35, 5, and 2

This morning, my BK level doubled to 1.4 from yesterday’s figure. 

Today was Michele’s 10 mile HR rattler run.  This is the 2^nd time I’ve done this.  I ran 7 Yasso’s on Tuesday and ran the 30K race on Sunday. 

The splits from last Friday’s run (Friday the 13^th)
10 miles, 2:02:09, 12:11 pace, 147 avg HR, 170 max HR12:52, 132 bpm, warmup Bold face average 11:33/mile, 154 avg bpm
1.       12:52, 132 bpm warmup
2.       11:13, 155 bpm, 170 max
3.       11:30, 155 bpm, 168 max
4.       12:37, 148 bpm, 166 max
5.       11:24, 153 bpm, 163 max
6.       12:02, 152 bpm, 159 max (I was holding a HR pace, as I thought that'd give me the right time pace )
7.       13:22, 137 bpm, 154 max
8.       11:23, 155 bpm, 166 max (I thought a 160 would hold the proper pace)
9.       11:48, 156 bpm, 162 max
10.   13:41, 133 bpm, 154 max cooldown 

It was 56 degrees at the start of my run with a similar dewpoint.  Just a bit chilly with one short sleeved nylon shirt, but I knew I’d get warmer as I ran along.  Stretched the calves, walked on my heels a bit, then on my tip toes.  First song on the Shuffle was “Seasons of Change” from Rent and I liked it so much, I played it again. 

Since I’m not very good at estimating a time on a faster pace, Mark’s idea was to get my heart rate up into the high 150’s (77%-79%) and see what that produces.

As a reminder, this is a 10 mile run that’s split out as follows:  1 mile warmup, 2 miles GMP – 30-45 seconds, 1 mile LSD, 2 miles GMP – 30-45 seconds, 1 mile LSD, 2 miles GMP – 30-45 seconds, 1 mile cooldown. 

9.67 miles, 1:58:41, 12:16 pace, 147 avg HR, 169 max HR, bold face average 11:20/mile, 155 avg bpm

1. 13:44, 128 avg bpm, 143 max bpm
   
2. 10:48, 157 bpm, 164 max
   
3. 10:54, 159 bpm, 169 max
   
4. 13:23, 143 bpm, 166 max
   
5. 11:18, 158 bpm, 163 max
   
6. 11:43, 155 bpm, 163 max
   
7. 14:06, 135 bpm, 156 max
   
8. 11:16, 151 bpm, 160 max
   
9. 11:58, 151 bpm, 157 max
   
10. 14:10 pace, 135 bpm, 152 max
    

Once again, pace by feel escapes me.  However, comparing week over week averages:
Week 1 average of fast miles:  11:33/mile & 154 avg bpm
Week 2 average of fast miles:  11:20/mile & 155 avg bpm

This speedwork stuff seems pretty cool, but why is it that over 1 week that my average pace is less?  Is it because, like Jim said earlier, I don't do speedwork much.

Quite frankly, I thought my HR on miles 8 & 9 would have been much higher based on the perceived effort.  I wasn't huffing and puffing, like I was on week 1.

My left tibia began to ache some on the lateral and medial side of the tibia during mile 8 and held on through most of mile 9, then lessened.  I was wearing the blue 'n green shoes.  I brought my new TENS unit to work, so I could attach the wires to my tibia, while I work.  This is really convenient.  After 30 minutes of a helpful electricity, the pain was gone.  This is really cool.

Tomorrow, I have a short long run along the distance of today's run.  But I will let the legs pick the pace.  They've earned it with 34 miles of mostly pace & race work.  Then, the weekend will be free to repair mitochondria.

Comments welcome.  I don't think Mark will hate me too much on this run.

Dropped in to say 'hello'.  Good to see you're still getting faster...

nkrichards wrote:Dropped in to say 'hello'.  Good to see you're still getting faster...

Hey, Nancy.  Yeah, it's a scary thing.  I'm still getting used to it.  Come back and see us.  The bar is always open, as is the kitchen.

