Gear

Fitness / Gear / Health / Running — 3 Comments
4
Jul 10

Good riddance to June

It’s (obviously) been a while since I’ve posted here, so I’ve got a lot to cover. Let’s get to it.

I hated June.  It’s not really June’s fault, but the weather around here was tough to run though.  Many, many hot and humid days and I’m sure I’m not alone in saying it’s very difficult to breathe in those conditions.  Lots of rain, too, just to keep things interesting.  I know that this is good for me to tackle, but I’ve got to say that I found it much easier to run through the winter than I am finding it running through this heat and humidity.

Shoes.  After having finally found shoes that I love, the Pearl iZUMi SyncroFloat III, I was told that they are discontinuing the model in preference to the SyncroFuel model.  I tried the SyncroFuel for a few runs but didn’t like them at all, so, I hopped on Zappos (a site I love) and ordered 2 pairs of SyncroFloats to at least get me through the Chicago Marathon.

Back in February, I wrote about my penchant for killing iPods.  I can only assume that my brain must be fuzzy due to lack of oxygen at the end of a run.  I killed another iPod this past week.  I’m worried because I had ordered 4 refurbished Shuffles from Apple and I’m now down to only one!  I like the previous generation Shuffle much better than the recent one, so they’re no longer making them.  Panic will set in sooner or later.

After  having a few too many runs where I found myself getting light-headed, I decided to seek some help from a nutritionist.  I was a bit floored by the results.  I got an analysis of my metabolism, my body composition and my caloric needs.

  • My body composition was measured (three times) at 7% body fat and 93% lean weight.   Which means of the 172 pounds I weigh, 12 lbs is fat, 160 lbs is lean.  While I shouldn’t lose more weight, I can up my lean body weight.
  • My resting metabolic rate is about 2300 kcal/day.  This means if I did nothing else but lay in bed all day, I’d burn about 2300 kcal per day.
  • If you average in typical daily activities, I’m currently burning about 700 kcal per day.
  • My workouts have me burning about 650 kcal per day (when averaged across the week).  That will increase as the marathon training progresses into more weekly miles.
  • When you add that up, I am burning roughly 3650 kcal per day.
  • Here’s the bad part:  I am only eating about 1800-2000 kcal per day.

So, it should be no surprise that I have been getting lightheaded occasionally.  I’ve been under fueling by nearly half of what I need for quite a while.  So, I am beginning a whole new dietary plan that will not only get me how much I need, but what I need, when I need it.  I’ll report back once I see how this new eating program progresses.

Something else I’ve begun to work on is mental toughness.  Pushing through the times where my body is telling me to stop.

Finally, a couple of suggestions:

  1. Follow Sara Santiago on Twitter. (@sarasantiago).  Absolutely brilliant and just hilarious.
  2. Read Runnrgrrl’s blog.  Great stuff.  Always opinionated.  Always tells it like it is.  A must read.
    Gear / Running — 1 Comment
    6
    Mar 10

    Back in the groove

    After successfully getting out of vacation mode, my running feels like it’s back in a groove.  I’ve done about 25 miles over the last few days and I feel strong again.

    I’m also excited to get my new shoes.  I decided on Brooks Glycerin 8s. After getting recommendations from friends on DailyMile and running friends at work, I tried a few different shoes, but really liked the Brooks.  They should be here on Monday, and my feet are already doing a happy dance.

    Gear / Milestones / Running — 1 Comment
    4
    Feb 10

    First ten mile run

    A huge milestone for me tonight, my first ten mile run ever.  I knew I was doing my long run for the week tonight (due to the impending winter storm) and I think I got a little too amped up and tied my shoes too tight!  About 7.5 miles in, I started to feel some pain in my left foot right where the laces tie, but I just decided to run through it.  About a mile later the pain was gone.  The rest of the run went well.

    After consulting more experienced runners on DailyMile, I decided to use some Body Glide tonight.  Yep, that’s right folks:  too much nipple pain on the long runs for this guy.  The Body Glide worked like a dream and I can report my nipples as pain free.  I can practically hear the collective sighs of relief.

    I also brought water with me for the first time and it really did help.  In yet another fine example of a rookie mistake, I went bounding out the door never having figured out how to get the water bottles off the belt.  So instead, I got to figure it out mid-run.  In the dark.  With gloves on.  “For I am Costanza, lord of the idiots.”

    I also used my first energy gel, a Clif Shot (Razz flavored) after about 6.5 miles.  Tough to tell whether it helped a lot since I don’t have another 10-miler to compare against, but it did give me a bit of a boost, so I’ll take it.

    All kinds of firsts tonight!

    Gear / Running — No Comments
    8
    Jan 10

    Yak Trax FTW

    When I put Yak Trax on my wish list for my family’s Christmas gift exchange, they thought I had lost my mind, but I absolutely love them.  It’s been very cold and snowy here in Cincinnati for the past couple of weeks, so my choices are to run inside, on a treadmill (which I clearly hate), or get out and run (which I love).  Yak Trax let me run, yet I’m not constantly worried about slipping.  Once you put them over your running shoes, you can barely tell they’re there.

    Gear / Running — No Comments
    16
    Dec 09

    Taking the long way home

    After getting dressed for my cold run this evening, my older son asked me if I was going for a short run or a long one.  I said, “I hope it’s going to be a long run.  Maybe even my longest ever.”

    Sure enough, I beat my previous long run (the Thanksgiving Day 10K) by about a half mile.  6.9 miles tonight, and I felt great.

    Actually, I felt great except for my hands.  I grabbed the wrong pair of gloves and the ones I put on weren’t up for the 30 degree test.  By the end of the run, my legs and lungs felt fine, but I couldn’t feel my fingers at all.

    Funny story.  As I said, it was very cold this evening, so I wore running tights to keep my legs warm.  When I came downstairs to head out for the run, my younger boy said, “You look funny.”