Woodrow Wilson HS Track.
Today was a short run. Yesterday’s run with my niece, Whitney, pushed the envelope and I woke up sore. My hammies were screaming! So I decided to do double duty — a short run (2 miles), then, work out the legs this afternoon.
Turns out that run with Whit was the kick in the butt I needed. This morning’s pace — 14:10.5 — was a PR, putting me that much closer to my goal of a 39-minute 5K.
My weight seems to be holding steady at 168–169 lbs. I’m drinking about 80 oz. of water a day and my BP is dropping consistently. Given a little more time, a little more weight loss, and a bit more conditioning, I may be able to begin titrating downward my meds for hypertension. That would definitely be a good thing.
I’m starting to run longer distances and recover more quickly than when I started this regimen. I’m really looking forward to being able to run not just a 5K but 4 or 5 miles without slowing to a walk to recover. When I run the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving, I want to be in better shape than last time. I don’t want to be totally spent when I cross the finish line. That’s my goal, to train for a longer distance than I’m going to run on Thanksgiving Day.
Speaking of race day, I’m already starting to look into what I should eat the morning of the race to give me some extra energy. I’ve had a variation of this conversation with people previously and opinions vary. Without getting into the weeds, my dilemma is that I’m on a ketogenic diet and virtually all my energy is coming from the fat that I’m ingesting (which is 70–80% of my diet) and my own fat stores. That’s why I’m losing weight.
As I’ve said previously, my goal is to get down to 140–145 lbs. But on race day my requirements are different. I don’t normally eat before I run or work out because my stomach is a little sensitive and it gives me severe heartburn, not exactly great for running a 5K. That said, there has to be something I can eat that will give me the extra fast-release energy I need for the race without giving me an upset stomach. The search goes on.
