Tuesday, March 27, 2007

More training talk; are you bored yet?

Do go stop by GC's blog to offer a high-five for completing the first year of the rest of her healthy, fit life, won't you? She and I have a special affinity for each other, having learned that we were married by the same pastor in the same Las Vegas wedding chapel, 11 years apart. How's that for a small-world coincidence?

That pear tree has completely bloomed, and it's gorgeous. I love looking at it; it's beautiful from spring through fall. I took the new camera out and got a couple of so-so close-up shots of some flowering branches. I still have a lot to learn about this camera, but practice makes perfect. Right? Tell me I'm right!

This week's training schedule is supposed to be five "easy" runs – six miles yesterday, and five miles today, tomorrow, Thursday and Saturday. The last time they threw an easy week into the schedule made the following week much, much more difficult for me, so I might do a long run on Saturday, as I've been doing.

The road I live on forks 3.3 miles from my driveway, so I decided to just stick close to home yesterday and do 6.6 miles. The reason I haven't been training on this road is because it's very hilly and I didn't think I'd be able to match the suggested training pace. I surprised myself by beating the pace by more than 30 seconds per mile.

It was hard, but also kind of fun to be back out on "my" road. One of my neighbors is back from her winter break in Florida, the Amish community has grown from two households to five and their woodworking shop is going strong. The strawberry patch is covered with straw, they're building what will become a general store and the chicken coop is full! I think I counted six buggies parked outside one of the barns.

I was able to run partway up each hill except the last one, and completely up two of the early ones. I have the Shuffle loaded with a random mix of songs I like, not just songs I like to run to, and that helped a lot. I tend to match my pace to the beat of the song I'm listening to, and I probably would have had a coronary trying to keep up with some of those fast-paced selections on the upside of a hill. I certainly would have blown a knee out speeding downhill!

Today is weigh-in day; another week of staying the same. I didn't expect to lose, after that huge
[insert sarcasm here] two-pound drop last week. I'm finding it very difficult impossible to stick to 1200 calories or less and continue training. I'm tempted to stop the weekly weigh-ins until after the half-marathon. This is usually not a good strategy; I think I'll be able to make up for less-than-optimal behavior by starving myself the last week before weighing myself. I'll probably keep doing the weekly check-in, but try not to be disappointed if the number doesn't change much.

It's hard not to be disappointed with staying the same today, though. I managed my food fairly well, although I ate more than 1200 calories every day except two. But
I ran a total of 33 miles last week and walked an additional six [two on a rest day and four on Saturday]. Seems like if you're out there pounding the roads for that many miles you ought to see at least some progress on the scale.

Sigh.


5 comments:

Anonymous said...

OK, so you're right. Now doesn't that make you feel better? Didn't someone tell you several months back that you shouldn't expect to lose weight while training for a marathon? Nancy

PICAdrienne said...

Have you taken your measurements lately? OK, maybe not all of them, but say around your waist or thigh. I don't know if you have any previous measurements written down, from prior to starting your training. Or how about a pair of pants that was just too snug to be comfortable. I would guess they will fit now, or be loose.

I think you have made more progress in the regain the fit body than you realize. I know for me, actual pounds come off better in the warmer months.

Anonymous said...

About your camera - yes, it does take time to figure ut what all those dual purpose buttons mean. I recall when I was camera shopping, a fella came in with a lovely Nikon, and I asked him about it. He proceeded to show me all the neat things it could do ("it has this, and if you push this it'll do that..."). Then he added, "Will I be using all that stuff? Nah!"

mehitabel said...

It's an old truism that muscle is heavier than fat, so the weight may not change but the body composition does. I like Picadrienne's suggestion to try on something that was tight a while back, to see if you notice a change there. The training is good for you anyway--the scale isn't the only measure! Way to go on the running--I'm just walking, and now that I'm no longer working, I feel as if I need to make up for those 5-hour spells of on-my-feet time!

Lori G. said...

I am glad this week has "easy" runs -- and even if you are not achieving the 1200 calorie goal, I'm willing to bet that you are not that much over. In other words, you've probably decreased your calories from what it used to be -- even if it's not where you want it to be.

It's pretty neat that you can see the changes in your neighborhood. Spring is in the air!