PR

Recently I ran the Jingle Bell Run here in Kankakee, IL.  This great race is ran all over for Arthritis funding and obviously has a Christmas theme.  This year I found myself running a 5K for the first time in a couple of months.  I had done a few trail runs as of late so my 5K racing had taken a backseat.

I had been working out pretty hard with the cross country team I coach and when you have 30 workout partners pushing you everyday, you are inevitable going to get better.  **another reason to run as often as possible with others.

Anyway, I had a goal of breaking 23 minutes in a 5K since my last one in which I ran a 23:03 and I knew I was really close.  The weather was frigid and that right away brought doubts.  The good news is, I had a game plan and stuck to it.

First mile I ran a 6:45 (my fastest split of any race I've ever ran)
Second and third miles I ran just over 7:10's
I finished 21:39 shattering my 23:03 by a large margin.

It always feels great to get a PR!

MyFitnessPal

I began using this app on July 21st and man has it changed my life!

I know this is a running blog but I will share a little nutrition info as well.  So this post is all about my struggles and successes with my own dieting.

I wrestled in high school so I am no stranger to rapid weight loss and the problems associated with it.  As I graduated in '97, I weighed in at 125 pounds and by the time I was done with my sophomore year in college I was up to 150.  Some was muscle and normal growth but there was also many trips to taco bell in there as well.

When I got married in 2002, I probably weighed right around 160 ish.... About 2 years ago, I was at my heaviest (which probably isn't heavy in most peoples eyes) around 170.

Two years ago I also made a choice to devote myself to running and not just "playing" around with it.  I abruptly lost about 10 pounds and got down to 160 pretty easily without changing my diet.  Now I was happy with this and ate/drank whatever I wanted.  Once in awhile I would try something new in terms of my diet but nothing really stuck.

That is until I downloaded MyFitnessPal and actually started counting my calories.  So as stated above, I was about 160-162 pounds on July 21st 2013 and at my most recent weigh-in, I am down to 144.9.  Go me!

So ..... I changed only one thing (not running or exercise because I was already doing that) and it was my calories. This app has been so much help in terms of accountability.  As I have shared in other posts, accountability is a great motivator and this app has been for me.

The nice thing about it is that it has a bar-code scanner on it that can be used.  If you don't have a smart phone but only a tablet without bar-code capability, almost all foods are searchable.

I love that when I put my calories from cardio that I do, the app adds it to my "daily" calories.  So its like a little extra "room" since I am exercising and then my goal simply becomes to not go over my limit for the day.  That is a real cool feature.

Another cool thing is that the app lets you program and save your own foods.  So if I make something at home using a recipe with nutritional information down at the bottom, I can program that in and use it.  A real nice feature!  More and more recipes have nutritional info at the bottom... Love the internet!

Bad things about the app are small and you can definitely work around them.  Two things come to mind: you don't really know who is programming the foods some times and the serving sizes are at times confusing.  I am not saying this happens frequently but on some occasions it does.

It is simple... I am on no special diet .... I have results ..... I never withhold any food.  I can eat pizza, cake, drink adult beverages.  Albeit, in smaller quantities than I once did.  Personally, it has been a great app and I can think of no other way to diet.  I know other people have success with other diets and I won't refute their success mainly because I have no data.  But I know what has worked for me.

Plus my wife is a dietician :-)

Trail Running

Recently, the wife and I got into trail running as a way to change things up in our training and running experience.  The first run we did was in Indiana called Tryon Trail Run

http://ultrasignup.com/register.aspx?did=19390

Tryon was a great experience as a 10K trail run.  We did not adequately prepare, I would say because we were naive.  The race itself was awesome but it definitely pushed me to my limit due to the lack of trail experience and training I had.  Still was a great experience.  Even ran over a house!