     

Why is your overall pace slower in the second week?

Easy. You ran your LSD warmup and rest intervals slower.

To wit:
Mile 1 12:52 then, 13:44 today
Mile 4 12:37 then, 13:23 today
Mile 7: 13:22 then, 14:06 today

That's a big difference, and it adds up when you total up all the miles. So when you're trying to compare this sort of run, pay attention mainly to the pace/HR in the uptempo parts. That's where you'll see the comparison. It's good to note the other stuff, but mostly to make sure you're recovering properly and not pushing too hard.

The progression looks good. I'd be interested to see what would have happened if you'd had better luck pushing up to your target HR in miles 8 and 9.

Glad the TENS worked for you. Very good news.  

And I've gone from "hate" to grudging respect.

I thought I noted the uptempo times week over week as being faster in week 2 by 13 seconds/mile for only a 1 bpm increase.  I'm tending to think that my heart was becoming more efficient (dammit!) for miles 8 & 9, as the HR was less for identical average in 8 & 9 in week 2.

I haven't earned the respect, yet.  That's a long way off.  Shock and perplexed would seem to be more accurate.

*30*

My ankle was showing some fatigue, last night, and didn't want to play this morning.  Clearly now, I ran too, too much pace & race this week.  I should've cancelled Michele's run.  Now I know.  I'll have the whole weekend to baby the ankle.  Today, I'm wearing to work the new red 'n black Kinvaras.  I've never worn red shoes to work.  If my ankle doesn't like the Kinvaras, I have a spare pair of street shoes in the car, but I'm trying to break them in.  The toe box is very nicely loose.  I did PT, this morning.

My BK level was 0.5.

I'd like to be able to get in 1 more very long run on Christmas, if the ankle is willing.  If not, I'll try for New Years Day.  This may not be completely accurate, but if I can't get another long run in prior to TAPER MADNESS I don't believe it'll be the end of the PR pursuit.  I think I'll postpone the next Yasso until next Friday.  Toeing the line on January 19 in one piece is now the primary focus.  All the other preceeding sentences in this paragraph is just filler.

Y'all have a good weekend.

Yup, it's tricky finding the right balance of intensity, that's for sure. Yassos and a tempo run in the same week put a lot of strain on the system (especially - cough, cough, after setting a new race PR the weekend before). You may want to consider doing them on alternating week. Or at least not throw them in only a few days after a big race. That sluggishness you felt in the later part of the run, and the soreness you're feeling now, might be related to that.

Enjoy your downtime this weekend. You've earned it.

Thanks for blaming it all on me.  You also ran a race on Sunday - nope, we sometimes just don't recover that fast.  Like Mark said, focus on getting the 2 mile intervals on pace first then worry about the recovery miles in between. I also think it will be most interesting to see how this run progresses over the next couple of weeks which should be your last higher mileage weeks before taper.

I figured I could get away with blaming you, Michele.   

Believe me, I wasn't too worried about what my resting mile's time was on week 2.  Starting out, I figured if I had a 157 that I would be in the 11:30 range for miles 2 and 3.  I was blown away that I was slingin' sub-11/miles.  My heart is getting more efficient.  In miles 8 & 9, I was distracted by my ankle in trying to figure out whether to stop or not and why it's hurting and how to fix it.

If I had to pick between Yasso or Michele's run package, I would pick Michele's because it seems to be more beneficial for the race itself, rather than running at a pace that I couldn't do in a marathon.

I bought this jacket in a Large.  http://www.runningwarehouse.com/The_North_Face_Mens_Isotherm_1_2_Zip/descpage-NFMIS2Z.html#

I guess I'm still in that in between size of Medium to Large.  I bought a Large because looking at the size charts, I thought I'd be an easy Large.  Well, the thing arrived and it just barely fits.  There's a little wiggle room, but not what I'm used to wearing.  It'll work, though.

