so OMG, I had an AMAZING 20 mile run today. this is the fastest and easiest 20 miles I have ever run in my life. I just can't even express how much easier running is when you get leaner and more fit.
my scale weight was way up today, but when you replace 5 lbs of fat with 5 lbs of glycogen and water, you suddenly can just run longer and faster, and with much less effort.
the people in the group that I run with are, frankly, faster runners than I am. or I guess I should say than I used to be. because, with a few less pounds and my carb loading, I was at the front of the pack for the entire 20 miles, even the last 3 which were like running in a sauna with the sun beating on you. the only changes from 3 weeks ago when I ran the 17, are 5 lbs of fat loss, carb loading, and a few added supplements from hammernutrition.com.
to say that I am overjoyed is a complete understatement. I have 12 weeks until my target marathon, and I am more psyched than ever to kick this training into the highest gear I have, and improve my chances of lining up in hopkinton on patriots day.
there are all kinds of things that can mess up a marathon time goal, many of them are things that are not within a runner's control. but I don't want to be at a critical point in the race and regret that I didn't give my training and nutrition 100% effort. I want those extra gears to be there when I need them. no more excuses. 12 weeks out is the perfect time to ratchet the intensity.
to say that I am overjoyed is a complete understatement.
Hello Wendy wild running woman! I finally got some "me" time and did a drive by over here at JP. I read your Pain Cave intro and have a better insight to your driving forces.
Well done with your 20 run all glyced up and flying along. You may just be inspiring me with the prosepct of enduring longer distance running goals. I have always been leary (fear) of the discomfort past 13 miles.
hey sue, welcome to our little corner of the world. this is a great place to learn about lifting.
am getting ready to do a brief 2 mile run at marathon pace. I feel great!! no aches, pains, nothing.
happy to get back some semblance of calorie equality today, yesterdays recovery included all of my 2100 calories burned, plus maintenance and then a few more!!
Congrats on the great 20 miler. Was it at a predefined pace & steady, or variable (like a fast-finish getting close to marathon pace at the end)?
Just curious how your marathon training is set up. If I should read older posts, then "doh!" and just let me know. :-)
__________________ "My yoga class had me trembling and sweating and I feel MUCH better." - Fang
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tenacious Training and Tweaking (the A lotta Alitteration thread)
hey misstenacity!! we are currently running in mid 80's florida sun with greater than 90 percent humidity, so our long runs are about 2 minute per mile slower than our target marathon pace. we run these slow and steady to get the distance in at this point. we did run the last 3 pretty fast, considering how dang hot it was. I am totally sold on carb loading for women, at least for THIS woman. I felt exactly the same way I felt the other times I did this carb loading protocol, so it will become a staple. I had no GI issues at all, and was able to take in less perpetuem on the run itself, which means more time to run fast! I did outline how I set up the depletion. basically you run 2.5 minutes at around your mile race pace, and then a 30 sec all out sprint. it turns out that I probably need to crank the speeds higher on the treadmill, but I don't usually run on treadmills and I was scared I was going to fly off the back. I think next time, I am doing this protocol on the street. then you do 12 g per kg of lean mass of carbs over the next 24 hours. I had absolutely no problem eating this way and I was not too full, and I had no GI issues on the run whatsoever.
I can't wait for it to get cool here, all of this heat training will serve us well when the weather turns.
It's nice to see someone here who has such similar goals. The NYC marathon will actually be my first, so I'm going with a very conservative (4:45) time goal. However, I'm doing most of my training with a 4:20 marathon target in mind. I set paces for interval runs and tempo runs that way. For the long runs, I just do the best I can, especially since it's frequently hot and humid.
My interval and tempo runs always seem to be fine. They're challenging, as they should be, but never impossible. My long runs, however, are a different story.
