Yesterday I went for coffee with a group of retirees that I used to work with. Pre-pandemic we would meet monthly but of course over the past 2 years it has been sporadic so some of the people that were there yesterday I haven’t seen for a long time. One of the attendees commented on how he follows my blog (yes, my followers are few but mighty and come from across the globe) and wanted to know how I had made the changes to my lifestyle. He also told me how I am almost unrecognizable compared to how I looked when we worked together. It sure made me feel good.
My husband asked what I did to track my recovery time. Specifically, he wanted to know if I was getting enough sleep and if my body was getting some down time. Yes I told him, my Fitbit tells me everyday what level of activity to do and how long I should be working out.
My Fitbit tracks 3 things to determine the day’s required activity. First, recent activity. This component looks at my heart rate activity over the week and determines the level of activity I should do each day. My activity level for most days is moderate (though I think when I run 16k it should be at the intense level) so the amount of ‘zone minutes’ (heart rate in fatburn/cardio/peak) that it suggests is pretty much the same each day. Second is recent sleep which, for those of you who haven’t read my previous posts, is a struggle for me. However, sleep is important as that is when the body is getting its maximum recovery. While my Fitbit tells me I get enough sleep it also tells me I need to prioritize my sleep more (short of going back on sleeping pills I don’t know how I can do this). Finally is heart rate variability (HRV) which is the variation in the time between heart beats. A drop in HRV can indicate the body is experiencing stress, strain or illness and that you need a break. My HRV is pretty consistent so no worries there.
Overall my Fitbit usually tells me on Sundays that it is time for a break. That works for me as I usually do take Sundays off from working out as it is my day just for myself. According to my Fitbit my body is happy with what I am making it do in terms of exercise and since I know I am pretty healthy I guess it is right.
As for my husband, he jokingly asked if my Fitbit’s name is Kelly (my coach) though he is happy that I do take recovery and sleep into consideration.
Today was my long run which was 16k. As I had a busy morning planned I was up at 4am and hit the road before 5am. My husband called me when I was at the 10k mark and told me I sounded pretty strong as my breathing was good. I told him that was great but my legs felt like rubber. There is one thing I like about the day I do my long run, I get to have a big breakfast. Today it was a homemade whole wheat waffle (I make them ahead and freeze them so you just pop them in the toaster to reheat) with an egg. I know I need both the protein and carbs to get me through the long run as it helps give me fuel. That meant I was able to run at a pretty consistent pace for 2 1/2 hours.
My coach advised me we were going to start some new training this week, Fartleks. Fartleks is a Swedish word that means speed play (trust me, play should not be included as part of the definition of this training). The goal of Fartleks is to improve both speed and endurance. While I am less concerned about my endurance (I only need to add 5.1k to my long run and I have over 4 months to do that) I do worry about my speed. Worst case scenario is I have to be able to run the 1/2 marathon in under 3 hours because the streets are only closed for that period. My goal is to do it in 2 1/2 hours so still a ways to go (I should note my 8k this week was run at 7.8 kph so I am getting there in the shorter runs).
Fartleks is a high intensity interval training method. Basically you sprint for a short length of time and then pull back to a normal run for a length of time. The info I read said it is getting your body ready to really move when you need it to.
The training coach gave me for this week was the ‘Mona’ intervals. This Fartleks involves 90 seconds of sprinting then 90 seconds of easy running for 2 intervals, 60 seconds of sprinting then 60 seconds of easy running for 4 intervals, 30 seconds sprinting 60 seconds running for 4 intervals then finally 15 seconds of each for 4 intervals. Doesn’t this all sound easy? The best part is even after easy warm up and cool down jogs the whole thing takes only about 30 minutes.
I thought this training would be a nice break, I was wrong. For each of those sprinting intervals I ran as hard as I could. I admit the toughest intervals were the 60/60 ones because I thought my lungs were going to explode by time I got to the 3rd interval (really, your heart rate is still up there each time you start a sprint). When I got home I was soaked with sweat and I told my sister I thought I might be starting to hate my coach, this was the hardest workout I had done since I started training.
