wow, if that is you in your avi, I can't imagine someone your height being 20 lbs less.
I can say this right now-I love being faster, absolutely LOVE it. it feels so amazing to be a 5 foot 6 and half foot tall 145 pound runner compared to a 228 pound runner. amazing! and I know that most competitive runners my height are more like my running partners--115-120. one of my running partners is 98 pounds. I am simply not constructed that way.
If qualifying for boston means that I have to restrict and diet myself down to 115-120, lose my periods, develop osteopenia, lose my strong muscles that I have worked hard to build, then I am COMPLETELY and TOTALLY at peace with never qualifying for boston. it is just a dream, and like all dreams, it can be replaced with other dreams.
but right now, in my 145 pound, 24% body fat self, my track times predict that qualifying is a possibility in the body I am in today. and if it doesn't happen next month, I can certainly take another year to be 140 pounds 22% body fat to improve my chances. I did make a funny above about atrophying my muscle, but seriously, that is what it would take for me to be 115. and I know for sure at 45 years old, 115 would not look good on me. I think it can look good on some people with small bones and smaller muscles, but it would look bad on me.
my muscle is what enabled me to take care of all of my home things on our property when my husband was critically ill in an ICU in february. my muscle will allow me to age gracefully, and hopefully independently. my attention to nutrition keeps me healthy.
no boston marathon medal will ever be worth my health. not ever.
thanks tracey. just trying to let everyone know where I am at in all of this. running is just one part of my life, and it is not how I define myself.
I won't get sucked into the vortex of "hey, she's a fast runner, and she doesnt lift weights, so why don't you be more like her and run more and lift less" I have heard that a time or a hundred here locally. everyone has a unique body structure and will respond to different training methods. what works for my 5 foot 2 -98 pound training partner and her naturally lithe, ectomorphic frame is not going to work for the more bulky, amazon-esque wendy. gloria eats healthy, has normal periods, no osteopenia--she just naturally weighs what she weighs without having to beat her body into some form that isn't natural for her. for amazon bulky wendy to diet down to the equivalent weight of gloria for her height, she would need to adopt risky, restrictive dietary practices and risk her health and her future.
I am completely comfortable with who I am, and comfortable with the fact that my naturally muscular frame might not be ideal for running. SO. WHAT. I love running anyway, and will the best, healthiest runner I can be given what I have.
oh, darling, no you didn't!! you are one of the healthiest eaters I know!!!!
I am referring to the "athlete triad" of amennorhea (no periods), osteoporosis and disordered eating that happens all too often in competitive runners of all ages. it is a really serious thing that runners are particularly prone to, because our sport is so weight dependent. osteoporosis happens because of the low estrogen state, among other things.
I would seriously have to develop an eating disorder to get to the weight that would be my optimal running weight. some runners are just naturally lithe and genetically programmed to be light and lean, like my gloria, and they are at a lower risk of disordered eating. but someone with my frame would be at a much higher risk of disordered eating if we were to try to run the mileage and intensity that we run, while at the same time providing inadequate fuel to maintain a weight that is far below what is comfortable for our bodies.
I bow to you, my jane. (handing tissues). you just have a bunch of risks factors that made this happen to you. I know how healthy you eat, I know you get periods, and if you have an eating disorder, then I guess I have the same one, because a lot of what I learned about eating healthy and getting lean I learned from your bad self. carry on!!
I miss the tire-flipping... stoopid hs kids stole the smallest one (the only one I could flip)...
I did a paper on the female athletic triad in grad school... I don't think you're ANYWHERE near that, but it's always good to hear reassurance that your health comes before anything else! (And Jane - for all you know, you might have had full-blown osteoporosis by now if you hadn't been working out so hard - doesn't it run in your family?)
thanks bytsi, yeah, I know I am not that way NOW, but I certainly can understand why it can happen. I love being faster, and I can see the slippery slope that dieting can create when weight loss has such profound impact on speed. am just trying to keep myself far away from it!!
rest day for me, am sore from my workout yesterday. tomorrow's run is 12 x 1 mile repeat at 8:40 pace. 5 minutes walking between repeats. it is a seriously hard workout! we are having a cool front, meaning highs in the 70's so YAY. still not ideal running weather, but I will take it!
