Improving the diet

Nope this isn't the post that says I'm back to tracking my calories so I can actually lose some weight. Tho' I hope that post happens soon.

This post is about how if you are serious about your health, chances are you could make some changes to your current eating habits. If you stop and think about what changes you should make to be healthier, I'm guessing most of you think about the things you need to cut down on, or cut out completely. I'm with you there. I eat much differently now than I did 4 years ago. Which was probably differently than I ate 4 years before that.

Looking back, I think one of the first big changes I made was no artificial sweeteners. I think that was back in 2000. That eliminated diet sodas from my world. Which meant Soda was practically gone from my diet because I rarely drink regular soda. I don't think I'd be lying if I said an average of 10 a year. Honestly it's probably less than that. This change was partially inspired by my Aunt having some bad reactions to NutraSweet. Once I was away from it for awhile and I drank a diet soda, I felt that I had some minor reaction to it as well. Hard to explain as it's in your brain. Never the less, it really made it easy for me to just decide that stuff didn't agree with me and there is no reason I should consume it. So I haven't. If you are curious about the medical research on this go here. I figure the Mayo Clinic is reputable enough for most people to accept their findings.

The other things I've done are much less dramatic sounding than that Artificial Sweetener issue. Things like Fried Foods are a very unusual for me now. I remember how the smell of French Fries would basically be enough to make my willpower crumble and I'd have to have a few, or more than a few. But then I'd realize how those French Fries made me feel. Eventually instead of the smell triggering the desire to eat them, it had become almost a warning signal. Obviously it took awhile for that to happen but decisions about having fried food are pretty seriously weighed out.

Anyhow, cutting things out of my diet isn't what I wanted to talk about. I was going to discuss the issue of adding things INTO the diet to improve your overall nutrition. I eat a ton more vegetables now than I did 10-12 years ago. 10 years ago, I think I figured potatoes were vegetables so I had it covered. Now I'll eat gigantic salads for lunch with nothing but balsamic on it for a dressing. Another more recent addition has been Sushi. I'm not sure what inspired me to try out raw tuna and raw salmon. I'm glad I did tho'. I'm guessing I'll have that once a week now. Yes I'm aware there are some concerns about mercury and parasites. Hopefully I don't run into those types of problems.

I've just started adding some other things this past week. I fired up our juicer and I'm working on figuring out how to add Kale, Beets and other greens and vegetables into the mix. There are some vegetables I just have a hard time consuming. With a juicer, you can hide these things behind apples and oranges and limes, and so on.

I was inspired to go in search of a juicer after watching the movie "Fat Sick and Nearly Dead". It took us awhile to find the deal we wanted. So I kind of lost momentum on the importance of trying to add in really healthy juices to our diets. So our juicer sat unopened...

Then last week, my dad sent me this TED talk called "Minding your Mitochondria". I associate Mitochondria with "improvement as an athlete", as those are one of the cellular adaptations you are trying to inspire through your training. So already it was a must watch for me. As it turns out, it wasn't about being an athlete at all, but has everything to do with being healthy. Check it out.



I wish she didn't bring up the Paleo Diet and the whole hunter gatherer thing. I think that leads people to some questionable conclusions if they search more information about that on the internet. We live in an amazing place where you can get foods from every corner of the world. I'd rather she stressed the importance of "gathering" a variety of whole foods and working them into your diet. That's kind of what I'm trying to do right now. It makes sense to me.

Your body is good at making what it needs and even pretty good at making you crave things to direct you towards what you need or can't make. I hope you can see how you still might end up deficient in something. It may take years for that deficiency to cause a noticeable problem tho', at which point how easy is it to right the ship and get back on course?

That's the motivating factor for me right now. Juice it up and Take Your Medicne! In the form of Food. Hopefully SuperFood! Meaning perhaps I won't be sick as often. Maybe my recovery from workouts will improve. Maybe I'll keep my health and strength for decades to come. I'm also hopeful that it will change my tastes a bit more and I might make further improvements in what I'll eat day to day. I can tell you already, I've eaten more beets and kale in the last week than I have in the last say... 40 years.

So there you have it. As I get better at making recipes for this juicer. I'll post up some of the good stuff over on our other blog.

Gaining Momentum.

Last week I went to see a doctor about my right foot. I’m just concerned that my attempts at working through the problem might actually be making things worse. (kind of like my hamstring stretches) I really don’t want to do something that’s going to cause long term damage.

After explaining to the doctor what problems I’ve been having, I felt that he was completely underwhelmed by my situation. As if I wasn’t damaged enough to even be in the office. Or it could just be that’s just the way he is. I’m hoping that’s the case.

First thing was to get a couple x-rays to make sure that nothing is broken. Nothing was broken, but it looks like I do have a heel spur. (looks like a rose thorn growing out of your heel bone) He didn’t find the spur to be anything to be concerned about. That surprised me, but what do I know about these things?

Now I’m waiting to schedule an MRI. I think that’s going to let them get a look at cartilage and tendons. Of course I’m hoping that they don’t find anything bad. I’ve always wondered what happened with my ankle in the fall of 2010. This is probably my best chance to find out.

In addition to all that. I’ve got Sole Inserts in all my shoes. It definitely provides me with stability and really cuts down on the after run pain, for my right foot. Also I’ve been wearing the boot when I sleep. Things are improving. I should probably start icing my foot daily as well. If it’s just a matter of keeping it stretched out and keeping the inflammation/tendinitis away, I need to make it more of a priority.

Last week was the first week in a very long time that I actually completed my entire workout schedule. That was a good feeling. The metric isn’t speed right now. It’s about being consistent. So finishing the schedule is a step in the right direction.

The other thing that really got me feeling good about things was my run on Sunday. We ran our big hill loop. This course has some serious climbs, which also means some serious declines. The roads were a mess with packed snow and some slush, so it was extra challenging. Anyhow it’s a 6 mile run at the end of which I actually felt good enough to actually RUN! It’s been sooooo long since I’ve been able to do this. Typically my hamstring reminds me that it’s not well and I just have to keep my strides short to try and keep from injuring that further. Not this time. Finally! Running with a good stride. Finishing off the run with a hard effort. That was a big confidence booster. Maybe speed workouts WILL be on the schedule this year!

Speaking of schedules. Some of you might wonder what I’m doing for a plan/training schedule. Well I’m pretending that I know what I’m doing and taking the best of all the different things I’ve done over the last few years. Keeping in mind that I really don’t want an injury or want to end up with shingles or something like that again.

