Ok, so I had written a great (ha!) post last night, but then my computer froze and I lost it. And now I want to write about something different than what I wrote last night, cuz all of a sudden what I wrote last night seems boring. Thank you computer for sparing my friends... :)
With running 30 to 40 miles per week, you'd think I'd be struggling to keep weight on, right? Nope. I've lost 2 pounds in a month (although I'm holding onto a lot of water due to time of month right now) and that's not much at all. Part of why I'm not losing is that the extra mileage makes me extra hungry. I'm trying to make good choices, but sometimes (like Saturday after the 13 miles) a peanut butter and jelly sandwich is the only thing that will do!
Let me tell you what is changing, though, and that's my shape, and it's changing in ways I like. My upper thighs are getting leaner -- actually even the mid and lower parts are trimming down. And my waist is more defined and all over I'm just a little smaller. So even though I really do want my scale number to be lower, I'm grateful I'm not usually a scale freak, cuz if I was, I'd have stopped this madness long ago, cuz according to the scale, not much has changed.
A Fast Run
I did my first speed workout yesterday. Ran 2 miles to our church's parking lot, and decided I'd run from one side to the other as fast as I could. I used the Forerunner to see how far and how fast, and at one nano-second in time, my pace was 5:13 per mile -- wow! Now keep in mind that my intervals (I did 3 of them) were just a little over 1/10th of a mile. But I know that I was not going all out fast when I ran them, so I kind of would like to improve my speed so that at some point before the marathon, I could see a pace that's in the 4's. Why? Because it's fun to try!!!
Comments on your comments
I've chosen to blatantly copy FV Tom's method of answering comments, so here goes:
To everyone who thinks double digit miles are hard or impossible to run: Anyone who wants to badly enough can run just as much as I'm running. But running isn't easy (darn it!) and the first mile always sucks. Some people (like me) actually start to enjoy it after that first mile, so it doesn't stay awful forever. Having said that, I don't like bike riding for fitness and am impressed with those who do. Maybe it's a case of "to each his own" or "find something you like and DO IT!"
To Jennifer: My "other" blog is a case of Tucker taking initiative because he thinks weblogs are way cool. So he got onto blogger, chose a template and put together the framework for his "Young Gymnast" weblog. But with all the controversy about My Space pages and the like, I can't see letting a 10-year-old have a weblog, no matter how supervised or benign it is. But both of my kids do compete. Austin's a level 7 (doing some level 9 moves on occasion) and Tucker's a level 6 and I can't believe how hard they work and how good they are. And as a former gymnast, you KNOW how hard they work!
Well, time to mom-up, so I'll have to continue this later. Have a great day and remember, whatever you are, be a good one!
5 comments:
Good for you that your body is doing what you want it to do!
And I'm flattered but I doubt that I was the first. No worries about doing the same thing. Kinda like running vs. biking, find something and do it, right?
I HATE RUNNING but I don't like the gym bikes either. So I treadmill. Rather, dreadmill, Troy says.
Smaller is excellent. I like your new FV Tom way of answering posts. I usually forget to go back to the old posts and see what other people have said anyway, so I think it is a very good way to handle it.
I'm not in love with running, but I am liking it more as time goes by. I do like the powerful feeling it gives me...I guess because I was told when I was 17 to NEVER run again (after a knee injury) so I didn't, thinking I could not do it and that it would hurt. Tried it again a year or so ago and that silly orthopedist was wrong.
That is so cool about your sons being gymnasts. So many people overlook it as a sport for boys. But it is such a beautiful sport and an incredible way to stay in shape. I hope they stick with it. Perhaps scholarships are in their future.
I will be in California this Fall. And I will visit some friends in the Sacramento area (Browns Valley). It would be wonderful to meet you. But there will be no 13 mile runs coming out of me!
I don't mind running. No passion there, though. I certainly did a lot of it. I enjoy cardiovascular activites, but running would not be on the top of the list. I never got hooked. I admire folks that can knock out those double digits though.
Good job. That's the right way to get started with speedwork. Keep it short enough at first so that you can go really fast. You will probably be doing sub-5 pace on these before you know it. Don't try to go too much farther at speed just yet. Increase the number of reps first.
I'd recommend grass, dirt or a track over a parking lot, though. You take a lot of pounding doing this.
You're doing an awesome job with everything! I know so very well what you mean about running and the weight thing. You do need those extra calories starting 2 days before a long distance run, plus you still need to carb load after a run, plus upping your protein right after a run. I'm sure you know that. PB&J sounds good after a long run. Your body probably needs it! FYI, I was about 9 pound UP right after my last marathon, and it fluctuated greatly the few weeks afterwards.
Are you training for a particular event? You may have said but I don't recall...
Take care,
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