Archive for: Diet

Running on the Riverwalk

Posted by Jim on February 21, 2012

Mile marker 0 on the Tennessee RiverwalkI had an interview near downtown Chattanooga today, so I decided to take a change of clothes and run on the Tennessee Riverwalk (just across the street from my interview). It was a chilly 52 degrees, but the sun was shining and the Riverwalk was busy. I parked by the Chickamauga Dam, changed clothes and hit the trail. Even though I had a long run yesterday, I was feeling great and decided to see how I did eliminating my walk breaks on this run.

My pace for the first mile was nice at 11:45. Again, since I run with a heart monitor, I expected that I would slow down over the next few miles. And I did. I decided to turn around at the two mile mark (easy to recognize by the Jim Collins metal sculptures place at each mile mark, see photo above). My run back was almost a minute slower per mile.

I finished the four mile run in just under 49 minutes. This is a pretty good pace for me right now. I stayed in my training zone of 132-150 heart beat per minute for 95% of the run. Overall, this was a great run for me. I feel confident now that my past injury is healed and I should have no problem training for the marathon these next two months. I still want to lose nearly 15 more pounds so that I’m running the marathon at a weight of about 235. But honestly, I’ll be happy to be under 240.

Tennessee Riverwalk and a view of Lookout MountainOne other note: since I am playing catch-up on my training, I have to accelerate my long run increases for the next several weeks. I’m thinking about adding 3 miles to my long run every other week. That would have me running my longest, a 22 mile run, just two weeks before the marathon. I had wanted to run up to 25 miles on my longest run before the marathon, but the 22 miles will have to do. I don’t want to injure myself from over-training.

(Original Photo Credit: Michael Tinkler)

Categories Diet, Training
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It’s Been A While…

Posted by Jim on January 4, 2012

It’s been nearly two weeks since my last post.  I’d like to blame it all on the busy holidays, but it’s a bit more than that.  Seems that my leg injury (knee and calf pain) wasn’t going to go away as quickly as I had hoped.  Then a non-running related condition has kept me off my feet for nearly a week.  This is a most frustrating situation.  I’ve only run three times since my race on December 17th and none in past five days.

Even though the situation right now is very irritating, I’ve not changed any expectations for my marathon.  I know that I need to let these injuries heal.  And when they do, I will be back out running again.  I will have to tweak my schedule a bit to be sure I get in the long runs that are needed to prepare for the marathon.  But I had already left a little room for adjustments in case of something like this.  As long as I’m back running again soon, it won’t be much of a problem.

The other issue I need to address is the lack of any weight loss these past three weeks.  While my sons were visiting I let my diet waver a bit.  There was junk food in the house for the first time in months.  And yeah, I indulged.  Even though I didn’t put on any weight, I am now behind my weight loss schedule by nearly five pounds.  So I’ve got some work to do.  I’m sure that once I’m running again the weight will come off.

So, it’s a few more days of rest and then I try to run again.  The nearly 200 miles I put in so far are not wasted.  I should be able to get my mileage back up very soon.  Thanks for following me and supporting my efforts!

Categories Diet, Training
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Time To Catch Up

Posted by Jim on November 29, 2011

Okay, I’ve been gone for more than a week because of the holidays.  Family was in town and we had a great Thanksgiving.  So, let me catch you up on how the training is going:

Monday, Nov. 21 – I ran four miles on the most beautiful trail in this region.  I ran the Sitton’s Gulch trail from the bottom of Lookout Mountain (near Trenton, GA) to Hemlock Falls in Cloudland Canyon State Park.  This run is a climb up of over 600 feet in two miles before turning around and heading back down hill.  The trail follows Daniel Creek as it cascades over huge boulders and through a forest of hemlock and other beautiful trees.  This is a run (or hike) that everyone should do when in this area.  And be sure to bring a camera.  You will want to share the experience with your friends.

Tuesday, Nov. 22 – Today it was a 4.3 mile run at the local park on the crushed rock path.  The run was just over 55 minutes, and although rain was forecast, there was hardly a drop during the run.  It was a very pleasant 68 degrees.

Turkey Time – I took off Wednesday and Thursday to spend time with family and enjoy a wonderful meal.  And I was thrilled to see that I only put on 1.25 pounds.  I was careful not to over-indulge, but the potatoes, turkey, dressing and pie still added a little extra baggage.

Friday, Nov. 25 – This was my longest trail run to date.  I ran six miles (3 loops) on the Back Country Trail at the Cloudland Canyon State Park.  Despite the slightly damp trail and leaves hiding rocks and roots, I managed to not twist an ankle or take a fall.  Well, that is, until I finished my run and decided to make a quick dash to join my family who was hiking part of the trail.  Yep, I turned a corner and my left foot rolled to the side.  It wasn’t so bad that I couldn’t walk on it, but I knew it would mean a few days off of my training.

So here I am today, Tuesday, November 29.  I’ve let my ankle rest for 96 hours, and it feels pretty good.  I’m going to run today, but it won’t be on a trail or crushed rock.  I don’t want to risk reinjuring the foot again.  So I will either run the asphalt trail at the church (probably in the cold rain) or stay dry on the treadmill in the garage.  The treadmill is looking pretty good right now.  There is snow up on Lookout Mountain and it’s only 38 degrees here in the valley.  But I need to get back to running as I have a race coming up in just a couple weeks.

Categories Diet, Trail Runs and Hikes, Training
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100th Training Mile!

Posted by Jim on November 17, 2011

Today I ran my 100th mile since starting my training for the Nashville Country Music Marathon next April.  It was during a beautiful long run on the Tennessee River Walk in downtown Chattanooga, Tennessee.  It was a 10 mile run that took me just over 2.5 hours.  It was also the first of my training runs that caused me some agony.

About two hours before heading out, I had a wonderful ham and cheese sandwich.  Great tasting, but probably not so wise.  Meat this close to a run was not going to be digested.  Then I grabbed a package of Honey & Oat bars, filled one water bottle with a cherry flavored Poweraid drink I had never tried and left for the trail.  I drank water and the Poweraid throughout the run and ate the bars about the halfway point.  My stomach felt like a cage trying to contain multiple MMA fighters vying for the crown.  After a 5-minute bathroom break (there are several restrooms along the trail) I was back on my feet and feeling much better.

So, what have I learned?  No heavy foods before a run and when trying new trail foods or drinks, expect that there may be problems.

So far the Tennessee River Walk is my favorite urban run.  The main stretch runs 7.7 miles (according to Google Maps) with plenty of scenery and interesting things to see.  I will do a longer post with photos once I have run the entire trail.  This run was an out and back that left a little over 2 miles to still be experienced.

Categories Diet, Milestones, Training
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