Friday, August 21, 2009

Back in the Saddle

I had a good run last night at the gym. 6.5 miles, with 5.5 at Mid-tempo pace as defined by FIRST. For me that meant 7:27 miles. Because I perceive the treadmill to be easier than real life (and heart rate confirms that) I usually set treadmill a bit faster. For me that meant setting it at a 7:18 pace or 8.2 mph. My foot pod had me going even faster, with a sub 7:00 pace, but I take that with a grain of salt.

It felt good to exercise again. I am a little stiff this morning, but a good kind of stiff. Tonight I will try to put in another easy workout and then run 14 or 15 miles tomorrow. FIRST has me for another 20 miler, but I am just not sure I want to do that or am in shape for that given my lack of training in August and also the lack of cross training. For FIRST, not only do you run 3 days a week (which I basically have -- I have missed 1 workout despite my relative sloth this week), but also supposed to row, bike or swim 2 days a week. I haven't. So not sure I want to push the second 20 miler in 3 weeks given relative lack of running and training.

And I got a really, really nice surprise this morning. Last night at the gym I stepped on the scale for the first time in 3 weeks. I fully expected to have added about 3 pounds or so. I have eaten poorly and not worried about carbs; indeed, I have had a 100% carb dinner for the last several nights. (Carbs encourage water retention, so eating them means more water, thus more weight; the converse is also true.) Anyway, my surprise: the lowest weight in nearly ten years. rather than add several pounds, I was lighter. I know water weight, etc., but still very nice surprise.

Its like that Seinfeld episode: some things go up, some go down.

6 comments:

  1. Sounds like a good day. I hope to be in that spot soon. I'm itching for some tough workouts, but have this frustrating knee thing holding me back.

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  2. Nice on the unexpected weight loss! That's always a nice surprise. BTW, that crockpot recipe I have isn't healthy by the way it's written, but you can make a healthier version. Let me know if you want it, I will email it to you.

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  3. Will be interesting to get your personal evaluation of the FIRST prog.

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  4. I love that slight stiffness in the morning if I haven't been doing a ton...good luck with the fifteen tomorrow! Congrats on the 3 lbs, it always seems like that makes a difference in our running, doesn't it!?

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  5. It's always great to get on the scale and get a good surprise instead of a bad one!

    So, would you recommend the FIRST program? Think you'll keep using it?

    I am running 5 days a week right now and don't find time to crosstrain either. Of course, I really just want to run anyway!

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  6. I've heard that bumping the incline a few percent on the treadmill will help to counteract the fact that it's easier than running outdoors. Also, that's supposed to help prevent knee injuries. Or so they say. I'm no expert... I hate the treadmill. :-)

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