The Big Badge of Blubber

  So, I’m trying to mimic the title of “The Red Badge of Courage.”  Probably not very funny, but oh well.

  I was speaking to my coach, Wayne, on Friday night.  We had to postpone Saturday’s team run due to weather, and I called him to let him know that Mo, Vic, and I wouldn’t be there.  We’re running our 13/15 miler today, Sunday.  Anyway, we started talking about my improvement in my MAF pace, etc.  He said “Don’t take this personally, but if you lose 10 pounds it will make a big difference.”  I didn’t take it personally, I know he’s trying to help me run my best first marathon. 

  I must say that I’m somewhat proud of my weight.  I’m not huge, I’m maybe 15 pounds overweight.  I’m 5’6″, and weight 163.  But, the thing that most don’t realize is that this is VERYunusual for a CF Patient.  Most CF’ers are small, and look almost sickly thin.  I don’t, which is why most people would never guess that I have a chronic illness such as CF.

  Weight has always been a good predictor for health and lung volume/performance in CF.  More weight means that you are healthy.  Malnutrition is a big deal in CF, and I’m not malnourished.  Now, there is always the “Too much of a good thing” rule to deal with.  I don’t really think I’m in that range yet.  I’m 18 pounds over my ideal body weight.  Yes, I could easily lose 10 pounds, I really should get down to about 150.  And, I’m working on it.  But, for having CF, I’d rather be overweight than under weight.  But, I’d also like to run a sub 4 hour marathon for my first also.

  Wayne, in case you’re reading this, I didn’t take it personally or as offensive.

  I’d like to thank everyone that has donated to my fund raising efforts.  So far, I’ve raised $1280.  My initial goal was $900.  I’ve raised that to $1600, which I think I can achieve.  In my humble opinion, it’s a great cause.  Curing CF!

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Heart Rate Training Update

  All I can say is, I’m now a believer in Low Heart Rate Training.  I started a Low Heart Rate Training method developed by Dr. Phillip Maffetone on 11/1/2007.  The last run before I started, I ran three miles at an avg pace of 10:37/mile and an avg HR of 159.  Since then, 99% of my training has been below 144 BPM.  Not only have I been able to ramp my milage up to 40+ miles per week over the past 2 weeks.  I have also seen my pace drop from almost 13:00 minutes per mile to an average of 11:20 per mile.  Note:  This is all at or under a HR of 144.  The start is very frustrating, but once it starts working, it’s really cool.

  More later, probably after my long run on Saturday.  15 miles you know…..

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A Good Week

  Yesterday wrapped up a good running week for me, with lots of firsts.  My total milage for the week was 42 miles.  That’s my highest milage in my three year running career.  I also did my longest run ever yesterday, 14 miles.  Prior to this, my longest run was 13.1 miles in my three half marathons.  Finally, my MAF Pace, pace under 144 HR Avg, has fallen to about an 11:15 or so.  That’s pretty good, since I haven’t really made much progress over the previous month or so.  I do believe that the suggestion of increased milage did really help.

   I was able to get 28 miles in before Saturday, even with the weather.  On Monday night/Tuesday morning, we had a snow/ice storm. Running on Wednesday and Thursday was difficult, but I did manage to get in 8 miles each night. 

  The 14 on Saturday was good.  I decided to turn off my HR monitor, but keep my eye on the rate.  I ran the 14 in a 10:46 avg, with an average HR of only 146, that’s two higher than I should be.  It felt good up until about mile 11.5.  Then, I think the true training of my body to burn more fat kicked in.  My pace slowed, my HR went up, and I really couldn’t get it back down.  But, I guess that’s why I’m training, to get my body used to that feeling, and to figure out how to work past it.

  It was also interesting how two friends wanted to take care of me.  First, Trish asked me how many salt tablets I had with me.  Losing too much salt, which can lead to hyponatremia, is a big deal for CF Patients, since we sweat out a lot of salt.  I showed her that I had two, and said “thanks for checking on me, Mom!” 

  Next, at about mile 8, Amye asked me if I had taken my salt tablets.  I told her I had at mile 4 or so.  She accused me of lying to her.  So, at mile nine, I made a point to show her that I was taking my second one.  It’s cool that my friends don’t want me to drop over on them.  Next week should be a 44 mile week, and I do believe a 16 mile long run.  More challenges, hopefully more good results.

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Giant Carrot

  Yes, I did dress up as a giant carrot.  My son’s school had a presentation for the Flying Pig.  They actually get the run the Pig also.  They get to log up to two miles a week for the next three months.  Then, they get to run the last mile of the Pig course, cross the finish, and get a medal.  Really kinda neat.  The school principal is the Pig in the center.  He’s run all nine Pig’s, and has run Boston twice.  He’s a great guy, runner, and very funny.

  As for my running performance, I almost gave up the Heart Rate Training completely.  I really thought I wasn’t getting any better.  Luckily, a member of RunningAhead.com pointed out that I was doing great, and exactly where I wanted to be.

  Today, was a great run.  I ran 9 miles, to top off a 33 mile week.  My pace for the entire run averaged 11:13/mile.  That’s much faster than I’ve ever done.  Also, I broke an 11:00 minute mile twice during the run.  Both were 10:57’s.  That was really cool.  I’m really hoping that I’ll be able to maintain that pace in the coming miles.  I should hit 40 miles this week, which will really help my confidence.

   My fund raising is going well.  I’m up to $645 so far, and I have one donation that has yet to post to the site.  I should be able to hit my $900 fairly soon, which will really relieve that pressure.  Now, if I can just get my family to donate, I’ll be in good shape.

   Thank for tuning in, more in a few days.

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Sharpening

  So, it’s time to start the sharpening process.  Up until now I’ve been running strictly easy runs, under a heart rate of 144.  This past weekend our team long run was the Mt. Everest route, mostly hills and large ones at that.  There was no way I was going to keep my HR under 144, unless I walked it all.  So, I turned off my monitor alarm and just ran.  It felt good, and I was happy with my HR and my pace.  I ran the first 5 miles with Victoria and Maureen, and we kept it slow.  But, I honestly was holding back but felt really good.  So, when we hit Carpenter’s Run, which is a good hill, I just kept going.  Ok, I should have told them that I was going to just go, but too late now.

  I ended up running the last 7 alone.  That was fine, it gave me time to think and time to get a feel for my effort level etc.  I did run into some of my team coming back home, they had about a half mile to go, and I still had one and a half.  I was happy with that.  During that 7 miles, I determined that it is time to start running a few runs above 144.  Actually, all of them.  I’m going to run my easy runs at my true 70%, which is 149, so not much of a difference.  Two days a week, I’m going to turn off the monitor and try to get to 160-165.  That’s my goal for the marathon.  I’ll run a tempo run on Tuesday, and my long run on Saturday without the alert.  Obviously, I’m not going to push the pace, but I am going to make sure that I can run at a higher heart rate for my long runs.

   I’m hoping to see my pace increase to a degree.  My goal of at least a 4:30 marathon means a 10:11 pace for 26.2 miles.  I think that’s a goal I can reach, if I can stay healthy and keep my miles up.

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