The first thing was to make a plan that allows me to sleep more. I’m trying to take 2 days a week completely off from training. I’m also trying to limit the number of weekday mornings that I have to wake up early to two. Once for a run, once for a swim. I may be kidding myself about this working, but I’m going to try it.

The second thing is my run training. A few years back, I ran a ton of hills during the winter (2 of 3 runs a week were hills, we even ran hill sprints later in the progression). This set me up with a really good run base. I think my biggest mistake with that plan was as we ran longer, I didn’t spend enough time recovering. Hopefully I can manage that aspect better this time. This plan definitely isn’t a Heart Rate Run training plan. I’m not knocking that method. As I said before, I’m going with stuff that seemed to work well for me in the past.

The Third change is my weight training. It took me a long time to figure out what I didn’t like about my plan last year. I guess I should say, I think I figured out what I didn’t like. Early in the schedule each exercise was one set then move on to the next. I did make some gains with this but they seemed marginal. I think it’s because by just doing one set, it was very much like going out for a run, and only running one mile. Or going to the pool and swimming 100m. What I’m saying is my muscles weren’t even warmed up and the set would be done. So I’m going to change to a method where I do more sets, so they are ready to work for the “main set”. As for the build/progression over the length of the entire schedule, I’ve got an outline of an idea but largely I’ll be making it up as I go along.

Swimming typically has been my strongest event. I don’t think I showed that last year tho’. I certainly don’t feel like I’m anywhere near that being the case now either. I realize that it’s the least important event in the sense of time given the position in the pack that I’m typically in. But I enjoy it. It’s something I want to be better at. (heck, at this point, I want to be as good as I was). It doesn’t look like I’m going to have a group to swim with again this year, so I’m thinking I’ll contact Coach Q again. I’m hoping he can help me build my swim plan and give me a lesson every now and then.

Biking: I realize this is the area with the biggest payoff in terms of time but for whatever reason, it’s the one I care about the least. I think part of the reason for my attitude here could be my frustration in getting myself setup well on my bike. Last year I felt everything but my right foot/cleat was pretty good. So I started making adjustments to try and get that right foot set right. Well I feel like I got it, but now the left doesn’t feel correct. As I said, it’s frustrating.

I do enjoy going out on weekends and riding around NJ. I feel we are in a really nice area of NJ in terms of variation of difficulty and safety during our rides. I should just go buy us some nice CX bikes or mountain bikes and some winter riding gear. Maybe then I would stay more inspired about cycling.

But what’s the plan? Time in the saddle, hill repeats and speed work as I get closer to race season.

A better plan would probably be to find a group ride and try to climb my way into one of the better groups. I’m sure there is a lot I could learn. Maybe in the fall once Tri season is over and I’m back in shape, but I doubt it.

All in all, I'm feeling much more positive than I have in quite awhile about all this. Later on!

Just Like Starting Over

Obviously I haven't posted much recently. More than anything else this has become a journal of my triathlon training and such. Well, there hasn't been much of that going on to write about. Which is crazy seeing how we are signed up for a half iron in June.

A few years ago an international distance race in June had me intimidated enough to force me out the door to train non-stop. I didn't think I'd reach the finish otherwise.

Then last year I had paid for the Mark Allen Plan and wanted to make the most of that. So that kept me on track as it would be a waste of money not to stick with the plan.

This year I'm not sure what I am yet. Other than really looking forward to being in better shape than I am right now. (Just under 190 for the record)
Injury free would be nice too but I'm not sure my right foot is ever going to be normal again. (I really should go to a doctor about that). All my running in November/December would be followed by a very painful right foot later that day and maybe a day or so after. Finally I decided to throw my Sole Inserts back into my running shoes. Wow, what a difference. I can now run without crippling myself for a few days. That is a step in the right direction.

The other good news is that right hamstring/glute issue I had the 2nd half of 2011 seems to have finally healed up. I still worry about it as I run but I don't think at my current effort that it's an issue at all. It's just I spent so many months being concerned about it, it's going to take time to forget about it. I really believe that by not stretching (and not training much) was the key to that finally getting better.

So here I am about 23 weeks out to our first of two half irons for the year. I've got 2 Olympics scheduled about a month before that happens. What's my plan? What are my goals? It's 2012 everyone has already posted all their resolutions, hopes and dreams for their year. What am I waiting for?

2012: I'm going to attempt to get that "just like starting over" feeling and be alright with it. What does that mean exactly? Well, in terms of my training, even tho' I have a schedule, I'm going to try and be more aware of how I'm feeling and allow myself to stray from the schedule.
I can't say for sure but I think that is how rolled going into Mooseman for the first year. I seem to remember I hardly ran at all the 4 weeks leading into that race because I kind of overdid it running the Brooklyn 13.1. When I got to Mooseman, I felt great. I had a blast. Could I have run faster? Maybe? I just remember getting to many of those races feeling fantastic. That's part of what I'm looking for.

I said that part about "being alright with it" because I'm thinking my times at the finish line aren't likely to be Personal Bests. My finish times may very well take a back seat to my bigger goal of just becoming very fit and healthy. Maybe I'll be lucky and the finish times will happen too. That would be amazing considering the lack of "base" I have right now. What I'll write next truly shows why I feel like I'm starting over.

(More for the record info.)
Running is my strongest event at the moment and running 6.5 miles in an hour is about all I've got in the tank.

Swimming: I forget what the pool looks like. Seriously. My last couple workouts have been 1000m and out. My right shoulder (the one I fell on at the Tango) reminds me that I'm old or that it's injured or whatever, at the start of every swim. Within a few 100's it's warmed up and forgotten about. It's just I've got zero endurance. Or speed for that matter. 1:50 100's is "fast".

Biking: Also a complete re-do. I finally got back on the trainer the other day. Doing anything in the large chain ring was too much effort for where I am at physically right now. The HR just climbed right up any time I'd shift up there. (I managed 15 miles in 55 min on the trainer the other day)

I'm sure for someone that is really competitive. This would be completely frustrating. For me, this feels like familiar territory. I seem to weigh 190 every January. I'm just glad I'm still motivated enough to want to do these workouts. And hopeful that I might manage myself a bit better this season than last season. That! Was frustrating.

Work has been taking a lot out of me lately. I find myself working through stuff in my head all the time. I'm even dreaming about it. That makes it sound worse than it really is. Trust me, it's all fine. Often I wake up with an answer to something I've been thinking about. I brought this up because that's one of the reasons I've been so off the grid with Blogs, Facebook, Twitter... I'm just tired of looking at the computer at the end of the day. There is a pretty good chance that will turn back around eventually. (I'm sure you can hardly wait.)