Now that you mention performance possibly suffering because of my calorie deficit . . . I wonder if that could be the reason for the HORRIBLE long runs I've had recently. I've been dieting for three weeks now. The first week, I had an 18 mile run. The second week, it was 20. And this week it was just 13. The 18-miler (my second) sucked beyond belief. But I attributed that to the sweltering heat. The 18-miler was miserable too, but I blamed it on the rain. This week's 13 mile run was just fine. Interestingly, before I started dieting, I ran 20 miles and felt great. But again, I gave the credit to the lovely weather that day.
I guess I'll just wait and see how things go this weekend. Right now, the forecast looks good. So if the weather is nice, but the run is a disaster, I'll try upping my calories each week until I find a good balance.
In any case, thanks for the advice. I really do appreciate it.
Am going to read through a bit of your recent posts now . . .
hey healjan! nutrition is so key as the distance gets long. that was really clear yesterday, when a couple of the women who totally spank me on the track were struggling with the 20 miler. if you don't eat enough you will struggle, no matter how fit or how good your genetics. nutrition is my secret weapon!!
so FINALLY, the scale is back on a downward trend. it is really mind blowing to see how all of that glycerol and carb loading artificially elevates the scale number. I don't run long again for 2 weeks, so I know I will get back to that low scale number sometime later in the week. in two weeks, we will be running 23 miles!! I am so ready.
yesterday, I had grilled local black grouper topped with a homemade tricolor pepper marinara. also steamed maine lobster and broccoli with a lemon/butter dressing. seafood really helps me drop the pounds. delicious and nutritious!!
the people in the group that I run with are, frankly, faster runners than I am. or I guess I should say than I used to be. because, with a few less pounds and my carb loading, I was at the front of the pack for the entire 20 miles, even the last 3 which were like running in a sauna with the sun beating on you. the only changes from 3 weeks ago when I ran the 17, are 5 lbs of fat loss, carb loading, and a few added supplements from hammernutrition.com.
It's inspiring to read your posts. It's always exciting to watch you moving steadily foreward ... or is it the awesome menus I stop by for? Either way, way to keep on keepin' on.
__________________
"Time and patience are the 2 elements that most people don't include in their plans."
-Alan Aragon
"The scale simply tells you how much the earth loves you on a particular day."
-Ogedei (Keith)
It's inspiring to read your posts. It's always exciting to watch you moving steadily foreward ... or is it the awesome menus I stop by for? Either way, way to keep on keepin' on.
did someone say menu??? I love menus! thanks
thanks greg, thanks tracey.
man o man. 2000 calories on a rest day and I am HUNGRY. am going to shift the macros to a little more carbs. marathon training really triggers my appetite, despite my careful attention to getting enough calories on long run days, etc.
tomorrow is track tuesday, and I am really looking forward to running in my new pearl izumi peaks--I ran 2 miles in them sunday, and they are LIGHT and SPEEDY!!!!
fantastic weight session today. squatted, deadlift, bench, side plank, these cool variations of plank where you do a reverse v-up and support on one hand. leg raise/dumbell pullover combos. band assisted chins and pull ups. my legs are fully recovered from my 20 miler, had no issues today at all.
track tonight, my first track on full glycogen and lighter scale weight!
wow, so 20 days of data, I am totally repleted with glycogen, so any scale change is likely mostly fat loss. my average burn over 20 days was only 325 calories of exercise a day, and that was including my 20 mile run (I have tons of rest days). so my maintenance calories with this recent data on a totally exercise free day, calculate out to be around 2200. the truth is probably somewhere between the 2200 and 2400, because I am totally holding on to water right now according to the tanita. I will know more when I get calipers done and bioimpedance at frank's gym.
I am going to continue to track my nutrition through race day. I am finding this practice to be invaluable right now as I get closer to race day. intuitive eating worked well for me when my goals were further into the future, but now, I have to be diligent so that I maintain this new lower weight, but also to ensure that my macros are where they should be.
my initial plan for the next 12 weeks seemed reasonable, until I tracked it, and realized I needed LESS protein, actually and MORE carbs, and MORE fat. my running volume is going from two days a week to 4 days a week, so I need them.
big storms plus late meeting equals treadmill run instead of track.