Due to not all that many races close to my home, I didn't do another trail run for almost 16 months later.  Recently I connected with a group called Kennekuk Road Runners out of the Danville, IL area.  They run an entire series of trail runs in Kickapoo State Park.  They are awesome!


https://www.facebook.com/groups/57463279498/

http://www.kennekuk.com/

The wife and I did the Wild Wild Wilderness Trail run through Kennekuk recently and it was just under 7.5 miles.  We were much better prepared having done one before and even found some trails locally to train on (Thanks to our local running club. http://www.kankakeeriverrunningclub.com/ )

Both the Wild Wild Wilderness and the Tryon Farm run included a t-shirt and they fed us afterward which is always a great time.

We are signed up for one next weekend called Allerton Park Trail Run in Monticello, IL.

http://secondwindrunningclub.org/races/allerton

I'll let you know how that goes.

SHOES!

There are distinct trail running shoes.  Being a newbie a couple of years ago, I had no idea.  So recently I made the purchase of some Saucony's in the same type I use for my road shoes.  That has been an excellent purchase and I strongly suggest it if you are going to get into trail running.  They add a little bit of "grip" and stability that road shoes do not necessarily provide.

Here are my Saucony Guide 5 trail shoes

So there are all sorts of definitions and levels of trail running from just running on grassy prairie like fields to more rigorous terrain and single track trails.  For me the miles fly by and even though I cannot achieve PR's due to the terrain and elevation changes, the time seems to go by real fast.  It is truly a great experience.  You should try one!

Fail

Just ran a 5K, the Kilbride Family Classic in Kankakee, IL.  I haven't been running a whole lot because my legs just don't seem right.  I think I need new shoes.

Anyway, I had what I would consider my worst 5K in 2 years.  I have recently done a little bit of speed work and some weight lifting since my 1/2 marathon in early May.  I guess by the middle of June I expected that my legs would be fine from the 1/2 marathon but I am starting to think that they aren't.  Not sure really what to base the poor time on.  For now though, I will continue to set new goals and do my best to achieve them.  I want to run a sub 24 minute 5K by the end of the year.  Last Thanksgiving I ran a 24:12 on a shorter course so I am oh so close.

Below is my bib for the Kilbride.  It says my time (25:55) and on the right it says, "Going Backwards".  This is how I feel right now but I post this picture and will keep this bib nearby so I remember it and use it as some motivation to do better.  My hope is by showing my weakness and failure others (including my cross athletes) will understand it is a part of running.  The good news is I always rebound and I am hoping to Do Work and Get Better.

GPS / MapMyRun

This post is going to be about my experience with GPS, running maps, and overall keeping a fitness journal.

I believe in fitness journals!  They are great for helping with accountability and even more so for planning and goal setting.  The great thing about fitness journals is that they can be as detailed and thought out as you want or as plain and basic as you want.  Personally, I only record races and miles ran or biked.  Side note .... I should probably keep a nutrition journal also but the fear of seeing how many calories I consume from my food .... and who am I kidding, my drink!

I have used two programs: MapMyRun and the Garmin Connect (which goes with my gps)

I started with MapMyRun and used a wristwatch to approximate my mile splits.  I would use MapMyRun to make a map and then stick with it.  I created many routes to run and was able to modify things so that I could get a certain number of miles, or at least close.  It was a great beginning way of tracking my progress.  I logged miles into the program as well and was able to do some cool things with the program.  There are a lot of other programs/apps out there like this and I am sure all of them have perks.  Find one that is right for you and start using it!

At some point I transitioned to GPS technology by purchasing a Garmin 400 series.  This GPS watch has definitely changed how my runs/rides go.  I no longer had to worry about where I was going to run and where the mile splits were.  I simply had to take off and the watch did the rest.  There are certainly headaches that go with the watch such as: always looking down at it, losing the fun of running, and the GPS losing connection.  Personally I have not had any problems with the GPS losing connection, only running out battery during a run or two.  It is a unique experience and as you get more into running, I suggest using some type of GPS technology to help you on runs. 