Am I going to do this again? Hell yeah! I figure if it was that hard to do this short workout then I am going to reap a lot of benefits from it. I figure a few weeks and I’ll have my 16k pace to an even better level.
today in our daily paper there was a great article about the pros and cons of weighing yourself daily. In a post last year i wrote about this as well and I was pleased to see they identified several of the issues I had discussed. The one I hadn’t seen before was it can conflate health and weight in that your weight is not necessarily indicative of your health. I also like the alternatives such as tracking by measuring your hips and waist.
I mentioned last week that I had my annual blood work done and pretty much everything came back normal but there is one test I have kept avoiding. A few years ago, because of my age, my doctor recommended I have a colonoscopy. Oh, did my breaks go on at that suggestion. For me the big issue is the gunk you have to ingest to do your ’cleanse’ as I can be a really sensitive eater when it comes to food taste and texture. Just the thought of drinking that horrible mixture made me gag so my doctor agreed to doing a FIT which she had requested for me 3 years in a row (I ignored the past 2).
The fecal immunochemical test (FIT) detects blood in your stool which can be an early sign of colon cancer. It may also find pre-cancerous and cancerous cells which obviously helps catch cancer sooner.
All of this sounds good, right? So, what then was my problem? I admit, the concept of digging around in my toilet with a little brush to collect a very small amount of stool made me squeamish. Even typing that fact makes me shake my head because everyday I have to pick up warm dog poop with nothing between my hand and the poop but a very thin plastic bag.
When I saw the results of all my other tests I decided I wasn’t even going to think about it, when the next opportunity arrived I was just going to get the required stool sample and be done with it. That is exactly what I did and I checked my results yesterday and everything is good.
I don’t know why I let myself get so bent out of shape when it comes to these tests (I was the same way with my first mammogram). The end result is I am heathy overall and I don’t have to do another FIT for 2 years.
Today a memory popped up on Facebook. On this day 2 years ago I helped our beloved yellow lab Hammie (Hamish MacDougall) cross the rainbow bridge. Hammie had serious health issues the worst of which was diabetes. The average lifespan for a dog once diagnosed with diabetes is 2 years. Being the amazing dog she was, Hammie made it for 3 1/2 years. I had always promised her that if she let me know she was suffering I would help her end her journey. So, on this day 2 years ago Hammie stopped smiling (even blind and deaf she would always grin and wag her tail if she sensed I was near) and I knew her journey with us was at an end. Thinking of that wonderful animal and the joy she brought our family made me think, hmm, time to reflect a bit on where I have come on my journey over the past year.
I looked at all the blogs I have posted and I was surprised that I had been writing these for nearly a year. Most of them I just skimmed the title and realized I have talked about a very large variety of topics. I also realized I had kept to my promise and made sure I was open and honest about this journey and not just talking about the good stuff but also the struggles and some of the negative things that I have been through. I think it is important that people get encouragement from my story but also see the reality of what losing weight and getting fit means.
I also looked at where I was in my training throughout the year. A year ago I was proud to be doing 1 minute of running and 3 minutes of walking for 8 intervals. Yes, that means I did a total of 8 minutes of running compared to the 2 1/2 hours and 16 k of running that I did a couple days ago (it was amusing to read the post where I had run 1 mile for the 1st time). It was July 31st that I did my 1st 10 k run and I was so proud. Remember, at that point I thought I had hit my goal. Of course after that Coach changed things up and started pushing me further getting me up to 16 k. Now I am training for a 1/2 marathon and am actually excited about it. Last summer I was doing interval training up a relatively steep hill, yesterday I did several intervals sprinting up that hill. Yes, I have come a long way.
However, today was a reality check. My legs are a bit sore as I’ve done some tough training this week. I set out for a long walk this morning but decided to start with a nice jog, not pushing anything just enjoying the early morning. I ran for about 3 k and that got me to the bottom of the dreaded Oxford hill. I haven’t walked up that hill since the summer but thought what the hell, I am fit and strong so this will be easy. IT WAS NOT!! That hill is still brutal to climb and while I was not winded when I get to the top my body sure tells me that it was a lot of work to get there. I think I’m going to try to walk up that hill once a week just to keep myself grounded.
And remember, all of this is just one step at a time.