For button-down shirts, if it's a full cut shirt, I can do Medium.  If it's fitted or a recognizable-person's-name, I have to do a large.  No longer the Clydesdale, I guess. 

ounce wrote:I bought this jacket in a Large.  http://www.runningwarehouse.com/The_North_Face_Mens_Isotherm_1_2_Zip/descpage-NFMIS2Z.html#

I guess I'm still in that in between size of Medium to Large.  I bought a Large because looking at the size charts, I thought I'd be an easy Large.  Well, the thing arrived and it just barely fits.  There's a little wiggle room, but not what I'm used to wearing.  It'll work, though.

For button-down shirts, if it's a full cut shirt, I can do Medium.  If it's fitted or a recognizable-person's-name, I have to do a large.  No longer the Clydesdale, I guess. 

Nice looking jacket. And yeah, they tend to base their sizing on the body proportion of whippets.

Congrats on moving down from clydesdale to thoroughbred. You'll probably want to stop the shrinking before you get down to Shetland pony size.

Mark B wrote:

ounce wrote:I bought this jacket in a Large.  http://www.runningwarehouse.com/The_North_Face_Mens_Isotherm_1_2_Zip/descpage-NFMIS2Z.html#

I guess I'm still in that in between size of Medium to Large.  I bought a Large because looking at the size charts, I thought I'd be an easy Large.  Well, the thing arrived and it just barely fits.  There's a little wiggle room, but not what I'm used to wearing.  It'll work, though.

For button-down shirts, if it's a full cut shirt, I can do Medium.  If it's fitted or a recognizable-person's-name, I have to do a large.  No longer the Clydesdale, I guess. 

Nice looking jacket. And yeah, they tend to base their sizing on the body proportion of whippets.

Congrats on moving down from clydesdale to thoroughbred. You'll probably want to stop the shrinking before you get down to Shetland pony size.  

Meh, but thanks.  Hell, you lost some 30-35 pounds in 2012.  How much of that remains gone?

Fortunately, I can't get lighter than the weight of my muscles and bones, so I know where the end game is.  That's the benefit of being weighed on a scale (or Dual Energy X-Ray) that gives fat pounds and lean body mass.  Before July, I just figured I could get down to 160 if I kept doing what I was doing.  But when my lean body mass was 181 pounds, I knew 160 was impossible given the amount of weight lifting and running that I was doing, at the time.

Last Saturday, I weighed on the same Tanita scale and I had lost 8 pounds - 5 pounds of muscle and 3 pounds of fat.  I know I lost the muscle as a result of not doing CrossFit anymore.  But I'll start that back up after Valentines Day and my endurance will go down because I'm not training for a marathon.  My fat percentage is 9%, down from 11% in July.

Back to reading the cholesterol book you recommended...interesting.

Not sure I want to change my diet as much as you have but I am definitely going to try and make some changes.

BTW  Congrats on both the increased speed and the new physique.

nkrichards wrote:Back to reading the cholesterol book you recommended...interesting.

Not sure I want to change my diet as much as you have but I am definitely going to try and make some changes.

BTW  Congrats on both the increased speed and the new physique.

Thanks for the gratz. It's been an eye opening journey. AS far as my diet, I had nothing to lose by going low carb/high fat because if it didn't work for me, then I could go on back to carbs. I had tried this in 2012, but didn't have enough of the right information to make it work.

And as far as my running, again I had nothing to lose because I was already consistently not advancing in my running under the conventional wisdom of carbs. As always, it's a personal choice. I don't expect any converts and if someone is curious about it, this blog is available to confuse, cure insomnia, and act as evidence against my sanity.

One of the bigger things I got from the book was that the enzyme from the production of CoQ10 reduces as we get older.

Come again.

ounce wrote:Meh, but thanks.  Hell, you lost some 30-35 pounds in 2012.  How much of that remains gone?

Fortunately, I can't get lighter than the weight of my muscles and bones, so I know where the end game is.  That's the benefit of being weighed on a scale (or Dual Energy X-Ray) that gives fat pounds and lean body mass.  Before July, I just figured I could get down to 160 if I kept doing what I was doing.  But when my lean body mass was 181 pounds, I knew 160 was impossible given the amount of weight lifting and running that I was doing, at the time.

