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!