NYRR 6K Jingle Bell Jog Prospect Park, Brooklyn NY

The last of my 9 NYRR races for the year!

After work on Friday, we drove out to visit our friends in Brooklyn and spent the night at their place. Such a good time, I wish we would do this more often.
Instead of driving to the race and trying to search for parking. We took the subway. It probably took us 50-60 minutes or so to get to the race. 30-40 min of that was spent walking. It was a really beautiful morning and so it was really a nice way to get the day started.

Once again, I knew I wasn't ready to be in my assigned corral. (I haven't run since the race last Sunday. I'm still taking antibiotics) Deciding where to start is tricky tho. I think this race is a little smaller, so I decided to just put myself in the middle of the 2nd corral.
Once we made the first turn, it was obvious to me that I should have gone back another group. I was being passed, non-stop for awhile. (It reminded me of my bike at Timberman once I threw in the towel on that ride.) Eventually, the passfest stopped and I was in a group that it seemed I could hang with.

Somewhere around mile 2, I guy in a x-mas tree costume is running by me. For whatever reason, I thought to myself, "I can't let a X-mas tree pass me". So I turned it up a notch and started to follow him. As it turns out, the tree was faster than I was today. I then started to look for some other targets to keep me moving.

Well the next one worth mentioning was an older guy just ahead of me with about 600-400m to go. As I went by him (slowly), I think he got a look at my grey hair and he put me into his age group, because he was determined to stay with me. Eventually I got a number of steps ahead of him. I actually thought to myself as I was running towards the finish, "don't look back to see where he is". Turns out I didn't need to. They have a chip reader out ahead of the finish line so they can announce people as they reach the finish. Just after I crossed the line, the announcer called out "77 year old, John Doe". Dang! He's got 36 years on me! I sure hope I can still move like that at 77!
I'm really not joking about this guy thinking that I might have been stealing his Age Group win, it's happened to me before. (Tewksbury 5 miler report.)
If I was thinking, I would have turned around and talked with him, but the finish line at an 8 min/mile pace starts to really get crowded in a hurry. So they volunteers are doing their best to move people forward so that people can get to the timing mat at the finish.

So I finished on a 7:56 min/mile pace this morning. I really expected to run closer to 9 min/miles. The fact that I put myself into the faster corral pushed me around the course.
I'll have to keep this in mind when I get myself back into shape. When I'm feeling good, I'll make a point of getting to the very front of my corral. I really think it would help get the best performance out of me.

So what's next? Figuring out what's up with my right foot is at the top of my list. I've got my triathlon training calendar fairly well planned out all the way to the first 70.3 in June. Now it's just a matter of getting healthy and motivated again.

Video of the race start.

NYRR 5 miler "join the voices"

I ran a NYRR 5 miler this morning in Central Park. It was probably the last thing I wanted to be doing. I'm on day 7 of dealing with a nasty sinus infection and I'm still feeling miserable. Unfortunately, if I want to be guaranteed entry to the NYC Marathon next year. I've got to go and finish this run.

I went to the doctor on Friday and got an antibiotic. In terms of my sinuses, I'm definitely improving. Unfortunately the antibiotic added a bad stomach into the mix. Ugh! I had figured I could jog/walk this run. Now I'm wishing I had Imodium. Ha! Actually now I really wish I was done with my 9 races already...

I ended up being completely overdressed for the race. I've been cold all week. (fevers probably). I also figure if I end up walking this I don't want to freeze. When I left the house it was 28. I think it was nearly 50 in Central Park just a couple hours later.

I was number 1111 but I joined in with the 4000's corral. I don't know what pace that is but I'm figuring just under 10 min miles today if I'm lucky. Actually I'm just hoping I don't have to stop at the portajohns at the half way point!

I had to look quite the fool out there running. I didn't want to check a bag because I planned on getting back to my car and out of town as quickly as I can. It was so warm that I ended up tying my sweatpants around my waist and eventually was carrying my jacket as well. Whatever. Just get to finish and go home.

At the mile markers, I noticed that I was faster than a 10 min/mile pace. The 4000's got me there faster than I expected. My stomach cooperated. I finished in 44:17, which is a 8:52 min/mile.
My abs were hating me towards the end of the run. My quads felt like they wanted to cramp as I was walking to the car. My right heel is quite painful now that I'm sitting at home writing this.

I suppose there might be something good that comes out of this sinus infection. After discussing my sinuses with the doctor. I asked if she had any suggestions as to who I should see about my foot/ankle issues and I got a couple recommendations. I haven't checked to see if they take my insurance yet tho'.

Anyhow, that was my 8th NYRR race of the year. Next Saturday will be my 9th and final.
I was starting to wonder if they were going to drop me into a slower corral because I feel like I haven't had a good NYRR race in a long time. Maybe more than a year. So I looked it up. Turns out I ran a 7:16 at the 5K back in March. Which is only 3 seconds slower than my fastest in 2010. So I guess I'm safe for another year. Hopefully NYRR 2012 will be a bit speedier for me.

In a Funk

The last 2-3 weeks have not been good in terms of triathlon. Unless the downtime actually magically heals some of my aches and pains.
Initially the trouble was not enough time in the day. There were a few things that had to be taken care of that normally aren't in my schedule. These things proved to me just how little spare time I have, especially during the week where I lose 3+ hours a day to commuting.

To make things worse, I completely lost my focus on the diet. I was spot on for just over 6 weeks then... not so much.

Now to really throw a wrench into the works. I'm in day 4 of a sinus infection which also has me talking like a frog. Actually, I can whisper well, but normal volume is all cracked up. I'm hopeful that once I get through this one, I'll be done with them for awhile. I probably get these things at least 3 times a year. Nasty stuff.

Looking forward to putting everything back on track.
Not much of a post, was it? Hmmm. How about I post the trailers for the movies my co-workers worked on and try to make this worth looking at? (We are a sound design company)

Hugo


Boardwalk Empire Season 2


Moneyball


Salt


Win Win


Jack Goes Boating


Another Happy Day


George Harrison Documentary

NYRR 4 miler "race to deliver" Report

I'm on my own for my last 3 NYRR races. Todd has completed his 9 already. Genine may run the Jingle Bell Jog with me in Brooklyn. I'm still hopeful that friends from Brooklyn will register as well.

