Sunday, December 17, 2006

Who’s Counting Calories?

The weather has definitely taken a turn for the better. There is still plenty of room for improvement, but after the storm we’ve had to endure over the last few weeks, a bit of rain with only a little bit of breeze is a massive improvement.

I slept in on both Saturday and Sunday, and left at around 9:30 for both runs. I did notice one drawback of running so late. Due to the fact that I no longer eat anything before running I ended up feeling a bit hungry out on the road. Both times the empty feeling went away after a mile or two, and I felt good for the rest of the run. So far I definitely don’t feel any bad effects from running with an empty stomach, but I haven’t attempted anything longer than 15 miles yet. I’ll see how it goes in the next few weeks, but I think I’m on to something here.

I finished the week with two shorter but faster efforts. I felt quite sluggish initially yesterday, and didn’t think I’d be under 8:00 pace. I was pleasantly surprised to find afterwards that I had actually run faster than on Thursday, which was supposed to be the fastest run of the week but hadn’t quite worked out that way. At one stage the sun even threatened to show her face, but she changed her mind and stayed behind the cloud cover. I did see a beautiful rainbow at one stage, but while being pretty it was also a harbinger of the next rain shower to come. Ah well.

I finished the week with a run around the devil’s elbow, which included that wicked climb out of Ard-na-Sidhe that I also had to endure at the beginning of Friday’s effort. In some ways today was the opposite. Back then I constantly had to remind myself that it was supposed to be a tempo run and speed up. Today I had to remind myself that this was supposed to be a moderate run and had to put the breaks on again and again. I felt really good and didn’t want to spoil the party by slowing down too much, just enough so that the legs wouldn’t wear out, which didn’t quite work. But I guess I’ll take a day like today anytime. There’s nothing wrong with feeling good.

Niamh surprised me with a veritable feast of freshly-pressed juice, scones and a chocolate cake when I came home (eat your heart out, Mike). I completely pigged out on the offerings. I bet I took in double the calories I had just burned off on the road. Ah well. I guess I’ll definitely take a day like today anytime. There’s nothing wrong with feeling good.

Something makes me think I wasn’t the only one who enjoyed the chocolate cake.

16 Dec: 6.25 miles, 48:09. 7:42 pace, avg. HR 159
17 Dec: 8.5 miles, 1:07, 7:52 pace, avg. HR 161

Weekly mileage: 61

8 comments:

  1. I bet your face looked just as messy when you were done!

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  2. That's right. There’s nothing wrong with feeling good.

    Pat
    Arizona, USA

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  3. The Sun is toying with you.

    I wonder if your wife, and Mike's, would mind having a chat with mine.

    Nice work on the pacing.

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  4. Nothing beats a nice breakfast after a great run.

    BTW … I was thinking of you yesterday before my 30K. The winding was blowing stiffly and the sky was threatening rain. Although the threat of rain abated as the start of the race approached, I thought that I’d at least have a good story for Thomas should I be obliged to run a 30K through the wind and rain. I just don’t know how you do it and remain so cheerful.

    Your new training program really seems to be working well for you. Keep up the good work.

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  5. It will be interesting to see how your body reacts to longer runs on an empty tank. If I don't fuel properly before a long run I start to feel hungry and then I lose my energy very rapidly. Sometimes if I walk for a while I can recover but I prefer to keep fueled. It will be interesting to see how your body reacts when the tank is empty.

    I'm guessing that post run meal tasted very good! Keep on running!

    Cheers!

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