Last Saturday, I weighed on the same Tanita scale and I had lost 8 pounds - 5 pounds of muscle and 3 pounds of fat.  I know I lost the muscle as a result of not doing CrossFit anymore.  But I'll start that back up after Valentines Day and my endurance will go down because I'm not training for a marathon.  My fat percentage is 9%, down from 11% in July.

Uh, I think you're exaggerating my weight loss a bit. I lost 23 pounds, not 35. Just as well, I would have looked like a  bobble-head if I'd lost that much.

As for keeping it off... well... I've probably got half of those pounds back. I need to get more disciplined, but it's been a challenge lately to behave myself. At least until I get my mileage back up.

Impressive body fat percentage. And losing some upper body muscle mass will actually help you a bit running. Of course, you may need those muscles, so you know, whatever works.  

Mark B wrote:

ounce wrote:Meh, but thanks.  Hell, you lost some 30-35 pounds in 2012.  How much of that remains gone?

Fortunately, I can't get lighter than the weight of my muscles and bones, so I know where the end game is.  That's the benefit of being weighed on a scale (or Dual Energy X-Ray) that gives fat pounds and lean body mass.  Before July, I just figured I could get down to 160 if I kept doing what I was doing.  But when my lean body mass was 181 pounds, I knew 160 was impossible given the amount of weight lifting and running that I was doing, at the time.

Last Saturday, I weighed on the same Tanita scale and I had lost 8 pounds - 5 pounds of muscle and 3 pounds of fat.  I know I lost the muscle as a result of not doing CrossFit anymore.  But I'll start that back up after Valentines Day and my endurance will go down because I'm not training for a marathon.  My fat percentage is 9%, down from 11% in July.

Uh, I think you're exaggerating my weight loss a bit. I lost 23 pounds, not 35. Just as well, I would have looked like a  bobble-head if I'd lost that much.

As for keeping it off... well... I've probably got half of those pounds back. I need to get more disciplined, but it's been a challenge lately to behave myself. At least until I get my mileage back up.

Impressive body fat percentage. And losing some upper body muscle mass will actually help you a bit running. Of course, you may need those muscles, so you know, whatever works.  

Unfortunately, I don't know where those 5 pounds are located, but I'm sure it's spread around where I wasn't using it. I do notice where the fat is less, like the area medial to the shoulder socket that is below the collarbone.

*30*

This morning's BK level was 0.8, which is higher than anticipated considering it's a weekend. I've worn the red 'n black Kinvaras all weekend in the hopes of shortening the break-in period. I have not experienced any foot pain.

This morning, the BK level was 0.4.

In light of the overuse and fatigue from last week's running plus receiving my 3rd pair of Kinvaras (red 'n black), this morning was to be an introductory run for the red 'n blacks and to see if the pain on the left foot was gone.

All weekend, I wore the red 'n blacks to see if that might speed along the break in period.  The orange pair and the blue 'n green pair have caused problems with my left foot during each pair's breaking in period.  This time, I removed the arch support insoles from the orange Kinvaras (because they were already broken in) and put them in the red 'n blacks and wore those shoes all day from Friday-Sunday.  For me, wearing a new pair of shoes for that long doesn't shorten or lengthen the break in period, but what had I to lose by trying it?

Over the weekend's wear, I can report no problems.  But the proof of the pudding is running in them.

It was 34 degrees with a north wind from 5-10 mph.  I put on my UA mock-turtle shrink fit base layer, a polyester tech shirt from November's 25K race, and my new North Face iso-therm layer that I received last week.  I wanted to see how 'thermy' it is.  It's pretty thin.  I strapped on my red 'n blacks with a new shoestring tightening scheme to take some of the pressure off the top of my foot and headed off for a 4 mile run.  No point in going further with it as cold as it is and to get the feet back in the groove.

