bad. I finished it in an hour 40 something ... not fast, but fairly typical for a long sustained Saturday run. I wanted to go the 12 miles, but we are painting the inside of our house this weekend, so I had to cut the run short. :anger Besides, I ran the 8 miles with nothing in my stomach, so I was pretty well spent by the time I got home.

The first 2 weeks of the running club at work went great! We're up to about a dozen walkers/joggers/runners who have braved the mid-day Florida sun and put in about 14 miles during the week!! Awesome I think!!! Everyone seems to be enjoying it and wants to stick with it ... that's the beauty of running ... it certainly is addictive!

Okay .. gotta finish brekkie then grab the paint roller and go to it!! 2100 square feet and we're gonna conquer it this weekend, dadgummit!! :joy

Have a wonderful relaxing holiday and keep running!

Betty

[Esther]

I got the pink T-shirt!!!!

Woohoooooooo!

Ok, so *everyone* got the pink T-shirt, but it's my first race T! This race was even friendlier than the last one, especially as I had the honor of being 'the only runner from the village.' It was a there and back run so this time I got to see *all* of the other runners as they raced home on the return section. What's more, virtually all of them grinned at me and shouted 'Good luck!' or 'Well done!' or somesuch. Some of them even waited to cheer me in at the end, and I got a couple of hugs too!

I was absolutely delighted with my time - 10k in 99 minutes. That's a faster pace than I ran the 5k, which took me 56 minutes. Must have been all those extra hills on the 5k slowing me down. My blood sugars stayed rock solid right through, and this time I had no problems with the adrenaline winding me up at the start, so the practice run was worth it just for that. I had zillions of little walk breaks, but it seems that the more walk breaks, the faster the overall time.

For the 5k I'd made sure I was in strong ketosis to make sure that I had some ketones kicking aroung my system in case my sugars dipped, but as my sugars seemed so steady this morning I'd allowed myself to be in very very mild ketosis at the start and had upped my morning carbs a little - banana and cream for breakfast! I haven't had a banana for soooooo long! It didn't seem to upset the blood sugars at all and as todays performance was so much better than Fridays, I'll probably repeat the banana-breakfast on any future races.

I feel like I'm in one huge running/blood-sugar-balancing experiment!