Yesterday I had my annual blood work done and the results were pretty good. My fasting glucose level was a bit high but that was likely caused by celebrating Lunar New Year by eating dim sum for dinner so far too many refined carbs. For a year now, with no medication, my A1C, the average glucose level, has been absolutely normal so I will be having a discussion with my doctor about where I now am on the diabetes scale. The confusing one is total cholesterol which shows in the abnormal range as high. This confused me as my LDL levels are low, HDL levels are high, my risk ratio is low, and my triglycerides are low. Seriously, everything is better than the target my doctor had set. I did some research to learn that if your LDL and triglycerides are are within the normal range and your HDL high (that is my situation) then you have nothing to worry about (HDL being the ‘good’ cholesterol so you want it higher). Ok, another topic to discuss with the doctor.
Today was my long run for the week and it was 16k. I got up this morning to find it was raining. I had 2 options, run in the rain (and cold) which is extremely unpleasant or do the treadmill for 2 1/2 hours (which you know I would hate). I opted for the run in the rain so on goes my moisture wicking pants and cloth jacket and then layered up with my water resistant running jacket. I had only done 3 blocks when I though damn, I should have put on a ball cap as I already had water running down my face.
My route for the 16k is to head to North Bluff (the main East-West street in White Rock), up to Johnston (the main North-South street) down to Buena Vista back to Stayte Rd and repeat 3 times (I have to tack on a few extra blocks at the end to get to 16k). By time I did the first loop I was miserable. I was soaking wet and cold which makes running unpleasant to say the least. I convinced myself I would just do 1 more loop and then stop.
The funny thing I find about running is it is always the 1st half of the run that seems to take the longest (it doesn’t because my pace is pretty even the entire time). It is almost like if I can push through the 1/2 way point then I can make it to the end. Having said that I was still convincing myself to quit after the 2nd loop but when I was almost at that point I thought hey, you are training for a 1/2 marathon, rain and being wet is not a good enough excuse not to to push yourself. I hit that last loop and just kept going. It was finally when I hit the 13k mark that the rain eased up some so I picked up my pace a little. I finished my 16k at a better speed than I had done my 8k on Tuesday.
When I got home I was cold and soaking wet. By wet I mean everything down to my socks, underwear and bra. I peeled off layers of wet clothing and hung them up to dry and put my socks, gloves and runners in front of the gas fire place. I admit even the large hot coffee did nothing to warm me up. It wasn’t until I had a hot shower that I started feeling normal and could reflect on that run. It was probably the toughest run I have done to date but you know what, it was also the most satisfying because I pushed through the discomfort to get it done. I have to say I felt pretty proud of myself knowing that I am keeping my eye on the goal I plan to achieve in June.
Tomorrow is hill training and the weather forecast is even heavier rain. Oh well, at least it is only an hour of training and I will remember to wear my ball cap.
As my sister was putting the dogs out 1st thing this morning I asked her if it was windy out as I had heard my windchimes last night. She said there was a bit of a breeze but not really wind. Sadly, that was not the case at east beach where there was a good wind happening and of course I was running straight into it. I kept pushing and eventually the wind died down and I got through my 8k run. I looked at the time and thought wow, now that was a good pace. It is the best time I have done since December so maybe this pushing myself hard is actually working.
So today starts Dry February, a month to raise funds for the Cancer Society and to stay away from alcohol. I admit during the holidays and then the trip to Mexico I have been consuming more than usual. I know that by taking a break it can have really good health consequences even if it is for the short term (I also do Sober October). This year I have even more reason to do this, I’m training to run a 1/2 marathon!
Alcohol consumption can have significant impacts on training. There are some recent studies that link alcohol consumption the day before training on having a detrimental impact on recovery. Moreover, alcohol consumption can tend to have a negative impact on larger muscle groups such as gluts and quads. Ok, that in itself is an incentive as those are the main muscles I need for training.
Don’t get me wrong, I like my wine but the past couple weeks as I bumped up my training I have been very cognizant of my intake, trust me the longer the run the less alcohol (if any) I would consume the day before. As I am now seriously working on endurance and speed I need to do everything I can to be successful in my training. What that means is for at least the next month I am opting out of alcohol consumption on any day where I have training the next day. To be clear, I do some form of training 6 days a week so wine will only be consumed on Saturday’s as Sunday is my day off (note, this rule will likely be broken for Superbowl Sunday).
I’m pretty confident doing runs like the 16k I will do this week are going to help keep me on the right path.