Heck, even for strength sports you can get sucked into a competition to lose weight. The best weight lifter in Belgium dieted down to a BW that was actually too low for him, but it won him a medal in the Olympics. So it's not just endurance sports or gymnastics resulting in a quest for low, lower lowest body weights.
yah, espi, I know runners aren't the only ones, fer shur
(smooches) G , know you are going to kick some serious SIL butt tomorrow.
ok, so FINALLY some weather in the 60's, which is downright balmy for most marathoners but for us! wow.
the results were immediately noticeable in my pace. I am definitely someone who, while obviously acclimated to heat and humidity, does NOT perform her best in heat and humidity. even a brief nod to reasonable marathon conditions resulted in an amazing workout. I can't even begin to explain how easy this workout felt. my heart rate barely got anaerobic.
12 x 1 mile repeats with about 4 minutes rest (walk) in between a la galloway. to run a 4 flat, I needed to have done these at 8:39 pace. the first one was a warm up, so slow. some of the others toward the end were into some serious winds coming from the ocean. (we were running along the intracoastal).
to do this many miles at this kind of pace 6 weeks out from my A race is VERY good news indeed!
not bad for a 145 pound bulky 45 year old!
oh, and my pace mate and friend molly, found me the CUTEST lulu shirt--front has lulu logo and 26.2, back says "do one thing everyday that scares you".
so in keeping with my new shirt, today I told my group leader what I really wanted to do in my half (2 flat) and in my full (sub 4). after today, he no longer thinks it is out of reach for me, hurray!
thanks so much guys! wish I had great news for today, but my 14 mile run today sucked ass. my body has been used to saturday/sunday back to back higher mileage, but today we had very very gusty winds, it was like running into a wall, and my legs had no power. I guess those fast mile repeats took it out of my legs even though my heart rate was reasonable. ended up walking way more than I wanted to just to keep my quads from cramping.
they can't all be good ones! I think I made a wise decision to back it off today. while walking, I really enjoyed the ocean, the river, the clean, non-humid cool air, the sun.
as I think about it, I have never even done 12 x 1 miles at 9:something pace. so to do 12 x 1 miles at 8:something pace is a real jump for me. all of my mile repeats until yesterday have been in the heat and humidity, so my pace has naturally been slower.
the good news, is that, before the wind came, I did at least 5 miles at my marathon pace today, and my heart rate never even got to 160. anaerobic for me now doesn't hit until the mid 170's.
am completely in love with my garmin 310xt.
looking forward to some stretching and foam rolling on my deck later with a bud 55 and key lime from jay's garden.
Key lime....my favorite!! But, in a pie would be best!
mmm, my favorite might be the mango key lime mahi I do served with this macadamia, mango coconut rice pilaf.
Quote:
Originally Posted by realcdn
I don't know, I kinda of like the juice in a drink with some Chilean (or Peruvian) pisco. Definitely a better drink for a warm day though.
yum anne, that sounds great!! am thinking of a frozen cocktail I could do with key lime. some of the juice might be good in my satsuma screwdriver. whole satsuma (local) orange pulverized in vitamix with frozen mango, vanilla vodka, fresh grated ginger. mmmmmmm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lost Dog
mmm.... pie
It's 93 today. Fall was here on Thursday, but I hit the snooze.
subtle citrus. I do two scoops after each of my runs (3-4 per week) no matter how short or long my run. after long runs, I eat a fairly big whole meal within 90 minutes too. I really think the glutamine helps me. I am seriously performing well despite missing a bunch of training last week when ed was sick.
I tried a trial pack of it, and didn't like it as well as the citrus. the strawberry was just too cloyingly flavored for me, and I have absolutely no appetite post run these days. the citrus is, indeed, subtle, and I can slam it down with no problem.