The first 100 yards were taken slowly and without event.  I took the first mile in the 13's with no pain.  For  the 2nd mile, I went into the 12's with no pain, then turned around and came back with no pain.  I guessed right, this time.  The combination of the UA shirt, a run-of-the-mill polyester shirt, and the North Face top layer kept me warm enough.  Not toasty, just warm enough for a 50 minute run.  My low tech dry cleaning bag would've sealed the deal.

So maybe I have a break-in program for the Kinvara's.  Tomorrow morning, I'm going to do the same thing with the blue 'n green pair, except start out faster because this pair is already broken in, plus they were used in the 30K race, so they shouldn't be a problem.  Christmas morning is planned to be the longest run of the training cycle at around 24.5 miles including running the first three miles of the new marathon course in the blue 'n green pair.  I've never ran into downtown Houston on a training run.

New Year's Day will be around an 18 mile run and will begin the tapering period for the January 19 race.  I want to run this one in the red 'n black pair, so I can pick the correct pair for Houston.  Whichever pair I choose, they will have a lot riding on them...less 30 pounds from a year ago.

Y'all have a great Christmas and may the God of your choice bless you.

If I can lose 23-30 lbs, I will be sub 2:40.  

Jerry wrote:If I can lose 23-30 lbs, I will be sub 2:40.  

and lazier than ever.    

By the way, my 30 pounds was 14% of my body weight at that time (210 lbs).  14% of you is 18 pounds.

ounce wrote:

Jerry wrote:If I can lose 23-30 lbs, I will be sub 2:40.  

and lazier than ever.    

By the way, my 30 pounds was 14% of my body weight at that time (210 lbs).  14% of you is 18 pounds.

Guess I have to lose some hard earned muscle to achieve that goal.  

This morning, my BK level was stationary at 0.2.  Not shabby considering there was a Christmas non-LC/HF dinner yesterday.

This morning was targeted to be a 24 mile run that included running the first 4 miles of the new marathon course that starts at Minute Maid Park, downtown.  It's the second 24 mile long run that I've done this cycle.  My reason for doing a long run 2-4 miles longer than conventional wisdom was to, of course, get the body ready for the distance again.  But more importantly, since running a marathon is so much mental than physical, it's the assurance...the mindset that I've done 24 before, so I can certainly finish it off with a measly 2 miles.

I didn't expect much traffic on the roads at 3:15, as it was Christmas morning.  It was less than I expected.

24.01 miles, 5:18:00, 13:14 pace, 1st half pace 13:16, 2nd half pace 13:12.  HR not working properly.

1. 13:20
   
2. 13:14
   
3. 13:32
   
4. 13:19
   
5. 13:15
   
6. 13:25
   
7. 13:18
   
8. 12:52
   
9. 13:04
   
10. 13:12
    
11. 13:17
    
12. 12:58
    
13. 13:34
    
14. 13:22
    
15. 13:28
    
16. 13:37
    
17. 13:28
    
18. 12:55
    
19. 13:09
    
20. 13:13
    
21. 13:07
    
22. 13:03
    
23. 13:07
    
24. 12:50
    

The pace was slower than I wanted, but it was a pace I could maintain easily.  The battery in my HR strap evidently was toast, as it wasn't recording a believable figure.  OR my HR is something that even Mark would be envious.

I had no pain directly attributable to the grinding personalities of my left foot and my left shoe, specifically the blue 'n green shoes.  I can report that my body reacts with discomfort more so than when I wore the soft Vomeros.  I guess I shouldn't be surprised.  Physically, it was a pretty good run.  I wasn't really fired up to do this run.  I wanted to do it because the timing was perfect.

Next week, I want to give the new red 'n black shoes a tryout on an 18 mile long run.  If they do well, I'll wear them for the marathon.  There's just something about the blue 'n green that doesn't give me complete confidence in them.

One thing that I want to write down about yesterday's 24 mile run is that I didn't eat anything prior to the run.  It's not unusual for that to occur, however I had been eating scrambled eggs and sausage before the >18 mile runs, just to see what happens.  And I never could ascertain eating prior to running was either good or bad for the performance.  It was a non-player.