Today we went for lunch with some good friends. As they live in an area I don’t know well I turned on my GPS. Near the end of the trip it told me to drive 3 km on the current road. When we got to the destination I said to my husband, wow when you run you don’t realize how far 3 km actually is and to think yesterday I ran 4 times that distance.
This past week it has not been above zero a single day that I have been out training. As a matter of fact, with the heavy fog it feels even colder because of the dampness. I always have to balance the amount of clothing I am wearing with the workout I am going to do and hence the amount I am going to sweat. Somedays I’m not sure I have made the right decision but by time I realize that there is no point in going home and adjusting.
I never worry about the pants I wear on cold mornings. I have running pants that may seem a little light when I first start out but trust me by time I have jogged a few blocks the blood is flowing well in my legs and they stay pretty warm. For my torso I usually have 3 layers, a tank top followed by a moisture wicking cloth jacket then my bright reflective running jacket. If I get too warm when I am running (such as when I start having hot flashes which take the concept of being warm to a whole new level) I’ll unzip both jackets a bit and if that is not enough then I open the vents in the sides of my outer jacket. Inevitably at some point along the beach the wind will pick up so I will zip everything back up again only to have to unzip again later on. I also always wear gloves as it seems to take forever for my hands to warm up if they get cold.
Where things seem to be challenging is my head and face. I have on occasion ran while wearing a toque which does keep my ears warm but usually also causes me to feel like I am over heating and thus it will end up being put into my pocket. Instead I tend to run with tears streaming down my face from the cold and my ears feeling like they are on fire especially if the wind kicks up. However, that is ok because if I focus on my gait and pace I tend to forget about the discomfort from the cold. The one thing that the cold has done that does bother me is that my lips get really chapped. Doesn’t seem to matter how much lip balm I use right now, the cold weather is winning this battle.
The last thing I want to talk about when running in the cold is safety. I know my area and routes really well so I know if there is any frost or ice on the ground I need to stay away from the hills as the sidewalks can be quite treacherous. I also make sure I am running routes that are really well lit so that I can see the condition of the sidewalks well in advance. I do want to give a shout out though. Yesterday when doing my 12k my route took me uptown White Rock to our main street. That street is full of businesses and yet despite the below freezing weather there was only 1 business that had prepped by salting their sidewalk (yes, it was very early in the morning when I ran). So, thanks to the White Rock Players Club, an organization I was involved with for 40 years, for doing your part keeping sidewalks safe for early runners like me.
I wanted to do my hill training today but realized my back deck was covered with ice and decided the treadmill would be best with hill training once again moved to Saturday. It was still below freezing when I took the dog out for her walk so I I needed to bundle up. I must say it is a good thing I really love that dog because I was frozen by time I got back home after the 1/2 hour walk. I was so cold I actually turned the gas fireplace on when I got home.
I have to admit I sometimes struggle to find time to work out. You have to remember, days like Wednesdays I do up to 3 hours of walking, tomorrow I’ll do a 2 hour run and then still have to do a 1/2 hour walk with the dog in the morning. I always find a way to get my cardio workout done and that is 6 times a week. The workouts always have to happen in the morning before my day gets too busy.
The problem I struggle with is my strength training which takes 20-30 mins. I try each week to get 5 workouts in but am happy if I can do at least 3 workouts (this week I should get in 4). If they are not done in the morning after walking the dog then there is zero chance I will get to them later in the day. I’ve decided I need to stop beating myself up over this, I am prioritizing the right things which is my running.
But I will be honest, despite not doing strength training as much as I would like, I am still pretty buff. Even at a lunch with a friend in December he asked if I was doing weights because he could see the muscles in my arms. When I was at the condo I actually upped the ante because I couldn’t find the right weights and went from 2 kg to 3 kg (by the way, when I got home the 2 kg weights felt awesome because they were so light).
So, finding the time is more important to do my running workouts. As long as I keep doing those I know I have found the time I need.
I got up this morning and noticed how foggy it was so I checked my weather app. Turns out it was 0 degrees and I had a run to do. I’m always hesitant to layer up too much instead relying on the vents in my jacket and being able to open them up when needed. I did wear gloves bit decided to forego the toque as I can get really warm when I am running. However, after getting home and resting a bit I had to take the dog out for a walk so then I did layer up and included a scarf and a toque (and my hi-vis vest because of the fog). Even doing that by time I got back home my hands were freezing.
