One Week in Officially...

It has been a grueling week... not so much because of the diet, but because of the exercise and the effects of the diet on my exercise.

On 10/15/2012 (first day of diet), I decided to run 3 miles doing negative split. I would run conservatively out for 1.5 miles, and then push my limits and my pace when I ran 1.5 miles back. It just so happened that the route I took was 1.5 miles downhill and then 1.5 miles back uphill (figures right?). It wasn't a very successful run, but that could be partially accounted to the downward/upward pattern of the route I chose. I went out thinking 10:00 minute/mile pace out and then 9:00 minute/mile pace back. I ended up running the whole thing in 29:05. The run out was about 14:30 and the run back was 14:35. The run out felt challenging, even at that slow pace, and the run back (uphill) felt pretty difficult (8/10 on difficulty scale).

On 10/18/2012 I decided to do inteval training. I waited to run until nearly dark and went to the track. I walked 400m to get a little warm, and then ran 400m to warm up for hard intervals. I then followed a pattern I learned from my USA Fit Rio coaches; 400m, 600m, 800m, 600m, 400m. I then followed that by a 400m cool down jog, and then 400m walk. My pace varied from 7:03-7:33 minutes/mile pace on the 400/600/800/600/400 intevals. Not horrible, but that wasn't for a large amount of time either, and I have ran one mile in under 7:00 in the past year - one whole mile.

I took off October 19-21 in preparation for the Duke City Marathon 10k I would participate in.

10/21/2012: Duke City 10k! I woke up, ate two scrambled eggs with about two ounces of pork sausage, and had a cup of coffee with splenda and 1 tablespoon of whole cream. I was having some GI distress, and didn't feel 100% when I got to the race. Maybe jitters, maybe diet... Oh and of course, parking was a nightmare... after waiting in line to park at the Convention Center, I turned around and parked at a local hospital - ONE MILE AWAY FROM THE STARTING LINE (bad move number 1). After my one mile hike to the starting line, I began to relax and wait. My running buddies were mostly doing the 1/2 marathon, so they were to take off first, then us few 10k'ers would wait for our turn. 7:45 rolled around quickly adn we were off! The first 3.1 were fine. I was actually adhering pretty well to my negative split plan. My average for the first 5k was about 9:25 minute/mile. I was on target to finish in under one hour. Then I hit the turn, and allowed myself a 30 second break to drink some homemade sports drink (recipe below). I began running again, but was running into to the sun, and of course I forgot my sunglasses! Suddenly the run became much more difficult, and I found that I was telling myself "just make it to the next corner and you can walk a bit," and I did! I stopped about a total of three full minutes. At the five mile sign, I was at 54 minutes, and I knew I had blown my goal. I relaxed, and took it easy, finishing at 1:05:02. Definitely my worst run yet. I'm trying not to be too hard on myself though - I know for a fact that this is my body adjusting to using fat for energy instead of carbs.

10/22/2012: Relax! I'm actually sore! Sad considering I usually run 1/2 marathons, and soreness doesn't come until after 9+ mile runs... :(

Week one done - looking forward to my body adjusting better, and using fat as primary source of energy!

The Recipe - Low-Carb Energy Drink (Gatorade)

2 tablespoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice
pinch of salt
1 cup of water
Splenda to taste

Mix together, and refrigerate overnight. I made it with 1/4 cup of lemon juice in a 16.9 oz water bottle (filled with water). My entire drink was 5 carbs, and considering I was running 6.2 miles, I didn't feel bad for drinking the whole thing!

Where I am starting from...

So here it is... my first blog! I decided that now was as good of a time as any, to begin my "road to performing better" running blog. Here goes!

I've been fairly athletic most of my life. I never competed above the intramural level in any sport, but I've managed to stay in decent shape throughout my 32 years of existence. For the past 6-7 years, my cardiovascular activity of choice has been running, and although I have finished many events including five half-marathons; I have never been satisfied with my perfomance.

Today...

One of my best friends recently completed two marathons (exactly two weeks apart! Yes, she is crazy but awesome!). She is one of the people I have ran with at a couple different half-marathons, and we perform pretty close to the same level. Well, if she can do it... the dreaded FULL MARATHON... well, so can I right? We have both committed to run the 2013 Chicago Marathon and now I have one year to prepare. I don't just want to prepare though, I want to do WELL.

My goal for the Chicago Marathon is to 1) complete the full-marathon in under 4:00:00. I would really like to qualify for the Boston Marathon, but that requires completing Chicago in 3:35:00 or under, and that is a very lofty goal for a first-time marathoner. Stay tuned - as I progress, maybe my goal with change too!

How I am going to do it...

• Begin a low-carb diet. (I need to go from about 155 lbs. to 125 lbs.).
• Hydrate very well, 24/7.
• Stick to a training schedule, and push myself harder than I ever have.
• Inteval training.
• Continue training with the group I have been training with for the past two seasons (USA Fit Rio).

Stay tuned for updates, menu's, and my progress!