A quick recital from my All Star

I run so that I'll be around for this guy. I hope all your runs are good ones this week.

This short run was very windy and cool at first. I may have been 45 degrees but the winds made it feel colder. It felt good though. I stretched out for about 10 minutes afterward. Finished strong with negative splits. Tomorrow I will rest and push my long run to Monday as I have the last 2-3 weeks. I also spent some painful minutes on the trigger point quadroller. Ouch. Shorts, shortsleeved shirt, windbreaker. Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 209 ft Location: Marion, CT, Elev. Gain: -7 ft Date: 03/21/09 Up/Downhill: [+229/-236] Time: 05:46 PM Difficulty: 2.0 / 5.0   Weather: Sunny   45 F temp; 29% humidity   45 F heat index; winds SSE 8 mph Performance Distance: 3.49 miles Goal: 10' 10 min/mi pace for 3 miles Time: 0:33:16 Speed: 6.3 mph Attained: 111% Pace: 9' 32 /mi Calories: 475 Notes Very windy and cool at first. I may have been 45 but the winds felt stronger than 8 mph! Felt good though. Stretched out for about 10 minutes afterward. Finished strong with negative splits. Tomorrow I will rest and push my long run to Monday as I have the last 2-3 weeks. Shorts, shortsleeved shirt, windbreaker.   Elevation (ft)   Pace (min/mile)   Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Elevation Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 10' 10 +0' 38 5.9 -0.4 -7 ft 2 9' 37 +0' 05 6.2 -0.1 +7 ft 3 9' 11 -0' 21 6.5 +0.2 -6 ft end 8' 49 -0' 43 6.8 +0.5 0 ft Versus average of 9' 32 min/mile

Posted from bimactive.com

Running in the West Hartford Reservoir

I ran in the reservoir on the first day of Spring. It was great. Even if got a little lost.

The Bucket List

I went to a meeting yesterday where, in a panel discussion, the topic of "Bucket Lists" came up. It occured to me that I really should commit one to paper.

The person who raised the topic mentioned they were discussing their 5 year and 10 year bucket lists with their protege and I gave it some serious thought later that day.

Have you thought about your "bucket" or "Life to-do" list lately? Priorities change as our demands on our time and interests evolve and change, but I think it's important to articulate what you're working toward.

I came up with a relatively short list of items on my five year bucket plan. Here it is:

Visit Rwanda or Uganda. For the last 10 years, I've had a fascination with Great Apes, Mountain Gorillas, Orangutans, and I would love to see them in the wild.

I want to run the Boston Marathon by the time I'm 45 years old. When I turn 45, the qualifying time is 3:40. My stepping stone goal is to get to sub four hours, which I'm currently working on. It may be a reach but if it takes another year or two beyond 45, it's still within 5 years.

Go to Disneyland with my wife and son. This is the most realistic and probably do-able one on the list. I just need to set aside the time and $ to do it.

Go to an F-1 race. 9 years ago, I worked for a website called Quokka.com that built other websites for sports entities. One was for open wheel racing. I went to one race that year and I vowed I'd go back. CART, the open wheel series we covered, is no more, but IRL and F-1 are still around. I'd really like to experience that again.

Get my young son started in fitness and running. I'm trying to set an example for him by showing him my running. I even get him to shout to other runners we see on the road, "Good job running!" or "Good job biking!" I think he enjoys going to my occasional marathons and races and thinks of them as exciting parades. I hope it stays fun for him.

Go to Paris again. And Italy.

Create films and connect with other runners.

Beyond having the bucket list, what are you doing to get to that bucket list? If I REALLY wanted to get to Paris by 2010, am I setting aside money for that trip NOW, researching hotels, etc. Why not?

I need to take some time to figure out WHAT'S MOST IMPORTANT, as @KCCAREERCOACH would say, and work toward that goal.

That's what's on my bucket list. What's on yours?

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Today I had a great run. It was a 10 miler in the neighborhood. spent the morning checking some work e-mails, securing a new cell phone for my wife (she lost hers) and twittering.

I didn't make it out until 12:08pm.

I intensely disklike laying out water on the route for long runs. Unforunately, I like a fuel belt even less. Therefore I layed out water in 3 strategic places at 3.5, 5, and 6.5.

I warmed up with what I felt was a slower pace but it turned out I was doing sub-10:00 mile which is fast for me. I then opened it up for 3 miles and then did a cool down mile all the way home.

Not enough stretching today. Need to do that tomorrow, along with strength training. I'm happy how it went though.

Tomorrow, Tuesday, is St. Patrick's Day. I hope you have a good one.

