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Today I am home in N'ville for the Thanksgiving holiday. No running today but I may try to take a bike ride if I can dig out my parents bike in the garage. I am planning on running a 5 mile race tomorrow.
Yesterday I got up around 6:30 am to do a 3 or 4 mile run. I felt so good, though, that it turned into a 6.5 mile run. I did my usual loop around McLean. It was a great run, but I did walk a couple of times. Once on a big hill and then again when my energy was dipping. Since I had only planned to run 3 miles or so I didn't eat before the run. Thus after about 45 to 50 minutes into the run, my energy dipped a little. It wasn't a major issue, though.
This run felt great because there was no agenda. I was simply running. After the marathon, my desire to run more than 3 miles had waned a bit but now the passion has returned. This past Saturday I ran about 7 miles (6 3/4) with Alex. We ran the W&OD trail. It was the longest run I have done since the marathon (3 weeks ago) and it was a good run in the sense that I was determined to do it. I don't want to lose the fitness level I have attained. I don't know that Alex would agree, but we took our time and I enjoyed it.
This past Sunday night I went to bed with my heart rate monitor on. I do this occasionally to measure my resting heart rate when I wake up in the morning. On Monday, it was 41! 41! I am very happy with that. I wish I had kept a better record of it while training for the marathon. I know that at one point when I measured it during training, it was around 47 so that indicated to me that I might be overtraining since it was a bit elevated. Also, I tested my body fat percentage on Monday morning and since July it has gone down 2%. That's good news because I gained weight over the course of training for the marathon...about 8 lbs and had become quite concerned. I know this is mostly muscle because my clothes fit loosely and my waist is smaller. Now, I wish that I would have taken measurements of my waist and legs before training began.
After the run yesterday, I showered, finished packing and then headed out to pick Kate up for the long trek South. We had a great, though uneventful, drive which is good. It was nice to have company and I really enjoy getting to know Kate better.
Now at home, I decided to do a little research online to quantify the "magnitude" of losing 2% body fat and determine how significant this may be. I found a website suggesting that you determine how many lbs. you want to lose based on the body fat percentage that you want to be at. That way you don't lose lean muscle mass. Since last October (yes, over a year ago) I have been hanging out on a nice little plateau in terms of weight loss. I haven't been able to get below a certain weight that we will call X. Since I knew my current weight and my (estimated) body fat percentage, I was able to determine my lean body mass (what my muscles, bones, etc. weigh). Based on this number and the body fat percentage that I would like to attain, I can determine how much I should weigh. So, let's say that I want to have 20% body fat which is close to athlete level in women (normal body fat percentage for women is around 25%). I did the calculation to determine what I should weigh and you know what it was? Guess...no really, go ahead...if you have been paying attention you have the answer. Yep, X. I should weigh X, on the nose!! Unbelievable! Now, I do have a few lbs. to lose to get back to X since the marathon, but at least I will no longer be torturing myself to attain a weight that may hurt me more than help me (i.e. I would lose lean body mass). This discovery has brought such relief to me. However now that I have gained muscle mass I know it may be very difficult to lose these last few lbs. I am always up for a good challenge, though.
Yesterday I got up around 6:30 am to do a 3 or 4 mile run. I felt so good, though, that it turned into a 6.5 mile run. I did my usual loop around McLean. It was a great run, but I did walk a couple of times. Once on a big hill and then again when my energy was dipping. Since I had only planned to run 3 miles or so I didn't eat before the run. Thus after about 45 to 50 minutes into the run, my energy dipped a little. It wasn't a major issue, though.
This run felt great because there was no agenda. I was simply running. After the marathon, my desire to run more than 3 miles had waned a bit but now the passion has returned. This past Saturday I ran about 7 miles (6 3/4) with Alex. We ran the W&OD trail. It was the longest run I have done since the marathon (3 weeks ago) and it was a good run in the sense that I was determined to do it. I don't want to lose the fitness level I have attained. I don't know that Alex would agree, but we took our time and I enjoyed it.
This past Sunday night I went to bed with my heart rate monitor on. I do this occasionally to measure my resting heart rate when I wake up in the morning. On Monday, it was 41! 41! I am very happy with that. I wish I had kept a better record of it while training for the marathon. I know that at one point when I measured it during training, it was around 47 so that indicated to me that I might be overtraining since it was a bit elevated. Also, I tested my body fat percentage on Monday morning and since July it has gone down 2%. That's good news because I gained weight over the course of training for the marathon...about 8 lbs and had become quite concerned. I know this is mostly muscle because my clothes fit loosely and my waist is smaller. Now, I wish that I would have taken measurements of my waist and legs before training began.
After the run yesterday, I showered, finished packing and then headed out to pick Kate up for the long trek South. We had a great, though uneventful, drive which is good. It was nice to have company and I really enjoy getting to know Kate better.
Now at home, I decided to do a little research online to quantify the "magnitude" of losing 2% body fat and determine how significant this may be. I found a website suggesting that you determine how many lbs. you want to lose based on the body fat percentage that you want to be at. That way you don't lose lean muscle mass. Since last October (yes, over a year ago) I have been hanging out on a nice little plateau in terms of weight loss. I haven't been able to get below a certain weight that we will call X. Since I knew my current weight and my (estimated) body fat percentage, I was able to determine my lean body mass (what my muscles, bones, etc. weigh). Based on this number and the body fat percentage that I would like to attain, I can determine how much I should weigh. So, let's say that I want to have 20% body fat which is close to athlete level in women (normal body fat percentage for women is around 25%). I did the calculation to determine what I should weigh and you know what it was? Guess...no really, go ahead...if you have been paying attention you have the answer. Yep, X. I should weigh X, on the nose!! Unbelievable! Now, I do have a few lbs. to lose to get back to X since the marathon, but at least I will no longer be torturing myself to attain a weight that may hurt me more than help me (i.e. I would lose lean body mass). This discovery has brought such relief to me. However now that I have gained muscle mass I know it may be very difficult to lose these last few lbs. I am always up for a good challenge, though.
posted by Aud at 11:36 AM
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