I used to be able to eat the house post run, but not anymore. julie used to kid me about it, we would finish a 20 plus mile training run, and I would immediately raid her house, cold pizza, ice cream, whatever.
I think it is all of this high heart rate stuff I do now. I never used to push myself--my friends called it the "wendy wave". I would do the royal wave as I crossed the finish of a road race, triathlon, whatever. now when I cross, I have to focus on not hurling or falling.
*subscribe* I love your down-to-earth perspective, and wow what impressive training runs! I'm sure you wrote this and I missed it, but have you already qualified for Boston and if not, what marathon are you running to get your BQ?
__________________
"If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right" Henry Ford
Hey tawny! Welcome to my log. I have never even been CLOSE to BQ for my first 3 marathons. Not even in the ball park. Which makes this race even more exciting for me!!! Am dreaming WAY outside the box, but have put in a reasonable amount of training this year, especially considering the major stressors and things like careers, etc!!!
My race is spacecoast in Melbourne Florida nov 29. Trying out 2 flat pace at the daytona half on nov 1 , if that is a go, then 4 flat will be my goal at spacecoast.
Hey tawny! Welcome to my log. I have never even been CLOSE to BQ for my first 3 marathons. Not even in the ball park. Which makes this race even more exciting for me!!! Am dreaming WAY outside the box, but have put in a reasonable amount of training this year, especially considering the major stressors and things like careers, etc!!!
My race is spacecoast in Melbourne Florida nov 29. Trying out 2 flat pace at the daytona half on nov 1 , if that is a go, then 4 flat will be my goal at spacecoast.
I think you severely underestimate yourself.
Do you have a single source file of your running workouts with paces the last 6-12 months? If you don't mind, PM it to me and I think I can give you a more accurate statement than "severely underestimate".
__________________ "My yoga class had me trembling and sweating and I feel MUCH better." - Fang
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tenacious Training and Tweaking (the A lotta Alitteration thread)
Omg that would be great! Unfortunately, I have not been good at documenting my workouts. Most of my garmin data is on my old PC and not my MacBook. And a lot of times at track I didn't have my garmin or even a watch because I was trying just to run hard.
I agree with you, I have been the queen of underestimating myself so many times in my life as well as being underestimated by people too! In sports but in other arenas too, honestly.
Those splits above were run in low to mid 60s some wind. Heart rate mostly aerobic. My 7:05 track mile was in heat and humidity and it was not an all out effort.
I know I have the ability to BQ, my numbers are right there. What I don't have is any experience whatsoever with racing hard and racing distance hard. I also run very low weekly mileage. Only 40 at it's peak!!
It is possible, if all conditions line up for me to have a great race. But it really is a stretch for me. Two of my running partners just did 4:18 at Chicago and they are younger, thinner and faster on the track. It just is what it is. The only things I have that they don't are strength (they don't lift) and my dedication to nutrition and supplementation. But they are stronger runners than I am, no question. This goal is really aggressive for me, it just is.
I am 6 weeks away from race day!!! I would love any help you can give me, I wish I had data for you.
Ok, still happy to do it but it will take a little more legwork for one of us. How about give me a 'sample' week from 6 months ago, 3 months ago, and 1 month ago? With daily mileages and average pace, more detail is better.
I love to do this. I got the biggest grin when I virtual-coached Martha to her first sub-10 mile that lasted for days.
__________________ "My yoga class had me trembling and sweating and I feel MUCH better." - Fang
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tenacious Training and Tweaking (the A lotta Alitteration thread)
see that's just it! I have had periods of time, even as recently as 3 months ago, when I cut my running to just 2 key workouts per week. I have never ever in 10 years of running been a daily runner. the most I ever run is 4 days a week, and lately it has only been 3 days a week.
