Switchel

I’ve completed my volunteer requirements for the NYRR 9+1 NYC Marathon 2011. Wednesday I went to the NYRR office and helped hand out race bibs and later explained how to attach the D-Tag chip to your shoe to first timers.

I’ve learned that I’m not very quick at pulling names out of the box. Towards the end of my shift the order of the alphabet kind of left me. It was probably a good thing that I was moved to the D-Tag station right as the after work rush happened. I caught up with the other volunteers later and they said people were much less patient once there was any kind of wait.

It was interesting to see the runner demographic in a non-race setting. I was disappointed that I chose a race that didn’t have the person’s pace listed on the bib. I think that could have made it even more interesting. I would have tried to guess the pace of each person just by looking at them.

All in all it was a very simple job and I’m now one NYRR race finish from earning my 2011 entry.

I haven’t been keeping track of my SBR mileage lately. Mainly because it’s just been too crazy making trips every other weekend to race. Also it feels like the only thing that has been happening with any kind of plan has been my running.

Fortunately I think I’m starting to get back into the groove again. We got back to NJ Monday evening and had just enough time to make it to yoga then do some core after that. That’s a good way to recover from a 6 hour car ride.

Tuesday: I am determined to get my eating under control and create the calorie deficit I need to knock off some of this weight.

Tuesday morning was not ready to run in the AM it would have been a bad move. So after work I did the core work when it was raining. (ab ripper + planks). Then once it stopped raining out for an easy 4 mile run.

Solid day of eating I’m guessing about 1500-1700 calories which is really low for me.

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Wednesday morning I’ve been meaning to get back to a morning swim schedule and today I finally got there. Later than I’d hoped but I got there and fit 2500m in and I didn’t cheat the kick sets. Okay I put fins on for the 300m kick set. That’s because it’s Tango training! Turns out Bob was also swimming. I didn’t catch up with him until after the swim tho’. I talked with him for a bit and it sounds like Wednesday swim workouts might fit both of our schedules. That will be really good for me, he’s a better swimmer than I am and that will keep me fighting to keep up.

Afternoon/ evening was spent as you read above at the NYRR office handing out numbers. I got back to NJ around 9PM. I realized my hip flexors are very fatigued feeling, so the abs workout was all static work (planks) no ab ripper stuff.

Another good day of eating with one mistake, I didn’t plan enough food for the trip home after NYRR. I had to pick up a turkey sandwich on the way home. I kept it plenty healthy. At worst I may have hit 2000 calories for the day.

Thursday morning, Todd is out of town so I’m on my own for the run. It’s going to be short so I spend about 30 minutes doing yoga to get stretched out. Hip flexors are definitely an issue. Ab ripper followed by a run on Tuesday was probably the cause. Heck Ab ripper all by itself might be the cause. I figure a 3 mile run was more than enough, I don’t want to push this into an injury.

Thursday evening, we were planning on biking but it was still 90+ degrees out and Genine wasn’t feeling her best. It sounded like a bad combination. So we relaxed in the A/C then went to the pool around 8:30 and I got another 2500m in. I just fit it in and that was following every rest break by the book.

Another solid day of eating 1700-1900 calories.

I can definitely feel the calorie deficit. Speed work would definitely finish me in a hurry. I have to be happy with whatever speed feels doable and know that eventually I’ll be eating enough to do harder workouts. At the moment the focus is dropping weight not getting faster. In a way dropping weight will be the same as getting faster, it just doesn’t feel like it during the workout.

I’m very surprised how easy it’s been to eat so little this week. I think it might be because it’s very Atkins like (no simple carbs) so it’s all about fat burn for energy. It must have made the change quickly because I have not been craving carbs. Or maybe it’s the lower intensity workouts? Whatever it is, I’m not complaining, I’m actually looking forward to hopping on the scale Monday.

For the record my daily breakdown of fat/protein/carbs has been averaging 30/30/40. Which sounds really high on the fat side of things but with the reduced carb calories it's not a very accurate picture. At the moment I'm only looking at doing this for another week before adjusting back to a 500 calorie deficit with a balance closer to 15/20/65. I'll use this method to get an idea of how many calories I need every day, then apply the 500 calorie deficit.

Oh one thing I forgot to mention, when I go without eating simple carbs I start to have issues with muscle cramps. I was reminded of this at the pool Wednesday morning. My feet kept cramping up. The next thing that was likely to happen is the leg cramps while sleeping. It’s kind of a weird side effect if you don’t know why this is happening. Here is what I’ve read, because you don’t have simple carbs to burn, you are burning much more fat. Your body is in ketosis. The process of burning fat requires more electrolytes to get the energy. You are using more than you typically do. In an attempt to keep the cramping at a minimum, I’ve been taking my Hammer Electrolyte capsules. I figure it’s more balanced than just using table salt on my food. It’s been working well so far.

Here is an article that's pretty in depth about muscle cramps. I think just for fun we might mix up a batch of switchel. I remember my Dad and Grandfather were drinking this when they were installing a roof. It would be pretty comical if this turns out to be the answer for my leg cramps during long races. Of course I can't find the link with the benefits of each ingredient at the moment.

Friday is a day off. I’ll do planks and that’s it. I may go get a massage to see if I can make the hip flexors chill out. It should be a full weekend of swim/bike/run, they had better be ready.