I don't mean this to sound trite, or somehow, for me to come off as not being considerate of other peoples problems considering their weight, but I need to lose weight. I know I'm not overweight for walking around everyday doing my thing. But for me, trying to be a competitive runner again, I need to lose about nine pounds. And I am having a very hard time doing it.
Two months ago I weighed 158. Since then I have done a lot of running, and now I weigh 158. So you can say, we'll I'm obviously eating more calories to compensate for my exercise, or I am gaining muscle, and muscle weighs more than fat, or my body likes it at 158 and that's where it's going to stay. There could be truth in all of that, but ten pounds of extra weight for a runner is about thirty seconds of time in a mile run. Think about carrying five pound weights in each hand as you run around a track and you'll get the idea of what I'm talking about.
So, here's my plan. If I analyze my eating patterns, I probably do eat too much at night, which can be a huge issue in weight gain for most people. For me, I think it's keeping me where I am. I often like to make a large smoothie a few hours before bed, so that's the challenge, to give that up. But I do not like thinking in any way of abstaining when it comes to food. The raw vegan life is about abundance, not about giving things up. The whole world opens up to you in a way one could never have envisioned. That all sounds very grand and maybe pretentious, and certainly blown out of proportion when talking about a smoothie, but I don't want to get locked into a method when considering my diet. But a method this way comes.
I am going to try only juicing vegetables after noon if I feel like I need something nutritious, or plainly, something in my stomach. Hopefully, this will get me down to my goal weight before my first race in November. I'll let you know.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Sunday, September 28, 2008
All right, I'm back!
I had been inspired about two months ago by Tim VanOrden and his Running Raw Project. Tim and I are about a year apart in age, and like myself was a runner way way back, about twenty something years ago. He has taken up mountain racing and other grueling races to prove the point that eating a raw vegan diet is not only good for you, but also is the diet for athletic success. He is out there every day competing against much younger people than himself, and winning.
So, I'm quite excited about this possibility to go out there and race again after all of these years. The last race I was in was the Western Massachusetts Valley Wheel Championships my senior year in high school, 1985. I was seated number one in the half mile. The quick re-cap of that race is: I took off so fast on the first quarter mile (in fact, I would have won the quarter mile race) that my whole body cramped up in the last 200 yards of the race, and I finished sixth. That was a most ignoble way to finish my running career, but I never enjoyed running enough to keep up with it. I ran because I was good at it, and I liked to win. That's it.
But now, the competitive juices are flowing again. And because it's not in my nature to just go out and jog every day. I am training to be a competitive runner again, against all of the odds.
So, here are my goals:
To run a competitive 5k road race on Thanksgiving. That doesn't mean I have to win, it just means that I will stay with the best runners for most of the race.
To do that my time goals are these:
By the end of this month I will be able to run seven minute miles for over three miles.
By the end of October, I will be able to run six minute miles over the same distance.
And finally, on Thanksgiving I will run five and a half minute miles for the race.
Ambitious, yes. Possible, we'll see. I don't believe it could be possible eating as most people do. But on a raw vegan diet, the best food in the world, it is all possible. The rest is up to me. To do the training, stay injury free, and take on all the responsibility for my results.
I would like to, time permitting, to make this blog a running and life journal, for my own benefit.
See you on the road.
I had been inspired about two months ago by Tim VanOrden and his Running Raw Project. Tim and I are about a year apart in age, and like myself was a runner way way back, about twenty something years ago. He has taken up mountain racing and other grueling races to prove the point that eating a raw vegan diet is not only good for you, but also is the diet for athletic success. He is out there every day competing against much younger people than himself, and winning.
So, I'm quite excited about this possibility to go out there and race again after all of these years. The last race I was in was the Western Massachusetts Valley Wheel Championships my senior year in high school, 1985. I was seated number one in the half mile. The quick re-cap of that race is: I took off so fast on the first quarter mile (in fact, I would have won the quarter mile race) that my whole body cramped up in the last 200 yards of the race, and I finished sixth. That was a most ignoble way to finish my running career, but I never enjoyed running enough to keep up with it. I ran because I was good at it, and I liked to win. That's it.
But now, the competitive juices are flowing again. And because it's not in my nature to just go out and jog every day. I am training to be a competitive runner again, against all of the odds.
So, here are my goals:
To run a competitive 5k road race on Thanksgiving. That doesn't mean I have to win, it just means that I will stay with the best runners for most of the race.
To do that my time goals are these:
By the end of this month I will be able to run seven minute miles for over three miles.
By the end of October, I will be able to run six minute miles over the same distance.
And finally, on Thanksgiving I will run five and a half minute miles for the race.
Ambitious, yes. Possible, we'll see. I don't believe it could be possible eating as most people do. But on a raw vegan diet, the best food in the world, it is all possible. The rest is up to me. To do the training, stay injury free, and take on all the responsibility for my results.
I would like to, time permitting, to make this blog a running and life journal, for my own benefit.
See you on the road.
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