Genine was out of town for the weekend. So I set two alarms to wake up at 5AM. I went to bed early. I didn't fall asleep for 2 hours. Then the remaining 5 hours, I woke up at least 5 times. Very unlike me. It was frustrating. I woke up on time tho'.

The drive into the city was simple. I wish I had a way to take some shots of downtown Manhattan, the Freedom Tower is a definite presence on the skyline now and it's not yet full height. I know many people that didn't live here when the Twin Towers were here and this building is just another building to them. For me, I'm not sure exactly how to describe it. I find myself checking it out any time it's in view. My attention is just drawn to it. I'm surprised at how important it seems to be to me that it's being built. I'm looking forward to it being completed.
For a view of it being built go here select camera 3 and click time lapse. Or watch it being built real time during the day.

Alright onto the race. Awesome weather for racing. I think it was about 50 degrees. I wish I had worn shorts but it was much colder at 6AM and I knew I'd be standing around for awhile because I had to pick up my number on race morning.
I started my warmup 30 minutes before because I wanted to get into the right corral this time. I hadn't run in a week but I was actually thinking I should put in a hard effort anyhow.
I forgot my watch. It never crossed my mind. Ah well, there are clocks at each mile.

Mile 1: It felt like a much less congested start than the 5K a couple weeks ago. I think I was over an 8 min mile for the first mile tho.

Mile 2: In a groove but unlike the 5K, I'm feeling like my cardio is being taxed. I remember that the 5K was pretty flat. The hills are mixing it up for me. I seem to be holding ground with the crowd on the uphills, and some people are getting by me on the downhills. Definintely under 8 minutes, not sure how far under.

Mile 3: Much of this is uphill. I stay on the gas but I feel like I'm losing a bit of ground to some of group I was within. I keep telling myself the last mile is mostly downhill, not much further. Looks like I'm under 8 min mile again.

Mile 4: Alright, I definitely don't have the downhill speed I'd like to have. Way too many people are going by me. It doesn't help that I'm starting to think that it would be nice to just coast in. It's not like it's going to be a PR anyhow... I must not have been suffering too much because that thought didn't last long. They had a new "1/2 mile to go" sign. There was no extra gear to shift into I just maintained and got to the finish in 30:54.
That worked out to a 7:44 pace. I'll take it.

My hamstrings were feeling tight as I was walking out of the park. It's about an hour drive home, so I took the time to stretch a bit before driving home. (cramping while on the interstate would be bad) My right foot was very sore the rest of the day. I've started to wear the boot at night in hopes of getting that back on track. Quads were sore on Monday. Guess it was a good workout!

Genetically Modified Foods. Good or Bad?

Yep, another post regarding the food we eat. I know a number of people that have very strong opinions regarding this subject. I on the other hand, didn't really know enough to have much to say about it. So I did some digging and this is one of the things that I felt brought up a number of the issues and was very watchable. I was very surprised about Europe's position on this compared to America's.
Can GM Food Save the World

When I finished watching. I had to wonder if there were "Organic" GMO foods on the shelf out there. Seeing how being Organic has nothing to do with being GMO or not. Well here ya go. GMO-Whole Foods. I have to admit that when someone writes "Frankenfood", I can't help but think they are using scare tactics rather than facts to "educate" their readers. I want to read both sides of these issues tho', I just have to looks past that nonsense.

One of the issues I do think should be a big concern is the accidental creation of "superweeds". Which are plants that are are tough to kill. Read this. Or go here to see the list of resistant weeds out there.

Plenty of tough choices out there. I like how the documentary summed it up. You've gotta support the research. The tough part is making the decisions on how it's going to be put into place.
I can't help but think the reason the US is so different than Europe is because our politics is driven by Big Business. But I don't know enough about Europe's politics to know if their corporations can "fund" them as just as well.

Oddly enough, I just finished a book called "The Windup Girl" (Sci Fi "biopunk"). It was set in a future earth where we had not only exhausted all the easy energy sources but there are also massive issues growing food. Interesting read. (fair warning, there is some nasty stuff in there as well)

Training and diet is going well. (had to throw some triathlon related stuff in, haha)

NYRR Dash to the Finish Line 5K Report

Just a quick report.

This run started outside of Central Park. It started in front of the UN Building over on First Avenue and 47th Street. We decided to get the race early enough so we could park near the finish and then jog over to the start line. Probably a 2.5 mile jog to the start.
Well we got to the start as the were bringing the athletes onto 1st avenue. I wasn't overly concerned about being up towards the front. There is no chance that I'll be trying for a personal best or even a NYRR best. Todd on the other hand, he needed to be further up in the pack. So he worked his way forward.
Because the NYC marathon is tomorrow, there were some big groups from many countries. I found it kind of interesting that all the clothes and shoes people were wearing were all brand names I've heard of.
Once the horn sounded, it took me awhile to get to the start line. Even worse, when I got to the start line we were still shuffling. I didn't bring my watch today. I wanted to run completely by feel. Because of the "groups" when you passed people, it was often 4-6 people wide running side by side. Many of them taking video and pictures along the way. Fortunately, the city streets were plenty wide on 42nd Street and by the mile mark, I had sorted my way through into "my pace" of runners and from there on, I was running.
I reached the 1st mile mark at exactly 9 minutes on the clock. Not sure what my start time was tho. That made it easy at mile 2 to determine what pace I was running. I ran a 7:35 min/mile for the 2nd mile. That was not surprising to me, about what I expected.
The surprising thing is that I'm guessing I was running in zone 4. I really wasn't breathing that hard. For a 5K, I should be maxing out. I really didn't have any more kick in me tho. I guess my legs aren't quick enough at the moment to tax my cardio. (add hills and it would have been a different story).
We ran over the Marathon finish line. I finished in 24:07 or a 7:47 pace. Nothing to write home about. The good news is that I felt that my hamstring held up very well. I wasn't sure how it was going to respond. My right foot... well I made sure I iced it when I got back home. That is still something that bothers me and is frustrating.

Todd finished in 20:52. He didn't have much commentary regarding that.

Organic or conventionally treated produce?

Shouldn't all food be safe to eat?

Buying groceries shouldn't be so confusing. In order to eat healthy you should be able to buy fruits and vegetables from the store and feel good about it. Only that doesn't seem to be the case anymore. You now have two sections. Organic and Not organic. (typically not found side by side so you can't be stunned by the difference in cost as easily).
I feel that every other week, the health section of popular web "news" sites will have a link to the dirty dozen of produce. Which is a list of foods they suggest you should buy organic. Download a PDF here for a list.

