Kosher Gatorade Update

I tried the lemon-lime G stuff. Not that great. Today I had to do some shopping. I decided to run and end up at the drugstore. I ended up buying a fruit punch G2. Pretty good. Tasted like a melted freeze pop.

Bigger problem is that the stuff at the marathon won't be kosher anyway. As a result of a question in the comments here I realized that not all Gatorade products would be kosher. I emailed them, and as it turns out, the Endurance formula will not be kosher at this time. And of course, that's what they serve at the marathon.

So now there's no incentive for me to use it - or get used to it. Unless I carry my own Gatorade for the marathon - which I won't - I'll be stuck drinking water anyway. So I might as well stick with that.

At least I can save $1.69 for a 20oz bottle...

Battling the Elements

I've been so good at keeping up the running lately, that I was kind of down about all the rain on Sunday. I was planning on running in the morning and heading to the hospital in the afternoon. But it was really pouring in the morning, and I decided to just head to work early.

I think in the end I probably would have blown off the run. But when I got back I saw a whole bunch of facebook status updates from people who had run the More Half Marathon that morning. 6,360 finishers in the pouring rain! Well even though I didn't have the commitment of already having paid a entrance fee, I was still inspired to head out and run in the drizzle.

It was mildly annoying in the beginning and my neighbor even suggested I bring an umbrella. But in the end it really wasn't bad at all, and I was so glad I did it. Got in a little more than 8 miles.

Today it was super windy when I started. Couldn't hear my ipod - just wind. I thought it was going to be really tough, but I had no intention of quitting. In the end, once again, it wasn't bad at all.

So I'm happy with the running so far. Really just base miles - no speedwork or anything else. Maybe in a few weeks, but I want to be careful not to get hurt.

The diet is going well as well. Skipped all-you-can-eat sushi/chinese last night, and all-you-can-eat bbq tonight. (You can see how I gained all the weight previously!) The weight doesn't seem to come off as easily as it did 5 or 10 years ago, but it's coming.

Progress

This is my weight goal and progress. (Courtesy of fridegraph.com) Though I started over a month ago, I've really focused more on my eating the last week or so. It's nice to see a little progress. (2 pounds per box in that graph, so I'm down 7 so far.)

I also checked my cholesterol this week. Not great. (Not horrible, but should be better.) I hope to keep up the weight loss and exercise, and then recheck it in the summer. In the meantime I had an avocado for dinner. (Lots of garlic and salt - nothing wrong with my blood pressure!)

In other food related news, Gatorade is finally kosher. For the first time I went to buy some. My preference would have been to get the G2, which is less calories. But my guess is that the stuff they'll give at races will still be the original, in lemon-lime flavor. So that's what I went with, and I'm interesting to see how it goes. I'm planning on running 86 miles on Sunday now that I've got this stuff...

Anyway, I'm still running. Did some traveling last week, but managed to get in 3 runs for 17 miles. So far this week I've run twice, so I'm hanging in there. I'm just trying to build up some "base" miles before beginning marathon training in earnest a few months from now. (I'm also trying to be careful not to overtrain and get hurt.)

Now back to NHL Playoffs...

Race Day!

My first race today in over 6 months. Man, was it good to be out there.



The weather was absolutely perfect. Like usual I got there 2 minutes before the start. The officials were actually going to let me in to the red section, up near the front. (Usually, if you're not there 15 minutes early you have to head to the back.) I told them I was way out of shape and needed to go to the back anyway. I ended up joining in a few sections back. It seemed to work out well as I had plenty of space to run.

Not to bore you with details, but basically I ran without music, and just paid attention to my breathing. I was able to keep things controlled the entire race. (Actually interesting to hear people huffing it out right from the first mile.) I've been running about 9:30 pace lately, and I just tried to stay comfortable out there.

I hit the first mile marker at 8:52 and was somewhat surprised. I still felt pretty good. The second mile didn't have the hill that the first did, and I hit the mile marker at 8:33. Wow. The third mile had some slow elevations, and I started to feel a little tired. I could see my HR heading into the 170's. (First time I've worn my HR monitor in who knows how long.) I think I slowed down just a touch to make sure I'd have enough left to finish strong. Third mile went by in 8:50. As I headed into the last mile I felt ready to take it on. I started pushing a bit, but not too much. At about 3.5 miles I was really feeling it, but was determined to finish strong. I held on until I turned the last corner and really poured it on for the finish. Final mile went by in 8:17.
Final time was 34:34 for an 8:38 pace. Not close to my PR (not even in the same ballpark), but much faster than I've been running in training. It's just incredible how a race can help you do that.

Anyway, here's the pictorial representation:

Comfortable start, fast second mile, slowed a touch for the third, strong finish to the end.


HR controlled until mile 3, somewhat steady in the low 170's and then a climb in that last push. I was back to 140 within a few minutes of the race, but above 100 for at least an hour. Will need to keep an eye on that.

In the end, it was a great day. Nothing triumphant, but a good reminder of what it's like. I probably won't do a lot of races in the next few months, until I get in better shape. But here and there I'll do a few. In the meantime I need to get back into better shape.

I'm Back

Well, I made it back from the holidays. Over the 10 times I managed to run 3 times. (Which is not bad considering that 5 days were religious holidays with running not an option.) The first two were as previously mentioned, on the treadmill. The last one was a beautiful 6 mile run on the "Belt Line". I didn't bring a camera, but it's a really nice place to run. Here's a couple of pictures I found online which gives you a sense:





I guess there weren't too many leaves yet, but it felt like the first picture, since it was a really sunny day. I also ran with my brother which was pretty cool. He really only got into running recently, having run a half-marathon in the winter. (And I'm not sure he would say he's "into" running - but I'm working on it.) I knew I was keeping him back for most of the run, and so in the last mile I let him finish up on his own. He ran ahead, but came back to finish with me anyway. It was a really good run.

Today I did a little shopping, and it was right next to a pizza store. I must admit I tried to get some pizza, but the post-Passover rush was on. It wasn't worth waiting in line. I ended up going home and putting in another 4 miles, and had a smallish dinner later.

Tomorrow morning is my official weigh-in after the holidays. I think I did well, and I'm curious (anxious?) to see the number.

Bad Math

I'm visiting my parents for Passover. Never managed to get a run in before I left on Sunday, but did run on Monday before the holidays, and a short run today. 6.4 + 4.55 = 10.95 miles. For my weight I'm guessing that's about 1200 calories burnt.

On the intake side, I've had about 20 pieces of matzoh (2400 calories), ten cups of wine - eight official, two recreational - (~1500 calories), and three days of my mom's cooking (20,000 calories). See the problem here?

Seriously though, I'm doing my best to keep a handle on things. And there's practically a full gym in the basement here. We'll see what happens when I get back and weigh in...