Could it be that not eating caused the slower time?  I guess it could, but I think it was a minor player.  I think the 0.2 blood ketone level was probably a bigger player, as it needs to be a bare minimum of 0.5, with a 1.0 - 3.0 level being the most efficacious.  And as much as I jack around with eating to find the better formula and, more importantly, the better 'get-back-on-track formula', I'm not surprised it was low.

I also think some cause could be last week's pace running.  The bottom line is that I'm in the best endurance position ever.  I'm the lightest since starting running 10 years ago.  I haven't gained any weight in this training cycle, in fact, I've lost 3 or 4 pounds since Labor Day.  I usually gain 10 pounds in the same time period.

*30*

This morning's BK level was 0.3.  I had some residual stiffness, this morning, but MUCH less than yesterday afternoon.  No muscle aches either day, just needed some stretching.  And, I've been discharged from PT, so that's done with and I have a TENS unit, to boot.

I don't think I'll do any speedwork tomorrow.  No sense in screwing something up, this close to January 19.  Maybe Monday, though.

+1 on delaying the speedwork. You just need it to stimulate a little.

Jerry wrote:+1 on delaying the speedwork. You just need it to stimulate a little.

Jerry, thanks for confirming my idea.  Monday will be soon enough.    

*30*

This morning, my BK level doubled to 0.6 since yesterday.  This was unexpected and I think I have an explanation for it.  But before I give the dissertation, I didn't run this morning.  I woke up and had that hungover-type feel, which I usually take as my body saying, "I need rest more than running."  Most of the time I take its advice.  Two hours later, when I did my blood ketone level, I confirmed the body had the right idea.  I'll run on Monday.  The moral is:  If you take care of your body, it'll take care of you.

So if you want to drop off, now would be a good time.  Thanks for stopping by.

On any other run of the mill training day when a long run was completed, if I eat some sweets, half a pound of brisket for lunch, then an early afternoon sweet item, that in and of itself will usually result in a lowering of my blood ketone level, if not even a "Lo" reading.  Yet, my number increased from 0.3 to 0.6.  If you have suffered-by-reading my travelings over the past 7 months of Nutritional Ketosis, you might remember that eating more protein than my body needs will lower the blood ketone level because excess protein converts to sugar and sugar lowers the blood ketone level.  That confused me for a while, but once accepted, my numbers were better.

On Christmas Day, I ran 24 miles as shown in earlier posts.  And my BK level on the 26th increased from 0.2 to 0.3.  I had an 8 oz filet mignon, which is about 50 grams of protein (usually you can get a 1 gram of protein = 0.01 weight of beef relationship, so 1.3 pounds of beef will get you ~130 grams of protein) plus a usual LC/HF foods on Christmas.

Yesterday, I had some sweets, the brisket, plus the usual LC/HF foods plus 4 ounces heavy cream.  So, I think the reason the BK level went up was because of the repair needed due to the 24 mile run on Christmas.  Evidently, this run caused more micro tears requiring the protein.  Long runs of up to 20 miles, indeed even races of 30K or less do not require extra protein to repair.  But do a 24 mile run and it'll require two days of above my average amount of protein to assist in repairing.

Could it be that running at the 13:14 pace for 24 miles added a little more damage than if I ran it at a 12:30 pace?  Meaning, more time causing more damage?  I dunno, but it is an interesting scenario.  January 19 will be my next 24 mile or greater run.

That's it.  Thanks.

So the impromptu experiment (started yesterday and ending this morning) of seeing if my body still needs protein after the Christmas Day 24 mile long run produced a blood ketone level this morning of Lo.  I guess my body is protein sufficient.

I had some swelling in my ankles yesterday, more than likely just a collection of fluid because it's all gone this morning.

BK level rose to 0.1, which is fine with me.  After the first of the year, I'll be knuckling down to get and keep a 1.0 - 3.0 BK level until the marathon.