I'm sure you've all looked through them. I'm sure that most of us feel that it would be best if we would always buy the organic version. But that gets expensive. Well maybe you can not buy the dirty dozen and substitute something from the clean list instead. Unfortunately it seems many of these foods are like primary colors, there is no substitution for them. Frustrating right?
So what I want to know is, "Just how dangerous are "non-organic" foods?" Particularly ones from the dirty dozen. Because people are seriously concerned and perhaps confused. Check out this link where someone posed the question, Which is healthier? An Organic cookie or a conventional pesticide treated Strawberry?" You get to see the range of concern in the answers. Those that won't touch the pesticide berry. Those that are concerned about the quantity of berries they would eat. Those warning that washing the berries isn't going to help. To someone saying the health benefits of the berries outweighs the risk of the pesticides that would be ingested. It's an interesting read. All the readers are informed at some level. I would guess none are experts. And like the majority of "Health News" from news sites and such, there is no conclusion or researched answer given.
Here is another example. This one seems to have spent some money on some research and had me hopeful that there would be something to give clarity to my question.
Then you get to the end and I feel like they stack on disclaimers that nullifies everything they set out to prove. Although I do think they made a good point with describing points at which it might be wise to stick with organics. (While pregnant and for infants). That's just limiting risk tho' which is smart. It's not saying that it's definitely a problem.

Obviously, I should go digging for more official reports. A simple google search is not enough. First I'm going to give you a little lesson in Google searching. You can limit your search to a particular domain by including the following after your search terms. Example, type the following into a google search, pesticides in food site: epa.gov
The "site:xyz.com" is the clever bit obviously. Here is a link that has many more tricks.

What did I find in terms of more official reads. Well not as much as I'd like. For example, how's this answer for avoiding the actual question being asked? You need to click on this one. Really. Then do me a favor and click 1 "not helpful". And provide some feedback if you agree that tho' technically correct, it's as if a politician came up with the answer.

To be fair. There are many other links you can browse through. Although, I never found any to give me a huge boost of confidence. So I've emailed them directly. I'm curious what kind of a response I will get. Here are some official links regarding our subject.
Pesticide Residues in Food
Minimizing Pesticide Residues in Food
Healthy food practices
Produce Safety
A PDF about Food Washing

Another thing that drives me crazy is when they use percentages of a number that doesn't mean anything to you to explain something. For example, if they say that simple rinsing will remove 90% of the pesticides. Some people will find that to be great. Others will look at the 10% that is still there and not want any part of that even if that level of exposure is less toxic than spending a day breathing in Manhattan. (I don't know if that's true, but I'm sure that my example brought more clarity to the subject than saying 90% clean).

Then there is the whole subject of what Organic means. Well people think it means pesticide free. Well from what I've gathered, that's not the case. They can use organic pesticides.
Pesticides, if used, must be derived from natural sources, not synthetically manufactured. Also, these pesticides must be applied using equipment that has not been used to apply any synthetic materials for the past three years, and the land being planted cannot have been treated with synthetic materials for that period either.
read more here.

Ugh! That really muddies the waters for me. Is a pesticide derived for natural sources less harmful than a chemically derived one?

I may as well add this link to the mix in regards to "organic" Common Myths of Organic Gardening. If you are buying organic. You owe it to yourself to read the information found here.

Well there you have it. 3 hours of digging through stuff looking for answers and I end up writing something with no obvious conclusion. Only an opinion. Just like all the stuff I've read.

If I wanted to follow common practice I'd suggest you download the dirty dozen list and tell you to buy organic. But I'm starting to think you might be just as well off to buy those things and just wash them well. (but the pesticides are inside!!) Yeah well as we saw above organic approved pesticides are likely inside too. So unless you have access to "pesticide free" (that would be different than organic). I think we are going to have to take our chances.

(This was all brought about because we will have a juicer here soon and a good percentage of the food going into the juicer are on that dirty dozen list.)

Optimistic again

So the other week when I ran and my foot hurt so badly the next day, I was really starting to think Aqua-Bike was my future. I just couldn't make sense of why my right leg was so out of whack and causing so much trouble. Hitting that low point 2 weeks ago inspired me to go digging for answers. It seems as if this whole "No Stretching" thing is a big key. I say this because my last 2 runs have gone well and I haven't had any foot problem the next day. I will add that I've also thrown watching my HR out the window for those two as well. The only thing I cared about during those runs was that I found a stride that felt comfortable. To stay "in zone" would have caused me to slow down considerably. Right now finding a good stride that the hamstring is okay with is the key. The result of that is similar to how I used to run a couple years ago, always a negative split. It felt good.

I really hope the hamstring continues to improve because I'm really surprised at how much better my attitude is after these last couple runs. Now to take some of that energy and focus it on waking up at 5AM to get to the pool before work… (can't seem to get that going). Swimming late in the evening isn't what I want to do either as it messes with my ability to fall asleep. It will come together soon. It's feeling like things are falling back into place.

For those of you wondering why I went from very few blog posts to so many. I blame the three "Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" books. They are somewhat disturbing but a serious page turner. They were an excellent distraction for me the last three weeks but I didn't waste a single minute of my commute typing up blog posts as a result.
The movie comes out in December. I'd suggest you read the books before you see the movie. You will probably like the movie less by doing this but you will enjoy the book So Much More.

Hamstrings Always the Hamstrings

Hamstrings, the tighter the better right!? I wish. I've been dealing with a hamstring injury all year. Which is why I spent so much time on the yoga mat at home. I've had a hard time explaining exactly where this problem is located. I knew that when I ran, when I'd extend my leg to the front it was pulling at something at the very top of the hamstring and it felt like it was buried deep in the middle of everything connected up near all those attachment points.

No matter how much I stretched, it never got any better. Then with my ramp up to the marathon, I really got focused on my stretching. It was my attempt to try and not repeat my ankle injury from last year, which was the result of being too tight. Well all that extra stretching was just making it worse, or was it the extra running? All I knew was when I would run, I felt like I was compensating how my foot would strike in an attempt to protect that hamstring attachment from the impacts.

Once I threw in the towel on the marathon, I then had time to consider going back to my yoga classes. Only I was concerned about injuring myself at yoga. Seriously. When you are as tight as I am, good form for many of the poses is nearly impossible.