The nice thing about the Garmin is it's uploading to Garmin Connect (web journal).  Although the process of uploading depends on the model, the concept is the same.  Get your runs/miles/rides on the computer and then there are a million things you can do with it.  The thing I use it the most for is seeing my weekly/monthly/yearly mile totals.  I set goals in January and using this feature helps me to see how close I am to reaching my goals.

Speed Work

As any runner can probably attest to, I became obsessed with two things: my mileage and my 5K time.

As I ran more, I found myself getting drawn in to the competitive aspects of racing.  I would get pissed if I finished 4th in my age group.  It was frustrating and I'll be honest, I wanted the stupid medal.  More on this topic some other time.

The mileage thing was one of my biggest problems and I still face it today.  For the past two years, while making my New Years Resolutions, I have set goals of yearly mileage.  Last year I fell a little short and this year I am behind and it is only May.  One of my problems is that when I set these mileage goals, I get so fixated on it that it consumes me.  So instead of doing a different form of cardio, I only focus on running.  This means I have eliminated the following: weight lifting and road cycling.  Those two things being eliminated have really caused me to be unhappy with my workouts.  Running is not enough.  More on cycling and weights later but I am trying to incorporate these more because it is a much better balance.

Balance is key here and I definitely am NOT balanced.

The speed work thing was something I was encouraged to add to my workouts.  I am fortunate to have access to two tracks and one of them is a stones throw away from my house.  The use of the track is a daunting task and many I talk to hate it.  But if you are looking to increase your speed for a better finish, in my mind, there is no better way to do it than a speed workout.  You can google a lot of the speed drills if you are interested.  I will list my favorites and some of the ones we make our cross kids do.  They can be brutal but they help, for sure!

The ones I like best are...

1 mile warm up for each and a 1 mile cool down for each (if you want to do less miles, reduce the warm up and cool down to 1/2 a mile)

1. Pyramid: 1 x 200, 1 x 400, 1 x 600, 1 x 800, 1 x 600, 1 x 400, 1 x 200
2. Mile repeats x 3
3. 800 repeats x 4 or 6
4. 400 repeats x 12
5. 1 x 200, 1 x 400, 1 x 600, 1 x 800, 1 x 1200, 1 x 1600

The goal is to set a time that you want to run your 5K in and shoot for that.  i.e. if you want to run a 21:30 5K.  Count on it taking 30 seconds to do the .1.  So divide 21 by three miles and you get a 7 minute mile.  That is your goal time.  If you are doing 400 repeats (#4) then you need to run 1:45 400's (All I did was divide 7 minutes by 4).

Personally I take a couple of minutes between the sets and catch my breath.  Some people like to run another 400 between sets at a much slower recovery pace.  The great thing about speed work is you can modify the workout to make it work for you.

Stuck in a Rut

For a good three years I struggled with consistently running.  I found it really irritating actually.  I would start one week, build up my endurance, and watch it all go as I became lazy. 

The rut ended however, and for that I am especially thankful.

How did it end exactly?  I have three things that I think helped.

1. I signed up for races

Not only did I try to do at least one race a month, if not two, but I also mixed it up.  I have done trail runs, obstacle course runs, local races of course, and even some runs in Chicago.  This has helped tremendously.   The races themselves, though expensive, do always go to a great organization.  I found that the races were rewarding and began enjoying the thought of training.  So find some and sign up!

2. Spouse

My wife is a runner and has been especially supportive of my running.  She signs up with me and even did a half marathon (her second) and she didn't really want to do it.  She did it all to run with me.  That kind of support was huge for me.  If you don't have that, try and find a running buddy who will be able to build that with you.

3. Variety

Your training runs cannot be the same ole route every time.  This is just asking for a problem, at least in my experience.  I find that mixing it up by going to different places, running with different runners, and even the time of day will make it better.  Running is hard enough, but if you have to look at the same thing every time, it has got to be horrid.  Mix it up and add that variety to your runs.  I believe it will help.