6 months ago, I was at running camp, running 15-20 miles a week, my mile time then was in the 7:50's. 3 months ago, track mile in the 7:20's. now track mile 7:05 and felt easier than all of the rest. mileage went from 15 miles a week 6 months ago, my highest mile week will be 40, most of them lately have been in the low to mid 30's. I only run 3-4 days a week, most of the time only 3.
I have been faithful with track workouts every tuesday, but we do them here in 90 degree heat with 90 percent humidity, so the paces that I held over the summer all of the sudden are going down now that it is cooler--
I have done all of my long distance runs in the heat. longest run 26 miles so far. I have a 29 miler on nov 7th. all of my long runs are run/walk according to jeff galloway's program, so 2:30 min run/1 min walk repeat. my marathon pace (9:09) will be at a 4 min run/1 min walk, which I have practiced some during my sunday 14 milers, but not as often as would be optimal. this means that the run segment itself is done more at 8:15-8:30 pace.
oh, from now on, I will wear my garmin every single run and I will post the pace and heart rate here so you can help me assess where I am now.
of course, it is 6 weeks out, I realize, lol.
here are the good things.
1. I have never missed a long run, not a single one all season, which started in may.
2. I have never missed a session of mile repeats--I started early in the season with 4 x 1 mile and have progressed to the 12 x 1 mile repeats. in a few weeks, I will do my final 14 x 1 mile repeats. these are done 30 sec per mile faster than marathon pace, and my last workout was under my target pace.
3. I am not injured
4. I have rarely missed a track workout.
the negatives
I have missed some tempo runs
I have missed some marathon paced runs
I don't run as many miles as most runners trying to BQ
I don't run every day or most days like most runners trying to BQ
I don't know anyone locally who has BQed who weighs as much as I weigh or carries as much body fat as I carry
my first marathon was 7:12--I weighed 208 pounds and walked it
my second marathon was 6:17, which I did at my BFF's pace, but my pace would have been probably 5:30 at that time if I had run my pace (I was 180 plus pounds)
my third marathon was chicago 2007. 5:47 which was in 88 degree heat and I was forced to walk 7 miles of it. my VO2 max testing showed best case scenario 4:30 at that time, and I really think I was in more like 4:45 shape then. I weighed around 165 then.
that's it. the extent of my marathon experience. but here I am at 145 pounds. the leanest I have ever been as an athlete. this season has been the easiest running season ever, in so many ways. even though I am finally pushing myself, nothing hurts like moving a 208 pound body over 26. 2 miles, or even a 180 pound body or a 165 pound body. it is light years different in the body I am in today.
so really, I have no idea what I am capable of this year. I really don't. my times predict that I have the ability, but I really don't have the experience yet.
I do have a HUGE aerobic base. 10 years of long, slow triathlons, marathons, 5k's, 10k's, 10 years of the wendy wave. but this has been the year of me finally doing speedwork, pushing into those higher heart rates, believing that the fat girl could become the fast girl. who knows if I need another year of faster training? another year of learning marathon pace? another year of getting even leaner? another year of paying my dues? a year to first break 5 hours in the marathon before I dare dream of breaking 4 hours?
if I don't qualify for boston on november 29th, am I going to want to dedicate another year of my athletic life to going for it again? to double my mileage to 80 hours a week and cut something else out of my life? to risk further wear and tear on my cartilage? I will never be the lithe, kenyan runner. I will always be bulky, amazon wendy, even if I get as lean as would be healthy for me. is another season worth it for me? or do I want to go back to rowing, or switch to the half marathon distance and try to qualify for new york with a 1:44. all questions, don't have any answers.
things I know:
I love running, and want to always run, even when I am in my 90's.
I love how weight lifting has transformed my body and my body image, and I always want to lift weights.
I am athletically promiscuous. I will always want to try new sports--lately it is irish hurling that ed has recently discovered.
boston would be really really cool, and I would love it if I can qualify at my first real attempt to run a fast marathon. but I am also ok with reevaluating my goals if it doesn't happen.
I didn't do anything wrong to get osteopenia *teary* 
Linear Mode