As I had mentioned before, my first problem was trying to describe the injury well enough to be able to enter something into the search engine. I was verbalizing this effort explaining it to Genine as she was getting ready to go to yoga. She left, I went to Google and started to read. By the time she got back from class, I had discovered that my first step towards recovering was to STOP STRETCHING. Not surprisingly, Genine had explained to Tiffany at yoga what I had said to her, so when she got home she had offered me the exact same advice. She also was in agreement with the 2nd part of what I had read. That the healing could possibly be helped by ART or Graston technique. This is where they rub the tendons to break up the adhesions and promote blood flow to the injured area. (tendons unlike muscles don't get very much blood flow).

So I've not stretched for two weeks and I think I'm feeling improvement. I think I was aware of the hamstring anytime I was walking two weeks ago. Now I'm only noticing it when I run and it's much less of an issue
I'm very hopeful that over the next 3 or 4 months that this will become a non-issue. I completely skipped the majority of my speed workouts last year because I was concerned about making that injury worse. It would be nice if I were healed up in time for my speed workouts in the spring.
Here are some of the links I found regarding my issue.

Hamstring Attachment PDF
Hamstring Tightness PDF
Hamstring Advice Stretching

Changed the quote over there --->

Saw this quote ‘A man grows most tired while standing still.’ and realized that it pretty much describes how I've felt since I've taken such a big step back from my training. Not only tired but plenty of aches and pains. Genine and I both agree that we feel better when we are active.
I'm definitely feeling the, starting to train "pains" but I know those will be gone in a week or so.

The good news is my right shoulder is barely an issue during my swimming now. It's not 100% but it no longer feels like I need to be careful with it in the pool. It's still an issue with weight training and side planks but it's getting better.

I ran 3 miles on a hill loop tonight. It was nice to be running a different course. I really didn't run many hills last year. I think I'm going to change that this winter. I realize you don't build speed there but it will give me strength. I'll schedule in the track workouts as race season approaches. I keep thinking of the hills on the Columbia Run course. It would be fun to get around that course with a bit more speed next year.

I'll be running a 5 miler in Central Park this Sunday. I'm hoping for a nice morning of weather because I'm going to be out there awhile. haha. I've been trying to talk friends into running it with me but so far no takers. There's still time...

Working back into things

Kind of a repeat of my last post, with some actually graphs and results from the first 4 weeks.

I guess the biggest thing going on at the moment is the diet. I decided 4 weeks ago that enough was enough and I had to get back in control of things. I drew up a calendar that extends into next year and the goal is to lose a pound a week.

(Click for larger image)
Yup, that's 191 I started at. Two years ago I was racing at 175. As you can see I've extended my goal down to 165. So this is going to take some time and dedication to get there.

As you can see, I am slightly ahead of schedule but I've stalled and stayed the same over the last 7 days. That's harder to see on that graph. That's why I'm also tracking using iCal.
(click for larger image) Blue Goal Weight, Green Actual weight. Calories and Hours of Sleep.

Also I wasn't joking when I said I was going into scientist mode. My season was wrecked by the shingles, I can't say for sure why I got them. Not enough sleep? Too many workouts? Not eating well? Combination of all that? Well this year I hope to keep better track of all this. I should be able to see cause and effect of many things.

The most important of them at the moment is weight loss vs Calories going in. You can see that I've been shooting for 2000 calories a day. The first week was probably the toughest in terms of getting used to how to use those 2000 to get me through the day. At this point, 2000 feels like more than enough and I'm very comfortable with it. I can also log into my fitday.com and see what I ate to get to those numbers. Which is helpful when I'm trying to figure out what sticks with me and what isn't enough in terms of "feeling" hungry.

Many of you are likely thinking, no way is that enough for a triathlete. Well at the moment, I'm not much of a triathlete. Workouts are a work in progress and I'm slowly building back up to where I should be. I'm tracking that as well. Here is a look with those "efforts" in the mix.

(click for larger image)
Yep, pretty weak, it's somewhat frustrating. I could also add in my "injury report". That would show that the morning of the 12 my right foot hurt more than it has ever hurt in all my years of training. Thus the 4 day break from everything and the long break from running. The good news is that I ran yesterday and had no issue this morning.

I included sleep on the chart not only for recovery tracking, I believe it plays a big part of dieting as well. If you are not rested, you will eat things that will get you through your day. For some people it will mean calories usually in the form of very simple carbs. (which stick to me like glue). Others will turn to caffeine. (which makes my food burn up so fast I'm hungry much much sooner, so I will eat more). So it's best that I rest rather than fuel.

Anyhow, I'm pleased with how the diet is moving along. It appears it's going to take more than a month to get back to my July weight but that's alright. I'm feeling confident that I have a plan in place that's going to get me where I want to go. I'm not concerned about the stalled week. I'm ahead of the curve. I'll make adjustments if I'm still stuck a week from now.
I'm hopeful that if I continue to track as well as I am right now, I'll be able to dial in exactly how much I can eat on a daily basis, the variables being if I want to maintain or lose weight and how much exercise I am doing.

Speaking of training. I'd better go do something.

Green Mountain Marathon

Completed the Green Mountain marathon (South Hero Island, VT) last Sunday in 3:30:33. The fastest I've done in 7 years. A good run. Johnson was 3:29, Martin 3:57 or 58, Brad 4:00.

That equals 16 states and 20 total marathons for me. At some point next spring I need to shift into biking and swimming mode too.

Scientist mode

As I said a couple posts ago, I was finally fed up with my weight gain and it was time to get serious about it. The thing that was worked for me the best (during my sub 190 weight) has been calorie tracking, using fitday.com.

I keep talking about how I plan on finding what my daily calorie intake should be given the amount of exercise I am doing, but then never follow up with that. Well I’ve setup a system that should make it simple for me to finally figure this out. Of course once I got this going, I added some other stuff as well.

Using my calendar program, I’ve created a new calendar for each of the following items.

•Goal Weight

•Actual Weight

•Calories

•Completed Workouts

•Injuries & Illness

•Hours of Sleep

Goal Weight: My goal is to lose at least a pound a week. It will likely be more than that to start and then become closer to a pound or less as my weight drops. I now have a number to hit every Sunday all the way into the beginning of April. I don’t know what the goal weight is yet. I don’t think I’ve ever seen it.

Actual Weight: Every day I’m on the scale. Sometimes I think this can be a bad thing. Right now is not one of those times. I’m heavy enough right now that I know the numbers will be dropping and it will be positive reinforcement.

Calories: I’m entering my calories, along with fat, carbs and protein grams. A simple copy and paste from the fitday website. Long term, this along with current weight is going to show me what my intake should be to maintain certain weights.

Completed Workouts: I list my workouts along with a note saying whether I felt that I was properly fueled to complete the workout.