1 mile at 8.4 mph!!
followed by two half miles at 8.0 mph.
am THRILLLEDDDDDD.
scale back to 146.5 (!) and this time, my body is stocked with glycogen, the way it needs to be for the remainder of marathon season. soooooo happpppeeeee.
on saturday, I have a mile time trial on the track, and I am ready to PR.
big storms plus late meeting equals treadmill run instead of track.
1 mile at 8.4 mph!!
followed by two half miles at 8.0 mph.
am THRILLLEDDDDDD.
scale back to 146.5 (!) and this time, my body is stocked with glycogen, the way it needs to be for the remainder of marathon season. soooooo happpppeeeee.
on saturday, I have a mile time trial on the track, and I am ready to PR.
Kickin' some serious butt, Wendy!! I'm so stoked for you! Can't wait to read all about your PR on Saturday!
I did outline how I set up the depletion. basically you run 2.5 minutes at around your mile race pace, and then a 30 sec all out sprint. it turns out that I probably need to crank the speeds higher on the treadmill, but I don't usually run on treadmills and I was scared I was going to fly off the back. I think next time, I am doing this protocol on the street. then you do 12 g per kg of lean mass of carbs over the next 24 hours. I had absolutely no problem eating this way and I was not too full, and I had no GI issues on the run whatsoever.
Ah, ok. I recognize that protocol - its the Aussie 2002 study one. Matt Fitzgerald referred to it several months ago and was all excited that you can do it up to 4 days before your event as long as you rest, and still hold your fluffy glycogen load.
When is your race? I'm starting to look at Dallas - 14.5 weeks out.
__________________ "My yoga class had me trembling and sweating and I feel MUCH better." - Fang
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tenacious Training and Tweaking (the A lotta Alitteration thread)
misstenacity, my race is nov 29, 12 weeks out. yep, matt fitzgerald has written about it. in that study the N was really small, like 6 I think, and they were male cyclists, but STILL. they proved the glycogen loading by MUSCLE BIOPSY, so you gotta love that data, compared to things like scale weight, etc. my scale weight was CRAZY high before and for a few days after, but fortunately it is back down now. I've never done dallas.
so am getting ready to go to franks. today is bioimpedence days, so should be fun! my result from two weeks ago was in a glycogen depleted state, so today will be a better measure of where my body comp actually is these days.
wow, so yesterday was a rest day, and I didn't hydrate like I usually do, so bodyfat was higher than I expected, but it is related to water. I am performing well, my size 8 work pants are huge on me today, so I know I am on the right track. am just going to continue with my plan.
tonight is a tempo run, 3 miles, the middle two at 8:30 pace or faster. psyched!!
I'm with Tina. You seriously rock and I can't even begin to imagine a mile in under 10 minutes. Wow. I picked up the Galloway marathon book today for some reading on our roadtrip tomorrow.
__________________
Ginger
"The miracle isn't that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start." ~ John Bingham
Nice, Wendy!
You're kicking major ass lady.
Color me impressed.
Quote:
Originally Posted by GinnyLou
I'm with Tina. You seriously rock and I can't even begin to imagine a mile in under 10 minutes. Wow. I picked up the Galloway marathon book today for some reading on our roadtrip tomorrow.
thanks :::::))))))
tina, if we could combine your lifting and my running, we would kick everyone's ass, and then run fast from the cops.
ginger, so glad you are reading the marathon book! excellent read, and it also confirms that a full marathon is somewhere on the horizon for 2010!! how exciting. We could plan another girl trip and I could pace you! my group tells me I am a human GPS and know how to keep a consistent pace.
just now did 0.5 mile warmup at 6.0 mph then 2 miles at 7.0 mph then cooldown at 6.0 mph. felt easy and controlled!!! 8:30 pace easy and controlled, YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYA. right hip a bit tweaky from something I did in the am at the gym--was tweaky all day. still tweaky. am icing it now.
Linear Mode