Nice easy run in the neighborhood. Decievingly cold despite the posted temps being in the high 30s. Wind made it feel much colder than that. I can feel that I'm faster by thinking about and employing the "paw back" cycle in my stride. Will do "Fix the Knees and Hips tonight." Today's weight before Birthday dinner was 177.5 and 21% bodyfat. More tomorrow. Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 209 ft Location: Marion, CT, Elev. Gain: +3 ft Date: 03/05/09 Up/Downhill: [+203/-200] Time: 05:03 PM Difficulty: 2.3 / 5.0   Weather: Sunny   37 F temp; 37% humidity   37 F heat index; winds S 10 mph Performance Distance: 2.97 miles Goal: 10' 20 min/mi pace for 3 miles Time: 0:29:02 Speed: 6.1 mph Attained: 102% Pace: 9' 46 /mi Calories: 407 Notes good thing I wore tights and gloves. While the thermometer said 39 degrees, it felt like 10 with the wind. Nice easy run. Nothing hurting. Feeling good. Map   Elevation (ft)   Pace (min/mile)   Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Elevation Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 9' 36 -0' 10 6.2 +0.1 -7 ft 2 9' 45 -0' 01 6.2 +0.0 +14 ft end 9' 54 +0' 08 6.1 -0.1 -4 ft Versus average of 9' 46 min/mile

Posted from bimactive.com

Nice easy run in the neighborhood. Decievingly cold despite the posted temps being in the high 30s. Wind made it feel much colder than that. I can feel that I'm faster by thinking about and employing the "paw back" cycle in my stride. Will do "Fix the Knees and Hips tonight." Today's weight before Birthday dinner was 177.5 and 21% bodyfat. More tomorrow. Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 209 ft Location: Marion, CT, Elev. Gain: +3 ft Date: 03/05/09 Up/Downhill: [+203/-200] Time: 05:03 PM Difficulty: 2.3 / 5.0   Weather: Sunny   37 F temp; 37% humidity   37 F heat index; winds S 10 mph Performance Distance: 2.97 miles Goal: 10' 20 min/mi pace for 3 miles Time: 0:29:02 Speed: 6.1 mph Attained: 102% Pace: 9' 46 /mi Calories: 407 Notes good thing I wore tights and gloves. While the thermometer said 39 degrees, it felt like 10 with the wind. Nice easy run. Nothing hurting. Feeling good. Map   Elevation (ft)   Pace (min/mile)   Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Elevation Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 9' 36 -0' 10 6.2 +0.1 -7 ft 2 9' 45 -0' 01 6.2 +0.0 +14 ft end 9' 54 +0' 08 6.1 -0.1 -4 ft Versus average of 9' 46 min/mile

Posted from bimactive.com

Are you a Victim of "Runner Rationalized Eating?"

I have alway struggled with healthy eating. What to eat, when to eat, how much to eat.  When I started running and training for marathons, I often fell victim to a syndrom I like to call "Runner Rationalized Eating" or RRE.  

You've been there. 

You just finished that 10 mile run. Wow. Pancakes sound great right about now. Drinks with the fellas? Sure, why not? You can down a Guiness or two since you did your fartlek workout today. Well, hold on, Sir Chugsalot. Lets remember the golden rule of weight maintanance. Calories in must equal calories out. Of course, you're burning a 1600 calories on that 2 hour Sunday long run. It is easy, however, to negate the positive fat burning effects of that run with a mind set of rationalization and not realizing the true accounting of the calories that you are taking in AFTER that run. 

Therefore, I recommend the following: 

Track your calories in for a week. Just a week  Use an online calorie counter like Fit Day or some other online tracker. It will be easier to calculate than the pen and pencil method. 

Next, calculate your calories output. Let's take me, for example. I'm about 5'9" and 178 pounds of unadulterated running stud. (okay, there's some Amstel Light buried onto my girth) 

According to most sources, I will burn about 2650 calories just by being moderately active and continuing to breath, eat, sleep, and watch "LOST" re-runs. 

To lose a pound a week, I would need to burn 3500 calories (about equal to a pound of body fat) MORE than I take in. Therefore, if my calorie output is 500 more per day than my intake, in theory, I would drop a pound a week. 

Do you need to burn 500 calories more a day to lose a pound? Yes and no. If you plan to eat the same as your estimated average or as you have been, then yes. If you can find ways to cut a few hundred calories, then this effect is cumulative and will allow you to burn the fat as long as you are in surplus of "calories out." Make sense? 

I'm not a registered dietician or anything, but over the years I've definitely found this to be true for me. If you ARE a dietician or athlete, feel free to leave your tips under comments.  

Also, try to remember that foods like Beer, Fig Newtons, Ice Cream are treats not staples for the runners diet.  Feel free to remind ME of that. They're oh so good. 

In the meantime, Runningly, 

Duffrunner

Lots of the White Stuff

Yesterday, a Nor'Easter dumped about 8" of snow in this area of Connecticut. For safety reasons, I took my run indoors yesterday.

It was a good thing I went to the gym when they did. They sometimes close early when the weather is bad and yesterday was no exception. I was able to get in six solid miles, some strength exercises, and some light stretching.

Today, my wife and I are going cross country skiling at a private recreational park called "Winding Trails." They have really great trails in the woods and even though I'm not the best cross country skiier, I know this activity is great for weak hip flexors.

Also on the docket this week, I get to reflect on turning 42. (Friday if you're sending gifts) Frankly, it sometimes surprises me that I'm this age. My mother once said that it's "Nature's trick" that you age but inside your head thinks you are the same. If I woke up tomorrow and someone said we're celebrating your 33rd birthday, I'd take them at their word and think I was 33. I'm certainly in better shape than I was at 33. At that time, I was about 15 pounds heaver, smoked and hung out in comedy clubs waiting to do 5-10 minutes of material.

Age is a number I guess is my point.

I'm looking forward to the week. I hope you are too.