Injuries & Illness: I seem to have enough aches and pains that I lose track of them. This will be interesting to look at if I’m able to track for an entire year. On a shorter term, I’m hoping it will help show me what workouts cause me the most grief so I can try and adjust my schedule to better recover from them.

Hours of Sleep: I have a feeling I think I get more sleep than I actually do. I’m sure this number plays a part in how good my workouts are.

I also think that when I don’t sleep enough, I want to eat more simple carbs to energize myself, or more calories in general.

Then there is the recovery aspect of sleep to keep injuries away not to mention illness.

I’m not sure I’ll be adding in the time that I sleep on the train, I’m not sure that’s quality sleep. I will make a note of when I do sleep on the train as I think it is one of the easiest indicators that I’m not getting enough sleep.

I’ve considered keeping track of the actual workout time but haven’t done that yet.

I’ve thought of tracking the expenses as well

Then of course I could get all of this info into an excel spreadsheet to keep track of totals for me. I doubt I’m going to do any of those things. I don’t think either of those are motivational long term.

The Calendar program on my computer definitely makes this easy. I can easily show/hide all of those categories however I want. I think I should be able to publish this so anyone can have access to it as well. (I won’t bore you with that). It is a project I’m working on at work tho’. At least there, the information being shared is important to more than the person making the calendar.

I’m a week into this plan by the way. I dropped 2.5 pounds the first week. It’s always nice to get ahead of the curve quickly. Now I need to bring the training back on line. I did make it to the pool twice and we biked for 90 minutes Sunday. I’m really looking forward to getting back in shape.

13 mile No Go

There seems to be a bad pattern forming in my blog post titles.

Seeing how my calf hated me after 1.5 miles a week ago Wednesday, I gave my legs a 7 day break. I planned on running 3 on Wed but I knew it wasn't going to work. Thursday I actually felt like there was significant improvement but it was Genine's B'day and a run wasn't in the plans. Friday I figured I'd better attempt a short run to see if going into NYC on Saturday for 13 miles was going to be worth the effort. I didn't even run a mile, but I didn't hurt myself in the process either. I could just tell that my calves were going to revolt if I kept going. So I walked home.

What can I say. I tried to cram for a marathon and it's not going to work out. Tomorrow is the last day I can defer my entry to 2012.
So the question is, do I defer? You have to pay again, it saves you nothing, it just allows you to pay for 2012 and race.
Or do I go get my swag bag I've already paid for, and then make sure I run the rest of the NYRR races I've signed up for so I qualify for 2012 using the 9+1?
I'm leaning towards the 2nd option. Mainly because it gets me into the city for some events and keeps me focused on getting back on track.

I'm sure some people will read this and think, why not just run/walk the marathon? That's not how I want it to go. Surviving it has never been the goal. It's about getting into proper condition to actually run a marathon. Also, I'm tired of being sick and injured. I'd rather go back to Swim/Bike/Run + Yoga and Weights at an "off season" level, rather than "running it" and getting injured.

So I went to the pool today and swam 1000m. Let me tell you, after 8 weeks off, you have no choice but to start back slowly. My right shoulder is still not 100% but swimming doesn't seem to have any negative effects. I can feel it while I'm swimming but it's not painful or inflamed when I finish. I'm hopeful that it will be pain free eventually.

Alright, hopefully that's the end of the "bad news blog". Next post is going to talk about something positive.

NYC 18 Miles a no go

Yeah, whatever I did to my left calf at the end of last weekend's run has taken me out of this weekend's race. I massaged, stretched, took extra days off, but eventually I had to run. I went out for a very easy run and 1.5 miles in, my calf got very angry, instantly, just like last weekend. Then I limped back home.
It's strange because most of the time it feels perfectly fine. Every now and then when I'm walking down stairs, I can feel some tightness but it doesn't cramp up on me like it does when I'm running.
18 miles would be a bad idea at this point. Strike 1.
I've got two weeks before the next possible LONG attempt and I have a 13 miler in Central park scheduled next Saturday. I'll do everything I can to be ready and see what happens.

In other news, 2012 Schedule Update:
The signup for IM Mont-Tremblant 70.3 was last week. Genine and I had thought that looked like a cool race venue when it was first announced. Some may remember that I had initially planned Ironman Newfoundland 70.3 to be my first Half Iron. Then they cancelled the venue.
Anyhow, Genine kept talking about wanting to do a new race next year and even tho' this one may not fit my schedule perfectly, I decided it's the one I wanted to do the most. So we are signed up!
One of the things that sounded really good to me was this: "Mont Tremblant takes pride in its bike course, which is 95% closed to other traffic and newly paved on 70% of its surface."
Yep, that should be cool.
Genine and I figure that by having a half iron scheduled in June, that should get us focused on getting in shape a bit quicker than we did this past year. Not that we aren't always trying to stay in shape. I'm just saying that having a tough race on the schedule is a really good motivator.

Lastly, because I've not been working out much I've put on weight. I really haven't been able to get in the zone with my eating habits in quite some time. (feels like a couple of years really) Well I'm kind of annoyed with myself at the moment so the motivation is there. So Fitday.com is back in action for me. I've got a few ideas about what I'd like to change in my diet long term but I've got to get some things together before adding in the changes. More on that later.

17 mile run.

If you are going to run 17 miles, Sunday’s weather was just about as perfect as you can get for running. I had been concerned about this run all week. The day after my 17 miler last year was when I messed up my ankle and was done for 8 weeks. Not to mention, last week’s need for an ice bath after a 14 mile run. Then to top it off, I ran 4 miles on Friday night and my left calf cramped at mile 3 and I had to short stride my way back in. At mile 3!!

Because of all this, I’ve been stretching out every chance I get. I even considered getting a massage on Saturday before Sunday’s run. I decided not to. Everything was feeling alright.

I also realized that I had better do a much better job with my hydration and gels this week. I decided to try out what had worked for me during my long bike rides this year. Salt Capsules, Water (not Gatorade) and GU. I woke up in time to get some good stretching in. I felt as good as I ever do. (I’m still only running 3x a week. I had run 8 and 4 as my mid week runs).

Todd and I meet up in Branchburg, then drive out to the High Bridge rail trail again. I asked how he wanted to run this. We decided to run out 6, so our first out and back would end up at 12. Then we’d only have 5 to go. It sounded like a good plan. It left us short of running the entire 7 miles of the trail, so we’d have that as a destination for our 19 and 20 mile runs in a few weeks.