I know I have 5 months to train for my 1/2 marathon but I also know I need to be diligent in training hard each time, there is no room for excuses or slacking off. I am really serious about this and so I am willing to put in all the work necessary to meet this goal. Today was my 8k run and much like my work last week I decided I needed to kick up the pace. Off I went and in my head I kept reminding myself to keep my pace even but at a level that normally would be uncomfortable but I kept going. I admit, about 1/2 way through my quads were starting to scream at me because I was working them so hard but that didn’t stop me. I managed to keep up this pace until I got to the hill near the end of my run. Ok, after already running 6k at a hard run (ok, hard for me may look pretty easy for experienced runners) doing that hill is brutal so I gave myself a bit of a break but then again pushed through the last few blocks. It was a good run but there will definitely be soaking in the hot tub tonight.
This week coach has me changing things up a bit. Now remember, I am only into week 2 of my training and I had been a little lax during the holiday season and the trip to Mexico but I got through my 10k last week so when Coach said the long run would be 12k this week I didn’t even blink at it, I know I can get through it. However, we are changing up my hill training a bit. This week I am only going to do only 8 intervals but the last 2 I am to push myself as hard as I can. You know 6 months ago this would intimidate me but now I just say, bring it on (ok, my thoughts my be different when I finish the hill training).
I have to say there are some things that are really encouraging me to keep going. Firstly, my husband who when I told him Coach wanted me to train for a 1/2 marathon he said why are you even having to think about this, you know you are going to do it. Secondly, is the people in the running community that are egging me on. In particular there are 2 younger men who are avid runners and they are always telling me what a great job I am doing. One of them likes to ask how far I am running each time he sees me and when I told him in December I was doing 16k he smiled and said don’t worry, you’ve got this. When I saw him last Monday I told him about the 1/2 marathon and now every time he sees me he asks how training is going. He saw me today and said hey, I see you are picking up the pace, keep going. Yep, those few words carried me for the rest of the run.
Writing this blog tends to really help me with my running. It allows me to write out my thoughts and get rid of any self-deprecating voices in my head. If I can keep them away I know I am going to be successful in meeting this year’s goal.
Yesterday I had my annual eye examine. As previously mentioned as a diabetic it is very important that I have my eyes checked every year. My optometrist is a lovely young woman who asked what my most recent A1C had been. I advised her it was 5.2 and she was a bit surprised. She confirmed that I am no longer on diabetic medication and then told me that at 5.2 I wasn’t diabetic. I explained that I have 1 more test in February and if that comes back normal then I will be in remission from diabetes. After examining my eyes and doing all the usual test she told me that my eyesight had improved and my variability was a lot better. I asked how that could be as I am aging that my eyesight could be improving and she told me it was a sign that my glucose levels are very stable. If I stay on this path then likely next year she will put me on a 2-year exam regime which I like because these exams are expensive.
This week marked my first week of training to run a 1/2 marathon and I am taking this seriously, maybe even doing a bit more than I should. I began my week with the usual 5k run followed the next day by an 8k run. Wednesday I did an hour walk then 1/2 hour walk with the dog and finished with a 45 minute walk with my senior group (this will be increasing each week until my group is at an 1 1/2 hour walk). Thursday due to the rain I opted to use the treadmill and do another 5k run but I really ran hard. Yesterday was my long run for the week, 10k and finally today hill intervals. Wow, that’s a lot.
One of the things I have started focusing on is picking up my pace. I have registered for the 1/2 marathon and learned the streets will be closed for 3 hours so you need to be finished by then. Right now I am not quite fast enough to do the 1/2 marathon in 3 hours. So, I am now I am doing sections of my runs where I really pick up the pace. The first time I tried this I was quite convinced that I was going to die but obviously that didn’t happen. Yesterday when doing my 10k I did several sections at a faster pace and realized I have to keep doing this until I am at the pace I need to be at. Right now it is not the endurance that has me concerned for the run in June, it is being able to finish in time. I am very determined I can do this and I will continue to push myself as hard as I safely can so that I can meet my goal.
As for tomorrow, my Fitbit is telling me I need some recovery time. Not only does it currently say my readiness score is low it is actually only 1 out of 100 because of my intense activity this past week. So, I foresee a pretty easy day tomorrow which will include a nice soak in the hot tub.
gwennefarrell 