I loaded up pretty heavy. 4 bottle fuel belt and a hand bottle along with 4 GUs and…. No salt capsules. I had left them at home. I had my endurance Gatorade mix with me but that combined with GU doesn’t always sit well for me. I stuck with water and off we went.

I knew I’d have to go slower than last week, if I wanted to get all 17 in. So I keep checking my HR monitor to try to keep to 150ish. Initially my legs were feeling like junk. It felt like they got tight immediately. So I stopped to walk a few times in the first 3 miles and that really helped. I think it just allowed for more blood flow and got rid of some of the junk that was there. After my first GU, I got a side stitch. I managed to run through that. At mile 6 we were in Califon. We decided to run off the trail to see if there was going to be a place to buy water/Gatorade on our longer runs in a few weeks. There were a couple options. That may save me from carrying so much next time.

7-12 was feeling much better than 1-6. I figured my hydration and GU plan was working well. I was looking forward to knocking out the last 5. Then with less than a quarter mile to go (of the 12), the inside of my left calf went into spasm and I stopped dead in my tracks. We ended up walking it in from there. We refilled bottles and such and I continued to try and get that muscle to relax. Eventually I decided to try and run but it just felt like I was asking for an injury. So we turned and headed back to the car.

So I fell well short of 17 miles but the 12 that I did run felt much better than the 14 the week before. I’m guessing the slower pace was a big part of that. My massage was scheduled later that day. I think that worked out to be a better plan. Get the massage the same day as opposed to waiting until the next evening.

Here it is Monday morning and I can still feel that muscle in my calf. I spent time stretching when I woke up but it’s probably going to take a day or so. Any time a muscle actually makes it into spasm, it seems to be a 3 day recovery. Fortunately, I’m in no hurry. At this point this is what I’m thinking.

I’ve got 3 chances left.

Next Sunday I will attempt my longest run ever in Central Park. 18 miles, 3 complete loops. That will be attempt number 1 of 3, determining if I’ve done enough to be ready to run the marathon.

The following weekend is a down week and I’m only scheduled for 13, which will be in Central Park again. I supposed it’s a good thing that mentally I’m feeling good about 13 milers.

After that, I’ve got a 19 miler as my 2nd of 3 attempts.

Then I’ve got a 20 miler a week after that as my 3rd and final attempt.

I think I’m in a 3 strikes and I’m out situation here. Meaning if none of them go well, it probably makes no sense to attempt the marathon.

On the other hand, I’m also saying that if I get 2 strikes and only one of them goes well, that may be enough to put me on the start line.

I was thinking this weekend that a marathon training schedule is probably not the best way to return to training after a layoff from illness. It sure presents a very real challenge to me tho’ and is inspiring me to focus on my stretching as never before. So unless I injure myself, I think I’ll be better for it at the end.

I probably shouldn’t say this out loud but I want it on the journal here. I think I’ve gone an entire week without feeling that nerve in my back that had the shingles. Finally!

Running and planning

2012 looks like it might look very similar to 2011 in terms of a schedule. I’m signed up for Columbia, Mooseman International Distance and Timberman 70.3 again. Then of course the Tango Adventure Race as well.

I think I would like something in July. Black Fly Tri would fit. Philly or Morgantown in late June is on the radar as well.

There are always a number of local races here in NJ starting in September. I was kind of bummed that I was going to miss Skylands and Buckman again this year. (because the marathon training is more than enough post Shingles). As it turns out, Skylands became a Run, Bike, Run. Which is not a triathlon in my book. It’s tough, don’t get me wrong. It’s just that the swim is what makes it fun for me. So that took the sting out of missing that one.

Buckman is this weekend and I just got an update saying that they are still without power from the hurricane rains a few weeks back. They may have to reschedule that event as well to October 8^th. That is yet to be determined. This weekend I’m scheduled to run 17 miles. That weekend in October, I’m scheduled to run 19 miles. It’s not going to happen this year. I’m over it.

Here is the update on my recovery. In terms of pain, my #1 problem is probably my shoulder. I knew I landed on that shoulder pretty hard at the Tango. I wouldn’t have guessed it would still be so sore almost 5 weeks later. I’ve got to figure out some sort of therapy for it.

#2 I would say is my right heel. I’m guessing this is carry over from my ankle problem last year. My feet are going into the ice bath after every run. It’s making a huge difference but I would love to find a therapist that could tell me if there is something I could be doing to bring that foot back around. Maybe I’ll get lucky and all the massages I have scheduled will help that foot more than I expect it will.

#3 goes to the shingles. I can’t figure out what triggers that nerve to become irritated but it still makes its presence known from time to time. Also I still feel that I’m more fatigued than I should be. I’ve been sleeping as late as possible and I’ve been getting to sleep early as well. Which is why there has been no cross training. I’ve been limiting myself to 3 runs a week. (soon to be 4).

For the record, getting ready for this marathon has been much more tough on my legs than all my triathlon training was leading up to July. The 5 weeks of no training is definitely a factor. Also to be fair to that tri schedule, I wasn’t able to complete as much of the build/hard stuff on there as I would have liked, back in June & July. Either way, I find it odd that by having the sore muscles I “feel” stronger. This must go back to all the time I spent in the weight room back in high school. No pain no gain and all that. Fortunately I realize that I have to recover in a big way after every run if I have any hopes of staying on schedule and making the starting line of the Marathon. So after my run on Sunday, I did my first ever ice bath. (which is worth doing). Monday I had a massage (also worth doing). Tuesday my quads still felt like junk, so instead of running 4, I stretched and rolled them out on the foam roller and the stick. They felt great after that. I don’t think I’ve ever noticed such a drastic difference in my legs after just rolling them out before. Skipping the run for this was definitely the right thing to do. (this week anyhow).

As I mentioned earlier, I’ve got 17 on my schedule this weekend. I’ve got to practice my nutrition and fluid intake. I’ve been deficient the last couple weeks. I’m hoping that I have someone to run with, at least for the 2^nd half of the run. I seem to do alright running for 90 minutes or so. After that I start getting bored. I don’t run with music. I don’t like to be that disconnected with the world when I’m out there. If I’m on my own this weekend I think I’ll have to put together a playlist and be ready to use it if/when I start to lose it.

Then the next 2 weekends I should be fine. I’ve got an 18 mile “race” in central park, then a 13 miler in central park the weekend after that. I’m behind schedule with my 9 NYRR races this year. I thought I had done 5 but only 4 of them counted towards my 9. That will be a good motivator for my 18 miler. I’ve got to pace it right so that I finish and get the credit towards the 2012 Marathon.